The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (191 page)

2 players, 32 cards

Many games involve matching cards together. In this one,

perversely, you aim to avoid put ing matched cards together.

CardsDeal four each from a 32-card pack (none lower than Seven)

and stack the rest face down. Each suit and rank has a point value

as fol ows:

J K 7 8 9 10 A Q

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

ObjectTo play cards to a layout in such a way as to avoid put ing

cards of the same suit next to each other, and cards of the same

rank in line with one another. Every match so made gives the

opponent a score, which can conveniently be kept on a cribbage

board.

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

to the table. Each subsequent card must go side by side with a card

already down. The first sixteen cards played must eventual y form a

square of four rows and four columns. Leave enough space between

the longer edges of adjacent cards to al ow a card to be turned

sideways without overlapping.

ScoringIf the card just played by your opponent matches the suit of

any adjacent card, whether diagonal y or orthogonal y, you score

the value of the matching suit. If it matches the rank of any card in

the same row, column or diagonal, you score the value of the

matching rank. You may claim and score for each and every match

so made in one turn, provided that you do so before playing your

own next card.

Drawing new cardsWhen both have played four cards, deal each

player eight more from stock. Then continue as before til the

square contains sixteen cards face up. This completes the first level.

Second levelDeal out the rest of the stock so as to restore each hand

to eight cards. The leader to the second half of the game is the

player with the higher score at the end of the first half, or, if equal,

the one who played the last (sixteenth) card. Turns then alternate.

At each turn you play a card on top of a card played in level one,

which is then turned face down and rotated 90 degrees so that its

long edges go the opposite way. This is to show that it has been

played on and may not be added to.

Scores are made as before, but now with an additional penalty. If

your opponent plays a card on top of a card that matches it by rank

or suit, you score ten times the value of that rank or suit, in

addition to any other scores that may be made in the usual way.

Get Stuck

2players,52 cards

This one is more of a board game than a card game. If you like

mazes, you may find it suitably amazing.

PreliminariesRemove the Tens from a 52-card pack and add a Joker

(or use one of the Tens as a Joker). Decide who is to play red cards

and who black throughout the session. The turn to deal alternates.

DealShuf le the remaining 49 cards and deal them al out face up in

a square of seven rows and seven columns. Then remove the Joker,

whose only purpose was to leave a gap at random.

ObjectThe primary aim is to be the last player legal y able to turn a

card face down. A secondary aim is to turn down lower rather than

higher numerals. For this purpose Ace counts 1 and numerals 2 to 9

at face value. Courts count 10 each to the winner but minus 10 to

the loser.

PlayTo start, non-dealer takesanycardofhisown colour lyinghorizon-

tal y or vertical y in line with the gap, moves it to the gap, and

turns it face down, leaving another gap where this card came from.

Dealer then does the same thing, moving a card of his own colour

in a straight line to the resultant gap and turning it down. The two

continue to play alternately in the same way, but with the

fol owing special rules:

In moving to the gap, a numeral (A23456789) may not pass

over a card lying face down. Only courts (JQK) may jump

over ‘dead’ cards.

If you can make a horizontal or vertical move, you must do

so.

When unable to move either horizontal y or vertical y, you

must instead move a card of your own colour that lies in a

diagonal line with the gap. The same proviso applies, in that

only courts can pass diagonal y over dead cards.

If you can’t move at al , the game ends, and you have lost.

ScoreThe winner scores the face value of al numerals of his own

colour left face up, plus 10 for each of his face-up court cards. The

loser scores the face value of al numerals of his own colour left

face up, but then subtracts 10 for each of his face-up court cards.

GamePlay up to a target score of (say) 250.

CommentThe sooner you win, the higher you score. If too many

cards get turned down, the nominal winner could finish with a

lower score than the loser.

Over the Top

2players, 52 cards

An adding-up game.

PreliminariesDeal thirteen cards each from a 52-card pack and stack

the rest face down.

