Cinch
Cinch, also known as High Five and Double Pedro, is a game in the All Fours family. It was once one of the most popular card games in play, but sunk in popularity as most serious players turned their attention to the forerunners of Contract Bridge. Cinch is almost always played with four players, in partnerships.
Object of Cinch
The object of Cinch is to be the first partnership to score 51 points by winning tricks that contain certain scoring cards.
Setup
Cinch is played with the standard 52-card deck. If you’re looking for some high-quality, durable plastic cards to play with, choosing Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards should be a cinch. You will also need something to keep score with, either pencil and paper or something more exotic.
Shuffle and deal nine cards to each player. It is customary to deal three cards to each player at a time. Set the deck stub aside; it will be used later.
Card ranking
The cards rank somewhat unusually in Cinch, because, as in Euchre, some cards from outside the trump suit are considered to be trumps as well. While in Euchre, it is the jacks that switch suits and are called bowers, in Cinch, it is the 5s that move between suits and are called pedros. The 5 of the trump suit is considered the right pedro, and the 5 of the same color of the trump suit is called the left pedro and is ranked just below the right pedro.
Therefore, in the trump suit, the cards rank as follows: (high) A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, right pedro, left pedro, 4, 3, 2 (low). Cards rank in the usual order, with ace high, in the other suits (other than the suit of the same color as trumps, which is of course missing its 5).
Game play
The bid and the draw
The hand begins with the bidding. The players, beginning with the person to the dealer’s left, either bid on the number of points they expect to collect or may pass. Possible bids are from one to fourteen. Each bid must be higher than those preceding it. The bidding only goes for one turn; after the dealer has bid, the bidding ends, and the highest bidder names the suit they wish to be trump. The high bid becomes the contract for that partnership, who become the declarers; their opponents become the defenders.
Each player now discards all the cards that are not trumps from their hand. (In the event that a player has seven or more trumps in their hand, they must discard down to six, exposing the discarded trumps, which become dead cards.) The dealer then deals enough cards to each other player to bring their hand to six cards. They then form a hand of six cards themselves by looking through the remainder of the deck stub and drawing whichever cards they desire (known as robbing the pack).
The scoring cards that do not change should never be discarded (namely, the jack and 10 of trump and the two pedros). In the event that they’re discarded by the declarers, nothing happens, but if the defenders discard them, they are scored as if the declarers had won them in a trick.
Play of the hand
The high bidder leads to the first trick, leading any card. If a trump is led, players must follow suit if able. If any other suit is led, they either follow suit or play a trump. Only if the player has neither the suit led nor trumps may they play any other card. Tricks are won by the highest trump played, or if no trumps were played, the highest card of the suit led. Won tricks are not added to the hand; instead, they’re placed in a communal won-trick pile for each partnership.
When all six tricks have been played, the winners of the fourteen points available are determined:
- High—playing the highest trump in play during the hand,
- Low—capturing the lowest trump in play during the hand,
- Jack—capturing the jack of trumps,
- Ten—capturing the 10 of trumps,
- Right pedro—capturing the right pedro (five points),
- Left pedro—capturing the left pedro (five points).
Due to the fact that not all cards are dealt during the hand, the trump counting for High is not necessarily the ace, and the trump counting for Low is not necessarily the two. Likewise, the point for Jack is not always counted, since the jack of trumps is not always in play.
If the declarers made their contract, whichever partnership collected more points scores the difference between the two teams’ point totals (e.g. if one partnership won nine points and the other won five, the partnership that won nine points would score four points to the game score). Note that it is possible fore the declares to make contract and the defenders to score if they won more points. If the declarers broke contract, the defenders score fourteen plus the number of points the declarers were under contract (e.g. if the bid was nine and the declarers scored seven, the defenders would score 14 + 2 = 16 points to the game score).
Game play continues until one partnership scores 51 points. Whichever team has the higher score at that point is the winner.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone, known in French as Enflé and in German as Schwellen (both meaning, approximately, swollen), is a game for four to six players that bridges the gap between the trick-taking games and the Stops games. Players that can’t follow suit have to take the rest of the trick so far into their hand—meaning a player’s hand can keep getting bigger and bigger as the game goes on, explaining the French and German names. Unfortunately, this tendency does mean that the game can go on quite a long time, as the winner is the one who finally runs out of cards!
Object of Rolling Stone
The object of Rolling Stone is to be the first player to run out of cards.
