The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (80 page)

they fail to reach 151, the opponents each score 8, since they add 1

for playing against the grannies.

Further variations

Poverty Some disal ow this bid. Others al ow it to be played in

conjunction with a Wedding. For example, if a Wedding is cal ed, a

player with three or fewer trumps may wed the cal er by pleading

Poverty with him, and proceeding accordingly.

King solo A soloist undertakes to take at least 121 points using only

the eight Kings as a trump suit, in the usual suit order (

). The

other four suits then rank A-T-Q-J-9.

Piglets (Schweinchen). A player with both Aces (or, variant, both

1Aces) may declare ‘Piglets’ before play begins. In this case the two

Aces count as the two highest trumps, beating both loonies. That

done, another player holding both Nines (or Tens if the Nines

are stripped out) may declare them to be ‘Hyperpiglets’

(Hyperschweinchen), in which case they become top trumps and

beat the ordinary piglets.

Doubling Some play that doubling literal y doubles the game value,

rather than adding2units. Some play that al Solo contracts are

automatical y doubled.

Catching a Loony Gain a point for playing a T and capturing the

other T of the opposing side.

Notes on play (Based on those by Noel Leaver on the Pagat

Notes on play (Based on those by Noel Leaver on the Pagat

website.)

The rule that the first of equal cards wins makes it very important

to lead the Ace of a side suit before an opponent can lead theirs, as

the second round is almost certain to be trumped – there are only

eight cards in a plain suit, or six in hearts. This is obviously less

urgent if you hold both Aces of a suit. Therefore, if leading to the

first trick, your priorities are usual y to lead:

a single black Ace (shortest suit first if you have A and

A);

a single Ace;

one of two identical Aces.

After this, you normal y try to give the lead to your partner. If

you are on the Queens’ side you wil normal y lead a trump to your

partner’s Queen. If you are on the other side you may lead a plain

suit, which gives a good indication of which side the leader is on

(but is not always done as a mat er of course). However, if your

partner has counter-doubled, you should lead a trump, as they

should have at least one Ten and may want you to lead trumps.

If you are trumping in, and fear being overtrumped, play at least

a Jack so that the fourth player cannot win with a Fox or trump

Ten. Similarly, if trumps are led, and you are the last of your side to

play to the trick, with one or both opponents after you, play a Jack

or higher if no high card has been played so far.

It is important to double if things seem to be going wel , not only

to increase the score for the game but also to entitle you to

announce ‘No 90’ if things keep going wel .

You can signal a particularly strong hand, especial y one rich in

high trumps, by doubling earlier than necessary – for example, on

your first play rather than your second, this indicates a possession of

additional strength.

If on the opening lead the fourth player doubles before second

hand plays, he probably expects to trump the lead and wants his

partner to put a valuable card on it.

partner to put a valuable card on it.

It is nearly always right to announce a marriage, as you wil

rarely have a hand strong enough for Solo. It is always desirable to

become the partner of a player with a marriage, as you get a

partner with at least two high trumps. Therefore, if on lead against

a marriage, you might lead a Ten to win the trick; otherwise you

could lead an Ace in your shortest suit. (However, the variant

whereby the second T beats the first is specifical y designed to

prevent this.)

A Poverty game is easier to win than it sounds, because the

Poverty player can discard valuable cards on partner’s tricks, and

also the accepting player gets the chance to create voids.

In considering a solo, having the opening lead is usual y a great

advantage. Trump solos require a much stronger hand than you

may think, and such hands wil also play wel in a normal game.

For an Ace solo, a five-card suit headed A-A-T wil normal y

capture over 60 points. For a Queen or Jack solo four trumps wil

often suf ice, but you also need a reasonable number of Aces.

Before announcing No 90 (or 60 or 30), remember you wil be

changing the target, and gambling 1 extra point against the possible

loss of the whole game. You must be confident of achieving this to

announce it.

Beware leading the second round of hearts. With only six cards in

the suit, you may be giving a ruf and discard to the opponents.

Avinas

4 players (2 × 2), 32 cards

The Lithuanian game of Avinas (‘Rams’ in English) is especial y

popular around the town of Jurbarkas on the river Niemen,