Speed
Speed is a two-player card game that really lives up to its name. In Speed, players compete to get rid of their cards as quickly as possible—which involves lots of fast movement. Fans of Spoons and Egyptian Ratscrew will probably like Speed a great deal.
Object of Speed
The object of Speed is to be the first player to run out of cards in both their hand and stock.
Setup
Speed is played with a standard 52-card deck of playing cards. While game play is not quite as boisterous as it is in Spoons, it’s still a good idea to use sturdy cards that aren’t easily damaged, meaning Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards is the safest option.
Shuffle and deal a hand of five cards to each player. Then, deal fifteen more cards to each player, each pile forming that player’s stock. Then deal two piles of five cards in the center of the table, which form the two talon piles. Finally, place the remaining two cards face down next to one another between the talons, forming the discard piles.
Game play
Players pick up their hands and examine them. Both players then place a hand on one of the face-down discard pile cards, and on the count of three, flip them face up. Players may now play cards from their hand to either of the discard piles; the players make their moves simultaneously, not taking turns. To be played to a discard pile, the card must be of consecutive rank from the top card of that discard pile, as in Neosho Rapids. Card ranks go “around the corner”; a king may be followed up on by an ace, which may be followed by a two. If two players attempt a play at the same time, the player whose card or hand is on bottom is accepted.
As players deplete their hands, they may draw replacement cards from their stock, up to a hand limit of five cards. Eventually, possible plays usually dry up, and both players end up being blocked. When this happens, both players count to three and flip the top card from one of the talons over onto the discard pile on the same side. Play then resumes if possible; otherwise, another card is flipped up from each talon. If cards from the talon piles are needed but they have been exhausted, each player shuffles one of the discard piles, forming a new talon.
Game play continues until one player has exhausted their hand and also has no cards left in their stock. That player is the winner.
Contract Bridge
Contract Bridge is the game most people are referring to when they just say “Bridge”. It’s a classic game for four players in partnerships. Contract Bridge is the king of the trick-taking games. Most of the successful games of that family that have succeeded after Contract Bridge came to the fore bear some resemblance to it. In particular, those who have played Spades will find picking up Contract Bridge to be relatively straightforward.
Contract Bridge was one of the most popular games of the 20th century. Though it first appeared in 1920, many date the game’s “birth” to November 1, 1925, when yachtsman Harold Vanderbilt perfected it. One of the game’s strong suits is that it lends itself equally to social play for fun, but also for strategic, analytical play—so much has been written about Contract Bridge theory, one could scarcely hope to digest it all. The only other card game that is as prolific in terms of works written about it is the many variants of Poker.
Object of Contract Bridge
The object of Contract Bridge is to accurately predict the number of tricks in excess of six that the partnership will be able to win, and thus win two games, which constitute a rubber.
Setup
The players divide into two partnerships, with partners sitting across from one another, so that the turn of play alters between partnerships when going clockwise.
Scorekeeping is traditionally done on pencil and paper by one player from each partnership, with both scorekeepers logging the scores of both sides to keep each other honest. The score sheet is divided vertically, with headings of “WE” and “THEY” (referring to the two partnerships), as well as horizontally, resulting in a sheet divided into four quadrants. Preprinted bridge score pads are available for purchase.
Bridge is usually played with two decks of cards with contrasting backs, like those offered in a set of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards. While one deck is being dealt, the next dealer shuffles the unused deck so that it’s ready for the next hand, thus saving time.
Deal thirteen cards to each player, one at a time.
Game play
Bidding
Bidding begins with the dealer. Bids consist of a number, representing the number of odd tricks (tricks in excess of six) the partnership will collect during the course of the hand, and either a suit to become trump for the upcoming hand or “no trump”. From lowest to highest, the suits rank clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, no trump. Therefore, the lowest bid is 1♣, which would be overcalled by a bid of 1♦, and so on up to 1♠, then 1NT, which would be overcalled by 2♣.
Rather than overcalling an opponent’s bid, a player may instead double it. This allows the last bid to stand, but doubles the risk of breaking and the reward of fulfilling the contract. The responsibility for fulfilling the contract remains with the partnership that originally made the doubled bid. A player will generally double when they are confident the proposed contract cannot be successfully completed. Any bid doubled by an opponent can be redoubled, which again doubles the risk and reward of accepting the contract.
