The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (63 page)

have now established that Trappola survives under the name

have now established that Trappola survives under the name

Stovkahra (the Hundred-Game), or Brcko (a splinter or matchstick),

which is stil played in the Romanian vil age of Sumice (population

500). Sumice is one of nine vil ages which are al that remain of a

Czech community set led in the Banat region in the early nineteenth

century. Trappola cards being no longer available, the game has

been adapted for play with the readily obtainable 32-card German-

suited pack. It is distinguished by bonuses for winning tricks with

the lowest card of a suit, the Seven. Original y the key card was a

Two, which explains the original omission of numerals Three to Six

instead of the more usual Two to Five.

This description is based on a revision of an article by John

McLeod in The Playing-Card (Sept.-Oct. 1997), itself based on

Svoboda’s findings.

Preliminaries Four players sit crosswise in partnerships and play to

the left. The aim is to be the first side to reach 100 points. Points

are scored for declaring card combinations, for taking card-points in

tricks, for winning any trick with a Seven, especial y the first, and

for winning the last trick, especial y with a Seven.

Cards The game is normal y played with a 32-card German-suited

pack, with acorns, leaves, hearts and bel s equivalent to

respectively. Cards rank in descending order as fol ows, and

the top four have point-values as shown:

Ace King Over (svrsek) Under (spodek) 10 9 8 7

6 5

4

3

0 0 0 0

Deal Shuf le the cards only at start of play. In subsequent deals they

are merely cut by the player at dealer’s right. The bot om card of

the pack is displayed after the cut to establish trumps. Deal eight

cards each in batches of 3-2-3, al face down except the first batch

of three to eldest hand. These go face up, purportedly to

compensate the dealer’s side for not having the first lead.

Declarations A player holding three or four of a kind, other than

Eights or Nines, can declare them before the opening lead. They

score as fol ows:

four three

Aces

40 30

Tens, Sevens

20 10

Kings, Overs, Unders 12 6

Combinations need not be declared, but score only if they are.

Declarations must specify how many cards are held and of which

rank, but not necessarily which card is missing from a set of three.

If a player believes that a combination just scored by his side

brings their total to 100+ points, he can end the game by

announcing ‘dost’ (enough). The same applies upon winning any of

the bonuses scored in the play. A false claim loses the game.

Play When al declarations have been made, eldest leads to the first

trick. Players must fol ow suit and win the trick if possible; must

trump if unable to fol ow a plain-suit lead; and may renounce only

if unable to do either. The trick is taken by the highest card of the

suit led, or by the highest trump if any are played, and the winner

of each trick leads to the next. The fol owing bonuses accrue as they

occur:

winning the first trick with a Seven

52

winning an intermediate trick with a Seven

10

winning the last trick with a Seven

26

winning the last trick other than with a Seven 6

Score Tothe scorefordeclared combinations and for winning

particular tricks, each side adds the total value of counting-cards

they have taken in tricks. (These total 72.)

The first team to reach 100 points or more wins a game, for

which they get one matchstick (brčko) if the losers had 50 or more

which they get one matchstick (brčko) if the losers had 50 or more

points, or two matchsticks if they failed to reach 50. A game ended

by a cal of ‘dost’ scores the same, but if the claim proves false the

other side get two matchsticks regardless of their own score.

The winners may, if they prefer, deduct one or two matchsticks

from the opposing team’s winnings instead of adding to their own.

This has the ef ect of lengthening the session, which is won overal

by the first side to col ect 10 or more matchsticks.

Comment A partnership wins with a correct claim of dost even if

the other side had already reached 100 without claiming it or, on

examination, find they have a larger score. This makes it important

to claim 100 as soon as you make it, otherwise you risk let ing the

other side win with a correct claim first.

The only way of winning the first trick with a Seven, for the huge

bonus of 52, is to trump a plain-suit lead with the Seven. If the

player to dealer’s right has the Seven of trumps and is void in

another suit, it is accepted practice for him to signal to the leader to

play this suit by mouthing its name when the opponents are not

looking. (But no penalty is specified for doing so when they are

looking.)

It may be agreed that when a side reaches 10 matchsticks, play

continues up to 20. If then the same side also reaches 20 first, they

win a double series; if not, the result is a draw.

Roque

4 players (2 × 2), 52 cards

There is a group of card-point games in which Kings and Tens

count 10 each, and Fives 5 each, making 25 per suit and 100 in

count 10 each, and Fives 5 each, making 25 per suit and 100 in

total. This scheduleiscommontomany Chinese games, not

al ofthemtrick-takers, and some of them highly convoluted. But it is

also found elsewhere, and the relatively straightforward Iranian

game of Roque (communicated by ‘Babak’ on the Internet) makes a

good starting point, though the high-scoring card is not the King but

the Ace. Roque is remarkably similar to an American game played

with proprietary ‘Rook’ cards, and it would be interesting to know