Welcome to Blind Don!

Blind Don is an exciting twist on the popular Irish game Nine Card Don. It’s a game of strategy where two players compete to capture the most valuable cards. What makes Blind Don unique is that the score is kept as the game progresses. Unlike other games, points are accumulated after each trick. To keep score easily, you can use a Cribbage board, or if you don’t have one, a sheet of paper and a pencil will do just fine.

The Cards and the Deal

In Blind Don, a standard 52-card French deck is used. To determine who deals first, each player draws a card from the deck. The player with the lower card becomes the dealer. The dealer position alternates with each new round.

When we play the game, the dealer has the important task of collecting the cards, making sure they’re mixed up well, and then handing them out. In total, there are 36 cards that will be handed out. Here’s how it works:

First, the dealer takes 18 of the cards and deals them face down in front of each player. This forms a row of cards for each person to use.

Next, the dealer takes the other 18 cards and deals them face up, right on top of the first row of cards. This creates a second row that everyone can see.

Lastly, any remaining cards that weren’t used in the rows are set aside to the side.

Let’s Play!

So, when the game begins, it’s my turn to go first. I look at the face-up cards in front of me and decide which one to play. The card I choose will determine the trump suit for this round. Exciting, right?

Now it’s the other player’s turn. They look at their own face-up cards and pick one to play. But here’s the catch – they have to follow the suit that I led with, if they can. If they don’t have any cards of the same suit, they can play any card from their hand. It’s all about strategy!

Once both players have played their cards, we compare them. The player who played the highest card in the suit that I led, or the highest trump card if there is one, wins the trick. That player gets to lead the next round. The game keeps going like this until all the cards have been played.

Oh, and here’s a fun twist – once a card has been played and the card below it is revealed, it can be flipped face up and played too. That means more options and more chances to win!

Keep Score!

When you play a game, you earn points. In cribbage, there are two types of points you can earn: immediate points and game points. Immediate points are earned right after each round, while game points are earned at the end of the round.

To keep track of these points, players use a special cribbage board. This way, they don’t have to stop and write down the points after each round. It’s much easier!

Let’s talk about immediate points first. You earn these points by capturing certain cards during each round. Here’s how many points you get for each card:

— Trump Ace = 4 points

— Trump King = 3 points

— Trump Queen = 2 points

— Trump Jack = 1 point

— Trump 9 = 9 points

— Trump 5 = 10 points

— All other 5’s = 5 points each

Now, let’s move on to game points. These are the points you earn at the end of the round. You’re competing for 8 additional points here. Here’s how you determine who wins these points:

— Aces = 4 points each

— Kings = 3 points each

When it comes to the game of cards, there are different point values assigned to each card. These values can have a big impact on your overall score. Let’s take a closer look at how it all works.

First off, Queens are quite special. Each Queen is worth 2 points, which can really add up if you have multiple Queens in your hand.

Jacks, on the other hand, are worth 1 point each. While they may not be as valuable as Queens, every point counts, so don’t underestimate the power of a Jack.

Now let’s talk about Tens. These cards are worth a whopping 10 points each! If you manage to collect some Tens, you’ll be well on your way to a high score.

But that’s not all. At the end of each round, there’s an extra opportunity to earn even more points. The player who has accumulated the most points during the round gets an additional 8 game points. However, if both players have the same number of points, nobody receives the extra points.

And the winner is…

At the end of the final round, the player with the highest score wins the game. So make sure you keep track of your points and aim for that top spot!