The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (65 page)

as before

previous leader’s partner

80-95

opponents opponents

previous leader’s right

1

opponent

100+

opponents opponents

previous leader’s right

2

opponent

Example: Both sides start at 2 game points. In the first hand South

declared trumps upon drawing a Two, and East-West took 15 card-

points. The Declarers score 1, bringing North-South to a total of 3

game points and leaving them as declarers in the next hand with

North as the Starter/Leader. Because they now have 3 game points,

the trump rank in the next hand wil be Threes.

Game Each side’s score is represented by the rank of the card that

wil be trumps when they become declarers. For example, when

they have 10 game points they are on Tens, 11 puts them on Jacks,

12 on Queens, 13 on Kings, and 14 on Aces. A side wins the whole

game when they reach Aces and win a hand with Aces as the trump

rank.

Shorter game To shorten the game, it may be agreed to play up to a

lower rank, for example from Twos to Sevens, or (McLeod’s

recommendation) to start at Sevens and play up to the Aces.

Comment A multiple lead is normal y made in the expectation that

each opponent has at least one card of the suit led and so cannot

win by ruf ing, or does not have enough trumps to match the

number of cards led. For this reason it is neither usual nor useful to

lead multiple trumps, though it is not il egal.

Zheng Fen (‘Competing for Points’)

3-6 players, 54 cards

A cross between a point-trick game such as Da Bai Fen and a

climbing game such as Zheng Shangyou, this Chinese oddity was

first described, in Die Pöppel-Revue, by Axel Schmale, who learnt it

in China during a railway journey. The fol owing is based on John

McLeod’s English rewrite.

Preliminaries Three to six players play to the right.

Cards 54, including two distinguishable Jokers. They rank: High

Joker, Low Joker, then 2AKQJT9876543 in each suit.

Object To win counters in tricks, counting 10 for each King and

Ten, and 5 for each Five, making 100 in al .

First deal The pack is cut by the player to the right of the shuf ler

and set face down on the table. Each in turn, starting with the

cut er, draws a card from the top of the pack and takes it into hand.

This continues until al 54 have been taken. It doesn’t mat er if

some players have one more than others.

Play Whoever holds 3 leads to the first round. The leader may

play any of the combinations listed in the table below. Each in turn

thereafter must either pass or else play a combination which is (a)

of the same type as the one led and (b) higher in rank than any so

far played to that round. Alternatively, they may play one of the

three special combinations, which in its turn can be beaten only by

three special combinations, which in its turn can be beaten only by

a higher special combination.

Play may continue for several rounds. A player who has once

passed is stil permit ed to play if the turn comes round to him

again. The round ends, however, when one person plays and

everyone else passes. Whoever played last (and highest) may not

play again, but wins al the cards played to that round. The winner

of a round leads to the next, and is free to play any of the legal

combinations.

combination definition or example

won by

singleton

one card

highest card

pair

two of the same rank

highest pair

triplet

three of the same rank

highest triplet

quartet

four of the same rank

highest quartet

pair sequence at least three pairs in sequence, highest cards, or, if equal,

e.g. 2-2-A-A-K-K

longest sequence

triple

at least three triplets in sequence, highest cards, or, if equal,

sequence

e.g. Q-Q-Q-J-J-J-T-T-T

longest sequence

quadruple

e.g. 9-9-9-9-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-7

highest cards, or, if equal,

sequence

longest sequence

suit sequence at least five in suit and sequence, highest cards, or, if equal,

e.g. 7-6-5-4-3

longest sequence

triplet and two cards: the two

highest triplet

full house must be:

(the other two cards have no

effect)

(a) of the same rank (e.g. 7-7), or

(b) of the same suit and

consecutive in rank (e.g. 7- 6),

or

(c) any two counters (e.g. K-5), or

(d) a Three and any other card

King-Ten-Five not all the same

beats any of the above, but

special (1) suit

is beaten by special (2) and

suit

special (3)

special (2) King-Ten-Five of the same

beats any of the above, but

suit

is beaten by special (3)

special (3) four Twos

beats everything