RIKKEN

Hey there! Have you heard of Rikken? It’s an exciting card game that’s popular in Northern Europe. In Rikken, players try to win tricks and have a unique way of bidding for their hands. Let me explain how it works!

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

First things first. In Rikken, we use a standard deck of cards. You know, the one with 52 cards. Trick-play and deck structure are important in this game. But what sets Rikken apart is its extensive bidding system.

Now, bidding is where things get interesting. Each player looks at their cards and decides how much they’re willing to bet. There are different bids you can make, ranging from low to high. The highest bidder becomes responsible for meeting that bid. The bidding can be done with a partner or by yourself, depending on the game.

Once the highest bid is determined, a trump suit is chosen. This suit has special powers and makes certain cards more valuable. It adds an extra layer of strategy to the game.

Rikken can be played for points or even for cash if you’re feeling lucky. If you’re playing for points, you need to decide how many rounds you’re going to play. At the end of each round, the player with the most points wins! On the other hand, if you’re playing for cash, you settle the payments at the end of each round. It can be quite exciting!

So, are you ready to give Rikken a try? Gather your friends, grab a deck of cards, and let the bidding begin. Enjoy the thrill and strategic planning as you aim for victory in each round. Have fun!

Hey there! Let’s talk about a fun card game you can play with a standard 52-card deck. The game is called “Bidding,” and it’s all about making strategic bids to win tricks. Here’s how it works:

First, you need to determine who will be the dealer. The dealer will simply cut the deck, but don’t shuffle it! Each player will then be dealt 13 cards, with the cards being dealt in packets of six and seven. The dealing order will rotate to the left after each round.

BIDDING

The bidding phase of the game begins with the player seated to the left of the dealer. During bidding, players make bids from low to high, and each bid comes with specific details and points. Here’s a table to help you understand the bidding options:

Bid	Details	Points
Rich	Win at least 8 tricks with a partner called by Ace, and the bid-winner gets to choose the trump suit.	1 + 1 point for each trick beyond 8
Rich Better	Win at least 8 tricks with a partner called by Ace, with Hearts being the trump suit.	1 + 1 point for each trick beyond 8
8 Alone	Win at least 8 tricks without a partner and call the trump suit.	1 + 1 point for each trick beyond 8
Misery	Try to win zero tricks without a partner and without a trump suit.	5
1 Alone	Win only 1 trick without a partner and without a trump suit.	5
9 Alone	Win at least 9 tricks without a partner and call the trump suit.	1 + 1 point for each trick beyond 9
10 Alone	Win at least 10 tricks without a partner and call the trump suit.	1 + 1 point for each trick beyond 10
11 Alone	Win at least 11 tricks without a partner and call the trump suit.	1 + 1 point for each trick beyond 11
12 Alone	Win at least 12 tricks without a partner and call the trump suit.	1 + 1 point for each trick beyond 12
Open Misery	Try to win zero tricks without a partner, without a trump suit, and reveal your hand on the table after the first trick.	10
Open 1 Alone	Win only 1 trick without a partner, without a trump suit, and reveal your hand on the table after the first trick.	10
Triple Ace	Win at least 8 tricks with a partner who has the fourth Ace, and the trump suit is called by the partner.	2 + 1 point for each trick beyond 8
Open Misery – All Players	Try to win zero tricks without a partner, without a trump suit, and reveal all players’ cards on the table after the first trick. The opponents can discuss which cards to play.	15
Open 1 Alone – All Players	Win only 1 trick without a partner, without a trump suit, and reveal all players’ cards on the table after the first trick. The opponents can discuss which cards to play.	15
13 Alone	Try to win all 13 tricks without a partner and call the trump suit.	15
Open 13 Alone	Try to win all 13 tricks without a partner, call the trump suit, and reveal your hand on the table after the first trick.	20

So, those are the different bidding options you can choose from in the game of Bidding. It’s a game that requires both strategy and a bit of luck. Have fun playing!

When I make a bid, everyone else needs to either bid higher or pass. If they pass, they can’t join the bidding again. Once everyone but one person has passed, we can start the round. The winner of the bid needs to fulfill their contract.

But there’s one exception to this rule. It’s possible for more than one person to bid Misery or 1 Alone. Both of those bids are at the same level. Open Misery and Open 1 Alone are also at the same level, as well as Open Misery All Players and Open 1 Alone All Players.

If everyone passes without bidding, we collect the cards and deal them again. The person sitting to the left of the previous dealer becomes the new dealer.

CALL FOR AN ACE

So, here’s the deal: when the person who made the winning bid says they’re “Rich” or “Rich Better,” they have to pick a partner. And how do they do that? Well, they simply call for an Ace. Yup, any Ace they want. And that player becomes their partner for the whole round. That call has to be made before the first trick, though. And once they’ve got their partner, that partner can’t say a word. So, the partners are just revealed as the cards are played. But, here’s the thing, you can’t call the Ace of trumps. Nope, that one’s off-limits.

Now, usually, the person who made the winning bid has to call an Ace of a suit that they actually have in their hand. Makes sense, right? But, if they don’t have any Aces left because they already played them, well, they can still call for an Ace in a suit they don’t have. They just have to let everyone know that it’s a blind call.

Oh, and guess what? If the bid-winner has all four Aces (lucky them!), they can even call for a King! Same rules go for Kings too, by the way.

And here’s a fun little twist: if a player has three Aces and no one else bid higher than “troela,” they absolutely have to bid “Triple Ace” on their first bid. No way around it!

The Play

Let’s talk about how the game is played. When I win the bid, I get to choose the trump suit before we start the first trick.

Once the trump suit is decided, the player sitting to the left of the dealer takes the lead and plays the first card. The other players should try their best to follow suit by playing a card of the same suit if they have one. But if they don’t have a card of the lead suit, they can play any card they want. Now, here’s the exciting part – the highest card of the lead suit wins the trick! But if someone plays a card of the trump suit, then the highest card of the trump suit takes the trick instead.

If someone called for an Ace to be their partner, they have to play that Ace as soon as its suit is led. If the Ace was called blindly, the person who won the bid can lead the trick with a face-down card. The other players have to play a card of the called Ace’s suit if they have one. The called Ace itself must be played during the trick. Then, after the trick is done, the person who won the bid shows their card. The called Ace or the highest trump card wins the trick.

We keep playing until all 13 tricks are done. Once we finish the final trick, we add up the score.

SCORING

When I win a bid in the game, me and my partner, if I have one, earn the points that are listed in the bidding table. But if I fail to meet my bid, the other players get the points instead. They also get some extra points for each trick that I am short of my bid. For example, if I bid 8 Alone and only capture 6 tricks, my opponents would earn 3 points (1 point for the bid and 2 points for being 2 tricks short).

BEING THE WINNER

The person with the highest score at the end of the agreed number of rounds is the winner.

The person with the highest score at the end of the agreed number of rounds is the winner.