Écarté is a game that two people can play together. The goal of the game is to score a total of 5 points. You can earn points by winning most of the tricks or by completing certain requirements. In the past, Écarté used to be a bidding game, but now it is a scored game.
To set up the game, you need to remove the 6s and lower cards from the deck. This means you will have Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, 10s, 9s, 8s, and 7s left.
To decide who goes first, choose a dealer randomly. The dealer will shuffle the deck and give each player a hand of 5 cards. Then, the next card is revealed to determine the trump suit for the round. If the revealed card is a king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, or 7, the dealer can declare a point anytime before the next round begins.
When I’m not dealing, I have a chance to check out the cards I’ve been given. If I don’t like what I see, I can suggest a different arrangement. If you agree, we can both get rid of any cards we don’t want and get dealt new ones, up to a maximum of 5 cards. We can keep doing this as long as we both want. Once I’m satisfied with my hand or if you refuse to agree on a new arrangement, or if you never suggest one, we can start the game.
If either of us, whether it’s me as the dealer or you as the nondealer, has the king of trumps in our hand, we can announce it before we play the first card (or if you’re the nondealer, you can play it as your first card to announce it), and earn a point.
Card Rankings
Écarté is a card game that uses a ranking system to determine the value of each card. The highest ranking card is the King, followed by the Queen, Jack, Ace, 10, 9, 8, and 7. The trump suit is the most powerful, but it still follows the same ranking order as the other suits.
How to Play
When the game begins, the non-dealer gets to lead the first trick by playing any card they choose. The dealer must play a card of the same suit if they have one, and they must try to win the trick if possible. If the dealer doesn’t have a card of the same suit, they can play any card. The highest trump card wins the trick, but if no trumps were played, the highest card from the suit that was led wins. The winner then leads the next trick, and this process continues until all five tricks have been played and won.
Scoring
If I win 3 out of the 5 tricks, I get a point. But if I manage to win all 5 tricks, I get two points instead. However, if the other player didn’t make a proposal or if I refuse their proposal, and I win at least 3 tricks, I score 2 points. Unfortunately, I don’t get any extra points for winning all 5 tricks. So, in total, there are 3 points up for grabs in each round.
END OF THE GAME
The game comes to an end when I reach a total of 5 points and emerge as the winner.
The game comes to an end when I reach a total of 5 points and emerge as the winner.