Welcome to the Exciting World of Paston!

Have you ever played Paston? It’s a fun and strategic card game that can be enjoyed by 3 players. The objective of the game is simple – be the first to reach 121 points and claim victory!

Let’s Get Started: Game Setup

Before we dive into the action, let’s go over the setup. In Paston, the deck is slightly altered, containing 32 cards. The cards rank from high to low: Ace (the highest), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, and 7 (the lowest).

Now, here’s how we set up the game. To determine the dealer, we choose someone randomly. The dealer shuffles the deck thoroughly, ensuring a fair play. Then, the player seated to the right of the dealer cuts the deck, adding an exciting element of randomness.

But wait, there’s more! The dealer takes a peek at the bottom card of the deck. If it happens to be the 7 of spades, we need a fresh start. In that case, the deck is reshuffled and cut again.

Once the deck is ready, the dealer proceeds to deal each player a hand of 10 cards, giving out 2 cards at a time. As the first round begins, the dealer places 2 cards face down in the center of the table. These mysterious cards are called the prikup, and they will come into play later on.

When it comes to playing card games, there’s one rule that can sometimes make things a bit tricky. It’s called the “spades 7 through Queen” rule, and it goes like this: if you have all the spades from 7 through Queen, but you’re missing the King or Ace, then we have to start over.

Now, to make things fair for everyone, we have a special way of determining who goes first. In the first round of bidding, it’s the person who has the Jack of spades. But wait, there’s a twist! If the Jack of spades is not in the initial hand and is instead in the “prikup” (which is just a fancy word for the cards that are turned face down on the table), then it’s the person who has the 7 of spades that gets to be the first bidder.

Now, let’s talk about the bidding process. The purpose of bidding is to figure out which player will be the “declarer” for the round. The declarer is the person who has to win at least 6 out of the 10 tricks in order to win the round. And not only that, but the declarer also gets to choose the trump suit for that round.

When it’s my turn to play, I have two options: I can either pass or call a trump suit. The suits available are Paston (also known as spades), Glitch (also known as clubs), Dineri (also known as diamonds), Gupa (also known as hearts), and Paston Grkha (the highest-ranking spades).

If I want to call a suit, I have to start with the lowest rank, which is Paston. Then, each new bid increases the rank of the suit. The bidding ends in two scenarios: when a player bids Paston Grkha and becomes the declarer, or when two players have passed and the third player makes a bid.

Once I pass, I’m out of the bidding round and can no longer make any bids. If all players pass, the declarer is determined by the player who has the Jack of spades. If the Jack of spades is not present, the 7 of spades takes its place.

Let’s Play Some Contracts

When I’m playing the declarer in the game, here’s what I do: I take the prikup, and then I have to discard two cards from my hand by putting them face down on the table. Now comes the fun part – I get to declare the trump suit! I can choose the suit I initially bid, or if I’m feeling bold, I can even go for a higher-ranking suit. But here’s the catch – I can only call Paston Grkha as the trump suit if I actually bid it earlier.

Now, here’s another twist: instead of declaring a trump suit, I can decide to surrender. This means that I choose to take a penalty rather than play through the round. It’s a tough decision to make, but sometimes it’s the smarter move.

Now, let’s say I do decide to play. The other two players have a choice too – they can either play along by calling “whist,” or they can pass and sit out the round. If both players call whist, they each need to win 2 tricks to avoid a penalty. But if only one player calls whist, they have to win 4 tricks. If both players pass, then I, as the declarer, automatically win the round and score without even having to play!

How to Play

Once the bidding and contract discussions have concluded, we can finally start the exciting part – gameplay! And it all begins with the declarer taking the lead on the first trick.

When it’s your turn to lead, you get to choose any card from your hand, regardless of the suit. However, all the other players must play a card of the same suit if they have one. If they don’t have a card of the same suit, they must play a trump card. And if they don’t have any trumps either, they can play any card they want.

Here’s how you determine who wins the trick: If one or more players played a trump card, the highest trump wins. But if no trumps were played, then the player who played the highest card of the suit that was led wins the trick. The victorious player adds the cards from that trick to their score pile and becomes the lead player for the next trick.

After all 10 tricks have been played, it’s time for the scoring phase to take place.

SCORING

Scoring occurs once all 10 tricks have been won by players, when the declarer decides to surrender, or if both players pass on participating in whist. That’s when the final scores are determined.

When we play the game, we keep track of our scores throughout multiple rounds. We have a specific way of scoring, which involves pastons and the suit declared. Let me break it down for you.

If I declare and successfully win 6 or more tricks, I score 10 points. However, if I fail, I lose 10 points from my score. It’s possible to have a negative score.

Now, let’s look at the scoring for the other players. It depends on whether both players called whist or only one of them did. If both called whist, each player scores based on the number of tricks they personally won. Here’s how it works:

• If they didn’t win any tricks, they lose 10 points.
• If they won 1 trick, they lose 9 points.
• If they won 2 tricks, they score 0 points.
• If they won 3 tricks, they score 10 points.
• If they won 4 tricks, they score 20 points.
• If they won more than 4 tricks, they score an extra 10 points for each additional trick.

When it comes to the game of whist, there are certain rules you need to understand to determine your score. Let me break it down for you.

If you’re the only one who called whist, things get a little tricky. If you didn’t win any tricks, you lose 10 points. If you won one trick, you lose 9 points. For two tricks, it’s 8 points lost. Three tricks? That’s 7 points down the drain. But if you managed to win all four tricks, you earn 0 points. And if you’re really skilled and win five tricks, you earn a cool 10 points. Want even more points? Win six tricks and you’ll get 20 points. And for each trick you win above six, you’ll score an extra 10 points. Impressive, right?

Now, let’s say neither player called whist. In that case, the declarer (which just means the person who leads the first trick) scores 10 points. And sorry to say, but the opponents don’t score anything.

If the declarer decides to surrender, they lose 10 points. And each of their opponents earns 2 points. It’s a tough decision to make, but sometimes it’s better to fold than risk losing big time.

But wait, there’s more! Score multipliers!

When I play this game, the scores get multiplied depending on the suit I declare. If I declare Glitch, my score gets multiplied by 2. Dineri multiplies my score by 3, and Gupa multiplies it by 4. But there’s a special case – when I declare Paston Grkha, my score gets multiplied by 4, except for the 10 points I earn for a successful bid. In that case, I don’t get 40 additional points.

Now, here’s something interesting. If I reach -121 points, my score goes back to 0. It’s like a fresh start!

END OF GAME

The game comes to an end when someone reaches 121 points. That lucky person becomes the winner!

So, the game goes on until someone reaches that magic number – 121. And when they do, they’re crowned the winner!