The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (197 page)

hands to produce the freakish distributions necessary for interesting

scores. Another is that it is clearly a game of skil , but I’ve never

been able to work out what skil it requires or whether I have it

(whatever it is).

Preliminaries Four players sit ing crosswise in partnerships receive

thirteen cards each from a 52-card pack ranking AKQJT98765432

in each suit.

Play Eldest leads to the first of 13 tricks played at no trump. Players

must fol ow suit if possible, otherwise may play any card. The trick

is taken by the highest card of the suit led, and the winner of each

is taken by the highest card of the suit led, and the winner of each

trick leads to the next. There are no trumps.

Each trick carries a score. Its scoring value is that of the lowest

card it containsofthe suit led(therunt). For example, if 9isled, and

is fol owed by 5, Q and 3, then the trick is taken by the

Queen and counts 5 points. For this purpose, courts count 15 and

Aces 20 each. (The grand coup in Tantony is to lead an Ace when

no one can fol ow suit.)

Having won a trick, you may either keep it yourself, or give it to

any one of the other three players. Theoretical y, this enables you to

keep fat runts for your own side’s score and give the skinny ones

away. The catch, however, is that no player may take or be given

more than three tricks. This means you can give it only to someone

who has not yet fil ed their quota of three, which in turn means you

wil sometimes have to give the fat ones away and keep the lit l’uns

for yourself.

Whoever is given the trick stacks it face down, but with the runt

face up, and leads to the next.

End When 12 tricks have been played, everyone turns up their last

card. Whoever has the lowest card counts it as a runt, leaving it face

up to contribute to their score, while the others turn theirs face

down. If there is a tie for lowest, al tied cards score as runts.

Score Each side scores the total face-value of its runts, of which

there may be six, seven or eight.

Next deal There is no deal as such. Instead, everybody gathers up

their three tricks and, with the addition of the odd card they played

to the last trick, re-forms them into a new hand of thirteen cards.

The first trick is led by the player to the left of the previous leader.

Game is four deals. For a longer game, play up to 250 or 500

points.

Anarchy

4-6 players, 52 or 60 cards

A fun game with a dubious skil factor.

Deal Four players receive thirteen each from a 52-card pack. Five

receive 12 each, or six 10 each, from a 60-card pack. This may be

either an Australian ‘500’ pack containing Elevens and Twelves, or

a 52-card pack with four extra Twos and Threes from a second

pack of identical back design and colour.

Bids Everyone examines their hand and announces how they intend

to score for the cards they expect to win in tricks. The possible bids

and their scores are:

cards

1 per card

reds (or blacks) 2 per card of the colour bid

best

3 per card of whichever suit you take most of

spades (etc.)

4 per card of the suit bid

shorts

5 per card short of the number you were dealt

If you bid shorts, any Ace you hold ranks low (below Two),

provided that you cal ‘Low’ upon playing it.

Play When everyone’s bid has been writ en down for future

reference, tricks are played as fol ows. Each player picks out a card

and holds it face down on the table. When al are ready, the cards

are simultaneously revealed. Then…

If two or more players show the same suit, the highest card of

If two or more players show the same suit, the highest card of

that suit wins any others played of that suit.

If two or more play singletons (unmatched suits), the highest

singleton wins al the other singletons.

If the highest singletons are equal, or if only one singleton is

played, each singleton wins itself.