Truco
Truco is a trick-taking game for four players in partnerships. Versions of it are widely played in many South American countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, and Chile. Each of these countries its own unique variant of the game. Truco is one of the most popular games in Brazil, where three different versions of it are played; one of these is the version listed below.
In comparison to most Western card games, a game of Truco is quite rowdy. Many things that would be considered outright cheating are explicitly allowed in Truco, and a game often devolves into raucous (but good-natured) shouting as players attempt to bluff and intimidate one another.
Object of Truco
The object of Truco is to be the first partnership to score twelve points by taking at least two of the three tricks in each hand.
Setup
Equipment
Truco is played with a special 40-card stripped deck. Starting from a deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, remove the 8s, 9s, and 10s, leaving a deck of aces, face cards, and 7s through 2s in each of the four suits.
You will also need some method of scoring. Brazilian players traditionally score the game with large, bean-like seeds called tentos. You will need at least 22 beans if you wish to keep score with this method. The tentos are placed in a bowl in the center of the table. One partner removes one tento from the bowl for each point scored, keeping them visible on the table in front of them. You can also score the game with the tried-and-true pencil and paper if you wish.
Partnerships
Players divide into two partnerships and seat themselves so that partners sit across from one another. Usually, partnerships are decided by mutual agreement; if some players are inexperienced at the game, they are often paired with a player that has more experience. Partnerships may also be decided by high-card draw, if desired.
Prior to the first hand, each partnership may retreat to a location where the other team will not overhear them and devise a system of signals to use throughout the game. These signals can communicate anything that the players desire, including the overall strength of their hand, the cards they hold, what they want their partner to play, and so on. Nothing’s off limits! However, verbal discussion of what is in your hand is absolutely prohibited. You can only communicate this information by signals.
Dealing procedure
Truco has a very particular shuffling and dealing procedure. Only a single riffle shuffle is allowed—the wash and strip shuffle used in the casino shuffling method is not allowed. The player to the dealer’s left performs one to three cuts, although they are required to cut the cards into exactly two stacks. Scarne cuts and other cuts that produce more than two piles of cards are not permissible. The player cutting the cards may then request that the cards be dealt from either the top or the bottom of the deck.
The dealer then deals three cards, face down, to the player to their right, who is called the mão. This player has the option to keep the cards, pass them to their partner, or reject them altogether. What happens next:
- If the mão chooses to keep the cards, the dealer deals three cards to the dealer’s partner, then the mão’s partner, and finally themselves.
- If the mão chooses to pass the cards to their partner, they are dealt another hand of three cards, which they may either keep or reject. The mão may not pass any more cards once their partner has a hand.
- If the mão rejects the cards, they are turned face up and will remain out of play for the remainder of the hand. They then receive another three-card hand, which they may keep, reject, or pass to their partner. The mão may not reject more than three potential hands per deal.
After the deal is complete, the dealer sets the deck stub aside, and it takes no further part in game play.
Card ranking
Truco uses a very unconventional card ranking. 3s, 2s, and aces rank higher than the face cards, and one card of each suit is elevated to rank even higher than the remainder of the pack. The cards rank as follows: (high) 4♣, 7♥, A♠, 7♦, 3, 2, A, K, J, Q, 7, 6, 5, 4 (low).
Game play
Play of the hand
The mão leads to the first trick. The next player to the right plays the next card, and so on until all four players have played. Whoever played the highest card, irrespective of suit takes the trick. Players can play any card they wish; there is no requirement to follow suit or play higher than the other cards in the trick.
In the second or third tricks, a player may play their card face down if desired. Face-down cards are unable to win the trick and essentially discarded. This option is not available on the first trick of the hand.
The winner of a trick takes the four cards played to it and puts it face-down on their partnership’s won-tricks pile. They then lead to the next trick.
If two players on the same time tie for high card, that partnership wins the trick, and whichever of the two players played first is entitled to lead to the next trick. If two players on opposing teams tie for high card, the trick belongs to no one. When a trick is tied, whichever team won the first trick that hand is the winner of the entire hand. If it is necessary to play another trick to determine the hand, whichever of the tying players played first gets to lead to the next trick.
The hand ends after the three tricks are complete or the outcome of the hand has been determined. Whichever team wins the hand takes one tento.
Raising the stakes
Any player may call “truco” prior to winning a trick in order to raise the stakes for the current hand to three tentos. This player, the trucador, must then wait for their opponents to respond to the truco before playing a card. The opponents have three options:
- Run away. The opposing team rejects the raised stakes. The trucador’s team immediately wins the hand for one tento.
