The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (82 page)

instead of three.

Comment McLeod points out the anomalous fact that it can be good

tactics for both sides to wish to lose a No Sevens game. Suppose

one side has no rams and 11 pips while the other side has at least

one ram and at least one pip. The players on 11 pips wil wish to

lose in order to reach 12 and so end the match while their

opponents stil have rams. Conversely, their opponents can avoid

this only by themselves losing. Since the declarers at No Sevens can

choose when to end the game, they can deliberately lose by

claiming to have reached 61 when they have not. Thus there wil be

no underbidding for the right to be declarer.

Owcy Glowa(‘Sheep’sHead’)

3 players, 24 cards

This unusual variety of Schafkopf is played by American Poles. It

was described to me by Jude Wudarczyk, who subsequently

published it in The Playing-Card (XXI , 23).

Preliminaries Three active players play to the right. If four play, the

dealer sits out. Each has six coins to use as markers, placing four of

them heads down in a row on his left, and two heads down away

from them towards the middle.

Cards and deal Deal eight cards each, in ones, from a 24-card pack

ranking and counting A11, K5, Q4, J2, Ten 10, Nine 9, making an

overal total of 160.

Object For the soloist (as defined below) to take at least 54 card-

points, and the partners to prevent this. Optional y, players may

points, and the partners to prevent this. Optional y, players may

also bid to win a number of card-points fal ing within a given

range.

Bidding Each player, upon playing a card to the first trick, may (but

need not) bid to win a number of card-points fal ing within a

certain range. Turning headsup the leftmost coininone’s rowof four

represents a bid to take from 0-40 points, second from the left bids

41-80, third 81-120, fourth 121-160. Note that each in turn after

eldest hand can see what has been already bid and played before

deciding on their own bid.

Play Eldest leads first. Players must fol ow suit if possible, otherwise

may play any card, apart from restrictions on the black Queens.

These are cal ed babki, ‘grannies’. You may not declare your granny

holding except by your play, nor play a granny until it is the only

card you hold of its suit. The trick is taken by the highest card of

the suit led, and the winner of each trick leads to the next. There

are no trumps.

Soloist and partners Upon playing a granny, turn one of your two

further coins heads up. If you have both grannies, you are the

soloist. If you have one, the other player with a granny is your

partner and the third player the soloist. If you have none, you won’t

know until later whether you are the soloist or a partner.

Score For taking a number of card-points fal ing within the range of

your bid, score 1 game-point. If you take more or fewer, each

opponent scores 1 game-point. In addition: if, as soloist, you take at

least 54 card-points, you score 1 game-point; if not, the other two

score 1 each.

Game The winner is the player with most game-points when at

least one player has reached nine. If tied, more deals are played

until the tie is broken. Game-points are recorded as vertical strokes,

until the tie is broken. Game-points are recorded as vertical strokes,

with three in the two top rows, two in the next, and one in the last.

The final arrangement is traditional y said to represent a sheep’s

head.

Six-Bid (Slough, Sluff, American Solo)

3 players, 36 cards

First recorded in 1924 and particularly associated with Salt Lake

City, Six-Bid is an extension of a game cal ed Frog (see below).

Preliminaries Three play with36cards ranking and

countingasfol ows:

A T K Q J 9 8 7 6

11 10 4 3 2 0 0 0 0

Deal Eleven each in batches of 4-3-(3)-4. The 3 in brackets are dealt

face down to the table to form a blind.

Object Whoever bids the highest valued game plays it against the

combined ef orts of the other two.

Bidding The player at dealer’s left bids or passes. If he bids, the

next in turn may pass or overbid. If he overbids, the first may pass

or bid even higher. The next in turn then bids against the survivor

in the same way. A player who passes may not bid again. If al

pass, the cards are thrown in and the deal rotates. From lowest to

highest the bids are:

1. Solo. Bidder undertakes to win at least 60 of the 120 card-

points after announcing as trumps any suit except hearts. The

blind is left down, but any card-points it contains count for

the soloist at the end of play.

2. Heart solo. The same, but with hearts as trumps.

3. Misère. Bidder undertakes to lose every trick at no trump. The

blind is not touched.

4. Guarantee solo. Bidder undertakes to capture at least 74

cardpoints if he plays in hearts, or 80 if he entrumps any

other suit.

5. Spread misère. Same as misère, but the bidder plays with his

hand exposed and his left-hand opponent leads first.

6. Cal solo. Bidder names trumps and undertakes to capture al

120 card-points (not necessarily taking al the tricks). Any

contained in the blind belong to him at end of play. Before

play, he may cal for any card not in his hand, and whoever

has it must give it to him in exchange for any card the bidder

does not want. If the cal ed card is in the blind, he may not

exchange or make another cal .

Play Eldest leads to the first trick except in a spread misère (see

above). Players must fol ow suit if possible, otherwise must trump

if possible, otherwise may play freely. 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.

Score Set le in hard score (coins or counters) or record transactions

in writing. Bidder receives the fol owing amount from each

opponent if successful, or pays it to each if not.

Solo: 2 per card-point taken over or under 60 (no score if 60–60).

Heart solo: 3 per card-point taken over or under 60 (no score if

60–60).