Setup
Rolling Stone uses a deck that varies in composition depending on how many are playing; the game requires that the deck contain eight cards for each player. Starting with a deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, remove all of the 2s for a six-player game, the 2s through 4s for a five-player game, and the 2s through 6s for a four-player game. You’ll be left with a 48-card deck (aces down through 3s) for the six-player game, a 40-card deck (aces down through 5s) for the five player game, and a 32-card deck (aces down through 7s) for the four-player game.
Shuffle and deal eight cards to each player.
Game play
Play begins with the player to the dealer’s left. They may play any card they wish, face up to the center of the table. The next player to the left must then play a card of the same suit, as does the next play, and so on until everyone has played a card (this sequence of cards constitutes a trick). If all the players manage to follow suit, the cards are moved to a discard pile, and the person who played the highest card leads to the next trick. For the purposes of determining the winner of a trick, aces are considered high, and the other cards rank in their usual order.
If a player is unable to follow suit, they collect all of the cards that have been played so far to the trick and add them to their hand. They then lead to the next trick.
Game play continues until one player has completely run out of cards. That player is the winner.
See also
Contract Rummy
Contract Rummy is a variation of Rummy where the game changes from hand to hand! On each hand, players have a different “contract” to fulfill in order to go out: some hands require a certain number of runs, while others require a certain number of sets. No matter what, though, the basic rummy gameplay flow—draw-meld-discard—is the core mechanic of the game. It has been adapted by Mattel into one of their proprietary games, Phase 10.
Contract Rummy is ideal for four players, but can be played with three or five as well. Score is only kept to keep track of unmatched cards (deadwood) at the end of the hand; therefore, scoring as few points as possible is the way to win the game.
Object of Contract Rummy
The object of Contract Rummy is to score the lowest number of points by being the first to deplete your hand, primarily by forming melds. In order to do so, the player must lay down a certain combination of melds that meet the contract for the hand.
Setup
Contract Rummy is played with a deck formed by taking two standard decks and adding one fewer jokers than the number of players. That is, three players play with a 106-card deck (104 cards plus two jokers), four with 107 (three jokers), and five with 108 (all four jokers). If you’re using Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, not only do you get all the benefits of their durability, but you also get to play with jokers that have an awesome dragon on them.
You will also need something to keep score with. Pencil and paper works best, but, by all means, use an Etch-A-Sketch if you think that’ll work better.
Shuffle and deal ten cards, face down, to each player on the first three hands, or twelve on the fourth through seventh hands. The remainder of the deck is placed 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
Drawing
The player to the left of the dealer plays first. They begin their turn by drawing either the top card of the stock or the upcard of the discard pile. If they draw the upcard, their turn simply continues. If, however, they draw from the stock, the other players have the opportunity to take the undrawn discard by asking “May I?” If multiple players ask “May I?”, of the players that asked, the first player to the active player’s left has priority. The player that takes this upcard draws both the upcard and the top card from the stock as a penalty. If other cards have been discarded this hand, the act of taking the upcard exposes a new upcard under it; this new card may then be taken by any other player in the same way. This can continue indefinitely, with the only restriction being that a player cannot draw two consecutive upcards. The play then reverts to the active player (i.e. the player whose turn was interrupted by the first “May I?”)
If the stock is depleted when a player wishes to draw from it, set the upcard aside and turn the the remaining cards of the discard pile face down, then shuffle them to form the new stock. If both the stock and the discard pile are exhausted, the hand ends immediately.
Melding
After the draw has been settled, the player may meld cards if able. There are two types of melds in Contract Rummy: sets or groups, which are three or more cards of the same rank (e.g. 9-9-9), and runs or sequences, which are four or more cards of the same suit in sequence (e.g. 10-J-Q-K). Suit is irrelevant when it comes to sets; one can have two identical cards (i.e. of the same rank and suit) in the same meld. In sequences, aces may be low or high, but not both at the same time; A-2-3-4 is a valid meld, and so is J-Q-K-A, but Q-K-A-2 is not.
All melding is subject to one restriction: their first meld of the hand must, all at once, make the contract for the hand. The contracts for each hand are as follows:
- Two sets of three.
- A set of three and a run of four.
- Two runs of four.
- Three sets of three.
- Two sets of three and a run of four.
- One set of three and two runs of four.
- Three runs of four, melded all at once.