- Accept. The opposing team accepts a stake of three tentos.
- Raise (retruco). The opposing team wishes to raise the stake further, to six tentos. The trucador’s team then has the option to run away, accept the six-tento stake, or reraise to nine tentos. If they propose a stake of nine tentos, the opponents may then reraise to queda, i.e. a stake of twelve tentos, the amount necessary to win the entire game.
Either of the trucador’s opponents may give the answer to the truco, but whichever one speaks first is binding. The opponents may consult with each other verbally and/or through signals before giving a final answer.
You are not allowed to raise the stakes beyond that which would be required to win the game. If you have a score of six, you can truco (raising the stakes to three tentos, which would give you a score of nine if you won). If your opponent retrucos, raising to six, accepting this and winning would give you a score of twelve, enough to win the game. Therefore, you cannot raise again to nine, since accepting the six-tento stake is enough for the win.
If a truco is accepted, the trucador and any players after them play to the trick. Whichever team wins the trick wins the hand at the stake agreed upon.
Irregularities
A team gains one tento if their opponents violate any of the following rules:
- Shuffling, cutting, or dealing against the procedure described above.
- The mão attempts to reject cards when not allowed to do so.
- Disclosing the content of one’s hand, either by discussing it verbally or by showing cards. (Signals are okay.)
- Raising the stakes beyond the amount needed to win the game.
You cannot score your twelfth tento as a result of your opponents breaking the rules. Instead, they lose one tento and you remain at a score of eleven.
A score of eleven
When a team reaches a score of eleven, one less than needed to win the game, special rules apply to them. First, the dealer simply deals a hand of three cards to each player, and the mão is no longer permitted to pass or reject cards. Before actual game play starts, the players on the leading team pass their hands to one another, briefly look at them, and return them to their owners. They then have the option to run away (end the hand) at a cost of one tento, or play the game for a stake of three tentos. If they play the hand, neither team is allowed to truco. If the leading team wins this hand, they win the game.
Should both teams reach a score of eleven, an iron hand is played. The game considers teams in this situation to have only gotten there due to luck, since they apparently cannot pull off an indisputable win. The dealer deals three-card hands to each player, and they cannot look at their cards. The hand is played by turning cards up, one at a time, and awarding the tricks as appropriate. Therefore, the iron hand is determined entirely by luck. If an iron hand results in a tie, additional iron hands are played until the outcome of the game is determined.
Briscola
Briscola (pronounced with all long vowels, like breeze-cola) is a simple Italian trick-taking game for two to four players. When four play the game, they play as two-player partnerships; in two- and three player games, each player plays for themselves.
Object of Briscola
The object of Briscola is to take tricks containing the most point-scoring cards as possible.
Setup
The composition of the deck in Briscola depends on the number of people playing. The two- or four-player game uses the same 40-card Italian pack used in Scopa. To prepare such a deck, take a deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards and remove the 10s through 8s, leaving ace through jack and 7 through 2 in each of the four suits. The three-player game uses a 39-card deck, prepared the same way, but removing one of the 2s (which one doesn’t matter, but it should be communicated to all of the players).
You’ll also need something to keep score with. Scoring is not too complicated in this game (at the most you’ll be playing three hands), so while pencil and paper will work, you can also use a smartphone application, a small dry-erase board, or even memory if you trust everyone not to fudge the numbers.
In the four-player game, the players should either mutually agree to partnerships, or else draw cards from a shuffled deck to determine who is on which partnership (the two players drawing higher cards play against the two drawing lower cards). Partners should sit opposite one another, such that when proceeding around the table, each player is from alternating partnerships.
Shuffle and deal three cards to each player. Turn up the next card of the deck. This card, the upcard, fixes the trump suit for the hand. Place the deck stub in the center of the table; it will form the stock.
Card ranking
Briscola uses an idiosyncratic card ranking, elevating the 3 to the second-highest card, just below the ace. All other cards rank in their usual order. Therefore, the full card ranking is (high) A, 3, K, Q, J, 7, 6, 5, 4, 2 (low).
Game play
The player to the left of the dealer leads to the first trick. Each player, proceeding around the table to the left, then plays one of their cards to the trick. There is no obligation to follow suit; a player may play any card they please. The player who played the highest trump, or the highest card of the suit led, if there is no trump, wins the trick. That player adds it to a face-down won-tricks pile in front of them (in the four-player game, partnerships share a common won-tricks pile). There is no need to keep the tricks separated in the pile.
