OVER THE TOP

Hey there! Have you ever heard of Over the Top? It’s a really cool card game that you can play with a friend. All you need is a special deck of cards called the 57 card Rook deck. The rules for this game were written way back in 1918 by George S. Parker, the creator of Parker Bros.

Okay, so let me explain how the game works. Each player gets a hand of cards and also has some cards on the table in front of them. The goal of the game is to be the first player to earn 200 points. You earn points by winning tricks, which are basically rounds of gameplay.

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

Before we start playing, we need to set up the deck. Take out the 1’s, 2’s, 3’s, and the special Rook card from the 57 card Rook deck. This will give us a 44 card deck to play with. Once that’s done, the dealer gives each player ten cards, one at a time. These ten cards make up your hand for the game.

Now, let’s get started! I’ll deal five cards to each player face down in a row to begin the battery. Then, I’ll add five more cards on top of the previously made rows, face up. This completes the battery for each player.

Oh, and don’t forget to place the four remaining cards face down to form the nest.

When it’s time to deal again, we’ll alternate.

It’s time to play!

Let’s start with the bidding.

I’ll kick off the round with a bid of 50 or more. You can raise the bid in 5 point increments. If you don’t want to raise it, you can pass. The bidding will continue until one player decides to pass. The player who wins the bid gets to choose the trump color for the round. They also get to pick up the nest and exchange up to four cards from their hand with cards from the nest. Remember, in this game, you can’t leave any count cards in the nest. They have to stay in your hand or be exchanged.

Once the exchange is done, we remove the nest from the game.

Taking Charge of the First Move

Every round consists of four cards.

The player who didn’t win the bid gets to make the first move. They can play any card from their hand. All subsequent cards played in this round must match the color of the first card, if possible. The player on the opposite side also plays a card from their hand.

In addition to the first two cards, the leading player also reveals a card from their battery. It’s worth noting that the color of this card must match the initial card played, if it can. The other player then plays a card from their battery. The highest card in the same color or the highest trump card wins the round. The winning player takes the lead in the next round.

Once a round is completed, remember to turn any face-down battery cards face up.

CONTINUING GAMEPLAY

So, here’s how it works. When you play a card from your battery and you capture the trick, the next trick must be started with a card from your battery. On the other hand, if you play a card from your hand and you capture the trick, then the next trick is led with a card from your hand. And we keep on playing tricks like this until all the cards are played.

We’ll keep playing rounds until we have a winner.

SCORING

Now, let’s talk about scoring. If you win the bid and you capture enough tricks to meet your bid, both you and your opponent earn points for the count cards you capture. Each 14 and 10 card is worth 10 points, while each 5 card is worth 5 points.

But here’s the catch. If you win the bid but fail to capture enough tricks to meet your bid, you earn zero points. And guess what? Your opponent’s score for the round gets doubled! That’s a tough break.

WINNING

Now let’s get to the exciting part: winning the game. The first player to earn 200 points or more wins the game.