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AVINAS
Hey there! Let me tell you all about Avinas, a fun card game designed for four players who partner up in fixed pairs. In this game, you’ll win tricks and score points based on the cards you collect. But here’s the twist: instead of trying to collect the most points, you actually want to avoid penalties and be penalized less than the other teams. Intriguing, right?
The ultimate goal in Avinas is to win the game by accumulating fewer penalties, not by racking up points. So, it’s all about strategy and avoiding those pesky penalties.
Avinas is played over a series of rounds, and the game continues until one of the teams reaches a certain number of penalties. Are you ready for the challenge? Great, let’s get started!
SETUP
Now, let’s talk about setting up for a game of Avinas. You’ll need a regular deck of 52 cards, but we’ll only be using a modified version with 32 cards. To create the deck, simply remove all the cards from 6 to Ace, and keep the Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, 10s, 9s, 8s, and 7s.
Partners, pick your spots and let’s get dealing. I’ll start off as the dealer, but don’t worry, it’ll rotate to the left each round. Now, I’ll shuffle up the deck and deal each of us 8 cards in sets of 4.
Here’s an interesting twist: we’ll flip over the 4th and 8th card from the opposing team’s hand. But wait, there’s more! We’ll also take a peek at our own 4th and 8th cards, but only if they happen to be sevens. Sneaky, huh?
Now, here’s the exciting part: the game changes depending on how many sevens we uncover. It’s like unearthing hidden treasure!
Oh, before we dive in, let’s get familiar with the card rankings and values. Remember, the trump and non-trump suits have their own special ranks.
Now that we’re all set, let the games begin! Trust me, you won’t be able to resist the thrill of this unique card game.
When it comes to trumps in a deck of cards, the highest-ranking card is the Queen of clubs. Following that are the 7, Queen of spades, Queen of hearts, Queen of diamonds, Jack of Clubs, Jack of spades, Jack of hearts, Jack of diamonds, Ace, 10, King, 9, and 8, which is the lowest.
For all the other suits, the ranking is slightly different. The Ace is the highest-ranking card, followed by the 10, King, 9, 8, and 7, which is the lowest.
In some games, certain cards have specific values. The aces are worth 11 points, 10s are worth 10 points, Kings are worth 4 points, Queens are worth 3 points, Jacks are worth 2 points, and all other cards have no value at all.
Now, Let’s Find Out Who the Declarer Is!
So, here’s the deal. When it comes to deciding who gets to declare the trump suit in a card game, there are a couple of ways to go about it.
First off, let me explain what a trump suit is. In the game we’re talking about, each suit has a ranking, right? Well, the trump suit is the one that gets to be the all-powerful, super-duper suit that can beat any other suit. Pretty cool, huh?
Now, let’s get back to the point. If, when the cards are being dealt, somebody ends up revealing a seven, that person gets to be the declarer, and the suit of that seven becomes the trump suit. Simple as that!
But here’s where it gets interesting. If there are multiple sevens revealed, it’s a bit of a showdown. In this case, the last seven that was dealt steals the spotlight and becomes the declarer and, you guessed it, the trump suit.
So, there you have it! Figuring out who gets to declare the trump suit can seem like a real puzzle, but with these rules in mind, it’s actually not so complicated. Just keep your eyes peeled for those magic sevens and you’ll be on your way to victory!
When no 7s are revealed, I’ll tell you how many cards of a particular suit I have in my hand, but not the suit itself, like saying “I have 5” for 5 hearts. Then, you and the other players have a choice: either pass or declare a higher number. If everyone passes, we reshuffle and the next player becomes the dealer. But if one or more players declare a number, the highest declaration determines the declarer and the first player. However, if it turns out that the declarer doesn’t actually have as many cards of that suit as they declared, their team loses the round.
GAMEPLAY
When we play the game, the number of 7s we reveal determines how it’s played. But regardless, the way we play tricks remains the same. When it’s time to play a trick, we follow the suit of the card that was led. If we can’t, we can play a trump or any other card. The highest trump wins. If there are no trumps, then the highest card of the suit that was led wins. The person who wins the trick gets to lead the next one.
If at least one 7 was revealed, then the person who declared the trump gets to start the round by leading the first trick. But before that happens, either the person who declared the trump or their partner can knock on the table. This means they’re trying to win all 8 tricks in order to double the penalties for the losing team. The other team then also gets a chance to knock. And if they do, the penalties will be doubled again.
So here’s the thing: when I play this game, I start off with a sneaky move. I lead with a trump, trying to throw everyone off guard. The winner of that move gets to call the shots for the next round, and guess what? They have to lead with a trump too. If they can’t, they have the option to go for any card they want, face up or face down. If it’s face down, they’ll give a little expression to their partner, clueing them in on whether it’s a good card or not. Pretty clever, huh?
But here’s the interesting part. The other players have to follow suit, even if they don’t have a trump to play. And you know what? The highest trump card takes the win for that round. Simple, right? But wait, there’s more. Once all the other cards have been played, it’s time to reveal that sneaky face-down card and see what it brings to the table.
If no 7s are shown, I get to go first and play the first card of the trump suit. This card has to be the same suit that I used to become the declarer. If the card happens to be a jack or a queen, the player on my left has to ask what the trump suit is. But if no 7 was shown, we don’t have to play all 8 tricks. We can stop the game whenever we want, whether we’re winning or losing.
Once we finish playing all the tricks or decide to stop, we start scoring.
Scoring
Scoring in this game works in two different ways, depending on whether or not 7s were revealed.
If there were 7s revealed during the deal, we score something called “rams.” To keep track of this, we use a score sheet. We start by cancelling rams on the other team’s sheet and then marking the ones we have left on ours. Only one side should have rams marked on their sheet.
To figure out who gets rams, we need to determine if the declarer’s team won or not. In order for the declarer to win, they must collect 61 points or win all of the tricks if a knock was made.
If the declarer wins, the other team will receive rams based on the number of 7s that were revealed. Each revealed 7 corresponds to 1 ram. For example, if all four 7s were revealed, the other team would score 4 rams. On the other hand, if the declarer loses, double the number of points for the revealed 7s will be scored to the declarer’s team.
If the declarer successfully knocks, the other team will receive 2, 4, 6, or 8 rams. However, if the knock is unsuccessful, the declarers will receive 4, 8, 12, or 16 rams. If both teams knock and the declarer is successful, the other team scores 4, 8, 12, or 16 rams. If not, the declarers receive 8, 16, 24, or 32 rams.
In the game of sevens, if no sevens are shown, you get penalties known as pips. To keep track, write the number of penalties on the score sheet.
If your team gets 61 points or more, you win! The other team gets pips based on their score. If they score 31 points or more, they get one pip. If they score less than 31 but still some points, they get two pips. And if they don’t score anything, they get three pips.
If your team doesn’t reach 61 points, you get pips based on your score. If you score more than 31 points, you get two pips. If you score less than 31 but still some points, you get four pips. And if you don’t score anything, you get six pips.
Remember, pips can’t be canceled, and if either team gets 12 pips or more, the game is over.
THE END OF THE GAME
When you play the game, the goal is to score 12 pips or more. If one team has no pips, they lose the game and can’t play for the rest of the day.
If both teams have pips, the winner is the team with fewer rams. If there haven’t been any rams scored, then the team with fewer pips wins.
If both teams have pips, the winner is the team with fewer rams. If there haven’t been any rams scored, then the team with fewer pips wins.