Misère 30, Guarantee solo 40, Spread misère 60, Cal solo 100,

Cal solo in hearts 150.

Frog (Rana)

Ancestor of Six-Bid played in Mexico under the name Rana.

Although this isthe Spanish for Frog, ‘frog’ itself has

nothingtodowith amphibians but is an Americanization of the

German Frage, meaning ‘request’, the lowest possible bid in games

of this type. There are only three bids:

1. Frog. To take at least 60 card-points, accepting hearts as

trump but first taking the three cards of the blind, adding

them to his hand, and then discarding three face down, any

card-points they contain counting for him at the end of play.

He wins, or pays, 1 chip per point taken over or under 60.

2. Solo or Chico. The same, but bidder nominates any other suit

as trump and plays without exchanging three cards, though

anything in the blind counts for him afterwards. Payments are

double those of Frog.

3. Heart solo or Grand. The same, in hearts. Payments are treble

those of Frog.

Play as at Six-Bid.

Bavarian Tarock(Haferltarock)

3 players, 36 cards

One of several German varieties of a game related to Six-Bid and

obviously derived from true Tarock by omit ing the 22 tarocks. This

version, stil played, dates from the 1930s.

Preliminaries Three players play to the left. They start by each

Preliminaries Three players play to the left. They start by each

contributing 100 units to a pot, and the game ends either when the

pot is empty or by mutual agreement.

Cards Thirty-six, either German- or French-suited. Cards rank and

count as fol ows:

A T K Q J 9 8 7 6

11 10 4 3 2 0 0 0 0

Deal Eleven each in batches of 4-3-(3)-4. The 3 in brackets are dealt

face down to the table to form a stock.

Bidding Each in turn, starting with eldest, may pass or say ‘Play’.

‘Play’ is an of er to take at least 61 of the 120 card-points in tricks

after naming trumps and playing alone against the other two. If not

overcal ed, he further announces Pick-up or Hand. Pick-up means

he wil take the stock and discard three unwanted cards before

announcing trumps. Hand means he wil play the hand as dealt.

Ineither case, any card-points contained in the stock wil count at

the end of play as if he had won them in tricks.

If he says Play, the next in turn (or, if he passes, the third player)

may try to take the game of him by bidding Hand. The first bidder

may then pass, or assert priority by bidding Hand himself. If he also

bids Hand, the other bidder may contest it by raising the number of

card-points he undertakes to catch in successive multiples of five.

Thus ‘And five’ guarantees at least 66, ‘And ten’ at least 71; and so

on. This continues until one of them passes. If the third player has

yet to speak, he may bid the next higher multiple of five; and so on.

Play Eldest leads to the first trick. Players must fol ow suit and head

the trick if possible; must trump and overtrump if unable to fol ow;

and may renounce only if unable to do any of these. 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.

Score The soloist, if successful, wins a basic 5 chips, plus 5 per

whole or part of every 5 points he took in excess of his contract. If

not, he loses 5 chips per whole or part of every 5 card-points by

which he fel short of it.

Example: In a basic contract, the value is 5 for taking 61-65, 10 for

66-70 etc. or minus 5 for 56-60, etc. In a 66-contract, it is 5 for

taking 66-70, minus 5 for 61-5; and so on.

For winning a Pick-up, the soloist takes the appropriate amount

from the pot; for winning a Hand game, he receives the appropriate

amount from each opponent, plus 10 units for each additional 5

points by which he raised his contract above 61.

For losing a Pick-up, he pays out of pocket to one opponent, the

other taking that amount from the pot; for losing a Hand game, he

pays it to each opponent instead.

The game ends when the pot is empty. If the last soloist wins,

and the amount due from the pot is more than it contains, he can

take only what is there. But if he loses, and the amount due from

him is more than the pot contains, he need not pay one player

more than the other can take from the pot.

Variant If an opening bid is uncontested, and the bidder announces

a hand game, he may raise the amount of his contract by any

multiple of five.

Einwerfen(Zählspiel)

4 players (2 × 2), 32 cards

This old German game has a distinctly ancestral air about it and

forms a good introduction to the Ace-11 family for those

unacquainted with that principle.

Four playing in partnerships receive eight each from a 32-card pack

ranking and counting

A K Q J T 9 8 7

11 4 3 2 10 0 0 0

If the dealer forgets to turn the last card for trumps, a suit may be

nominated by eldest hand. Eldest leads. Players must fol ow suit if

possible, otherwise may play any card. 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. A side wins a

single game for taking 61+ card-points, a double for 90+, a treble

for winning every trick. A 60–60 tie doubles the value of the

fol owing deal. The trump of the first deal remains ‘favourite’

throughout play, doubling the value of any subsequent deal played

in it.

Sueca

(meaning ‘Swedish’) is a Portuguese game remarkably similar to the

above. Four play in partnerships, or three with a dummy (manca),

usual y with a 40-card Spanish pack with suits of swords, batons,

cups and coins. Cards rank and count as fol ows:

A 7 K J Q 6 5 4 3 2

11 10 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 0

Note the reverse ranking of Jack and Queen.

Deal ten each and turn the last for trumps. Eldest leads. Players

must fol ow suit if possible, otherwise may play any card. The trick