Polignac
Polignac is a French trick-taking game for three to six players. In many respects, it is a rather straightforward example of the trick-taking genre. However, much like Hearts, the aim is to avoid taking certain cards, in this case, jacks. Watch out for the Polignac, the J♠. Capturing him is twice as bad as any other jack!
Object of Polignac
The object of Polignac is to avoid taking tricks containing jacks, especially the J♠.
Setup
To play Polignac, you’ll need a 30- or 32-card deck of cards, depending on how many you’re playing with. Starting from a standard 52-card deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, remove all of the 2s through 6s. If you’re playing with any number besides four players, also remove the black 7s. You’ll be left with a deck of aces through 8s in each of the four suits, making 28 cards. Then you’ll also have either the two red 7s, making 30 cards, or all four of them, making 32 cards.
You also need something to keep score with. Pencil and paper works well, but tokens will also work. You’ll need at least ten tokens for each player.
Shuffle and deal the entire deck out, as far as it will go. Each player should have the same number of cards.
Card ranking
Polignac uses a somewhat unusual card ranking. The ace ranks below the jack and above the 10. This leads to a full card ranking of (high) K, Q, J, A, 10, 9, 8, 7 (low).
Game play
Game play starts with the player to the dealer’s left. They may lead any card they wish to the first trick. Each player in turn plays a card to the trick, following suit if able, and playing any card they wish if they can’t.
After everyone has played, whoever played the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. They take the cards and place them into a won-tricks pile in front of them. Then, they lead to the next trick.
Scoring
After enough tricks have been played that the players’ hands are exhausted, the hand is over. Players look through their won-trick piles for the four jacks. Capturing the Polignac, the J♠, is worth two points. Each other jack is worth one point.
Game play continues until at least one player has scored ten or more points. Whoever has the lowest score at that point wins.
Speculation
Speculation is a light and simple betting game. While the main goal of the game is straightforward—you just have to end the hand holding the highest-ranking card of a certain suit—more money can change hands by players selling potentially valuable cards to each other! A player may not win the game, but can still come out ahead by making a deal with another player to sell off a high-ranking card.
Speculation was most popular in the late 1700s through about 1880. During this time period, it was mentioned in works by several prominent authors, including Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. The producers of a film of Austen’s Mansfield Park called in card game author and historian David Parlett as an advisor for a scene involving a game of Speculation. Parlett’s research on the game resulted in him publishing this reconstructed set of rules, allowing card players everywhere to rediscover the classic game.
Object of Speculation
The object of Speculation is to hold the highest card of the trump suit at the end of the hand.
Setup
To play Speculation, you’ll need a standard 52-card deck of playing cards. Keep all of your risk limited to that in the game—don’t risk your cards failing you in the middle of the game! Always make sure to play with Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards.
Players should decide if real money will be wagered, and if so, the value of each chip. If chips have real-world value, each player buys in for their desired number of chips. Otherwise, give each player an equal number of chips. All players ante, forming the pot.
Shuffle and deal three cards, face down, to each player. Players may not look at their cards. Instead, they should keep the three cards in a squared-up stack. Then, deal yourself one card, face up, in front of you. The suit of this card, the upcard, becomes the trump suit. The stub takes no further part in game play.
Game play
Cards rank in their usual order, with aces high.
The upcard
The upcard belongs to the dealer. If it is an ace, there is no way it can be beaten, so the dealer automatically wins the hand and takes the pot. Otherwise, they may choose to keep this card, or sell it to any other player. The form such a sale takes is up to the dealer to decide; they may offer a firm price, or negotiate a price with a buyer, or even auction it off. Payment is made directly to the dealer, not the pot.
Play of the hand
The player to the left of whoever ends up with the upcard (the player to the dealer’s left, if they did not sell the upcard; otherwise, the player to the left of whoever bought it) takes the first turn. They turn up the first card of their stack of cards. The turn then passes to the left, and that player turns up a card, and so on. When the turn reaches whichever player is showing the highest trump, that player is skipped over and does not have to reveal any cards.