ObjectTo win high-scoring cards in tricks. A trick consists of four

cards, whose face values are added and announced as each one is

played. The final total determines who wins the trick. Cards count

as fol ows when played to tricks:

2–10 face value

Ace

11 or 1

Queen 10 or 0

Jack 10 if led, otherwise deducts the value of the last numeral played

King 10 if led, otherwise adds the value of the last numeral played

PlayA trick consists of four cards, one of each suit. Each in turn,

PlayA trick consists of four cards, one of each suit. Each in turn,

starting with the non-dealer, plays a card and announces the

combined value of al cards so far played. Aces and Queens count 1

and 0 only if 11 and 10 would bring the total to more than 21. A

trick counting 22 or more is ‘over the top’.

Each card must dif er in suit from those already played. If you

can’t play without duplicating a suit, you must pass, leaving your

opponent to play as many more cards as necessary to complete the

trick.

A trick counting 21 or less is won by the player of the last card. A

trick counting 22 or more is lost by the player who first took it over

the top.

ScoreScoring is done by removing from the trick the cards whose

values are relevant, and discarding the rest to a common waste-pile.

A trick counting less than 21 scores the value of its two lowest cards

(counting courts 10 each and Ace 11). A trick counting more than

21 scores the value of its two highest cards. A trick counting exactly

21 scores the value of every card it contains.

After each trick, players draw from stock alternately until they

have 13 cards again, or until the stock runs out. The winner of a

trick draws first and leads to the next.

Parity

2 players, 30 cards

A game of perfect information. You know exactly what each other

holds!

Cards Thirty, consisting of A-K-Q-J-10-5-2 in each suitplus two

Cards Thirty, consisting of A-K-Q-J-10-5-2 in each suitplus two

Jokers, one of each colour. The Jokers are always the two highest

trumps, that of the trump colour being higher than the other. So, for

example, if hearts are trump, the red Joker ranks highest, fol owed

by the black Joker, fol owed by A-K-Q-J-10-5-2.

Deal The turn to deal alternates. Shuf le thoroughly between deals

and deal 15 cards each in ones.

Trumps The players examine their hands and non-dealer announces

which suit is to be trump.

Object Dealer then states the target parity – that is, whether the

object is to win an odd or an even number of the 15 tricks to be

played. (For this purpose zero is even.)

Play Non-dealer leads to the first trick. You must fol ow suit if you

can, but may play any card if you can’t. The trick is taken by the

higher card of the suit led, or by the higher trump if any are played,

and the winner of each trick leads to the next.

Score Only the player who wins the required parity of tricks (odd

or even) scores. The score is 10 points for winning, plus 1 point for

each trick won. Thus the lowest possible score is 10 (target even,

win 0 tricks) and the highest 25 (target odd, win al 15 tricks).

Game Game is 100 points. The loser is lurched (skunked) for failing

to reach 66 points, and double-lurched for failing to reach 50.

Cross Purposes

2 players, 52 cards

The basic ideais that one player chooses a trump suit and the other

a ‘top rank’, thus exercising a variable and contrary dimension of

trick-taking power. Whatever rank is chosen as ‘tops’, the others

fol ow it in descending sequence, turning the corner from Ace to

King as necessary. For example, if Eights are tops, then in each suit

the ranking order of cards from high to low is 8765432AKQJ109.

(For a four-player version, see

.)

Deal Deal 13 cards each and stack the rest face down. Non-dealer

examines his hand and announces either which suit is to be trump

(e.g. ‘Spades’), or which rank is to be top (e.g. ‘Eights’). If he

declares trumps, dealer then responds by declaring tops.

Conversely, if he declares tops, dealer responds by declaring

trumps.

Play – Phase 1 Non-dealer leads to the first of 13 tricks. You must

fol ow suit if you can, but may play any card if you can’t. 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. At

end of play note how many tricks you each took and put them to