KRAKEN

Welcome to Kraken – a fun card game for four players, with two players on each team. The objective of the game is to earn the most points by the end of the game. Every game is made up of 16 rounds, and the score is tallied at the conclusion of each round.

SETUP

Before we start, let’s prepare the deck. We’ll remove all cards with a value of 6 or lower, leaving us with a deck of 32 cards.

Now, let’s determine the first dealer. Randomly select someone, and for each new round, the role of dealer will pass to the left. The dealer will shuffle the deck and deal each player a hand of 8 cards. This can be done by giving out groups of 3, 2, and 3 cards, or by dividing the cards into two groups of 4 cards.

Card Ranking and Values

Have you ever wondered how card ranking works in different suits? Well, it turns out that the ranking differs between the trump suit and the other suits. Let me break it down for you.

Let’s start with the trump suit. In this suit, the highest-ranked card is the Jack, followed by the 9, Ace, 10, King, Queen, 8, and 7 (which is the lowest).

Now, when it comes to the other suits, the ranking is a bit different. The highest card is the Ace, followed by the 10, King, Queen, Jack, 9, 8, and 7.

But that’s not all! Cards also have values associated with them when they are won in tricks. And guess what? These values also differ between the trump and non-trump suits. Let me explain.

In the trump suit, jacks are worth a whopping 20 points, 9s are worth 14 points, aces are worth 11 points, 10s are worth 10 points, kings are worth 4 points, queens are worth 3 points, and 8s and 7s are worth nothing. Quite a range, huh?

Now, for the non-trump suits, there’s a slight change in values. Aces are still worth 11 points, 10s are worth 10 points, kings are worth 4 points, queens are worth 3 points, and jacks are worth 2 points. But here’s the kicker – 9s, 8s, and 7s are worth absolutely nothing.

TRUMP CHOICE

When it comes to this game, there are three different ways to pick trumps. These need to be talked about and one of them should be selected. You can go with the free choice, the Utrecht, or the random trump. The team of the player who decides on the trumps becomes the declaring team, and it’s their job to earn more points during the round to get a high score.

With the free choice, it starts with the player to the left of the dealer (sometimes it’s the dealer themselves in some variations), who can either choose a trump suit or pass. Then, the next player in clockwise order gets the same choice. If everyone passes, the starting player has to choose the trumps.

As for Utrecht, it means that the player to the left of the dealer has to decide on the trump suit.

Hey there! Let me explain to you how random trump works in a card game. It’s pretty cool, so pay attention!

First things first, there are two decks of cards, and one of them gets shuffled. Then, a card is picked from the top of that deck to determine the trump suit. You know, the special suit that’s more powerful than the others.

Now, here comes the interesting part. The player sitting on the left of the dealer gets to decide if they want to accept that trump suit or pass on it. Then, going clockwise around the table, each player gets the same choice. So it’s like a little game within the game.

If everyone decides to pass and no one wants the trump suit, the players have another option. Before the game officially starts, they can agree to reveal a second card. The player to the left of the dealer will use that second card as the trump suit. Alternatively, they can let the player to the left call a trump suit, as long as it isn’t the same as the suit of the first revealed card.

Challenges

So, here’s the deal: once we’ve determined the trumps, it’s time for some action. The player sitting to the left of the trump decider has the power to shake things up by challenging them. If they choose to pass, then it’s the player on the right’s turn to throw in the challenge. The challenge is a bold statement that the opposing team doesn’t believe the trump makers will be able to fulfill their promised number of tricks. And if they’re right, well, they double the score at the end. Talk about a game-changer!

Now, if a challenge is thrown down, the trump decider’s team gets a chance to fire right back. Either teammate can step up and issue the challenge. This time, they call it “re,” and if successful, you better believe the score gets quadrupled at the end. That’s some serious math!

But wait, there’s more. The trump decider’s opponents have one last chance to turn things upside down. They have the audacity to declare “superkraken,” shaking things up even more by multiplying the score by a whopping 8 at the end of the round. It’s like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode!

GAMEPLAY

Let me tell you about this game that has two sets of rules, one from Amsterdam and the other from Rotterdam. These rules help us decide when we can or should play trumps to tricks.

No matter which rules we follow, we always start with the player to the left of the dealer. They can pick any card to lead the first trick, and all the other players have to follow suit if they have cards of that suit. If everyone follows suit or no trumps are played, the trick is won by the player who plays the highest card of the led suit. But if there are trumps played, then the highest-ranked trump card wins the trick. The player who wins the trick gets to lead the next one.

It’s interesting to note that both Amsterdam and Rotterdam game types allow players to give signals to their partners, as long as they’ve talked about the types of signals before the game started.

Amsterdam

When it comes to playing the Amsterdam rules, there are some important guidelines to keep in mind. If you find yourself unable to follow suit, you must navigate these rules to determine your next move.