After each trick, the players each draw a card, starting with the player who won the trick, then proceeding clockwise. The player that won the trick then leads to the next one.
After the stock has been depleted, the next and final player to draw takes the upcard. In the four-player game, the players now briefly exchange hands with their partner, look at their partner’s last three cards, then switch back. Then, the last three tricks are played as usual.
When all of the tricks have been played, the hand is scored. Players turn up their won-trick piles and total up the number of points found in it according to the following list:
- Aces: eleven points.
- 3s: ten points.
- Kings: four points.
- Queens: three points.
- Jacks: two points.
- 7s–2s: zero points.
In the two- and four-player games, one more hand is played, with the deal passing to the left (to the first hand’s non-dealer in the two-player game). In the three-player game, each player deals one hand, for a total of three hands. Whichever player or partnership scored the most points across all of the hands is the winner (in the event of a tie, the winner of a tie-breaker hand wins the game).
Skat
Skat is a three-handed trick-taking game, derived from another German game, Schafkopf. Skat originated in Altenberg, Germany around the year 1810. Skat then spread throughout the country, and is now described as the national card game of Germany.
Skat is universally acclaimed as one of the best card games for three players. Unusual among card games, it was specifically created to be played by three, rather than being an adaptation of a game created for two or four. Nevertheless, Skat can be played by four, though only three play at any given time; in the four-player game, each player sits out on their turn to deal.
Object of Skat
The object of Skat is to accurately judge the possibilities of one’s hand, select a game type that plays to its strengths, and then fulfill the resulting contract in order to score points. Depending on the game chosen, fulfilling the contract may mean taking 61 card points, taking the least number of tricks, or taking no tricks at all.
Setup
Skat is played with a 32-card pack common to many German games. Starting from a standard 52-card deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, remove the 2s through 6s, leaving 7s through aces in each of the four suits. You will also need pencil and paper to keep score with.
Shuffle and deal out the whole pack according to the following order: a set of three cards to each player, two face down to the center of the table, a set of four cards to each player, then a set of three cards to each player. Each player will have ten cards, with the two-face down cards forming a widow called the skat.
Card ranking
Skat uses a somewhat complex card ranking when there is a trump suit. The 10 ranks above the king and below the ace. Complicating matters, all four jacks are part of the trump suit, ranking above the ace, and they always rank in the same order regardless of which suit is trump. The complete ranking of the trump suit is (high) J♣, J♠, J♥, J♦, A, 10, K, Q, 9, 8, 7 (low). In the non-trump suits, the ranking is (high) A, 10, K, Q, 9, 8, 7 (low). It is important to note that jacks are not considered part of their native suits. For example, if diamonds are led, playing the J♦ would not be following suit unless diamonds are the trump suit.
In hands where there is no trump suit (those played as a null game, as described below), cards rank in their usual order, with ace high: (high) A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7 (low).
Game play
The player to the dealer’s left is the most senior player in the game and is called forehand. The player to forehand’s left is called middlehand, and the player to the middlehand’s left (who is the dealer in a three-player game and sitting to the right of the dealer in a four-player game) is called rearhand or endhand.
Bidding
Skat uses an unusual bidding system where only two plays bid against each other at once. Bidding is opened by middlehand, who, rather than stating a trump suit or type of game that they wish to play, states a point value of at least eighteen. If they win the bidding, they must choose a game type that puts at least that point value at stake. The forehand then has the option to agree to play to these stakes by saying “yes” or pass. If forehand says “yes”, the middlehand must name a higher point value (traditionally the bid is raised by two each time). This continues until either the forehand or middlehand passes. The player that did not pass then completes the same procedure with rearhand, who must name a value higher than the last bid (if any) placed by middlehand or pass.
The player who successfully won the bidding becomes the declarer and must now select a game to play. The other two players become the defenders. If all players pass but the forehand, they may become the declarer with a bid of eighteen. If not, they may pass as well, and a Ramsch game is declared (see below).
Selecting a game
After a declarer has been determined, they must decide on which game to play. This is where the main opportunity for strategic play is to be found in Skat; an experienced player can mix and match a game type and multipliers to maximize the amount their hand can score.
