East–West
East–West is a poker game for two players. Much like Pai Gow Poker or Chinese Poker, the challenge in the game is placing cards you receive into one of three hands. East–West has two major differences with those games, though. First, there is one community card that you share with your opponent. Second, there is no gambling in this game at all!
East–West was created by German author Reiner Knizia. It was first published in German, in his 1995 Wild West-themed compendium of family-oriented poker games, Kartenspiele im Wilden Westen. The book was translated to English and published in 2007 as Blazing Aces! A Fistful of Family Card Games.
Object of East–West
The object of East–West is to strategically place cards drawn from the stock into one of three poker hands. The ultimate goal is to win two out of the three hands.
Setup
East–West was created to be played with a German deck of cards. To make an equivalent pack from an English-style 52-card deck like Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, just remove the 6s through 2s. You’ll be left with a deck containing aces through 7s in each of the four suits, for 32 cards in all.
Both players should sit on the same side of the table. One player will play the left or “West” side of the board, while the other will play the right or “East” side.
Shuffle and deal three cards, face up, in a vertical line. These three cards are the board cards. Place the deck stub above the uppermost board card, forming the stock.
Game play
The nondealer goes first. They draw a card from the stock and place it next to any one of the three board cards, on their designated side. The dealer goes next, doing the same thing, placing their card on the opposite side. Players continue alternating in this way, drawing cards and placing them.
Each player thus builds three poker hands. Each hand consists of one of the board cards and the other cards on that row on their side. A player may only place cards on their side, not on their opponent’s. Once a player has placed four cards on a row, the hand is complete (making a five-card hand, including the board card) and no more cards may be added to it.
After both players have completed all three hands, players compare each hand with their opponent’s on the same row. Whichever player wins two out of the three hands wins the game.
Tëtka
Tëtka (Russian for “auntie”) is a simple trick-taking game for four players. It falls in the same general category of “nullo games” that includes Hearts and Reversis. In all games of this group, the goal is to avoid taking certain cards. What makes Tëtka unique, though, is that those cards change from hand to hand. The last card dealt determines many of the cards that you want to dodge!
Object of Tëtka
The object of Tëtka is to avoid scoring points by avoiding taking certain cards in tricks.
Setup
Tëtka is played with one standard 52-card deck of playing cards, preferably Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards. (If you haven’t got yours yet, what’s the holdup?) You’ll also need something to keep score with, like pencil and paper, or a smartphone app designed for the purpose.
Shuffle and deal out the whole deck, thirteen cards to each player. The last card to be dealt, which goes to the dealer, is revealed to all of the players. Make note of its rank and suit—this card, the bum card, will determine many of the cards that are to be avoided!
Game play
The player to the dealer’s left goes first, playing any card they wish to start the first trick. Each other player, in turn going clockwise, then contributes one card to the trick. Players must follow suit if possible; otherwise, they may play any card. Whoever played the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. (Cards rank in their usual order, with aces high.) They collect all of the cards played to the trick and place them face-down into a won-tricks pile. (Each successive trick won should be placed at right angles to the previous one, to allow the number of tricks to be easily counted.) They then lead to the next trick.
This continues until thirteen tricks have been played, at which point the hand is over.
Penalties
Upon winning a trick, a player may score points if any of the following applies:
- It contains the bum card. Capturing the bum card scores the player one point.
- It contains Tëtka, the queen of the same suit as the bum card. (For example, if the bum card were a club, Tëtka would be the Q♣.) Taking Tëtka in a trick scores the player two points.
- It contains any other queen besides Tëtka. This scores the player one point for each queen captured.
- It is the trick corresponding to the rank of the bum card. That is, if the bum card is an ace, the first trick, if it is a 2, the second trick, and so on. Jacks correspond to the eleventh trick, queens to the twelfth, and kings to the thirteenth and final trick. Whichever player wins this trick scores one point.
- It is the thirteenth and final trick. Doing so scores that player one point. (Note that if the bum card is a king, the last trick is worth two points—once for being the last trick, and once for being the trick corresponding to the king.)
- At the end of the hand, the player won the largest number of tricks. This, too, scores the player one point. If there is a tie, the point is scored by whoever captured the largest number of cards of the same suit as the bum card. If there is still a tie, whichever player captured the highest card of that suit gets the point.
Multiple points can be scored on the same trick by an unlucky player!
Ending the game
Whichever player has the lowest number of points at the end of four hands (each player having had a chance to deal) wins the game. If a longer game is desired, establish a number of orbits (times the deal rotates around the table) after which the game will conclude.
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Four is a card game for either two or four players. While there are lots of card games that involve adding card values, Twenty-Four is fairly unique in that it allows players to subtract, multiply, and divide, too! Figuring out how to use the four mathematical operators to reach the target value of 24, and doing it quickly, is what the game is all about.
Twenty-Four likely originated in Shanghai, China, during the 1960s. Since then, it has spread to other Chinese cities, and it can be found in several other pockets of the world.
Object of Twenty-Four
The object of Twenty-Four is to be the first player to run out of cards. This is accomplished by using the values of four cards and the four mathematical operators to reach a solution of 24.