Note that for the purposes of fulfilling a contract, sequences of the same suit may not be continuous; 3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10♣ would be considered one eight-card sequence, not a 3-to-6 sequence and a separate 7-10 sequence. (Two separate runs may later be joined together by layoffs as described below; this does not affect fulfillment of the contract.)
After a player has made an initial meld that makes the contract, they may on subsequent turns lay down further melds.
Jokers are wild cards and may be put into a meld in place of any card. If a joker is placed in a sequence, any player who holds the card it represents may, in the lay-off phase of their turn (see below), add the card to the meld and take the joker into their hand (e.g. if a meld of 5-6-★-8♠ has been played, a player who has the 7♠ may substitute it for the joker and reuse the joker for another meld later). Jokers that are part of sets may not be reclaimed in this manner. Any joker which has been taken in this manner must be played to a new meld on the same turn.
On the seventh hand, no initial meld or laying off takes place. Instead, all twelve cards must be melded all at once, with no discard.
Laying off and discarding
Before a player has melded, and on the turn that a player makes their initial meld, they simply discard a card and their turn ends. On subsequent turns, they may lay off cards by adding them to melds on the table, either their own or another player’s. As many or as few cards may be laid off as one desires.
After laying off, a player discards one card and play passes to the player on their left.
Ending the hand
The hand ends whenever both the stock and the discard pile is depleted, or, more commonly, when one player has gotten rid of their entire hand. At this point, all players with cards left in their hand score points for the cards remaining:
- Jokers and aces: 15 points
- Face cards: 10 points
- All other cards: face value
The deal then passes to the left and the next hand is played. Game play continues until the end of the seventh hand, at which point whoever has the lowest score is the winner.
Guts
Guts is a simple betting game that can quickly escalate into a high-stakes game that takes a lot of bravery to make it through! Like Red Dog and In-Between, Guts isn’t a poker game, but it is often played in dealer’s choice games to change things up. It is best for five to ten players.
Object of Guts
The object of Guts is to win money by accurately judging the strength of your hand.
Setup
Guts uses a standard 52-card deck of playing cards. It doesn’t take a lot of guts to decide on using Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards for your game. You also need poker chips or something else to bet with.
Before you begin play, the players should agree to the amount of the initial ante. You may also wish to decide on a maximum amount the pot can reach, if desired. This will prevent the amount the players must pay if they lose, allowing the players to limit their risk.
All players ante. Shuffle and deal two cards to each player. The deck stub is set aside and takes no further part in game play.
Game play
Each player looks at the cards dealt to them and determines whether they are in (playing the hand and risking their money) or out (dropping out of the hand). Beginning with the player to the dealer’s left and continuing clockwise, each player declares “in” or “out”. Players who are out discard their hands to a central discard pile.
After all players have declared whether they’re in or out, it’s time for the showdown. If only one player remained in, they take the pot uncontested and are not obligated to show their cards. If more than one player stayed in, the players reveal their cards and the player with the best hand takes the pot.
Guts hands are evaluated by their ranks and whether or not they form a pair. Aces are always high, and the other cards rank in their usual order. Pairs rank higher than unpaired hands; if multiple players have pairs, the higher-ranked pair wins. Unpaired hands are compared using their higher-ranked card, with the lower-ranked card breaking ties. In any case, two hands that are identical other than by suits tie.
The winner of the hand takes the existing pot (multiple tied winners split the pot as evenly as it will go, with the remainder staying in the pot as “flavor” for the next hand). Each player who stayed in but didn’t win the pot must contribute the amount of the pot to the center, forming the pot for the next hand. (For example, if the pot was $25, and four players stayed in to the showdown, the winner of the hand collects the $25 and each of the three losers contributes $25 toward the next pot, forming a total pot of $75 for the next hand.)
If a maximum pot amount was established, losing players will continue adding to the pot as normal until it exceeds the maximum.
Anaconda
Anaconda is a very informal poker game that causes its players to make a lot of gut-wrenching decisions! You might form an excellent hand, but have to break it up between betting rounds. It’s also a split pot game, with half the pot going to the player with the best hand and the other half going to the player with the worst hand.
Anaconda is mostly played as a part of dealer’s choice games; it’s not likely to be found at your local casino. It can be played by up to seven players, and is best with four or more.
Object of Anaconda
The object of Anaconda is to form either the highest-ranking or lowest-ranking poker hand by selecting cards to pass to the other players.