There are two basic types of games: hand games and skat games. A hand game is played with just the cards in the declarer’s hand. In a skat game, the declarer picks up the two cards in the skat, then discards two cards from the hand. In both cases, the two cards in the skat count toward the declarer at the end of the hand, as if they had been captured in tricks.
The declarer must choose a game with a value that meets the amount that was bid. In most cases, this is fairly straightforward. Note, however, that the value of a game can change after it is declared, as described below. If the game’s value ends up falling below the bid made, then it is counted as a loss for the declarer, even if they manage to fulfill the contract.
Matadors
In suit and grand games, the value of the game depends on how many matadors the declarer is with or against. A matador is each card in an unbroken sequence of the highest trumps. If the declarer holds the J♣, they are with one matador; if they hold J♣-J♠, they are with two matadors, and so on. Each card is counted until one of the trumps is missing (because it is found in one of the opponents’ hands).
If the declarer does not hold the J♣, they are against at least one matador. In this case, the number of missing trumps between the J♣ and the declarer’s highest trump is counted. For example, if the highest trump the declarer held was the J♥, they would be against two matadors (the J♣ and J♠).
Because the number of matadors a player has affects the value of the game, finding matadors in the skat (which will remain unknown until the end of a hand in a hand game) can radically change the value of a game. The number of matadors a player holds may also be affected by which suit is chosen as trump, of course.
Suit games
In a suit game, the declarer chooses which suit they wish to become trumps. To make the contract, the declarer must take at least 61 card points in tricks.
The value of the game is determined by multiplying the base rate with the game level or multiplier. The base rate of the game depends on which suit is chosen as trump:
- Diamonds: nine points.
- Hearts: ten points.
- Spades: eleven points.
- Clubs: twelve points.
The multiplier is determined by taking the number of matadors into consideration, as well as any special circumstances or declarations that the player chooses to make. Note that the points are cumulative and will add all of the points above it as well; declaring schwarz also adds the points for undeclared schwarz, declared schneider, and so on. This is the possible multiplier list for a hand suit game:
- Matadors: +1 for each matador the declarer is with or against.
- Game: +1 for being the declarer.
- Hand: +1 for not using the skat. (Every hand game reaches at least this point in the list.)
- Schneider: +1 for either the declarers or the defenders scoring 30 or more points in tricks. (Note that if the defenders schneider the declarer, this multiplier will increase the amount of points the declarer loses.)
- Schneider announced: +1 for the declarer announcing before play begins that they will schneider the defenders.
- Schwarz: +1 for either the declarers or the defenders taking every trick. (As with schneider, if the defenders pull this off, they will increase the amount of points the defender loses.)
- Schwarz announced: +1 for the declarer announcing before play begins that they will schwarz the defenders.
- Open: The declarer plays with their hand exposed and must schwarz the defenders.
When the game is declared, the theoretical value of the game is typically announced at the time. For example, if the declarer is with three matadors, wishes to play a hand game of spades, and intends to schneider the defenders, it would be stated like this: “With three, game four, hand five, schneider six, schenider announced seven, times spades [eleven points] is 77”.
Again, since the player does not know the composition of the skat, the actual value of the game may change if there are further matadors in the skat. It may also be increased if the declarer schneiders or schwarzes the defenders without declaring it ahead of time.
For a skat suit game, fewer multipliers are possible:
- matadors (+1 for each)
- game
- schneider
- schwarz
Grand games
In a grand game, the only trumps are the four jacks. Other than this, the game is played exactly the same as a suit game. The game value is calculated the same way, but with a base rate of 24.
Null games
In a null game, there are no trumps at all, and the declarer must lose every trick. If the declarer takes a trick at any point in the hand, play is stopped and it is scored as a loss for the declarer. A null skat game is always worth 23 points and a null hand game is worth 35 points.
There is also the option to play null ouvert. This is the same as a null game, but the declarer plays with their hand exposed. A null ouvert skat game is worth 46 points, and a null ouvert hand game is worth 59 points.
The point values for null games seem kind of weird, but they were specifically chosen to avoid duplicating the point values for other bids. The declarer does not have the option to choose a null game if the game would not meet the amount bid.
Ramsch
A declarer cannot choose Ramsch; it is only played when all players pass in bidding. In Ramsch, all players play alone, simply trying to collect the least number of points possible. The four jacks are the only trumps.
