SASKOP: A Card Game for the Win

Yo! Let me introduce you to Saskop, a super cool card game that’s all about racking up those points and beating your opponents. You ready?

Saskop is no ordinary game. Nope, it’s a point-trick game designed for four players, and the ultimate goal is to score a whopping 16 game points before anyone else. Yeah, it’s like being the MVP of the card world!

Now, check this out. Saskop is a partnership game, which means you won’t be playing this solo. Oh no, you’ll be teaming up with a partner sitting right across from you. Talk about a power duo! Oh, and fun fact: Saskop is also known as Lambapea. Pretty cool, right?

Let’s Get Set Up

Now, before the magic kicks in, we’ve got to set up the game. Here’s how it goes down:

We’re working with a special deck in Saskop. It’s a modified 36-card deck, which basically means we’re ditching all those puny cards ranked 5 and lower. Who needs ’em anyway?

Okay, now let’s talk about the first dealer. That person is chosen randomly, so it could be anyone. And get this—each round, the dealer passes the torch to the left. So, everyone gets a turn to be in charge. Fair and square!

Now for the deck action. The cards get a good shuffle, and the player on the right gets to cut the deck. After that, the dealer starts dealing out the cards. Nine cards for each player, until the entire deck is out there on the table. Talk about card frenzy!

Here’s a neat twist: If a player gets dealt only one face card in their initial hand, they can lay it face up on the table. And guess what? Their partner can snatch that card and swap it for one in their hand. But shhh, it’s all hush-hush. The card is passed secretly, face down. Sneaky, huh?

Alright, now you’re all set. Get ready to dive into Saskop and show off your skills. Remember, the game is all about scoring those game points and outshining your opponents. Good luck, my friend! You got this!

Sometimes, in certain variations of the game, if I don’t have any face cards, I can silently communicate this to my partner by forming a steeple with my fingers. It’s important, though, to be discreet about it so that the other team doesn’t catch on. Of course, it’s always a good idea to check if this signaling is allowed before starting the game.

Now, let’s talk about card ranking and point values. During the bidding phase (which I’ll describe later), a trump suit is chosen. Depending on the suit that’s been called, different cards will have different ranks for that round. There are two sets of rankings: one for the trump suit and another for all the other suits.

In the trump suit, the highest-ranked card is 6, followed by the King of spades, the King of clubs, the King of hearts, the King of diamonds, the Queen of spades, the Queen of clubs, the Queen of hearts, the Queen of diamonds, the Jack of spades, the Jack of clubs, the Jack of hearts, the Jack of diamonds, the Ace, and ending with the 10, 9, 8, and 7 as the lowest-ranked cards.

For all the other suits, the highest-ranked card is the Ace, followed by the 10, 9, 8, 7, and finally, the 6 as the lowest-ranked card.

Hey there! Did you know that each card in this game has its own value? It’s true! Let me break it down for you. A king is worth 4 points, a queen is worth 3 points, a jack is worth 2 points, an ace is worth a solid 11 points, and a 10 is worth, you guessed it, 10 points. But here’s the cool part – all the other cards have a value of 0. So be strategic and think about the points you can win!

Now let’s talk about bidding.

Bidding is how we determine the trump suit for the current round, and it also affects scoring. The bidding process starts with the player sitting to the left of the dealer and goes clockwise around the table. To make a bid, a player needs to call out a number between 5 and 9 (including those two numbers). But here’s the catch – the player must have that number or more of potential trumps in their hand. Don’t worry, though, because at least one player is always able to bid 5. So get ready to show off your bidding skills!

So, here’s the deal. When we play this game, we take turns bidding. Once a bid is made, it moves around the table until three players pass. Once someone passes, they can’t bid anymore. Got it?

Now, once we have a winner, they get to choose a trump suit. They have to pick a suit that matches the number of cards they bid. Makes sense, right?

But here’s where it gets interesting. After the trump suit is chosen, anyone can say, “Nah, let’s change it to diamonds.” Yep, that’s right. You can totally override the trump suit and make it diamonds. You can do this anytime, from right after the deal to whenever the trump suit is decided.

Now, here’s a cool little twist. If all four players pass without making a bid, then diamonds automatically become the trump suit. So, no one wants to miss out on the action, right?

GAMEPLAY

When the game of cards begins, the first person to play is the player on the left side of the dealer. They can choose any card they want to start the first round. Then, all the other players have to 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 a card of the same suit or a trump card, they can play any card they want. The goal is for each player to try and beat the highest card that has been played so far.

The person who plays the highest trump card wins the round, unless there are no trump cards played, in which case the highest card of the suit that was led wins. One person from each team keeps track of the score by collecting the cards won in a face-down pile. The winner of each round gets to start the next round.

Signaling

There are two special signals that players can use during the game. These signals are called blinking and calling emergency.

If you’re the second player in a round and you’re not sure what card to play, you can look at your partner for help. If your partner blinks, it means they think they have a good chance of winning the round.

To use emergency in a game, you have to announce it loudly. This happens when you have only one trump card left, and it’s either the 10 or the ace. By saying “emergency,” you’re telling your partner to play their highest trump card to save your card.

Now, let’s talk about scoring.

Once all 9 tricks have been played, it’s time to calculate the scores for both teams.

If a team manages to win all 9 tricks, they automatically win the game.

If no player called a trump suit, the team that has 61 or more points scores one game point.

However, if a trump suit was called or overridden, the scoring changes depending on the suit and the number of points scored. The person who called the trump suit will either be the bid winner or the overrider.

If my team wins with a score of 61 to 90 points, we get 4 game points if the suit is diamonds and 2 points for any other suit. If we win with 91 to 120 points, we get 6 points for diamonds and 4 points for all other suits.

If the opposing team (the non-trump callers) wins with 61 to 90 points, they get 6 points for diamonds and 4 points for all other suits. If they win with 91 to 120 points, they get 8 points for diamonds and 6 points for all other suits.

If there is a tie and both teams score 60 points, nobody wins any points. We have to reshuffle and play again with the same trump suit and trump caller.

THE GAME ENDS

The game ends when one team reaches 16 or more points. This team is the winner.

The game ends when one team reaches 16 or more points. This team is the winner.