Mattis
Mattis is a Norwegian trick-taking game for three to eight players. A game of Mattis consists of two distinct parts. First, players build their hands by capturing cards during the first trick-taking segment. Then, players try to rid their hand of cards in the second half. The last player to have cards in their hand is called the mattis, Norwegian for fool.
Mattis is part of a family of Scandinavian games with this two-part structure. Like the Swedish game Skitgubbe and the Finnish game Koira, it likely derives from the game Myllymatti, which originated in what is now western Finland in the early nineteenth century. As these games spread west into Norway, they evolved into what is now called Mattis.
Object of Mattis
The object of Mattis is to capture high-ranking cards through the first round of trick-taking. Then, the players take part in a second round of trick-taking, using the cards they won in the first round. The ultimate goal of the game is to avoid being the last player holding cards in the second round.
Setup
In order to play Mattis, you’ll need a standard 52-card deck of playing cards. Of course, you’ll probably want to treat your guests to your Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards.
Shuffle and deal three cards to each player. Place the remaining cards in the center of the table, where everyone can easily reach it, forming the stock.
Game play
Building the hands
The player to the dealer’s left leads any card they wish to the first trick. Each player in turn then plays whatever card they wish. There is no requirement to follow suit. Whichever player contributes the highest card (according to the standard ranking, with aces high, and irrespective of suit) to the trick wins it. They collect the cards played to the trick, placing them face-down in a won-cards pile in front of them. Each player then draws back up to three cards, and the player that won the trick leads to the next one.
In the event that two or more cards tie for highest, all of the cards in the trick remain on the table. Each player involved in the tie then plays another card to break the tie. If there is another tie, the tied players play again, and so on until the tie is resolved. The ultimate winner takes all of the cards on the table (both the original trick and all the tiebreak cards) into their won-trick pile.
When there are cards left in the stock, a player can choose to play blind by turning up the top card of the stock. When they do this, they are committed to play whatever card comes up; they cannot change their mind and play a card from their hand.
Ending the first half
When the last card of the stock is drawn, the player who draws it shows it to the other players. Then, they put it directly into their won-cards pile. The suit of this card will become the trump suit in the game’s second phase. With the stock now depleted, play continues on, but players simply do not draw new cards.
The first phase ends when a player runs completely out of cards. Each player puts any remaining cards in their hand into their won-cards piles. Any player that did not capture any cards during the first phase are called blåmattis (blue fool), but they remain in the game for the second phase.
Playing the hands out
Each player’s won-tricks pile forms their hand for the second half of the game. Players who are blåmattis will, of course, start the hand with no cards. Game play begins with the player who took the last card of the stock (the trump maker) in the first phase. This player leads any card they wish to the first trick. Each player in turn then plays a card that beats all previous cards played to the trick. A card is considered higher than another card if it is of a higher rank and of the same suit, or if it is a trump.
Rather than playing a single card, a player may also play a sequence. A sequence is two or more consecutive cards of the same suit. This helps a player get cards out of their hand more quickly. The length of a sequence doesn’t matter, only the rank of the cards comprising it. A sequence can start a trick, or it can be played to beat a lower single card or sequence. Higher single cards can beat lower sequences.
If a player is unable to play (either because they are blåmattis or because they have no cards that can beat the last card played), they pick up the lowest card on the table, and the trick continues with the next player to the left. When the lowest card on the table is part of a sequence, someone who cannot play to a trick must pick up that entire sequence.
A trick is considered complete whenever there are the same number of plays (either single cards or sequences) in it as there were players at the start of the trick. For example, if a trick started with four players, there would need to be four plays in it before the trick was considered finished. When a trick is finished, the cards in it are discarded, and the last person to play (and thus who played highest) leads to the next trick.
Ending the game
As players run out of cards, they drop out of the game. The last player with cards loses and becomes the mattis. Traditionally, during the next game, the mattis of the previous game is required to wear the mattishaetta (fool hat), a particularly ugly hat procured for the purpose.
Myllymatti (Skitgubbe)
Myllymatti is a Finnish trick-taking game for three players. A hand of Myllymatti consists of two phases. In the first half of the game, players build their hands for the second half by capturing cards through trick-taking. The players then take the hands they built to the second phase and try to get rid of their cards as fast as they can.
Myllymatti is the oldest of a family of games played across the Scandinavian countries. It originated in the early 1800s in what is now western Finland, with photographic evidence of the game dating back to 1907. From Finland, it spread west, evolving into a different game in each country it entered. In Sweden, it became the very similar Skitgubbe. In Norway, it evolved into the game of Mattis. Back in its native Finland, it spawned yet another variation, for up to eight players, named Koira (a name that is sometimes used interchangeably with Myllymatti), which plays quite similar to Mattis.
Object of Myllymatti
The object of Myllymatti is to capture powerful cards through trick-taking. Then, the player uses these cards in a second round of trick-taking, with the ultimate goal to avoid being the last player with cards.
Setup
To play Myllymatti, you’ll need a standard deck of 52 playing cards. We recommend using Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards at all times to ensure your cards are durable enough for whatever comes up.
Shuffle and deal three cards to each player. Place the stub face down in the center of the table, forming the stock.
Game play
Building the hands
The player to the dealer’s left leads to the first trick. The next player to the left then responds with any card they wish (there is no requirement to follow suit). Each trick is played with only two out of the three players; the third player (in the case of the first trick, the dealer) does not contribute to the trick.
Whoever plays the higher card, according to the usual order of card rankings, wins the trick. Suits do not matter. Whichever player wins the trick takes the two cards and places them into a face-down won-cards pile in front of them. Both of the players who participated in the trick draw a card from the trick, restoring their hand to three cards. The winner of the trick then leads to the next one, playing against the player to their left.
When the two cards played to a trick tie, it is called a bounce. The cards comprising such a trick are left on the table. The same player then leads to the next trick. This continues until a player actually wins the trick. That player takes all the cards on the table.
As long as there is more than one card left in the stock, a player may choose to turn its top card up and use this as their play. Turning a card from the stock commits to playing it; it cannot be taken into the hand and another card played instead.
Ending the first half
When a player would be required to draw the last card from the stock, rather than adding it to their hand as usual, they show it to the other players. The suit of this card will become the trump suit for the second half of the game. The player who drew the card then places it directly in their won-cards pile without adding it to their hand.
The players continue playing tricks until a player has no cards to play on their turn. Any cards played to a trick in progress are added to the won-cards piles of the players who played them. Remaining cards in the players’ hands are then exposed and placed in the won-cards piles of the players they belong to.
Playing the hands out
The cards in each player’s won-cards pile form their hand for the second phase of the game. Whichever player drew the last card from the stock (the card that fixed the trump suit) leads to first trick. Players are now required to beat the last card played, if possible. A card can only be beaten by a higher card of the same suit, or a trump (trumps can only be beaten by higher trumps). If a player is unable or unwilling to do so, they take the last card played into their hand, and play passes to the left.
A trick is considered complete when it contains the same number of cards as there were players in the game at the start of the trick. When a trick is complete, the cards are discarded, and the last player to play a card (and thus the one who played the highest card) leads to the next trick. A trick can also come to an end by all of its cards being picked up; in this case, the player to the left of the last person to take in a card leads to the next trick.
When a player runs out of cards, they drop out of the game. Game play continues until only one player is left with any cards. That player loses the game.