Players who do not wish to make a bid may pass. Whenever three consecutive players pass, bidding is closed, and the last bid becomes the contract. The winning bidder becomes the declarer, their partner the dummy, and the other partnership the defenders.
Play of the hand
The defender to the declarer’s left leads to the first trick. As soon as this opening lead is made, the dummy reveals their hand, spreading it face-up, grouped in vertical columns by suit. The dummy takes no further part in game play; instead, when it is the dummy’s turn to act, the declarer plays a card from the dummy hand.
Players must follow suit if possible. If a player is unable to follow suit, they may play any card. The highest played card of the suit led wins the trick, unless a trump was played, in which case the highest trump wins. Aces are high.
Collected tricks are not added to the hand, but rather kept in a discard pile face down in front of one of the partners. Since it is important to keep track of the number of tricks captured, each trick should be placed onto the pile at right angles, so that the tricks can be easily separated after the hand. The individual player that won the trick leads to the next one.
Trick scoring
After the thirteenth trick has been played, both sides count the number of tricks collected and tally the trick score for that hand. Trick scores are entered under the horizontal rule dividing the sheet.
If the declarer succeeded at making the contract, the scores are as follows:
- Trump was clubs or diamonds—20 for each odd trick bid
- Trump was hearts or spades—30 for each odd trick bid
- No trump—40 for the first odd trick bid, plus 30 for each additional odd trick bid
Multiply these values by 2 if the contract was doubled, or by 4 if it was redoubled. Therefore, a successful bid of 2♠ would score 30×2=60, a successful bid of 3♦ doubled would score 20×3×2=120, and so on.
If the contract was not fulfilled, the declarer scores zero, and the opponents score a premium (see below).
Whenever one side reaches 100 points, the game is concluded. The winner of the game is now said to be vulnerable, which affects the scoring of some premiums, as described below. A horizontal line is drawn across the score sheet to separate games. Trick scores then reset to zero—points from the first game are not carried over to the next—and the next game begins. When a side wins two games, a rubber is concluded. At the end of a rubber, trick scores are added to all of the premiums accrued during the game, and the partnership with the most points wins the rubber.
Premium scoring
All premium scores are entered above the line. Premium scores do not affect when games end and are not tallied until the end of a rubber.
The following premiums are scored for overtricks (odd tricks taken in excess of the contract):
- If the contract was not doubled or redoubled—the trick value, as would be scored below the line (described above)
- If the contract was doubled—100 if not vulnerable or 200 if vulnerable
- If the contract was redoubled—200 if not vulnerable or 400 if vulnerable
A partnership is also eligible for premiums based on the number of honors held in one hand. The five honors are the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten of trump, or the four aces in a hand played with no trump. Honor bonuses are not affected by doubling/redoubling or vulnerability.
- Four honors in one hand (trump contract)—100
- All five honors in one hand (trump contract)—150
- All four aces in one hand (no-trump contract)—150
If the declarer does not make contract, the defenders score a premium depending on how many tricks below contract—called undertricks—the declarer collected:
| Defenders not vulnerable | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Undertricks | Undoubled | Doubled | Redoubled |
| 1 | 50 | 100 | 200 |
| 2 | 100 | 300 | 600 |
| 3 | 150 | 500 | 1000 |
| Each additional | 50 | 300 | 600 |
| Defenders vulnerable | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Undertricks | Undoubled | Doubled | Redoubled |
| 1 | 100 | 200 | 400 |
| 2 | 200 | 500 | 1000 |
| 3 | 300 | 800 | 1600 |
| Each additional | 100 | 300 | 600 |
Other available premiums:
- Collecting 12 tricks, called a small slam—500 if not vulnerable, 750 if vulnerable (not affected by doubling/redoubling)
- Collecting all 13 tricks, called a grand slam—1000 if not vulnerable, 1500 if vulnerable (not affected by doubling/redoubling)
- Fulfilling a doubled contract—50
- Fulfilling a redoubled contract—100
Finally, after a rubber has been completed and the score has been tallied, the winner of the rubber scores points based on how many total games were played before they won the rubber:
- Win in two games (opponents shut out)—700
- Win in three games (opponents won one game)—500
See also
Nap
Nap, originally known as Napoleon, which Nap is an abbreviation of, is essentially a stripped-down and simplified version of Euchre for three to seven players. Despite its heavy use of the names of early nineteenth-century military personalities, Nap didn’t appear in written records until the latter half of the century.
