The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (85 page)

need not be fol owed. The higher card of the suit led wins the trick.

There are no trumps. The trick-winner draws the next card from

stock, waits for the other to draw, and leads to the next. When none

remain, suit must be fol owed if possible in the play of the last six

tricks. Count a single win for taking 11-14 honours, double for 15-

19, treble for al twenty. Variant. Before play, turn the top card of

stock for trumps and half cover it with the pack, to be taken by the

loser of the sixth trick. A trick can then be taken by the higher

trump if any are played. In the last six tricks, a player unable to

fol ow suit must trump if possible.

Bura

2-6 players, 36 cards

A game played in Russian prisons, as described in The Playing-Card

(XXVI , 2) by John McLeod, from information supplied by Dr

Alexey Lobashev.

Preliminaries Best played by two, with a 36-card pack, ranking and

counting Ace 11, Ten 10, King 4, Queen 3, Jack 2, numerals Nine to

Six nothing.

Deal When everyone has added an agreed stake to the pot, deal

Deal When everyone has added an agreed stake to the pot, deal

three cards each and stack the rest face down. Turn the next card for

trump and half bury it under the stack.

Object To be the first to claim (correctly) to have captured cards

total ing 31 or more.

Play Eldest leads first. The leader may play one card, or two or

three of the same suit. The fol owers must each play the same

number of cards, but may freely choose which, there being no need

to fol ow suit. A single trick is taken by the highest card of the suit

led, or by the highest trump if any are played. If two or three cards

were led, each one is played to as a separate trick. You can win a

multiple trick only by winning both or al three tricks individual y.

Example: Diamonds are trump. Alex leads K-J. Boris plays 9 J,

which beats one card (by trumping) but not the other. Grigori plays

A Q, which respectively beat 9 K and J J, giving him a

multiple trick worth 22.

Draw Won tricks are stored face down and may not be referred to.

After each trick, each in turn, starting with the trick-winner, draws

cards from stock until al have three again. If not enough remain to

go round, take as many as possible for al to have the same number

and play the hand out without drawing any more.

Pay-of Play ceases when someone claims to have made 31 or more,

which must be done by memory and without checking. The

claimant’s cards are then examined. If the claim was successful, he

wins the pot. If not, he doubles it. Each subsequent deal is made by

the previous claimant, even if he claimed wrongly. If no one claims,

the pot is added to and carried forward, and the same dealer deals

again.

Special hands Certain hands entitle their holder to lead to the next

Special hands Certain hands entitle their holder to lead to the next

round of tricks, even if they didn’t win the previous trick. These are,

from lowest to highest:

1. Modolka. Three cards of the same suit.

2. Three Aces.

3. Bura. Any three trumps.

A player who holds such a hand must declare it before the

previous trick-winner leads if he wishes to lead instead. If two or

more players have the same special hand, priority goes to

whichever of them would be playing earlier to the trick if it were

led by the previous trick-winner.

Sedma

2-4 players, 32 cards

Sedma, the Czech for ‘Seven’, is an appropriate title for this

Bohemian game with rules as simple as they are unique. It appears

here because I suspect it was probably original y played with the

old 11-10-4-3-2 schedule.

Preliminaries Two or three may play, each for himself. The game is

best for four, sit ing crosswise in partnerships and playing to the

right.

Cards Thirty-two, consisting of ATKQJ987 in each suit. Deal eight

each, one at a time. The aim is to win Aces and Tens in tricks, each

counting 10 points. A further 10 for winning the last trick makes 90

in al , so preventing ties.

Play Eldest leads first, and the winner of each trick leads to the

next. Subsequent players need not fol ow suit but may play as they

please. A trick is taken, when the leader deems it complete, by the

last played card of the same rank as the one led. Sevens are wild,

and therefore duplicate the rank led. Examples:

played winning card

score

9-J-A-J Nine, neither matched nor trumped 10

9-A-A-9 second Nine

20

9-T-7-J Seven (counts as a Nine)

10

A-7-Q-A second Ace

20

7-7-7-7 fourth Seven

0

When four cards have been played, the leader to the trick may,

regardless of who won it, leave it in place and lead to another

round with a card of the same rank as the previous lead, or a Seven.

The others then play another card, as before. In fact, the leader may