ETORI
Hey there! Have you ever heard of Etori? It’s a really cool trick-taking game that originated in Japan. The game is also known as Kakeya Toranpu, with “Kakeya” being the name of the town where the game is played, and “Toranpu” being the Japanese version of the word “trump”. Etori can be played with either four or six players, with teams of two. However, in a six-player game, two players sit out each hand, so it’s usually more fun with four players. Now, there are some extra rules about forming teams and choosing the trump suit, but don’t worry about those for now. Let’s just focus on enjoying the game! If you want to learn more about these rules, you can check out the Game Farm website, which is in Japanese.
THE CARDS & THE DEAL
Welcome to Etori! In this game, we use a standard deck of 52 cards. The goal? To capture as many face cards as possible! That means Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Aces. Remember: Spades are always trump, and the mighty Ace of Clubs, known as the Rensho, is the highest trump card no matter what. It’s like the king of kings!
First, let’s prepare. Each team gets five tokens or counters. These will come in handy for keeping score. Now, we need to determine a dealer. The dealer will distribute the entire deck evenly, so each player gets thirteen cards. Ready? Let’s deal!
Time to Play!
The game kicks off with the Defending Team leading the first trick. It’s up to either player from the team to make the first move. They can decide who goes first amongst themselves, but here’s the catch: they can’t give away any hints about their cards. It’s all about strategy and surprise!
When I start a trick in the card game, I have the freedom to choose any card from my hand. After I make my move, the play goes around the table, with each player following suit if they can. If they can’t follow suit, they can play any card they want.
The player who plays the highest-ranking card in the lead suit, or Spades, wins the trick. But there’s a special card called the Rensho that automatically wins the trick. It’s important to remember that if Clubs are led and a player only has the Rensho, they have to play it because it counts as a Club.
Each team has one player who keeps any captured face cards near them on the table, face up. The rest of the cards from completed tricks are kept face down in a pile.
The winner of the trick leads the next trick with any card they want, and the game continues until all the face cards are captured. When the sixteenth face card is captured, the round ends.
SCORING
The first team to capture 9 face cards will win the round. However, if both teams manage to capture 8 face cards, then the team that doesn’t have the Rensho will be the winner.
The winning team will receive chips from their opponents based on the cards left in their hands. If the winning team doesn’t have any Aces left, they will be rewarded with 4 chips. On the other hand, if they have one or two Aces, but none of them are the Rensho or the Ace of Spades, they will receive 2 chips. In the event that the winning team possesses the Rensho and/or the Ace of Spades, they will earn 1 chip if they manage to capture 11 or fewer face cards, 2 chips for 12-15 face cards, or a whopping 4 chips for taking all 16 face cards.
CLAIMING VICTORY
The game will come to an end once a team runs out of chips. The team that manages to collect all of the chips will be crowned the ultimate winner.