Object of Nap
The object of Nap is to accurately predict the number of tricks you will take, thus scoring points by fulfilling bids.
Setup
Nap uses a special deck which varies based on the number of players. For three players, the deck consists of aces through nines in the four standard suits. For four players, eights are added, sevens are added for five players, and so on. Optionally, a joker may be added, which functions as the highest trump, and remains such in hands that would otherwise have no trump. You can create the appropriate deck by starting from a deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards and removing the inapplicable cards.
Scoring is generally accomplished by the use of poker chips. Distribute an equal number of chips to each player. If desired, Nap can become a betting game, by all players agreeing to the value of one credit (which can be represented by one chip per credit, or simply transacted in cash). In this post, we’ll use the term credit to refer to this value, whether it has a cash value attached to it or is just a point.
Shuffle and deal five cards to each player, dealing one batch of three, followed by a batch of two. The deck stub is set aside and takes no further part in game play.
Game play
Before game play begins, a round of bidding takes place, beginning with the player to the dealer’s left. Bids are as follows, from lowest to highest:
- Two (two credits): The player will win two tricks.
- Three (three credits): The player will win three tricks.
- Mis (three credits): The player will lose all five tricks.
- Four (four credits): The player will win four tricks.
- Nap (ten credits): The player will win all five tricks.
- Wellington (twenty credits): The player will win all five tricks.
- Blücher (forty credits): The player will win all five tricks.
A bid may only be overcalled by a higher bid. Wellington may only be bid if Nap has been bid previously, and Blücher may only be bid if Wellington has been bid previously. Note that Wellington and Blücher are functionally identical to Nap, but simply carry higher stakes.
The player that won the bidding leads to the first trick. The suit of whichever card is led to this trick becomes the trump suit, unless the winning bid was mis, in which case the hand is played with no trump suit. Each player to the left then plays a card. If able to follow suit, a player must do so. Otherwise, they are free to play any card, including a trump. The trick is won by the highest card of the suit led, unless a trump is present, in which case the highest trump wins the trick.
Collected tricks are not added to the hand, but rather kept in a discard pile in front of the player that won it. Since it is important to keep track of the number of tricks captured, each trick should be placed onto the pile at right angles, so that the tricks can be easily separated after the hand. The player that won the trick leads to the next one.
When all five tricks have been played, the high bidder examines their discard pile and it is determined whether or not the contract is fulfilled. If it is, all players pay them the appropriate number of credits, as shown above. If not, they must pay every other player the amount of credits dictated by the bid.
Deal passes to the left. It is customary to merely cut the deck stub and deal with it, shuffling only when the deck is depleted or when a bid of Nap or above is successfully completed.
Seahaven Towers
Seahaven Towers is a solitaire game that was invented in 1988 by Art Cabral. Similar to FreeCell, the game offers wide latitude for strategy; a good player may be able to win up to 75% of the games played with careful decision-making.
Object of Seahaven Towers
The object of Seahaven Towers is to move all 52 cards to the four foundation piles.
Setup
Seahaven Towers requires one standard 52-card pack of playing cards. While solitaire games are nowhere near as demanding on a deck of cards as some other games (we’re looking at you, Slapjack), if you’ve got a deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, there’s no real reason not to use them.
Shuffle and deal ten columns of five cards each, face up, overlapping so that the indices of each card are visible, but it’s still clear which card is on top. This forms the tableau. Place the remaining two cards above the fifth and sixth columns, forming the second and third towers (the first and fourth towers are the imaginary spaces to the left and right of these two cards). The foundations are, at the start of the game, empty, but the spade foundation will go above the first column, the hearts above the second, the diamonds above the ninth, and the clubs above the tenth. Refer to the image accompanying this post for assistance in setting up the layout.
Game play
As in most solitaire games, the object of the game is to move all cards to the foundations, which are built up in sequence, starting from the ace and ending with the king.