Setup
Like most poker games, Anaconda is played with one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. Since an anaconda is a snake, we suggest using a deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, which have a dragon on the ace of spades, keeping the reptile theme going. You also need something to bet with; poker chips work well, but you can use cash, matchsticks, bottle caps, pieces of gum…
All players ante. Shuffle and deal seven cards, face down, to each player. The deck stub is set aside and has no further effect on game play.
Game play
After everyone has had a chance to look at their hands, the first betting round takes place. This follows the norms of betting in poker. After the betting round concludes, the players that are still in the hand select four cards from their hand that they want to keep, setting the other three face down in front of them. After everyone has made their choices, everyone passes these discards to the first player to the left of them. Everyone picks up the cards that they received and adds them to their hand.
After the first pass, there is another betting round. Then, a second passing round occurs; this one is conducted the same as the first, except instead of passing to the left, the cards are passed to the second player to the right. A third round of betting happens after this.
Now, each player decides whether they will compete to have the highest hand or the lowest hand. Each player takes a chip in their hand and shuffles it from hand to hand under the table, out of view of the other players. The players then form one of their hands into a fist and bring it above the table. On the count of three, the players open their hands to reveal whether or not they are holding a chip; those holding a chip are indicating that they intend to compete for high hand, and those with no chip are going for low.
The players now form their final hands, discarding three cards face down into a discard pile. Each player then turns four of the cards making up their hand face up on the table in front of them, placing the fifth card face down next to the rest of their hand. Then, one last round of betting occurs. (It’s worth noting that at least part of the outcome will be fairly obvious in many cases, because at this point, the players know 80% of their opponents’ hands and whether everyone is going high or low. But some surprises can come out with the last card!)
After the final betting round, the fifth card of each active player’s hand is revealed, and the pot is split between the best high hand and the best low hand. (See “Rank of poker hands” and “Lowball poker” for information about how to determine the best hand.) Any remainder is left in the pot as “flavor” for the next hand.
Anaconda strategy
Anaconda plays a bit differently than other forms of poker simply because the player is unable to simply “stand pat” with the cards they are holding; one card of any given five-card combination must be passed. For this reason, royal and straight flushes are useless unless lucked into after the second pass, and regular straights and full houses will be difficult to keep filled. The best hand to hold is four of a kind, not only because it is a very powerful hand, but also because the only card that will need to be passed is the kicker, which is irrelevant for four of a kind. Pursuing a flush is also a decent option, because with four to a flush, there are nine possible cards that can make the hand, although in larger games it is more likely that a full house will be present.
Players should also keep in mind that going for low is an option. Many players naturally tend toward going for high, so it is not all that rare for a player to win the low half of the pot with a fairly weak hand simply because they were the only one who declared low. A player intending to go high who misses their hand going may, rather than folding immediately, consider seeing if they can refashion their hand as a suitable low hand.
Remember that bluffing with the final reveal is possible, and both be wary of this from other players and take advantage of it yourself. Careful selection of which cards are revealed can help represent hands both stronger and weaker than what you actually have. A revealed hand of Q-Q-Q-3 could be four of a kind (Q-Q-Q-Q-3), a full house (Q-Q-Q-3-3), or even just three of a kind (Q-Q-Q-3-?). With jacks full of 9s, a player can choose to reveal J-J-9-9 to try to convince their opponents that they only hold two pair, or J-J-J-9 to bluff that they have quads. Keep your table image in mind too; if you are known to the other players to play conservatively, try representing a higher hand than you really have, and if you’re known as a loose player, show a poor hand.
Naturally, it is important to pay attention to what the other players are revealing. It is pointless to try to bluff that you have four 10s if one of your opponents is showing a 10 plain as day on the table. Likewise, if there are multiple possible four-of-a-kinds or full houses on the table, you are likely to be unable to get anyone to fold to your flush no matter how hard you bet it.
Mille
Mille is a Rummy-type game that plays very similar to Canasta. Unlike Canasta, however, Mille is played by two solo players, not partnerships. Mille is likely of Canadian origin, beginning in Quebec and spreading east into Ontario by the 1990s. While it’s possible to play Mille just for fun, it is typically played for money.
Object of Mille
The object of Mille is to be the first player to score 1,200 points by melding cards of the same rank.
Setup
Mille uses a 104-card deck formed by shuffling together two standard 52-card decks with the same back design. (Unlike Canasta, Mille does not use jokers.) We, of course, would be overjoyed to know you’re using Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards for your game. You will also need something to keep score with; pencil and paper is probably your best bet.
