The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (157 page)

turn to draw but remains face down on the table before him. The

hands are played out as far as possible, any unplayed cards

remaining in hand. If the last trick ends in a ‘bounce’ the players

retrieve the cards they played.

The last card of the stock is then turned up to establish trumps

for the play of Part 2, and added to its owner’s hand.

The players pick up the cards they won in tricks and use them as

their playing hands for Part 2. They probably won’t al have the

same number, but that doesn’t mat er. The aim is to play out al

one’s cards. Play (2) Whoever took the last card of stock in Part 1

leads to Part 2, and now al three play in turn, not two at a time as

before. The leader may play any single card, or a sequence of two

or more cards of the same suit. For example, a Three may be led, or

3-4 of a suit, or 3-4-5, and so on. Each in turn thereafter must play a

bet er card or suit-sequence than the previous player. ‘Bet er’ means

of the same suit but higher in rank – not necessarily consecutive

with the previous card – or a trump or trump-sequence to a

preceding non-trump play. You may play trumps even if able to

fol ow suit. Throughout Part 2 it is important to keep each player’s

contributions separate until they are turned down.

A player who can’t or won’t play bet er must pick up the card(s)

played by the last player – who may have been himself! – and the

turn passes to the left. If everyone picks up, leaving no card to beat,

turn passes to the left. If everyone picks up, leaving no card to beat,

the next lead is made by the player to the left of the one who

picked up last.

Turning tricks down When a ‘trick’ contains three contributions in

al – whether one each from al three, or more than one by one of

them –it is turned down and ignored. Whoever played last to it

leads to the next. When one player runs out of cards, the others

continue as before until the trick has been played to three times

and turned down. Subsequent tricks require only two contributions

before being turned down. When a second player plays his last

card, the third player has lost, and is a skitgubbe.

NLK

4-9 players (5-6 best), 32-52 cards

John McLeod learnt this from students at Szeged University in

Hungary. N is for nagy (‘big’), L is for any nationality beginning

with L, such as Lithuanian, and K is for kibaszó s (‘screwing’).

Preliminaries Four players use a 32-card pack ranking AKQJT987

in each suit. For each additional player, add the next lower rank, so

nine would use al 52 cards. Play to the right.

Object In Phase 1, to accumulate cards for Phase 2, and in Phase 2

to avoid being left with cards in hand when everyone else has run

out.

Deal Choose the first dealer by any agreed means. The loser of each

subsequent hand deals the next. Deal one card face up in front of

each player, and stack the rest face down as a stock. Each player’s

faced card forms the base of a stack which, when complete, wil

constitute his playing hand in Phase 2. Play (1) On your turn to

play:

1. If possible, you may (but need not) play the top card of your

stack to the top of another player’s stack, provided that it is

next higher in rank, regardless of suit. For example, you can

play any Seven on top of a Six. On top of an Ace you may

play a card of the lowest rank in the pack – a Seven if four

play, a Six if five play, and so on. You can keep doing this in

the same turn so long as each newly revealed top card of your

stack can legal y be played to someone else’s.

2. You must then complete your turn by drawing the top card of

stock and placing it on top of your stack – unless you can

legal y play it to someone else’s, in which case you may do so

and then draw again.

Phase 1 ends when someone draws the last card of stock. Its suit

becomes trump for Phase 2.

Everyone picks up their cards, and whoever drew the trump card

leads to the first trick of Phase 2.

Play (2) The leader to a trick may play any card. Each fol owing

player must either beat the previous card played, or take the lowest

card in the trick and add it to their hand. The previous card is

beaten by playing a higher card of the same suit, or any trump to a

plain suit. The ‘lowest’ card is the lowest of the suit led, or of

trumps if only trumps remain. It is permissible to pick up though

able to play, and to trump though able to fol ow suit.

Because each in turn may either play a card or take a card, the

number of cards in a trick may rise and fal as play proceeds. A

trick ends when it is either ful or empty, as fol ows:

1. It is ful when the number of cards it contains equals the

number of players who were stil in play when it was led.

The trick is turned down, and the person who played last

(and therefore highest) leads to the next.

2. It is empty when there is only one card in the trick and a

player picks it up instead of beating it. In this case the next

player picks it up instead of beating it. In this case the next

player in turn leads to the next. Note: If it is your turn to lead,

you must do so, unless you have run out of cards, in which

case the lead passes to the next in turn.