Play of the hand
Forehand leads to the first trick. Each player, proceeding clockwise, plays a card of the same suit, if possible, or any other card if they don’t hold a card of the suit led. The player who contributed the highest trump to the trick, or if nobody played any trumps, the highest card of the suit led, wins the trick. Remember: In suit and grand games, jacks belong to the trump suit, not the suit printed on the card! Playing the J♣ to a club trick is not following suit unless clubs are trumps! (In grand and Ramsch games, the four jacks form a suit unto themselves.)
Players do not add won tricks to their hand, but instead to a won-tricks pile in front of each player. (In suit and grand games, the defenders may share a common won-trick pile if desired.) The individual player who won the last trick leads to the next one.
Scoring
After all ten tricks have been played, or the declarer takes a trick in a null game, the hand ends and is scored.
Scoring suit and grand games
The skat is turned up, noting any matadors included in it. The actual value of the game is then calculated, incorporating the revised number of matadors and any undeclared schneiders or schwarzes that occurred during the play of the hand. If the actual value of the game was less than what the declarer bid, it is determined what the lowest value of that game possible that would have exceeded the bid. The declarer loses twice that amount of points.
If the game exceeds the bid, the card points the declarer took in, plus the two cards in the skat, are totaled, using the following values:
- Jacks: two card points
- Aces: eleven card points
- 10s: ten card points
- Kings: four card points
- Queens: three card points
- 9s, 8s, 7s: no value
These card points are only used to determine whether the declarer made their contract or not. They do not affect the score in any way.
The declarer broke their contract if any of the following conditions are met:
- The actual value of the game was less than the bid
- They failed to collect 61 card points during the hand
- They did not schneider an opponent when schneider was announced
- They did not schwarz an opponent when schwarz was announced
If a player fulfills their contract, they score (to the game score) the value of the game they just played. If they broke contract, they lose twice the value of the game played.
Scoring null games
Scoring null games is fairly simple. If the declarer took no tricks, they score the value of the game. If they took a trick, they lose twice the value of the game.
Scoring Ramsch
Each player calculates the value of card points in their hand according to the values used when scoring suit and grand games. The player who collected the fewest card points scores ten game points. If they took no tricks during the hand, not even cards worth zero, they score 20 points.
If two players tie for least points collected, whichever one least recently took a trick wins the hand and scores the ten points. If all three players tie, forehand wins the hand. If one player takes all the tricks, that player scores –30 and the other two players score nothing.
Ending the game
The game ends when a pre-specified number of deals take place. (For the sake of fairness, every player should have dealt an equal number of times.) Whoever has the highest score at this point is the winner.
See also
Fipsen
Fipsen is a four-player card game with a lot of similarities to Nap. Fipsen is played most in the area around Prisdorf, a small town in the north of Germany, where it is often played as a side game during Skat tournaments. Dating back to at least the 1920s, the game appears to have declined in popularity over time; it is now mostly played by older players.
Object of Fipsen
The object of Fipsen is to accurately judge the number of tricks you will take in order to make a bid. If you win the bidding, you want to capture at least as many tricks as you bid, and if not, you want to prevent the player who did from doing so.
Setup
Fipsen is played with a special 25-card deck. Starting with a deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, remove all of the 2s through 6s, as well as all of the diamonds except the 7♦. You’ll be left with 7s through aces in three suits, plus the 7♦.
You’ll also need pencil and paper to keep score with. Traditionally, Fipsen scoresheets are ruled in five columns. The first four columns show the running score for each player. The fifth column is used to record the value of each hand.
Shuffle and deal a batch of three cards to each player, then two face down to the center of the table, then two more to each player. The two face-down cards in the center of the table form the skat. The remaining three cards are set aside and, in most cases, take no part in further game play.
Game play
Bidding
Each hand of Fipsen begins with a round of bidding to determine the trump suit. The lowest bid in Fipsen is Two, which signifies the player’s intention to capture two tricks if allowed to fix the trump suit. A player may also bid Three, which is a bid to win three tricks, and so on up to Five, the highest basic bid. Combined with these, the player may also declare one or more of the following modifiers, each of which double the value of the bid:
- Hand: To play without using the skat.
- Ruten: To play with diamonds as trump. Since the only diamond in the deck is the 7♦, this considerably increases the difficulty of the game. The player does not necessarily have to hold the 7♦ to make a bid of Ruten (they may, for example instead hold a lot of high cards in the other suits), but this is a risky play.
- Durch: To declare that the player will win all five tricks. Note that this does not necessarily imply a bid of Five (one can bid, e.g. Three Durch), but all bids of Five are automatically considered to be bids of Five Durch.