If the opposition is currently winning the trick and you have the means to surpass them by playing either a trump card or a higher-ranked trump, then you must do so. However, if you are unable to beat their trumps, you are required to play a card from a different suit. It is strictly prohibited to undertrump, meaning you cannot play a lower-valued trump card than your opponent, unless that is your only option at hand.

On the other hand, if your team is currently leading the trick and you’re unable to follow suit, there is more flexibility. In this scenario, you have the freedom to play any card you choose. However, if your team is in the lead because of a trump card, there is a catch. You are not permitted to play a trump card of lower value than what is already on the table, unless that is the only card available to you.

If trumps were led, I must play a higher trump than the current one, if possible. Even if my team is winning the trick, I still need to follow this rule. But if I don’t have a higher trump, I need to play a lower one. And if I don’t have any trumps at all, I can play any card I want.

Rotterdam

In the Rotterdam rules, if I can’t follow suit, I always have to play a trump if I have one. And I need to make sure that my trump beats the highest one, if possible. If I don’t have any trumps, I can play any card.

Bonus Points

Did you know that in the game, there are certain tricks you can pull off to score bonus points? Pretty cool, right? Let me break it down for you. There are 7 types of tricks, and each one has its own score. Now, here’s the real trick: if a team wins a bonus trick, they have to declare it to earn those extra points. If they don’t declare it, well, tough luck, no points for them. But listen up, this can actually work in your favor if you’re the one making the declarations and you know the other team is scoring higher than you. Sneaky, right?

Alright, let’s get into the nitty-gritty. The first type of bonus trick is called a “run” and it involves three consecutive cards of the same suit. So, if you’ve got three cards in a row and they’re all from the same suit, you can call it a run and earn an extra 20 points. Not too shabby, huh?

Now, buckle up because we’re moving on to the second type of run. This one is a bit fancier. It’s a run of four consecutive cards, all from the same suit. If you manage to pull off this impressive feat, you’ll be rewarded with a whopping 50 points. Talk about making a statement!

But wait, there’s more. We’ve got another type of run, but this time it involves the trump suit. If you have a run of three consecutive cards from the trump suit, and it includes both a king and a queen, guess what? You just earned yourself 40 points. Nice job!

And now, for the pièce de résistance – the grand finale. Brace yourself for a run of four consecutive cards from the trump suit, including the king and queen. If you manage to pull off this epic move, you’ll score a staggering 70 points. That’s some serious bonus right there.

So, the key to winning big in the game is not just about the tricks you play, but also the bonus tricks you score. Keep these moves in mind and who knows? Maybe you’ll end up being the ultimate champion!

Did you know that in this card game, certain combinations are worth different amounts of points? Let me break it down for you.

If you manage to get four of a kind with kings, queens, aces, or 10s, you’ll earn yourself a solid 100 points. That’s pretty impressive!

Now, if you somehow end up with four of a kind with jacks, you’re in luck because that’s worth a whopping 200 points. How cool is that?

Lastly, pay close attention to the king and queen of trumps. If you have a trick that contains both of them, you’ll score 20 points. Nice!

Declarations

Now here’s where things get interesting. Apart from the bonus points we just talked about, players also have the chance to declare any combinations they hold in their hand. It’s like an extra opportunity for points!

Here’s how it works: Before the first trick is played, each player has the chance to declare any combinations they have. The team with the player who has the highest-valued single combination gets to score all of their combinations. The other team, unfortunately, doesn’t get to score any. Tough luck for them!

But wait, there’s more! The king and queen of trumps are special. Even if the other team has the highest-valued combination, you can still declare the king and queen of trumps during play. And guess what? It’s worth an additional 20 points. Talk about a sweet deal!

Scoring in the game is pretty straightforward. Let me break it down for you.

First, let’s talk about combinations. Combinations have different point values. For example, if you have four jacks, that’s worth 200 points. Four aces, kings, queens, or 10s are worth 100 points. And if you have a run of 5 or more consecutive cards of the same suit, that’s also worth 100 points. A run of 4 cards is worth 50 points, and a run of 3 cards is worth 20 points.

Now let’s talk about scoring.

Scoring happens after each round. Both teams score their bonus points along with the points for the cards won in tricks. If the declarers, which is the team doing the bidding, score higher than the other team in a standard game with no challenges, then both teams get to score their points. But if the declarers didn’t score higher, then the opponents score all the points, including the bonus points.

If there were challenges in the game, things get a little more interesting. The last team to challenge needs to score more points than the opposing team. If they manage to do that, they get to score the points after all the multipliers are added. But if they don’t, then the opposing team scores all the points. So it’s a high-stakes situation!

If spades are chosen as the trump suit, you’ll get extra points added to your score. It’s like a special boost that can make a big difference!

Game Over

The game comes to a close after 16 rounds, and the team with the highest score emerges as the champion. It’s an exciting finale that keeps everyone on their toes!

The game comes to a close after 16 rounds, and the team with the highest score emerges as the champion. It’s an exciting finale that keeps everyone on their toes!