The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (189 page)

part-scores multiplied together. First, for combinations, score as

fol ows:

sets: three of a kind 2 points, four of a kind 8 points,

suit-sequences: of three 3, four 4, five 6, six 12 points

Next, take this total and multiply it by the total number of cards

drawn by your opponent to produce your score for the deal.

MiséreTheoretical y, if you don’t make any combination at al you

score nothing, since one of the multipliers is zero. In this case,

however, the scores are reversed. The player who took no

combination scores the other player’s total, and that other player

scores zero.

ExampleGiven the layout il ustrated above, non-dealer played first

and eventual y finished with A9 AQ A AKQJ9, scoring 8 for

four Aces, plus 4 for the diamond sequence, times 14 cards taken by

dealer, total 168. Dealer took KQJ10 KJ109 KQJ109 10,

scoring 8 for four Tens, plus 4 for the Kings and Jacks, plus 4 for

the spade sequence, plus 3 for the heart sequence, plus 6 for the

clubs, total 25, times 10 cards taken by non-dealer, total 250.

Variant.Add a Joker to the pack, shuf le it in with the others and

make a layout of 25 cards. The Joker plays no part in

combinations. Al it does is to reduce the incidence of ties by

preventing the players from both taking the same number of cards,

for if one takes 12 the other wil have 13.

Caterpil ar(Court Short)

2 players, 52 cards

An adding-up game that wil probably never turn into a but erfly.

PreliminariesDeal each player thirteen cards from a 52-card pack

and stack the rest face down.

ObjectPrimarily, to score points by bringing the running total of

cards played to a multiple of five. Secondarily, to keep as many

court cards as possible in hand.

PlayEach in turn plays a card face up to the table and draws a

replacement from stock. The cards so played form an overlapping

row of cards cal ed the Caterpil ar. Non-dealer starts by playing any

numeral and announcing its value (Ace =1, Two = 2, etc.). If it is

a Five or a Ten, he scores 5 or 10 as appropriate. At each turn you

must play either

a numeral card of the same suit as the previous one, or

a courtcard of anysuit.

If you play a numeral, you announce the new sum total that it

makes, and if that total is a multiple of five you add it to your

score.

If you play a court, it adds nothing, and you repeat the same

total. If that total is a multiple of five, you score it only if the court

you played matches the suit of the previous card – not if it changes

the suit to be fol owed.

Keep going til no cards remain in stock, the caterpil ar contains

twenty-six, and both of you have thirteen left in hand.

ScoreTotal the amount you scored for multiples, and add 100 for

each court left in hand.

Court shortIf, in course of play, you get stuck because you can

neither fol ow suit nor play a court, you are said to be ‘court short’,

and thereby win. Having shown your cards to prove it, both of you

score whatever you made in play, and you who were court short

add 100 for each court left in your opponent’s hand. That’l teach

add 100 for each court left in your opponent’s hand. That’l teach

him to hog al the good cards!

Counterbluff

2 players, 52 cards

Poker for two. Yes, it has been done before; but here’s another

version.

PreliminariesDeal ten cards each from a 52-card pack and stack the

rest face down. A game consists of as many hands as it takes to

work once through the pack.

ObjectThe aim in each hand is to score points for making the best

Poker combination, or for bluf ing your opponent into folding (=

conceding) before a showdown.

Poker handsStandard Poker hands apply: high card, one pair, two

pairs, threes, straight, flush, ful house, fours, straight flush. When

playing low, standard Lowbal hands apply (see page 562).

PlayEach in turn, starting with the non-dealer, plays a card face up

to the table. Theoretical y, this continues until both have played

five cards, and the player whose five cards make the bet er Poker

combination wins the hand. If both hands are identical, the second

wins. Either player, however, having played at least one card, may

on any subsequent turn fold instead of playing a card. The winner

marks a score related to the total number of cards played by both

players in that hand, at the rate of 1 for the first card, 2 for the

second, 3 for the third, and so on. The ful schedule is therefore:

cards 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

score 3 6 10 15 21 28 36 45 55

Drawing from stockEach in turn, starting with the loser of the

previous hand, draws from stock until both have ten cards again, or

until the stock runs out. The loser then leads to the next hand.

Lowbal If you have a low hand, or simply want to get rid of five

indif erent cards in hope of drawing bet er, you can cal ‘Lowbal ’

on your turn to lead, and play a complete five-card hand either face

up or face down. Your opponent then has the choice of playing a

five-card hand face up or down, or folding without playing any

card. The possible outcomes are:

OpponentfoldsYou score 15 (without having to show your

hand if played face down).

plays face up Both hands are compared, and the lower-

ranking combination scores 30.

plays face down. You score 30 if you played face up, 5 if face

down.

Last handWhen the stock runs out, play continues without drawing

until at least one player has fewer than five cards. Both then reveal

their unplayed cards as a last hand. In this case combinations do not

count. Instead, whoever has the highest non-tying card (Ace high,

Two low) wins the hand and scores for it in the usual way.

Ful gamePlay up to 250 points, or any other agreed target.

Dracula

2 players, 54 cards

A two-player game with a bloodthirsty count. It may be played for

a smal or large stake – preferably through the heart.

PreliminariesTake a 54-card pack including two vampires (or

PreliminariesTake a 54-card pack including two vampires (or

Jokers) and cut a card from the middle. If it’s a red card, you deal

first, otherwise second. The deal alternates and there are six deals to

a game. Numerals count at face value from Ace = 1 to Ten = 10.

Face-cards count 0 or 10(see below).

DealDeal four each face down, turn the next one face up on the

table, and stack the rest face down. The faced card defines the

centre of an eventual square of nine cards forming three rows and

three columns (as at Noughts & Crosses) which the players

gradual y build up on the table. This layout is cal ed the cof in, and

the initial y faced card is the first nail in the cof in.

ObjectTo make the highest-scoring line of three cards in your

chosen direction. Decide before play who, when the cof in has been

built, wil score for the horizontal rows (Queen-player) and who for

the vertical columns (King-player.) Whichever you choose wil

apply throughout the game.

PlayEach in turn, starting with the non-dealer, plays a card face up

to the table in any of the other eight positions that may be vacant,

provided that it goes side by side with a card already in position –

corner to corner is not suf icient. Keep going til al are ful .

ScoreEach player scores the value of the highest-scoring line made

in their chosen direction, unless tied, when it is the second-highest

that counts (or, if stil tied, the third-highest). For this purpose:

1. The total face value of any line is doubled if it contains two

cards of the same suit, trebled if it contains three of the same

colour, or quintupled if it contains three of the same suit.

2. A Queen counts 10 horizontal y but 0 vertical y. A King counts

10 vertical y but 0 horizontal y. A Jack counts 0 either way.

(But the suit of a card worth zero remains valid for doubling,

trebling or quintupling the score of the line in which it

appears.)