The four tower slots serve as holding spaces for cards, much like the free cells in FreeCell. Any available card can be played to them at any time, and any card in a tower may be removed from a tower and played at any other legal spot at any time. Towers should be sparingly used, however, as they facilitate moving cards around and serve as a valuable storage space for cards which block other cards which are needed more immediately.
A card in the tableau is only available for play if it is free of overlapping cards. For example, in the image, the 6♥ in the first column is available for play, but the 4♠ below it is not. Tableau piles are built down in a descending sequence of the same suit. In the image, the 4♦ may be moved on top of the 5♦. Strings of cards may not be moved as a unit, although such a string can be moved by way of moving the cards up into the towers, then pulling them out again.
Any vacancies in the tableau caused by clearing an entire column of cards may only be filled by a king.
Ninety-Nine
Ninety-Nine is a simple counting game for two to six players. Players use the differing values of cards to modify a running count of cards played to prevent themselves from forcing the count above 99.
Object of Ninety-Nine
The object of Ninety-Nine is to avoid making the running count of cards played exceed 99.
Setup
Ninety-Nine requires the use of one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. Since this is a post made by Denexa Games, it should come as no surprise that we recommend the use of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards in a bit of shameless self-promotion.
You will also need three tokens or lammers. Poker chips work well, but you can use whatever sort of trinket or marker is convenient. Distribute three tokens to each player, and then shuffle and deal four cards to each player. The deck stub is placed in the center of the table, forming the stock.
Game play
The player to the dealer’s left plays a card face up to the center of the table, announcing its value. They then draw a card from the stock, restoring their hand size to four. Should a player forget to draw before the next player’s turn, they are not entitled to draw later; they must continue the game with a diminished hand. The next player in turn plays another card, adds or subtracts its value from that of the initial card, then calls out the running count as modified by their card.
The following are the values of cards and other effects that they have:
| Card | Value | Other effect |
|---|---|---|
| Ace | +1 or +11 | Value at player’s option |
| 2 | +2 | |
| 3 | +3 | Next player skipped |
| 4 | 0 | Order of play is reversed in games with more than two players |
| 5–8 | +face value | |
| 9 | Count automatically becomes 99 | |
| 10 | ±10 | Value at player’s option |
| J, Q | +10 | |
| K | 0 | |
Players continue playing and drawing until one player cannot play a card without the count exceeding 99. (Note that it is perfectly fine for the count to equal 99, even for an extended period of time, so long as it is not greater than 99.) When this occurs, the player forfeits one token and a new hand is dealt. When all three tokens are lost, the player drops out of the game.
Game play continues until only one player remains.
Egyptian Ratscrew
Egyptian Ratscrew is something of a hybrid of War and Slapjack, for two or more players. Like Spoons, the physicality of the game makes it a potential source of injury if players get too exuberant. While there’s slightly more strategy in Egyptian Ratscrew than there is in War, there’s still not much, so this game is generally enjoyed most by those who aren’t yet old enough to drive a car.
Object of Egyptian Ratscrew
The object of Egyptian Ratscrew is to get all of the cards. All of them.
Setup
Egyptian Ratscrew features people smacking cards excitedly, so you need some sturdy cards. Fortunately, Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards fit the bill perfectly. Most games will be adequately served by one 52-card deck, but there’s no reason you can’t shuffle in a second one for larger games (and it doesn’t matter too much if the backs don’t match). Some players add one or more jokers to ensure the deck divides evenly between players.
There are many variations on the rules to Egyptian Ratscrew, so make sure everyone is on board with the particular set of rules being used.
Shuffle and deal out the cards one at a time, starting with the player at the dealer’s left, and continuing clockwise from there. Some people might end up with one more card than others, which is okay. Players may not look at their cards. Each player’s cards should be kept in a neat stack in front of them, face down.
Game play
The player to the dealer’s left goes first. They begin by flipping one card face up from their stack and playing it to the center of the table. Since the player would have an advantage if they turned the card up the normal way, since they would glimpse the card before anyone else, Egyptian Ratscrew convention is to grab the card from the far side and flip it up away from oneself. The next player to the left does the same, flipping a card face up and adding to the central pile, and so on.