Players drop out as they run out of cards, thus reducing the

number of cards required to complete each subsequent trick

(though not the current one).

Ending Play ceases when only one player has any cards, thereby

losing. Note that the hand can end in the middle of a trick. For

example, if only two players remain, each with just one card, then

the player on lead wins, even if the other beats the card led.

Example of trick-play Hearts trump, 9 led. Parentheses enclose a

card that is picked up, not played.

Shithead (Karma, Palace, Shed, many other names)

2-6 players, 52 cards

This folk-game is said to be popular with travel ing people and, not

surprisingly, is widespread.

Preliminaries Two or more players use a 52-card pack ranking

AKQJT98765432 in each suit. Two Jokers are optional, or, if six

play, essential.

Additional equipment Brown paper bag. (Warning: do not use a

plastic bag.)

Object To avoid being left with cards in hand when everyone else

has run out.

Deal Each is dealt three cards face down in a row (down-cards),

then one card face up on each of them (up-cards), and final y three

cards as a playing hand (hand-cards). The rest are stacked face

down. Before play, each player may exchange one or more hand-

cards for a corresponding number of his own up-cards.

Play Takes place in two phases. Phase 1 ends when the last card is

drawn from stock. In Phase 2, players continue by playing out al

their hand-cards, then their three up-cards, and final y their three

down-cards.

Eldest hand is the first player to have been dealta Threeas anup-

card, or, if no one has, the first to have been dealt a Three as a

hand-card. If no one has a Three, it is the person first dealt a Four;

and so on as necessary.

Eldest starts by discarding from hand to a common wastepile any

single card, or a pair or triplet of the same rank, and restoring his

hand to three by drawing from stock. Each in turn thereafter must,

if possible, play a single card, or a pair, triplet or quartet of cards,

equal or higher in rank than the top card of the wastepile. It isn’t

necessary to match the number of cards played by the previous

player, nor to play the whole of a matched set if it seems preferable

to hold any back. If this reduces the hand to fewer than three cards,

restore it to three by drawing from stock, thus ending the turn.

If unable or unwil ing to discard, a player must take al the cards

of the wastepile up into hand, leaving the next in turn to start a

new series of discards.

Jokers A Joker may be played at any time. It is not wild, but forces

Jokers A Joker may be played at any time. It is not wild, but forces

a switch in the rotation of play, so that the person who played the

card before the Joker now has to match it or beat it himself. The

new rotation continues til the next Joker appears.

Special rules Deuces count high and low. You can therefore play

one or more Deuces at any time, and the next player in turn can

play any other rank.

When a Ten is played, the whole wastepile is turned down and

left out of play, and the person who played it ends his turn by

drawing up to three cards (if necessary) and starting a new

wastepile with one or more matching cards of any rank. (Some

schools al ow a Ten to be played after a Jack, Queen, King or Ace.)

The same applies when a player leaves four of a kind on the top

of the wastepile, whether by playing al four at once, or by

duplicating the rank of the previous discard and so bringing the

total to four. Endgame When the stock is exhausted, continue

playing from hand. From now on:

A player with no card left in hand must play from his up-cards, if

any remain. More than one may be played at a time if they are of

the same rank. If forced to take the wastepile, however, he must

revert to playing from the hand and may not play from the table

until none remain in hand.

When a player has played his three up-cards, and has none left in

hand, he must at each turn face one of his down-cards and play it if

possible. If it won’t go, he must add it and the wastepile to hand,

and may not then at empt to play a down-card until no hand-cards

remain.

The winner is the first to get rid of his last remaining down-card.

The last to do so is a Shithead, and, to il ustrate this fact, must wear

a brown paper bag until somebody else takes over this role. (Plastic

bags are dangerous.)

Variations Many schools have their own special rules. For example,

a Seven must be fol owed by one or more cards of equal or lower

a Seven must be fol owed by one or more cards of equal or lower

rank. If there are no Jokers, Eights switch the rotation, but are

‘transparent’ – i.e. the next card or cards must beat the rank of the

card under the Eight, not necessarily the Eight itself. And so on.

Scapegoat games

Traditional gambling and drinking games in which the aim is to

avoid being the last player left with a card in hand, or being left