The players should mutually agree as to whether to play for money, and if so, how much the stakes will be. Stakes are typically expressed as two dollar amounts, the second three times as much as the first, e.g. $1-$3, $2-6, $50-$150, etc. (The purpose of these amounts will be described in “Ending the game” below.)
Shuffle and deal fifteen cards to each player. Place the remainder of the pack face down in the center of the table, forming the stock. Turn one card face up from the stock. This card, the upcard, is the first card of the discard pile.
Game play
Play of the hand
The non-dealer goes first. As in most rummy games, a turn consists of drawing, melding if able, and then discarding. If a player has two or more cards in their hand of the same rank as the upcard, they may immediately meld the upcard along with these cards, then take the entire discard pile into their hand. Otherwise, they draw one card from the stock.
After drawing, the player may lay down, face up, as many melds as they have in their hand. A meld consists of three or more cards of the same rank. Melding is optional; a player may choose to retain an entire meld or some cards of the same rank in their hand. All cards of the same rank that are laid down by a player are considered to form one meld. If a player melded, say, three kings, then on later turn melded three more, this would form one six-card meld.
2s are considered wild cards, and may be melded alongside any other combination of cards. Note, however, that players who do not meld any 2s are awarded a bonus. Three or more 2s can also be laid down as a meld of 2s, which does not prevent the player from claiming the bonus. A 2 cannot be used to take the discard pile; this can only be done with two or more natural cards of the same rank as the upcard.
After melding, the player discards one card, and the turn passes to the next player, with this discard as the new upcard for the next player’s turn. If the stock is depleted, the upcard is set aside and the remainder of the discard pile is shuffled and turned face down to form a new stock.
The hand ends when one player has melded or discarded all of their cards. A player may discard on the turn they go out, but if they are able to exhaust their hand by melding all of their cards, they may end the hand without discarding.
Scoring
The cards in Mille have the following values:
- Q♠: 100 points
- J♦: 50 points
- Aces: 15 points each
- K-10: 10 points each
- 9-3: 5 points each
- 2s: 20 points each
If a player manages to meld all eight cards of one rank without using any wild cards, this is called a natural, and the value of this meld is doubled in their hand score. If the player did not meld any 2s at all (other than as part of a meld of 2s), this is also considered a natural, and the value of all of their melded cards is doubled. When a player scores a natural of either type, it is indicated on the score sheet with an asterisk next to their score for that hand. If a player scores both types of natural, two asterisks are recorded on the score sheet, the natural meld scores 4× the value of the cards, and all other cards score double.
At the end of the hand, each player scores the total value of the all the cards they have melded, then they deduct the value of any cards left in their hand. As a result, It is possible that the player who did not go out can have a net negative score for the hand; this is called a chapeau (French for “hat”) and the negative hand score is circled on the score sheet.
Ending the game
The game ends when one player has scored 1,200 or more. This player is the winner.
If the losing player failed to score at least 600 points, this is a skunk. If the losing player ended the hand with a negative score, it is a double skunk.
If playing for money, the loser pays the winner according to the stakes. As mentioned before, the stakes are expressed as two amounts, e.g. $1-$3. Using these values, the loser pays:
- The larger amount once for losing the game.
- The larger amount once for each natural scored by the winner.
- The larger amount once for each of the loser’s chapeaux.
- The smaller amount is paid once for each 100-point difference in score between the two players. To calculate this, round the scores to the nearest 100, subtract the smaller from the larger, and divide the difference by 100.
In the event of a skunk, the payment is doubled; in the event of a double skunk, the payment is tripled.
See also
Beggar My Neighbor
Beggar My Neighbor is a simple game for two players. Much like War, there is no skill involved; the entire game consists of turning up cards and taking action based on what comes up, meaning it is a good game for the young or anyone who isn’t up for focusing too hard on a game.
Beggar My Neighbor was the game played by Pip in the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations.
Object of Beggar My Neighbor
The object of Beggar My Neighbor is to collect all of the cards. All of them.
Setup
Beggar My Neighbor is played with a standard 52-card deck of playing cards. If you don’t have a set of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, go beg your neighbor to let you borrow theirs.
Shuffle and deal 26 cards to each player (the entire pack). Each player squares up their cards into a pile. Players may not look at their cards.
Game play
The non-dealer plays first, turning one card face-up from their pile. The dealer responds by turning over one of their cards on top of their opponent’s card, and so on, players turning cards alternately, leaving the cards in the center of the table, forming a face-up pile.