Cards played out of turn remain on the pile, and are considered dead cards. Any effect their rank would have on game play is ignored. The player who played them must play again when it becomes their turn. In essence, they’re charged a fee of one card for playing out of turn.
Challenges
When a player reveals a face card or an ace, the next player after them is challenged. The challenged player must flip up a number of cards as a response, looking for another face card. A jack requires one card to be revealed in response, a queen two, a king three, and an ace four.
If the player successfully reveals a face card, the challenge passes to the player to their left. That player must turn over the number of cards required by the most-recently turned over face card. If they, too, reveal a face card, the challenge passes to the next player, and so on.
If a challenged player reveals all numeric cards, then the challenge is lost. Whoever was the most recent player to play a face card adds the entire pile of played cards to the bottom of their stack.
Should a player run out of cards mid-challenge, the next player to the left has the option to continue the challenge. If they do, they reveal the appropriate number cards minus those already revealed. They may also decline the challenge, awarding the stack to the player who played the most recent face card.
Slapping cards
Another opportunity to win the pile is when a pair is played consecutively. The first player to notice this and slap the pile is awarded the entire thing, which is added to their stack. If multiple players slap, the player whose hand is on the bottom (i.e. in direct contact with the pile) wins. Slaps preempt any challenge taking place at the time.
If jokers are used, jokers are also slappable. Some players add other slappable combinations, such as a sandwich (a pair separated by one card of another rank, like 7-4-7), or a sequence of three or more cards.
To prevent players from slapping everything, players who make unwarranted slaps must pay one penalty card to the pile. This penalty card is considered a dead card. It may also be helpful to require players to designate one hand as a card-flipping hand and the other for slapping, to allow everyone to be on the same footing when it comes to slaps.
Running out of cards
When a player runs out of cards, they are eliminated for the time being. They may slap in to the game, so long as there are two active players in the game, by slapping a valid card combination and winning the pile as per usual. This privilege is revoked if the player makes a false slap, permanently shutting them out of the game.
Game play continues until only two players are in the game, and one runs out of cards. The sole remaining player takes the pile, and thus becomes the winner.
Whist
Whist is a classic trick-taking game for four players in partnerships. While it’s nowhere near as popular as it was in the past, it still offers players the opportunity for strategic—some would say scientific—play. It serves as an excellent introduction to trick-taking games in general, and Contract Bridge specifically.
Whist is an extremely old game, dating back to the 1600s. It derives from an even older game called Ruff and Honors. Whist received a boost in popularity from a 1742 publication called A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist, written by a gentleman named Edmond Hoyle. Despite the high price of one guinea for what amounted to little more than a pamphlet, the work sold out. Hoyle followed up on A Short Treatise on Whist with another publication, An Artificial Memory for Whist. That work, along with other essays on games such as Piquet, Brag, Quadrille, Chess, and Backgammon, helped establish Hoyle as an authority on games, to the point that “according to Hoyle” became general English slang. A Short Treatise on Whist remained the canonical governing document of Whist until 1864.
As for Whist, it remained popular into the early twentieth century. It is the direct parent of Bridge Whist, which gave rise to Bridge and then Contract Bridge, the dominant social game of the twentieth century. Contract Bridge went on to influence countless other games, such as Spades.
Object of Whist
The object of Whist is to score points by taking the most tricks possible.
Setup
Whist uses one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. To make sure your cards stand up to hours and hours of play, always use Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards.
You will also need some manner of score-keeping apparatus. This could range from the humble pencil and paper to something more extravagant, like bins filled with rubies, diamonds, and emeralds representing each trick won by a side. Actually, don’t use the latter as your score-keeping method. It’s super tacky, and might make your friends suspect that you are part of some kind of illegal smuggling operation, tempting them to call the FBI tip hotline after the game if you win.
The players divide into two partnerships. Any convenient method can be used to do this, such as high-card draw, or simply mutual agreement. Partners sit across from one another, so that the turn of play alternates between partnerships when going clockwise.
Shuffle and deal thirteen cards to each player. The final card of the deck, the dealer’s thirteenth card, is exposed. This card’s suit becomes the trump suit for the hand. This final card remains face-up on the table until the dealer’s first play of the hand. At that point, the dealer picks it up and adds it to their hand.