Setup
Twenty-Four is played with a 40-card deck consisting of only number cards. To form such a deck, just take a deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards and remove all the face cards. You’ll be left with aces through 10s in each of the four suits.
Shuffle and deal the entire deck out. Each player will receive 20 cards in the two-player game and 10 cards in the four-player game. Players may not look at their cards. Instead, each player squares up their cards into one face-down pile in front of them.
Game play
For two players
Each player turns up the top two cards from their stack and places them face up in the center of the table. Each player then tries to mentally reach a solution of 24 by adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing the pip values of the four cards. The solution must equal exactly 24, and use all four cards, in any order. Parentheses may be used to make the operations come out in the order the player wishes.
For example, with a board of 5, 7, 8, 9, a player might come up with the solution of 8 × 5 – (7 + 9) = 24.
When a player believes they have a solution, they slap the table. They then state their solution. If the other player agrees it is a correct solution, the player calling out the solution wins that set of cards. If the result of the equation is not actually 24, the other player wins the set. Whichever player loses takes the four cards and places them at the bottom of their stack.
If neither player can find a solution using the four cards on the table, they may each choose one of the cards they played to take back, placing it on the bottom of their stack, then play one new card from the top of their stack. They now attempt to solve this new set of four cards. Note that mathematically, 80% of sets are solvable, although some might be harder than others!
Game play continues until one player runs out of cards. That player is the winner.
For four players
The four player game is the same as the two-player game, with the following exceptions. First, each player contributes only one card to the table per set, rather than two. (This means if all agree that there is no solution, each player swaps the one card that they played, resulting in a totally different board.)
Secondly, the first player to slap the table does not immediately announce their solution. Instead, each player slaps the table as they arrive at a solution. When three players have come to a solution, the last player left chooses one of their opponents to state their solution. If they are unable to, or it is incorrect, the odd player out wins the set. Otherwise, they lose and must add the cards to their stack.
Carioca (Loba)
Carioca is a rummy-type game for two to five players. It is a good example of a member of the Contract Rummy sub-group of the Rummy family. In Contract Rummy games, each player’s first meld must meet certain requirements called a “contract”, which change from hand to hand.
Carioca is mostly played by that name in Argentina, but it has been known to appear in Chile as well. In Central America, a version of the game with some variations is played under the name Loba. (There’s a game called Loba played in Argentina, but it’s not the same as Carioca.)
Object of Carioca
The object of Carioca is to score the lowest number of points by being the first to deplete your hand. Cards are disposed of by forming melds. In order to do so, the player must first make a certain combination of melds that meet the contract for the hand.
Setup
Carioca requires the use of two standard 52-card decks of playing cards, including jokers, shuffled together to make a 108-card pack. While you could use any old cards you have lying around, we know you’ll get the best results if you use Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards. Trust us on this one. You’ll also want something to keep score with, like pencil and paper.
Shuffle and deal eleven cards to each player, or twelve cards on the seventh and final hand of the game. Place the remainder of the deck face-down in the center of the table, forming the stock. The first card of the stock is turned face up; this card, the upcard, is the first card of the discard pile.
Game play
The player to the right of the dealer goes first. This player may draw either the current upcard or the top card of the stock. If they are able to meld any cards, they do so after melding. Finally, they discard one card, ending their turn. The next player to the right goes after that.
Melding
There are two types of melds in Carioca. One is the trio, which is three cards of the same rank. The other is the escalera, which is four cards of the same suit in sequence. Cards rank in their usual order, with aces either high or low (but not both at the same time).
Melding is subject to one big restriction: on each hand, on the first turn in which a player melds (their initial meld), they must, all at once, make the contract for the hand. The contracts for each hand are as follows:
- Two trios.
- One trio and one escalera.
- Two escaleras.
- Three trios.
- Two trios and one escalera.
- One trio and two escaleras.
- Three escaleras.
Note that on the sixth and seventh hands, meeting the contract will exhaust the player’s entire hand. On the first five hands, players will have cards left over when they make their first meld. On later turns, a player who has met the contract may extend any meld on the table with cards from their hand. That is, a player may expand a trio with more cards of the same rank, or they may add extra cards on the end or the beginning of an escalera. Any meld on the table can be expanded, whether you melded it or not.
Using jokers
Jokers are considered wild cards, and can substitute for any other card that you wish in a meld. However, when a player makes their initial meld, only one joker is allowed per meld. After making their initial meld, players may freely add as many jokers as they wish to a meld.
If there is a joker in an escalera, and you hold the natural card that it represents, you can play that card to the escalera in place of the joker. The joker then moves to either end of the meld. You can then extend the meld further from the joker, if possible.
Ending the hand
The hand ends whenever one player runs out of cards. That player wins the hand and scores zero. All other players count up the value of their deadwood (unmatched cards in hand) as follows:
- Jokers: 50 points each.
- Aces: 20 points each.
- Face cards: 10 points each.
- All other cards: Face value.
Each player’s deadwood value is their score for the hand. The deal then passes to the right for the next hand.
Whichever player has the lowest score at the end of seven hands is the winner.
See also