The value of a bid is calculated by the number of tricks (the numerical part of the bid), multiplied by two for each modifier added to it. For example, a bid of Three has a value of three, a bid of Three Hand is valued at six, while a bid of Three Hand Durch would have a value of twelve.
Unlike in most other games, the players do not all participate in the bidding at once. Instead, the first bid goes to the player to the dealer’s left. This player may make any bid, or pass. If they bid, the player to their left (the second player) may make a bid of higher value or pass. The first bidder may then hold, which is making a bid of equal value to the second player’s, or they may bid higher or pass. If the first player does not pass, the second bidder may again raise the bid or pass. This continues, back and forth, until one of the two players pass.
The next player to the left (the third player to the left of the dealer) then has the opportunity to bid higher than the high bidder between the first two players, and those two players continue bidding back and forth until one of them passes. Finally, the dealer bids against the remaining high bidder, and the high bidder between those two players becomes the declarer, with the high bid becoming the contract for the hand. The remaining players become the defenders.
If all four players pass, the hands are discarded and fresh hands are dealt by the same dealer.
After the bidding
After the bidding concludes, if the declarer made any bid other than a Hand bid, they pick up the two cards of the skat and discard two cards face down back to it. The bidder then selects the trump suit. If the player made a Ruten bid, this must be diamonds. Otherwise, it may be any one of the four suits. If the declarer did not make a Ruten bid, but decides at this point to make diamonds trump anyway (usually because the 7♦ was in the skat), the value of the contract is doubled anyway, the same as if they had bid Ruten all along.
Bidding Kieker
There is additional bid named Kieker that can be made under certain circumstances. A player may (but by no means is required to) bid Kieker when they hold no face cards. To verify this, upon making the bid, they reveal their hand to the player to their left. For the purposes of bidding, a Kieker bid has a value of 4½, but for all other purposes it is a bid of Five Durch.
If a player wins the bidding with a Kieker bid, they draw both the skat and the three undealt cards into their hand, then discard five cards. If this failed to materially improve their hand, they may surrender before game play starts. They are charged a penalty of five points, and the next hand is dealt.
Play of the hand
Once a trump suit has been named, the player to the dealer’s left leads to the first trick. Each player, proceeding clockwise, plays a card of the same suit, if possible, or any other card if they don’t hold a card of the suit led. The trick is won by the player who contributed the highest trump to the trick, or if there were no trumps played, the highest card of the suit led.
Won tricks are not added to the hand, but instead discarded. The contents of the tricks won, or the number of tricks won by any of the defenders, are irrelevant.
If the declarer successfully makes their contact, they have the option to call an immediate end to game play and score the hand. They may also decide to play on, but if they do so, this converts the contract to a Durch contract, doubling the stakes and obliging them to take all of the remaining tricks!
If a player under a Durch or Kieker contract loses a trick at any point, game play is halted immediately, as the outcome of the contract is known at that point.
After the hand concludes, the declarer scores the value of their contract if they made it, but they lose twice that many points if they failed to make the contract. For example, a fulfilled contract of Three Ruten would score +6 for the declarer, while it would score –12 if it was broken. A Kieker contract is scored as if it were a Five Durch contract, scoring +10 if fulfilled and –20 if broken.
Game play continues for a previously-determined number of deals, such as eight. Whichever player has the highest score at that point is the winner.
Democracy
Democracy is a trick-taking game for two to six players. Although its precise origins are not known for sure, it is popular at the Tabletop Board Game Cafe in Cleveland, Ohio, and has been played there since at least 2004. It seems plausible that the game originates from Cleveland, perhaps being invented by one of the cafe’s patrons.
Unlike most card games, Democracy has a backstory: the players play the part of colonial powers attempting to annex an island inhabited by four tribes, which are represented by the four suits. The countries decide to resolve the question of which one of them will gain control of the island by putting it up to a vote of the people of the island. The night before the vote, though, the countries kidnap a few members of the tribes under cover of darkness, not knowing for sure which members of which tribes they’ve captured. The day of the vote, the captured tribal members make impassioned speeches in favor of the countries that have captured them—presumably under threat of death, of course. Thus, the name Democracy is certainly intended to be firmly tongue-in-cheek. Of course, the “speeches” are the tricks played by the players, and the winner of the trick is the card that have the “most persuasive speech”.