Game play
The player to the left of the dealer leads first. Each player to the left then plays a card. If able to follow suit, a player must do so. Otherwise, they are free to play any card, including a trump. The person who played the highest card of the suit led wins the trick, unless a trump is present, in which case whoever played the highest trump wins.
Collected tricks are not added to the hand, but rather kept in a discard pile in front of one of the partners. Since it is important to keep track of the number of tricks captured, each trick should be placed onto the pile at right angles to the previous one, so that the tricks can be easily separated after the hand. The individual player that won the trick leads to the next one.
After all thirteen tricks have been played, the hand is scored by counting the number of tricks scored by each partnership. Each trick in excess of six counts for one point.
Game play continues until one partnership reaches a pre-defined number of points, such as 25. That team wins the game.
Spoons
Spoons is essentially a card game version of Musical Chairs for three to six players. Players race to be the first to complete a four-of-a-kind, at which point they grab a spoon. However, there’s one fewer spoon than there are players. The person left without a spoon feels very sad about the whole affair.
Object of Spoons
The object of Spoons is to simply not be the last player left without a spoon.
Setup
You will need at least one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. Because Spoons can get out of hand rather easily, be sure to use Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards. Other cards may not be sturdy enough to withstand the gameplay unscathed. A single deck of cards will work well for three to six players. If you wish to add more players, add a second deck of cards. It probably doesn’t matter if the backs match up, so you can use the other deck in the set if you’re using a set of Denexa cards.
You will also need some spoons, specifically one fewer than the number of players in the game. Any spoons will do, although plastic spoons may break and produce sharp edges. It may be better to use your regular spoons from the silverware drawer to avoid any cutlery-induced lacerations. Place the spoons where they are equally accessible to all players. Usually, this is the center of the table. Some players prefer to put the spoons somewhere further away to cause everyone to have to get up and race to the spoons (and probably fall over one another along the way).
Shuffle and deal four cards to each player. Place the deck stub to the left of the dealer, this becomes the stock.
Game play
Game play begins with the dealer. They draw one card from the stock, then discards one card face down onto the table, to their right. The player to the dealer’s right draws the dealer’s discarded card, then discards to the right, and so on around the table. The player to the left of the dealer simply discards, face down, into a discard pile to the left of the stock. There are no turns, however—the dealer can immediately draw again as soon as they have discarded, and then discard and draw again, as can every other player in the game. A player may never have more than 5 cards in hand at one time. As a result, slower players may end up with a pile of unprocessed cards to their left as faster opponents send cards down the line toward them.
If, at any point, the stock should run out, the discard pile is shunted over to take its place, and play continues uninterrupted.
When a player succeeds in assembling a four-of-a-kind, they discard their fifth card and grab a spoon. All other players grab one as well. The player left without a spoon is branded the loser, and gets the letter S from the word SPOON. Further letters are awarded for subsequent losses. When a player has lost five rounds and spelled out the word SPOON, they are out of the game. When a player is eliminated, so is a spoon, keeping the number of spoons one less than the number of players.
Game play continues until only one player remains.
Pig (variation)
Pig is a variant of Spoons with less spoons, less grabbing, less potential for injury, and more sneaky gameplay. Rather than grabbing for a spoon, in Pig, the player lays their hand face-down in front of them and places a finger on their nose. They continue to receive cards from their left but merely pass them to the right without looking at them. The hope is to keep the game flowing well enough nobody else notices what they are doing.
When another player notices the player with the finger on their nose, they also put their finger on their nose, lay their cards down, and continue to pass cards. This continues until only one player remains oblivious to what is going on around them. This last player to put their finger to their nose is the loser.
Euchre
Euchre, pronounced yoo-ker, is an game in the trick-taking family that was most popular in the United States and Australia in the 1800s. Although Euchre’s popularity in the United States has waned over time, it is still played in the Midwest, particularly Michigan.
Euchre derives both its name and game play from a game called Juckerspiel, which was popular in Europe during the reign of Napoleon. Together with Bridge, Euchre was one of the forerunners of Five Hundred, and thus shares many similarities with that game.
While versions of Euchre for as few as two and as many as seven players exist, the canonical version is for four players in partnerships. Thus, that is what we have included here.
