The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (115 page)

1. Sevens always win the trick when led, but lose otherwise.

2. K 2 4 8 9 9, in that order.

3. Aces, Jacks, Sixes, Eights (except 8), in that order but

regardless of suit.

The remaining cards (black Nines, three Fours, four Threes, three

Twos, three Kings, four Queens) are al equal and have absolutely

no trick-heading power, except that Twos beat Kings and Queens,

and Threes beat Queens.

Exchange A player who holds no card capable of beating an Eight

may immediately declare himself ‘under-eight (fridufcer). This

entitles him to discard eight cards from his hand and draw those

undealt as replacements.

Play Before play, each player secretly shows his partner his highest

card. Eldest leads to the first trick and the winner of each trick leads

to the next. Any card may be played: there is no need to fol ow suit.

The trick is taken by the highest card played, or by the first played

of cards equal in rank or equal y worthless.

Score Play normal y ends when one side has won its fifth trick,

thereby scoring 1 point. However, if one side wins the first five

straight of (a milk), play continues for as long as they continue to

win tricks, after which they score from 5 to 9 points according to

the number they won in unbroken succession. Six or more is cal ed

a ‘stroke’ (of six, seven, etc.).

Treikort

In this three-hand equivalent of Alkort each player receives nine

each in threes from a 27-card pack consisting of Aces, K, Q,

Jacks, red Nines, Eights, Sevens, Sixes, 4, 2 and 2. Cards rank

as fol ows:

1. Sevens win if led, otherwise lose.

2. Q 2 K 2 4 8 9 9 in that order.

3. Aces, Jacks, Sixes, Eights (except 8), al equal y worthless.

Play as at Alkort.

A player who wins 13 or more tricks in three deals is designated

‘Pope’, and remains so until he fails to win 13 within any three

consecutive deals. After each deal and before play begins, the

current Pope (if any) may demand a Seven from one player and the

highest card other than a Seven from the other. They are obliged to

give him these in return for any low card of his choice. If the first

player has no Seven, the Pope must do without.

Voormsi (Wumps)

2-4 players, 36 cards

Greenland’s national card game, much played on the coastal ferry,

is also recorded as ‘Wumps’ by a Swedish respondent. The

fol owing description is based on research by Dr Anthony Smith,

and is subject to local variations.

Terminology Voormsi (pronounced woormsi) is a non-Greenlandic

word of unknown meaning. Toqu means ‘death’. This card is also

cal ed Toqutsit, literal y ‘he who kil s you’ (pronounced dogutsit).

Preliminaries Four usual y play sit ing crosswise in partnerships.

Three play without partners. When two play, a trick is four cards.

Two play as if they were two partnerships, as explained below.

Cards and deal Deal four each in ones from a 36-card pack

consisting of AKQJ98765 in each suit except diamonds, whose King

is normal y replaced by the Three. (Note Fives instead of Tens.)