Democracy is often played with very loose adherance to the rules. When played this way, the game play is more akin to a roleplaying game like Dungeons & Dragons than to a traditional card game. In some games, the rules are entirely negotiable; the cards carry only a suggestion of value, with the players’ tribespeople arguing in support of the nation holding them in the form of verbal speeches given by the players! While a higher-ranking card has innate advantages over the lower-ranked cards, a well-received speech by a charismatic player might well take the trick regardless of whether it was the highest-ranked card played. We recommend sticking to the rules to start out with, but if you wish to add these roleplaying elements to the game later, have at it!
Object of Democracy
The object of Democracy is to capture, through trick-taking, a majority of points in as many suits as possible.
Setup
Democracy is played with a modified 52-card deck with a number of cards added or removed depending on the number of players. Starting with a deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards:
- For two, three or five players, remove the 2s, leaving a 48-card deck (3 through ace in all four suits).
- For four players, remove the 2s and add two jokers, creating a 50-card deck.
- For six players, remove the 2s and add one joker, creating a 49-card deck.
Shuffle and deal amongst the players and an extra hand, called the voting pool:
- For two players, twelve cards.
- For three players, eight cards.
- For four players, six cards.
- For five or six players, four cards.
This deal is called the first day.
Rank of cards
In Democracy, the cards rank in an unusual order. The 5, 4, and 3 are moved from their normal spots to become the highest three cards in the game. So the full rank of cards is: (high) 5-4-3-A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6 (low).
In the game’s story, each rank is linked with a social class within each of the tribes. Each card also has a point value:
- 5: the chief (five points)
- 4: the chieftainess (four points)
- 3, A: the warriors (three points)
- K, Q, J: the hunters (two points)
- 10, 9, 8, 7: the farmers (one point)
- 6: the village idiot (zero points)
Game play
Each trick begins with the dealer turning the top card of the voting pool face up; this card, the upcard, determines the trump suit for the trick. Each player then chooses a card to play to the trick and places it face down in front of them. Unlike in most trick-taking games, there is no requirement to follow suit or trump if possible—the player may select any card they desire. Once everyone has played a card, on the count of three from the dealer, all players simultaneously turn their cards face up.
The trick is won by the highest trump played to the trick, unless both the 5 and 6 of trump are present, in which case the 6 wins over the normally unbeatable 5 of trump. If no trump is played to the trick, the highest card played wins the trick. (Note that the actual ranks of the cards determines who wins the trick, not the cards’ point values; kings and queens are both two-point hunter cards, but a king still beats a queen.) A player winning the entire trick places the cards comprising it, including the upcard, into a face-down won-tricks pile. In the event that two cards of different suits tie for highest, each player simply wins their own card and the upcard is discarded.
Jokers are wild for any card other than a trump. In practice, this usually means that they represent a non-trump 5, and will win the trick unless a trump or another 5 is played to the trick. Captured jokers do not score anything; playing them is simply an attempt to capture the actual scoring cards in a trick.
After the hands have been exhausted, the first day is concluded. The dealer then distributes the cards for the second day, discarding any leftover cards. After the second day is played, the entire island is scored. Each player looks through their won-cards pile and tallies the point total of the cards captured. If a player captures thirteen or more points of a given suit (i.e., more than half), they score that tribe (essentially, a victory point). All four tribes may not be scored for a particular island, especially in larger games, as the cards may be split evenly enough that no one player scores thirteen points.
After scoring an island, the deal rotates, the cards are shuffled, and the first day of a new island is dealt. Keep playing islands until one player scores five tribes. That player is the winner.
Loo
Loo is a gambling trick-taking game that dates back to at least the seventeenth century. It is also known as Lanterloo (of which “Loo” is an abbreviation), which is a meaningless phrase used to fill time in lullabies of the period. The game is a member of the Rams group of trick-taking games, the central mechanic of them being the ability to drop out of the game without risking any money if the player feels that they have a poor hand.
There are two versions of the game, a three-card variant and one played with five cards (the latter is described here). Loo can be played with five to ten players, but is best for six.
Object of Loo
The object of Loo is to win at least one trick, or to determine that your hand isn’t strong enough to win one trick.
Setup
Loo is played with a standard 52-card deck of playing cards. If you use Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, we do, of course, highly appreciate it. You will also need something to bet with: poker chips, change, matchsticks, or whatever else is handy. Players should agree as to the monetary value, if any, each of these units represents.