Object of Euchre
For the side which names the trump suit, the object of Euchre is to score three out of the five tricks played in one hand. For the other side, the object is to prevent this from happening, thus euchring those who chose the trump suit.
Setup
The players divide into two partnerships, with partners sitting across from one another. The turn of play will alternate between partnerships when going clockwise.
Euchre requires the use of a special 32-card deck. Starting from a standard 52-card deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, remove all of the 6s through 2s. You’ll be left with only the 7s through aces in each of the four suits.
You will also need some way of keeping score. While pencil and paper works, some clever Euchre player at some point came up with a way to do so using some of the cards that were discarded. Each partnership retains a 3 and a 4 for scorekeeping purposes. To display a score of zero, both cards are face down. For a score of one, the 3 is turned up, with the 4 turned face-down upon it in such a way that only one of the 3’s pips are visible. To denote a score of two, the 4 is turned up with the 3 turned down and obscuring all but two of the 4’s pips. For a score of three or four, the 3 and the 4 respectively are turned face up with the other card tucked behind it.
Shuffle and deal five cards to each player. Place the deck stub in the center of the table. Turn the top card is turned face-up and placed it top of the stub. The suit of this card, the upcard, will be the first proposed trump suit.
Card ranking
In the trump suit, Euchre ranks cards differently than most games. Since the ranking of cards depends on which suit is trump, some cards will have different rankings from hand to hand.
The rank of cards in the trump suit is as follows:
- Right bower. Jack of trumps.
- Left bower. The jack of the suit as the same color as trumps, despite not being of the trump suit, is considered a trump, and is ranked here. (For example, if clubs were trump, the J♣ would be the right bower, and the J♠ would be the left bower.)
- All of the remaining cards, in their usual order, with ace high. (A, K, Q, 10, 9, 8, 7.)
Cards rank in the usual order, ace high, in the non-trump suits (save for the jack serving as the left bower).
Game play
Determining trumps
Starting from the player to the left of the dealer, the players either pass or agree to accept the suit of the upcard as the trump suit for the hand. The dealer’s partner signifies their agreement to the turned-up suit by declaring “I assist”. The players on the opposing partnership do so by declaring “I order it up.” Should the prior three players pass, the dealer, as the last player in the sequence, must either “take it up” (assent to the turned-up suit as trump) by discarding a card (see below) or “turn it down” (reject the turned-up trump) by placing the turned-up card partially under the deck stub, face up.
Should the dealer turn the turned-up trump down, a second round of trump-naming begins, with the dealer’s opponent to the left beginning again. This time, each player may either pass or name one of the other three suits as trump. (They cannot select the already-rejected suit.) Should all four players be so apathetic toward their hands that they pass, the hand is voided. The player to the left of the dealer shuffles and deals a new hand.
If the upcard’s suit has been established as trumps, the dealer may discard a card, placing it face down on the bottom of the deck stub. In return, the turned-up card is considered part of the dealer’s hand, and may be played at any time just like any other card in their hand. The dealer may decline to do so, although since the turned-up card is by necessity one of only nine trump cards, it would be rare that adding the turned-up card to the dealer’s hand would not improve it.
Prior to beginning play, the player who decided the trump suit may declare “alone.” This means the player opts to play alone, without their partner, for this hand only. Doing so allows the player playing alone to score more points if they score all five tricks, which is called a march. Upon a player declaring “alone”, the player’s partner places their cards face-down on the table and takes no further part in the hand.
Play of the hand
The player to the left of the dealer leads first; if this player is sitting out, the dealer’s partner leads. Each player to the left then plays a card. If able to follow suit, a player must do so. Otherwise, they are free to play any card, including a trump. The trick is won by the highest card of the suit led, unless a trump is present, in which case the highest trump wins the trick.
Collected tricks are not added to the hand. Rather, they’re kept in a discard pile in front of one of the partners. Since it is important to keep track of the number of tricks captured, each trick should be placed onto the pile at right angles, so that the tricks can be easily separated after the hand. The individual player that won the trick leads to the next one.
After all five tricks have been played, the hand is scored as follows:
- Partnership making trump wins 3 or 4 tricks (called winning the odd trick)—1 point.
- Partnership making trump makes a march—2 points.
