Invented by Howard Fosdick © BestFreeNewGames.com
Overview: Good trick-taking card games for two are rare; here’s a fun one.
Equipment: Two players. A 52-card deck. From high to low, cards rank A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2.
Objective: To win the most tricks.
Deal: Deal alternates between players. After shuffling, randomly remove 10 cards from the deck. Then deal 11 cards to each player. Place the remaining cards face down to become the draw pile.
Take the top card from the draw pile and place it face up next to the pile. The suit of this card is the trump suit for the hand.
Play: Non-dealer leads any card to the first trick.
His opponent must follow suit if possible. Otherwise, he may play any card.
The highest trump played wins the trick. If no trump is played, the highest card of the suit led wins the trick.
The trick winner takes the face up card next to the draw pile into his hand, then his opponent takes the top card of the draw pile into his.
Then he places the next card of the draw pile face up in the place of the previous face up card. (Thus, there is always a single face up card next to the draw pile. And the trick winner always takes it.)
The trick winner leads any card to the next trick.
The Close: After all cards from the draw pile are exhausted, the hand is said to be "closed".
Now, the two competitors play their remaining cards to tricks until they have no cards left.
After the Close, players place their individual trick winnings into a different pile than before. So each player has two piles of cards won in tricks: one for tricks won prior to the Close, and the other for cards won after the Close.
Scoring and Winning: Your goal during the tricks before the Close is solely to position your hand to win tricks after the Close.
Whoever wins the most tricks after the Close, wins the deal.
Once you've played a few hands, you're ready to play the complete game we describe here.
Winning:
A Game always consists of 7 Hands (or deals). Whoever wins the best of the 7 Hands wins the Game. (Should any hand result in a tie score, that hand is immediately replayed.)
Winning a Hand: Each of the 7 required hands is scored differently. In every case, whoever has the highest point total at the end of a hand wins that hand:
1st Hand -- Each trick won after the Close scores 1 point for its winner.
2nd Hand -- Each trick won after the Close scores -1 point for its winner. You win the hand by losing the most tricks after the Close.
3rd Hand -- Each trick won after the Close scores 1 point for its winner.
In addition, players score additional points for each Pair they declare during play. A Pair consists of a 3 and a 2 in the same suit.
To declare a Pair, a player leads his 3 to a trick. After the trick, he immediately displays the matching-suit 2 from his hand to his opponent (then he returns that 2 to his hand).
* A Red suit Pair scores 2 points (Hearts and Diamonds)
* A Black suit Pair scores 1 point (Spades and Clubs)
It does not matter whether the player declaring the Pair wins the trick, nor does it matter whether he declares it before or after the Close.
4th Hand -- Play with the same rules as the 3rd Hand -- except that each trick won after the Close scores -1 point. Thus the goal is to score positive points for Pairs (3 + 2 in same suit) and avoid negative points by losing tricks after the Close.
5th Hand -- Each trick won after the Close scores 1 point for its winner.
In addition, players score additional points for each Marriage they declare during play. A Marriage consists of a King and Queen in the same suit.
To declare a Marriage, a player leads his King to a trick. After the trick, he immediately displays the matching-suit Queen card from his hand to his opponent (then he returns that Queen to his hand).
* If the declarer wins the trick when he leads his King, he scores 3 points for the Marriage Triumphant.
* If he loses the trick when he leads his King, he scores 2 points for a Common Marriage.
Marriages may be scored either before or after the Close.
6th Hand -- Play with the same rules as the 5th Hand -- except that each trick won after the Close scores -1 point. Thus the goal is to score positive points for Marriages (King + Queen in same suit) and avoid negative points by losing tricks after the Close.
7th Hand -- Whoever is currently behind in the cumulative score picks the rules to play by, from among the previous six hands.
He or she makes this decision after looking at the cards he has been dealt for this hand, but before trick play commences.
SCORING SUMMARY:
| Hand: | Trick Points: | Meld Points: |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 per trick won after Close | -- |
| 2 | -1 per trick won after Close | -- |
| 3 | 1 per trick won after Close | 2 for 3 + 2 Pair in a Red Suit 1 for 3 + 2 Pair in a Black Suit |
| 4 | -1 per trick won after Close | 2 for 3 + 2 Pair in a Red Suit 1 for 3 + 2 Pair in a Black Suit |
| 5 | 1 per trick won after Close | 3 for K + Q Marriage when King lead wins trick 2 for K + Q Marriage when King lead loses trick |
| 6 | -1 per trick won after Close | 3 for K + Q Marriage when King lead wins trick 2 for K + Q Marriage when King lead loses trick |
| 7 | varies | varies |
For a Shorter Game: Agree in advance to play only 5 or 3 Hands. Sometimes my group enjoys the simplicity of just playing one Hand repeatedly.
Tips for Play: There are 42 cards in play in a hand (since 10 were removed prior to the start of play). 10 tricks are played prior to the Close (20 cards), while 11 tricks are played after the Close (22 cards).
Good card-memory helps win this game. The disposition of many cards will be known to you at the time of the Close: cards turned up prior to trick-play, cards played to tricks thus far, and cards that have passed through your hand or reside in it currently. How many cards will be known to you varies, depending on how trick-play and drawing proceed. Remember that the 10 cards removed from the deck prior to playing the hand always remain unknown.
Deciding which tricks to win prior to the Close is critical, even when these tricks are not scored. Voiding a suit can be a good strategy – but only if implemented correctly.
POSSIBLE POINTS PER HAND:| Hand: | Trick Points: | Meld Points: |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 0 |
| 2 | -11 | 0 |
| 3 | 11 | 0 to 6 |
| 4 | -11 | 0 to 6 |
| 5 | 11 | 0 to 12 |
| 6 | -11 | 0 to 12 |
| 7 | varies | varies |