The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (132 page)

Each in turn draws one card from the spare and replaces it with a

card from hand. As soon as anyone thinks they have the best hand

they end the game by knocking. Each opponent then has one more

opportunitytoexchange. Cards are revealed and whoever has the

highest suit-total wins the pool, unless beaten by three of a kind.

Tied hands share it.

Examples: 2 3 5 (counting 10) is beaten by A 7 3 (11 for

the Ace), this by J Q K (30), this by 9 9 9 (301/2), and

this by J K A (31).

Commerce

French forerunner recorded as early as the 1718 edition of the

Académie des Jeux. The aim is to acquire the best Commerce hand,

ranking from high to low as fol ows:

Tricon Three of the same rank, Aces highest, Twos lowest.

Sequence Three cards in suit and sequence, from A-K-Q high to 3-2-

A low.

Point The greatest face-value on two or three cards of the same suit.

If equal, a three-card beats a two-card flush. If stil equal, the tied

player nearest in turn after the dealer wins, but dealer himself has

absolute priority.

Whisky Poker

(Spelt with an ‘e’ if Irish or Bourbon, but undiluted if Scotch.) An

adaptation of Thirty-One involving Poker hands. Deal five cards to

each player and to a spare hand face down on the table. Everyone

antes and looks at their hand. Eldest, if dissatisfied with his hand,

may lay it face up on the table and take the spare in its place. If he

declines, this option passes round the table til somebody exercises

it or al refuse. If al refuse, the spare is turned up and play begins.

At each turn a player may do one of the fol owing:

exchange one card with the spare, or

exchange his whole hand for the spare, or

knock.

When somebody knocks, the others have one more turn each,

after which thereisashowdown and the best hand wins the pot. Or,

original y, the worst hand pays for the drinks.

Variant You may exchange any number of cards from one to five.

(Exchanging one or five was the original rule.)

Bastard (Stop the Bus)

The same as Whisky Poker, but with three cards each instead of

five, and Brag hands instead of Poker hands. You may exchange one

or three cards, but not two.

Schwimmen (Schnauz, Knack, Hosen ’runter)

(etc.) A version of Thirty-One popular in Germany and western

Austria, there played with 32 cards (Seven low). Everybody starts

with (typical y) three chips. In this version three Aces counts 32,

and any other three of a kind 301/2. Anyone dealt a 31 or 32 must

show it immediately, thereby ending the play and winning. The

dealer deals the spare hand face down and, if not satisfied with his

dealer deals the spare hand face down and, if not satisfied with his

own hand, may exchange it for the spare, sight unseen. Whether he

does or not, the spare is then faced and eldest plays first.

Each in turn may exchange one card, or pass. If al pass, the spare

hand is swept away and three more cards dealt from stock. If none

remain, there is a showdown. When somebody knocks, everybody

gets one more turn, but this does not apply if someone goes down

with a 31 or 32.

The worst hand loses a chip. Ties (rare) are decided in favour of

the best suit, for which purpose the order is clubs (high), spades,

hearts, diamonds (low). If the winner has a 32 (three Aces),

everyone else loses a chip.

A player who has lost three chips is said to be ‘swimming’. The

swimmer may continue to play, but must drop out upon losing

again. (You might as wel play with four chips in the first place.)

The overal winner is the last player left in.

Variant You may exchange one or three cards, but not two.

Kemps

(4pp, 52c) Unusual y, a partnership game of the Commerce type.

Any even number may play, but assume four. Before play, each pair

of partners agree between themselves on a visual signal by which

either can indicate to the other when he has col ected four cards of

the same rank. They can also agree on meaningless signals that

merely act as camouflage. The signals may include nods, winks,

grimaces, twitches, and suchlike, but may not be verbal. False

signals may not be used to convey relevant information, such as

having got three of a kind.

The aim is to correctly cal ‘Kemps’ when you think your partner

has made four of a kind, or ‘Stop Kemps’ when you think an

opponent has done so.

Deal four cards each face down, and four face up to the table.

Play does not take place in rotation. Anybody at any time can take

Play does not take place in rotation. Anybody at any time can take

from one to four cards from the table and replace them with the

same number of (dif erent) cards from their hand. If two or more

players want the same card, the first one to touch it gets it.

When everyone has stopped exchanging, the dealer sweeps the

spare hand away and deals four more cards from stock.

