try not to win any tricks
players
minutes
52 cards
In this regular trick-taking game for exactly four players, you try to collect the least points over multiple rounds by avoiding tricks containing hearts (), which are worth 1 point each, and the trick with the annoying queen of spades (), worth even 13 points.
Any player deals the first round. After each round, the turn to deal passes to the next player to the left. Shuffle the deck and deal 13 cards face-down to each player. There should be no cards left.
All players look at their hand and pick three cards to pass to an other player. Place these three cards face-down in front of the receiving player. In the first round, pass all three cards to the player across the table, in the second round, pass them to the player on your right, in the third round to the player on your left. Starting with the fourth round, begin this cycle anew by passing all three cards to the player across the table, etc. Once all players have passed cards in this fashion, pick up the three cards that have been passed to you and add them to your hand.
A round consists of 13 tricks. The player holding the 2 plays that card to lead to the first trick. After the last trick, score, and unless the game is over, deal a new round.
A single trick consists of one card played by each player. One player leads to a trick by placing any one card from their hand on the table. Clockwise, the other three players must follow by playing a card of the same suit from their hand. If you have no card of the suit led, you must play any card from a different suit instead.
In each suit, the cards rank from lowest to highest 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A
The highest card of the suit led wins the trick. Cards of other suits can not win the trick. If you win a trick, first take all four cards played into the trick and place them face-down in front of you, as your scoring stack, then play a card from your hand to lead to the next trick.
You may not lead before the first has been played into any trick of a different suit. The latter is called “breaking the hearts”.
After the 13th trick, the round is over. Each player scores: Each in your scoring stack is worth 1 point, the Q is worth 13 points. Add the scores over multiple rounds.
However, if, at the end of a round, you have all scoring cards, i.e. all and the Q in your scoring stack, you score zero points and each of the three other players scores 26 points instead. This is called “shooting the moon”.
If, after a round, a player has accumulated a total of 100 points or more, the game is over. The player with the fewest points wins! Points are bad!
Otherwise, play a new round.
If trick-taking, the way the cards are played in this game, is generally to your liking, you might want to check out German Whist (a two-or three-player game where you use the first half to improve your chances in the second half), regular Whist (a four-player game with fixed teams), or the far simpler Knockout Whist(you play multiple hands of decreasing sizes and try to stay in the game as long as possible)