When a player turns up a face card or an ace, their opponent must immediately pay a penalty of four cards for an ace, three for a king, two for a queen, and one for a jack. These cards are turned face up one by one and placed on the pile, as usual. If they are all number cards, then the person who played the penalty card collects the entire central pile, turns it face-down, and adds it to the bottom of their pile. However, if one of the cards paid is a penalty card, the payment stops, and the other player is then liable for a penalty payment. This continues until there are no more penalty cards played; whoever played the most recent penalty card takes the pile.
Game play continues until one player has amassed all 52 cards in their pile, or until one player is out of cards (in which case the other player takes the pile and thus the entire deck). The player with all the cards is the winner.
See also
Daifugo
Daifugo (大富豪, in English, Grand Millionaire) is a Japanese card game for three or more players. Those who have played President will find its climbing-style game play and use of titles to reward winners and shame losers very familiar. Its simple mechanics, meanwhile, mean it is a good introduction to climbing-type games in general.
Object of Daifugo
The object of Daifugo is to be the first player to get rid of all your cards.
Setup
Daifugo is played with a standard 52-card pack of playing cards. Real grand millionaires would never be caught dead with anything other than Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards.
For the first round, determine the dealer randomly. Shuffle and deal the deck out as evenly as it will go. Some players may have more cards than others.
Card ranking
Daifugo uses the unusual card ranking common to other climbing games: (high) 2, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 (low). Suits are irrelevant.
Game play
Play begins with the player to the dealer’s left. They start by playing any number of cards of the same rank from their hand (as few as one card or as many as four). The player to the left must then play the same number of cards of the same rank, but higher than the previous player, or else pass. For example, if the first player began by playing three 5s, the next player must play any three of a kind of 6s or higher, or pass. Players who pass may not play again until the current round is over.
A round ends when all players but one have passed. The sole remaining player may then play any card or cards they wish to begin the next round.
As players run out of cards, they are assigned titles in order of their finish:
- Daifugo or grand millionaire (first to finish)
- Millionaire (second to finish)
- Commoner
- Poor (second-to-last to finish)
- Destitute (last player left with cards)
If playing with three players, use the Daifugo, Commoner, and Destitute ranks. With four, don’t use the Commoner rank. If playing with more than five players, use all the ranks, using Commoner as many times as appropriate.
The Destitute player is required to clean up the previous deal, shuffle, and deal the next hand. Many players also require the Destitute to carry out whatever task the other players require, such as fetching drinks or snacks. Before game play begins on the second and subsequent hands, the Destitute must pass their two highest-ranked cards to the Daifugo, who passes any two cards (usually low-ranked cards) back to them. The Daifugo then leads to the first round of the hand.
Game play continues until an agreed-upon stopping point, like a certain number of deals or a specified time. Whichever player was the Daifugo on the final hand is considered the winner of the overall game.
See also
Diplomat
Diplomat is a game that takes the core game play of Authors (Go Fish) and runs with it—rather than just asking if someone has a card or not, you may ask anything so long as it can be answered with a yes or a no! This makes for some very strategic play as the players try to whittle down the possibilities of cards in their opponents’ hands.
Diplomat is a simple enough game that pretty much anyone can learn it, but experienced players will generally do better at it. It can be played by three to six players.
Object of Diplomat
The object of Diplomat is to be the player to collect the most books (sets of four of a kind).
Setup
Diplomat is played with one standard 52-card deck. We’d like to diplomatically recommend that you use Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards in your game.
Shuffle and deal the entire deck out, one at a time, as far as it will go. Place any remaining cards face-up in the center of the table.
Game play
The player to the left of the dealer goes first. On their turn, if a player can form a book (four of a kind) from the cards in their hand and any cards that are face-up on the table, they may collect all four cards, reveal them to the other players, and then discard card them face-down in a pile in front of them. Books may be played at any time on the player’s turn.
The bulk of the player’s turn is spent questioning the other players as to the content of their hands. Any question that can be answered with either a “yes” or a “no” is admissible, though of course some questions are more likely to be useful than others. Each question must be directed at a specific player. Some sample questions:
- “Sunny, do you have any even spade number cards?”
- “Jack, do you have any hearts lower than 7?”
- “Tyler, do you have any one-eyed jacks?”
And so on. The named player must truthfully answer the question yes or no. (There is no bluffing in Diplomat!) If the question is answered “yes”, the active player may continue asking questions. If they receive a “no” answer, their turn is over immediately.
