Barbu

What I Want to Achieve in Barbu: I want to have the highest score after playing 28 hands.

Who Can Play Barbu: The game is designed for 4 players.

What I Need to Play Barbu: I need a standard deck of 52 cards.

How the Cards Rank in Barbu: The cards rank from A (highest) to 2 (lowest).

The Type of Game Barbu Is: Barbu is a trick-taking game.

Who Can Play Barbu: Barbu is a game suitable for players of all ages.

Getting Started with Barbu

Barbu is a really cool card game that requires a lot of skill. It’s kind of like Hearts because four players take turns playing different games within the game. The game started in France in the early 1900s and was super popular with college students. Then, in the 1960s, it became a big hit with French Bridge players. The original version used a special 32-card deck, but now people play with a regular 52-card deck.

Le Barbu (L’Homme Barbu) means “The Bearded Man” in French. It got its name because of the King of Hearts card, which usually has a picture of a bearded king stabbing himself in the head. This card is really important in the game because it’s one of the seven different games you can play.

When we play the game, each of us will take turns playing the seven different contracts. This means that we will play a total of 28 hands in total.

How the Game Starts

To begin the game, we don’t choose a dealer first. Instead, we randomly select a declarer. The declarer is the player who goes first and will be the declarer for the first 7 contracts. The player to the right of the declarer becomes the dealer, and the player sitting across from the declarer will do the cutting. After the declarer finishes their 7 contracts, the player to their left becomes the new declarer for the next 7 contracts. This rotation continues until each player has completed their seven contracts.

Playing the Contracts

When it’s your turn to be the declarer, you get to choose the contract. Each player plays for themselves, so there’s no need for players to work together. However, there are rules about doubling that we’ll talk about later.

The Seven Different Contracts

Out of the 7 contracts, we have 5 negative contracts and two positive contracts.

Negative Contracts

When it comes to negative contracts, there are no trumps involved. I, as the declarer, will lead in the first trick, and all players must follow suit if they can. If a player cannot follow suit, they have the freedom to play any card from their hand. The winner of each trick, which is determined by the player with the highest ranking card in the leading suit, will then lead in the next trick. However, there are certain contracts that have restrictions on which cards can be led, and they include:

• No Tricks. This contract is all about losing. Players who win tricks will score -2 points. As a result, the total score for this contract will be -26.
• No Queens. If a trick is won with a Queen or if the winner takes a Queen, they score -6 points. The total score is -24. Whenever a Queen is played, it stays face-up in front of the player who won the trick, so we can keep track of the Queens. The game ends when the fourth Queen is played, after completing that trick.
• No Last Two. The second-to-last trick scores -10 points for the player who wins it. The last trick scores -20 points for the player who wins it. The total score is -30.

Negative Contracts

• No Hearts, No Love. Hearts cards have negative values in this game. Each card from the suit of hearts brings -2 points to the player who wins the trick. And watch out for the Ace of Hearts, that one scores a whopping -6 points. In total, the contract itself is worth -30 points. Remember, you’re not allowed to start with hearts unless it’s all you have left. And if you do win hearts through tricks, keep them in front of you so they can be properly counted and scored.
• No King of Hearts (Barbu). The King of Hearts is a dangerous card in this game. If you win it in a trick, you’ll get hit with -20 points. So be very careful when playing this card, it can really hurt your score. You should only use it if it’s your last option.

Positive Contracts

• Trump it up! When I play a card game called “Trumps,” I get to be the one who decides the trump suit for that round. It’s quite a responsibility! And once I make my declaration, I have to start the game by playing a card from that suit in the first trick. If possible, I should play a card that matches the suit that was led in the trick. But if I don’t have any cards of that suit, I can’t be trumped! I can play any card from my hand, and the highest-ranking card of the suit that was led, or the highest-ranking trump card if any were played, will win the trick. No trumps? No problem! The highest-ranking card of the suit that was led will take the trick. And guess what? The winner of the trick gets a whopping 5 points and gets to lead in the next trick. Oh, and by the way, the grand total of points you need to win is 65. So get ready to trump it up and show off your skills!
• Dominoes or Fantan. Let’s start by picking a number. For example, if I pick the number 6, I’ll say, “dominoes from the six.” The goal is to get rid of all my cards before the other players. On my turn, I’ll play one card face-up on the table. The cards need to go in order. So, if I start with a 6, I can’t play an 8 until someone plays a 7. If I can’t play a card on my turn, I’ll knock on the table to pass, and it’ll be the next player’s turn. The cards should be arranged in four columns, starting with the center card and moving outwards (from A to 2). The usual card rankings apply.

THE DOUBLING

What is a Double? It’s a side bet between two players to see who will perform better. If I think I’ll score higher than another player, I can double them.

When the contract is announced, we all have a chance to double. You can double everyone, a few people, or no one at all. But the catch is, I can only double the people who have doubled me in return.

Throughout the seven rounds, each player has to double the declarer at least twice.

Remember, you can only double the declarer in positive contracts, not the other players.

If you want to double someone who has doubled you, just say “redouble.”

THE SCORING

We mark down the doubles as they happen on the score sheet. To make sure everyone doubles the declarer twice, we circle the doubles.

After each round, we tally up the points. We record how many points each player gained or lost on the score sheet. The doubles are calculated for each pair of players.

If no two players doubled each other during the game, no side bet would be made, and no money would be exchanged. If only one pair of players doubled each other, the difference in their scores would be calculated. The higher-scoring player would have that difference added to their score, while the lower-scoring player would have it subtracted from their score. If a pair of players doubled each other, the difference in their scores would be doubled and treated in the same way as before, with the better-scoring player adding that doubled difference to their score and the lower-scoring player subtracting it. After 28 hands, the player with the highest score would be declared the winner.