Welcome to Jo-Jotte!
Jo-Jotte is an exciting card game designed specifically for couples looking to work through their differences. It’s a unique blend of Contract Bridge and Belote, where players can unleash their competitive side to score the most tricks. In Jo-Jotte, winning two games means winning the argument!
Getting Set Up
To set up the game, grab a sheet of paper and divide it into four quadrants. The top half of the sheet is where you’ll keep track of bonuses and melds, while the bottom half is where you’ll score tricks.
Now, shuffle the deck of cards and deal six cards to each player. Take the next card from the deck and place it face-up in the middle of the playing area. You can put the rest of the deck aside for now. The stage is set for some competitive fun!
Here’s a quick rundown of the card rankings, from lowest to highest: seven, eight, nine, Jack, Queen, King, two, and ace.
GAMEPLAY
When we play a card game called “trump,” there are a few important things you need to know. First off, we have the player who is not the dealer. This person gets to decide the trump suit. There are two options: they can either look at the card in the center and let it decide or pass on that decision. If they pass, then it’s up to the dealer to make the call. They have the same options as the other player.
Once the trump suit is chosen, things get even more interesting. The player who chose the trump suit becomes the Declarer, while the other player becomes the Defender. The goal for both players is to take more tricks than the other. And here’s a twist: the Defender has a chance to double the bid. If they decide to do so, they can either win big or face a hefty penalty.
To make things fair and fun, three more cards are then dealt to each player. With these cards in hand and the trump suit chosen, the game truly begins. It’s an exciting challenge that requires strategy, skill, and a good dose of luck. Are you ready to become the next champion of the trump card game?
So, here’s how the game goes: first, we all check out the cards we’ve got. Then, we can declare some “melds.” What’s a meld, you ask? Well, it’s when you’ve got some cards that go together in a special way.
There are two kinds of melds you can make. The first is when you’ve got four cards of the same rank. That’s called “four of a kind,” and it gets you 100 points. Pretty neat, huh? The second kind of meld is a “sequence,” which is just a fancy way of saying a bunch of cards in a row. If you’ve got three cards in a row, that’s worth 20 points. If you’ve got four cards in a row, that’s worth 40 points. And if you’ve got five cards or more in a row, that’s worth a cool 50 points! Remember, the more cards you’ve got in a sequence, the more points you can score.
Now, let’s talk about how the game keeps going. The first person to declare their melds is called the “Defender,” and they get to go first. They also lead the first trick, which is just a fancy word for a round of cards. Then, it’s the other player’s turn to play a card. They’ve got to try to play a card of the same suit as the one that was led, or if they don’t have any cards of that suit, they can play a trump card instead.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about Jo-Jotte! That’s when the King and Queen of the trump suit are played together. It’s a special combination that’s worth 20 points. Keep an eye out for it!
The game keeps going like this until both players have played all their cards. Then, we tally up the points, shuffle the cards, and start a new game. And that’s all there is to it! Have fun playing!
Scoring:
In the game of Trump, each card has a point value. Let’s break down the point values for each type of card:
- Jack of Trump – 20 points
- 9 of Trump – 15 points
- 10 of Trump – 10 points
- King and Queen of Trump – 5 points each
- Aces and Other Kings – 10 points each
- Other Queens and Jacks – 5 points each
END OF GAME
After two games have been played, the game comes to an end. To determine the winner, points are tallied for both games. The player with the highest total points wins!
After two games have been played, the game comes to an end. To determine the winner, points are tallied for both games. The player with the highest total points wins!