- Lone hand wins the odd trick—1 point.
- Lone hand makes a march—4 points.
- Partnership or lone hand making trump is euchred—opponents score 2 points.
After the hand is scored, the player to the left of the dealer shuffles and deals the next hand. Game play continues until one partnership reaches 5 points.
See also
Gin Rummy
Gin Rummy, also known simply as Gin, is a classic game of skill for two players. Gin Rummy is probably the most well-known and most often-played of the Rummy family of card games. Its heyday was in the 1930s and 1940s, when it was associated with Hollywood and Broadway stars.
Object of Gin Rummy
The object of Gin Rummy is to arrange your hand into melds and be the first to knock, hopefully ensuring that the total of your unmatched cards is lower than that of your opponent.
Setup
You will need one deck of 52 playing cards. Using anything other than Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards comes as a great disappointment to all involved.
You will also need something to keep score with. Pencil and paper work fine, or you can use something fancy like a smartphone app designed for the purpose, of which there are many.
Deal ten cards to each player. Place the deck stub in the middle of the table, forming the stock, and turn one card face up next to it, which is designated the upcard, or top card of the discard pile.
Game play
Gin Rummy revolves around melds, which are combinations of three or more cards. Valid melds include three or four of a kind, or a run or sequence, such as 5-6-7, of the same suit. Aces are low, and kings are high, and a sequence cannot progress from one to the other (K-A-2 is not a valid meld).
Cards also have a point value, used in calculating the amount of deadwood, or unmelded cards, each player has. Aces are worth one point, face cards worth ten, and all other cards their face value.
Game play begins with the non-dealer. They may take either the top card of the discard pile, or the top card of the stock. They then end their turn by discarding a card from their hand. Play then passes to the dealer, who follows the same procedure, and so on and so forth. The discard pile is to be kept squared up at all times, and fishing through the discards is not permitted; if a player wants to use the information of what the discard pile contains, it is their responsibility to remember what has been discarded throughout the game.
When a player’s deadwood total reaches ten or less, they may knock, which is discarding face-down and knocking on the table. Both players then reveal their hands, sorting them into melds on the table. The player that did not knock may reduce their deadwood total by adding cards from it to the knocker’s melds. Thereafter, the players both total up their deadwood; if the player that knocked has the lower deadwood total, as is usual, they score the difference between the two deadwood totals. However, if the non-knocker has the lower total, they score the difference, along with a ten-point bonus for undercutting the knocker.
As an alternative to knocking, a player may elect to play on until their deadwood score reaches zero. Rather than knocking, they declare gin and reveal their hand, scoring the opponent’s deadwood total plus a 25-point bonus. The opponent may not lay off deadwood on a gin hand.
In the rare event that the hand continues until only two cards are left in the stock, play stops, and the hand is considered a draw. No points are scored.
After the end of the hand, the deal rotates, and the cards are shuffled and a new hand is dealt. Game play continues until a player reaches 100 points. This player then scores an additional 100 bonus points, and each player scores box bonuses of 25 points for each hand that they won.
Variants
Gin Rummy is a fairly old game, and over the years many variants have been concocted to spice up the game. We won’t get into all of them here, but many of them can be combined as the players choose to make a truly customized Gin experience.
Gin Rummy as a betting game
Gin Rummy can be played as a betting game. Prior to the game, both players agree to the monetary value of a point and write it down on the score sheet. Play commences as above. After all bonuses have been taken into account, the difference in points is calculated, and the loser pays the winner the difference multiplied by the amount agreed to before the game.
Oklahoma Gin
Oklahoma Gin is exactly the same as normal Gin for the most part. However, rather than a knock being possible at 10 or fewer points, the value of the first upcard of each hand is used to determine this threshold for that hand. If an ace is the first upcard, knocking is not allowed; the winner must go gin.
A further variant described by David Parlett in the 2008 edition of The Penguin Book of Card Games sets the knock threshold equal to whatever the current upcard being displayed happens to be. This allows a player to stall their opponent by discarding low cards in an attempt to prevent them from knocking.
Around-the-Corner Gin
In Around-the-Corner Gin, king and ace are considered consecutive for the purposes of sequences, meaning K-A-2 is a perfectly valid meld.
See also