Determine the first dealer by shuffling and dealing one card to each player: the player receiving the highest card deals. The dealer antes five chips to the pot. Deal five cards to each player. Turn the top card of the deck stub face-up; the suit of this card is the trump suit for the next hand. The rest of the stub is placed in the center of the table and forms the stock.
Game play
Cards rank in their usual order, with ace high. The J♣, known as Pam, is the highest-ranking card in the game, outranking even the ace of trumps. Pam is always considered part of the trump suit (and therefore may not be played to a club trick unless clubs are trump, or the player has no other clubs).
Before game play proper begins, each player, beginning with the player to the left the dealer and proceeding clockwise, declares whether they will pass (drop out of the hand) or play. All remaining players may then, in turn, discard as many cards as they desire and draw back up to five.
Either before the discard or immediately after, a player holding a flush may reveal it. A flush is any five cards of the same suit, or four cards of the same suit plus Pam (called a mouche). A player holding a flush is considered to “loo the board”, automatically winning all five tricks and taking the entire pot. If there are multiple flushes, the highest one according to the following ranking (from highest to lowest) loos the board:
- A mouche.
- A flush in the trump suit.
- A flush in a non-trump suit.
If there are multiple flushes of the same type, the one with the highest top card wins the tie; if there ties on the highest card, the second highest is used to break the tie, and so on. If a flush loos the board, its holder takes the pot and all other players who did not also hold a flush or Pam must pay five chips into the pot for the next hand.
The player to the dealer’s left leads to the first trick. Play then proceeds to the left, with all players following suit if possible, playing a trump if they are unable to follow suit, and only playing any other card if both unable to follow suit or trump. Players must also head the trick if possible, i.e. play to win the trick by playing a higher card of the suit led than any played so far, if possible. When playing a trump card, you must overtrump if possible (play a higher trump than any previously played to the trick).
After everyone has played a card to the trick, it is won by the player who contributed the highest trump, or the highest card of the suit led, if nobody has trumped. Tricks are not added to the hand, but kept in a won-trick pile in front of the player. It may be helpful to put each trick at right angles to the previous one to allow for easy identification of how many tricks were taken. The player that won the trick leads to the next one.
If a player wishes to lead the ace of trump to a trick, they may call out “Pam be civil”. The player holding Pam may not then play it to that trick unless there are no other trumps in their hand.
After all five tricks have been played, each player counts the number of tricks they have taken. Each player receives one-fifth of the pot for each trick taken. If a player who stayed in takes no tricks, they are said to have been looed and must pay five chips to the next pot. After the pot has been settled, the deal passes to the left, with the incoming dealer contributing five chips to the pot.
See also
Linger Longer (a.k.a. Sift Smoke)
Linger Longer, also known as Sift Smoke, is, in many ways, the opposite of Rolling Stone. In that game, the goal is to run out of cards, and failing to follow suit causes you to gain cards in your hand. In Linger Longer, players get cards from the stock as a reward for winning the trick, because they want to gain the most cards and be the last to run out!
Linger Longer is best for three to six players. It is one of the simplest games that involves a trump suit, making it an excellent choice for introducing newer players to games with trumps.
Object of Linger Longer
The object of Linger Longer is to, well, linger longer than anyone else—be the last player with cards in your hand.
Setup
Linger Longer is played with one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. We hope that you’re using Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards for your game.
Shuffle and deal to each player the same number of cards as there are players (e.g. for a four-player game, deal four cards, etc.) Place the remainder of the deck in the center of the table, forming the stock. The dealer exposes the last card dealt to them; the suit of this card establishes the trump suit for the hand.
Game play
The player to the dealer’s left leads to the first trick. The player to their left must then play a card of the suit led, if possible; otherwise, they may play any card they wish. This continues around the table to the left. When everyone has played to the trick, the player who contributed the highest card of the trump suit, or the highest card of the suit led if there was no trump, wins the trick. Cards rank in their usual order, with aces high. The player that won the trick (and nobody else) draws one card from the stock, and the cards played to the trick are moved to a discard pile.
The game continues in this fashion until players begin to run out of cards. As they do, they drop out of the game. If the stock runs out before the game is decided, shuffle the discard pile to form a new stock. When all players but one run out of cards, that player is the winner. In the event that multiple players run out of cards on the same trick, the winner of the trick also wins the game.
If multiple hands are to be played, it might be desirable to keep score. If so, the winner of the hand scores one point for each card remaining in their hand.
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
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.)