When a new highest trump is revealed by any player, they may choose to keep it or to sell it, in the same way the upcard could be sold. Again, this money goes to the player turning up the trump, not the pot. Once the owner of this card is decided, play picks up with the person to that player’s left.
Between turns, a player may also offer to buy one of another player’s face-down cards, sight unseen. This is normally done by the current holder of the high trump, to reduce the number of opportunities for higher cards to be revealed. Again, the other player may refuse the deal, or haggle with the buyer over the price.
Ending the hand
As players run out cards to reveal, eventually the ultimate holder of the highest trump will be known. This player takes the pot. They then serve as dealer for the next hand.
Cactus
Cactus is a card game for two players where memory plays a crucial role. Initially, all of a player’s cards are face down, so they will have no knowledge of the value of their hand. However, as the game continues, the initial, unknown cards will be replaced with cards the player does know the identity of. They still can’t look at the cards, though—so they have to remember which card is which to make sure they don’t accidentally discard or reveal the wrong card!
Cactus is part of a small family of games collectively referred to as “Golf” (distinct from the better-known Golf solitaire game). They carry this name because, like in the sport of golf, the goal is to end with the lowest score. Cactus is a Golf variant hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Object of Cactus
The object of Cactus is to end the game with the lowest point total. Players try to reduce their point total by selectively discarding and drawing cards.
Setup
To play Cactus, you’ll need a standard 52-card deck of playing cards. To make sure that your cards are always durable enough to stand up to your game, always use Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards.
Shuffle and deal four cards to each player. Players may not look at their cards. Each player arranges their cards in a two-by-two grid in front of them, making sure to keep them face down. Place the stub face down in the center of the table, forming the stock.
Game play
Game play in Cactus revolves around players trying to reduce the total point value of the cards in their hands. The values of each card are as follows:
- Aces: one point.
- Kings: zero points.
- Queens and jacks: ten points each.
- All other cards: pip value.
The non-dealer goes first. They draw a card from the stock and look at it, keeping it hidden from the dealer. They may then swap it with any of the face-down cards in front of them. The player may not look at the face-down cards before deciding which to swap. The player then turns the card they wish to remove face up and places it next to the stock, forming the discard pile. The card drawn is placed face down in the vacant spot in the layout.
Once a card has been placed on the layout, a player cannot look at it again. Instead, they must remember which card is which for the rest of the game!
After the non-dealer has discarded, the dealer plays. On this and all subsequent turns, a player may choose to draw the top card of the discard pile rather than from the stock.
Matching cards
At any time, even if it’s not their turn, if a player believes a card in their layout matches the top card of the discard pile, they may turn the card face up. If the card does indeed match, they may discard the matching card. Their layout will now be one card smaller. If the card does not match, they turn the card back face down, then draw two penalty cards from the stock and add them to their layout without looking at them.
Power cards
Queens through 6s are called power cards, allow a player to invoke a special move when drawn from the stock. Instead of swapping the power card with a card from the layout, a player can simply discard it, then perform the appropriate action, according to the card’s rank:
- Queen: Swap any card from your layour with a card from your opponent’s layout. You may not look at either card before swapping.
- Jack, 10, or 9: You may look at any one of your opponent’s cards. They don’t get to know what it is.
- 8, 7, or 6: You may look at any one of your own cards.
A player may also choose to play a power card to their layout, as normal. Doing so does not invoke the special power associated with the card.
If a power card ends up in the discard pile without having been used, that is, if it is discarded from a player’s layout, the opponent may draw it off the discard pile. They may then immediately re-discard it and invoke the power.
Ending the game
Game play continues until one player is satisfied with their layout. At the end of their turn, they call out “Cactus!” Their opponent then has one more turn in which to act. After the opponent takes their turn, both players turn up all of their cards. Whichever player has the lower total score is the winner.