If a player suspects that they have identified a particular card in a player’s hand, they may ask them to lay it out, e.g. “Jen, can you lay out the jack of diamonds?” If the player has the card name, they lay it face-up in the center of the table, where it can be used by any player to complete books. If not, they simply say “No,” and the turn passes as usual.
Game play continues until all thirteen books have been assembled. The player with the most books is the winner.
Gong Zhu
Gong Zhu (拱猪), which roughly translates into English as Chase the Pig or Catch the Pig, is a Chinese trick-taking game for four players, similar to Hearts. The “pig”, of course, is the Q♠, which reprises her role in Hearts as the card to avoid at all costs; here, she’s worth a whopping –100 points!
Object of Gong Zhu
The object of Gong Zhu is to avoid being the first player to reach a score of –1000 points by avoiding capturing certain cards (chiefly hearts and the Q♠).
Setup
Gong Zhu is played with a standard 52-card deck of playing cards. We certainly recommend that you use Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards. You’ll also need something to keep score with, such as pencil and paper or a scorekeeping app on your smartphone.
Shuffle and deal the cards out one at a time until the entire deck has been dealt. Each player will have been dealt thirteen cards.
Game play
On the first hand of the game, the player with the 2♠ begins play by leading it to the first trick; in every other hand, the player that captured the Q♠ on the previous hand leads whatever card they desire. Each player to the left then plays a card. They must follow suit if they can; otherwise, they may play any card they wish. The trick is captured by whoever played the highest card of the suit led.
When a player wins a trick, they do not add the cards captured to their hand. Instead, they pull out any point-scoring cards (see below) and place them face up in front of them, then put the other cards face down in a discard pile in front of them. The player that won the last trick then leads to the next one.
Game play continues until thirteen tricks have been played, at which point the players have run out of cards. The hand ends at that point and is scored.
Scoring
The only cards relevant for scoring in Gong Zhu and their point values are:
- Q♠ (the pig): –100
- A♥: –50
- K♥: –40
- Q♥: –30
- J♥: –20
- 10-5♥: –10 each
- 4♥, 3♥, 2♥: 0 each
- J♦ (the sheep or goat): +100
In addition, capturing the 10♣ doubles the net point value for the hand. So if a player captured the Q♠ and K-Q-8♥, their point score for the hand would be –180; if they captured those cards and the 10♣, their score would instead be –360. (Note, however, that the 10♣ can well be beneficial if the J♦ is captured alongside it. It can also be useful when shooting the moon; see below.) If the 10♣ is captured without any other point cards, it has a value of +50.
No other cards have any bearing on scoring.
Exposing cards
Prior to the first trick, the players holding the A♥, Q♠ J♦, and 10♣ may elect to reveal these cards to the other players at the table. In so doing, the cards’ effects are effectively doubled:
- If the A♥ is exposed, the point values of all hearts (not just the ace) are doubled.
- If the Q♠ is exposed, its value becomes –200.
- If the J♦ is exposed, its value becomes +200.
- If the 10♣ is exposed, it quadruples the net point value for the hand.
Using the above example, if a player captured the Q♠ and K-Q-8♥, and the A♥ had been exposed, the player would score –260, because the –80 they scored for the hearts would be doubled to –160 (and the Q♠ would score –100 as normal).
If a player chooses to expose a card, it cannot be played on the first trick of that hand where that suit is led. This is to allow the other players an opportunity to get rid of cards that may force them to capture the exposed card. (If the exposed card is the only card of the suit led that the player holds, they must still play it in order to follow suit, as normal.)
Shooting the moon
Collecting all of the hearts (including the 4♥, 3♥, 2♥) is called shooting the moon. Instead of scoring –200 points, a player who does this instead scores +200. If the pig is captured in addition to all of the hearts, it scores +100 instead of –100, for a total hand score of +300. The J♦ and 10♣ continue to function as normal, as well, so if all the hearts are captured along with Q♠-J♦-10♣, one would score a whopping 800 points (200 for the hearts + 100 for the Q♠ + 100 for the J♦ = 400 × 2 for the 10♣). Multipliers for exposed cards are also applied when shooting the moon, leading to the possibility of four-digit positive scores.
Ending the game
The game ends when one player reaches a score of –1000 points. That player loses the game. (If you desire a winner be named rather than just a loser, the player with the highest score can be considered the winner.)
