Let’s Talk About Bird Dog

Hey there! Have you ever heard of the game called Bird Dog? It’s a cool modern trick-taking game that was created by Nathanial Meadow and his friends back in 2017. They got their inspiration from other popular games like Spades, Hearts, and Turn Up Euchre.

In Bird Dog, the goal is to capture tricks and collect pairs of face cards. Instead of counting the number of tricks you win, you actually earn points for every pair of face cards you collect. Oh, and there’s also the special Bird Dog card that adds an extra twist to the game. Exciting, right?

The Cards and How to Deal

Now, let’s talk about the cards used in Bird Dog. You’ll need a 24-card Euchre deck that includes the 9’s through the Aces. Each player gets seven cards, so shuffle them up and deal them out. The last three cards are placed face down in the middle of the table. These cards will determine the trump suit and the special Bird Dog. Don’t forget to flip over the top card! And remember, the deal passes to the left after each round.

The Bidding Process

Just like Turn Up Euchre, you’ll see a card flipped over and decide whether you want that suit to be trump or not. It all starts with the player on the left of the dealer and goes around the table. If the bid comes back to the dealer and they pass, the bid card is flipped over and the next one is turned up. This keeps going until a player calls the trump card or the third bid card is flipped up. If the third card is flipped up, that suit automatically becomes the trump suit.

The three cards that determined the trump are set aside from the game. They are kept separate and the trump card is face up for the whole round.

THE BIRD DOG

When you play the game, there’s a special card that becomes the most powerful one. It’s called the Bird Dog, and it’s the same rank and color as the trump bid card. The Bird Dog keeps its suit, and it takes the place of the highest ranking card for the hand. Let’s say the 9 of hearts is the bid card and someone chooses it as trump. In that case, the 9 of diamonds becomes the Bird Dog. It’s now the highest ranking card for the hand, and it still acts as a diamond.

GOING NIL

Once the trump suit has been decided, each player, starting with the one to the left of the dealer, has a chance to make a special declaration. They can declare that they are going Nil. However, only one player can do this, and it means they believe they won’t capture any tricks at all.

THE PLAY

When the game begins, players are not just trying to win tricks. They are also aiming to collect pairs of face cards. That’s how they earn points in the game.

When we’re playing a game, the person to the left of the dealer goes first. They can choose any card they want to play. The other players have to play a card from the same suit if they have one. If they don’t have a card from the same suit, they can play any card they want. The player who plays the highest card from the suit that was led, the highest trump card, or the Bird Dog gets to take the trick. The player who takes the trick leads the next round. We keep playing until all the tricks have been taken.

HOW WE SCORE

At the end of the round, we look at the cards we captured. If we have pairs of face cards, we get points. We can only use each face card once to make a pair. So if we have three Kings, it only counts as one pair. We don’t get points for 9’s, 10’s, or Aces.

Each pair we capture is worth one point. If the player who captured the most pairs didn’t choose the trump suit, they get an extra point.

If I choose to go nil and successfully capture no tricks, I can earn 3 points. However, if I fail to achieve this, then I will lose three points. It’s important to note that scoring for pairs remains the same, regardless of whether someone goes nil or not.

THE GOAL: WINNING THE GAME

The ultimate objective is to be the first player to reach 11 points. If there happens to be a tie between players, we simply continue playing and have another round with all of them. The player with the highest score in the end wins the game.

In summary, going nil can either boost or hinder my score, depending on my success. The overall meaning of the game is to earn enough points to be the first player to reach 11. However, if there’s a tie, we continue playing until we have a clear winner with the highest score.