Play ceases the moment anyone cal s Kemps or Stop Kemps. On a

cal of Kemps, the cal er’s partner reveals his hand, and, if it

contains four of a kind, the opponents lose a point. If not, the

cal er’s side loses a point. On a cal of Stop Kemps, both members

of the opposing partnership (or, if more than four play, of the

partnership specifical y chal enged by the cal er) reveal their hands.

If either has four of a kind, their side loses a point; if not, the

cal er’s side does.

The first side to get five points loses the game. The first point lost

is marked as a let er K, the second as E, and so on, until a side loses

by completing the name of the game. Its origin is not explained.

[Source: Elena Anaya, via the Pagat website.]

Other col ecting games

The fol owing resemble shedding games, in that the object is to get

rid of al your cards first. The dif erence is that, whereas in shedding

games you play only by discarding, in col ecting games you also

col ect new cards, and can ‘go out’ by discarding sets of cards that

match one another by rank or suit. In this respect they form a

transition to Rummy games.

Go Fish

A game of this name, Andare e piscere, was current in Italy at the

end of the fifteenth century, but no description survives.

From three to six can play, using a 52-card pack. Deal five to

each player and stack the rest, face down. The aim is to run out of

cards, largely by col ecting matching groups of four, such as four

cards, largely by col ecting matching groups of four, such as four

Tens, or Jacks, etc.

The player at dealer’s left starts by addressing any player and

asking them for a particular card, such as 6 or Q. The rank

asked for must, however, be one of which the asker has at least one

in his own hand. The player so asked must comply with that

request if possible. If so, the asker gets another turn and does the

same thing, asking the same or another player for a particular card

of the same rank as one he already holds. This continues until a

player who is asked for cards has none of that rank. He then

replies, ‘Go and fish.’ The asker must then draw a card from stock –

so long as any remain – and add it to his own hand, leaving the

asked player to take over the turn to ask.

Whenever you get four of a kind you can lay them down like a

won trick after showing them to the others. The winner is the first

to run out of cards by giving them away when asked and discarding

them in fours when col ected. If more than one go out at the same

time, the winner is the one who col ected more groups of four.

Authors

Authors is so cal ed because the Victorians got their children to play

it with special cards depicting famous authors and their works. This

was considered ‘educational’ and therefore A Good Thing – unlike

ordinary cards, which are only mathematical and therefore A Bad

Thing.

From two to four players use a 52-card pack. The cards are

shuf led and dealt round one at a time as far as they wil go. It

doesn’t mat er if some people get more than others. The aim is to

lose your cards by discarding them in ‘books’ – that is, in sets of

four, such as four Aces, four Jacks, or whatever.

The player at dealer’s left starts by addressing any other player

and asking them for al the cards they have of a particular rank. The

rank asked for must, however, be one of which the asker has at

least one in his own hand. The player so asked must comply with

least one in his own hand. The player so asked must comply with

that request if possible. If so, the asker gets another turn and does

the same thing, asking the same or another player for cards of any

rank of which he holds at least one. This continues until a player

who is asked for cards has none of that rank. He then replies,

‘None,’ and takes over the turn to ask somebody else.

Whenever a player gets al four of a given rank he shows them to

the others and lays them down like a won trick. The winner is the

first to run out of cards by the process of giving them away and

discarding them in fours.

My Ship Sails

From four to seven players use a 52-card pack. Deal seven each and

throw the rest away. The aim is to be the first to col ect seven cards

of the same suit.

Everybody looks at their cards and places one of them, face

down, on the table at their left. This should be one of a suit they

are not planning to col ect. When al are ready, they each pick up

the card lying at their right and add it to their hand. If anyone now

has seven of a suit, they say ‘My ship sails’ and lay their cards face

up, thereby winning. If not, keep playing likewise til somebody

wins.

If two fil their hands at the same time, the winner is the first to

cal ‘My ship sails’ – or, if you prefer, the one with higher-ranking

card, or the second highest if tied, and so on.

Donkey (Pig)

From three to thirteen can play, but five or six is about right.

Remove from a 52-card pack as many groups of four as there are

players. For example, with five players you might use al four Aces,

Fives, Tens, Queens and Kings. Shuf le these cards together and deal

them round in ones so everyone gets exactly four. The aim is to get

four of a kind, or to notice when somebody else has done so.