LUPFEN

Welcome to Lupfen, a fun card game that you can play with 3 to 5 players. The aim of the game is to be the player who wins the most stakes!

In Lupfen, there’s an exciting element of bidding involved. Before starting the game, it’s important to agree on the maximum and minimum stakes for each round. Additionally, players should decide on a standard ante that everyone contributes to the pot.

SETUP AND BIDDING

To begin each round, every player pays the ante into the pot. The first dealer is chosen randomly and the dealer position rotates to the right for each new deal.

The dealer starts by shuffling the deck, and then the player to their left has the option to cut the deck. The dealer then deals a 3-card hand to each player. The remaining cards are placed facedown in a pile for all players to access.

When we start a new round of bidding in a card game, the dealer asks each player starting from their right if they want to be the lifter. It’s a simple yes or no question. If a player says yes, they become the lifter.

The lifter’s first task is to flip the top card of the undealt deck. This determines the trump suit for the round. After that, the lifter has the power to set the price of the round. They can choose any amount between the minimum and maximum bet agreed upon before the game started.

Once the lifter decides on the price, they have to pay that amount into the pot. It’s their way of showing their commitment to the round.

Now, what happens if no player wants to be the lifter? Well, in that case, the dealer will go around the table, asking each player in order. If everyone says no, then the cards are collected, and the next dealer takes over. The ante, which is the initial amount placed in the pot, remains, and a new ante is added at the beginning of the next round.

So, here’s how it goes: when someone decides to join a round and sets the price, the rest of us have a choice. We can either play along and pay the price, or we can drop out altogether. If we drop out, we don’t have to pay and we just sit out the next round. But if we decide to play, we have to cough up the price and wait for the round to start. Easy enough, right?

Now, here’s the cool part. If only one person decides to play and they pay the price, they automatically win the pot! They can collect it right then and there, before the next round even begins. Talk about a quick victory!

But wait, there’s more…

Let’s talk about the cards. We’ve got four suits: acorns, bells, roses, and shields. Each suit has its own set of cards, five in total. And get this, the cards are ranked from highest to lowest: Ace is the big cheese, followed by Banner, King, Over, and Under.

But that’s not all. During the bidding process, we’ll also determine some trumps. These special cards rank even higher than the rest. So keep an eye out for those, they could give you the upper hand!

Now, let the games begin!

So, here’s how the game begins. I’m the lifter, and I get to choose any card to lead the trick. Then, it’s the next player’s turn. They have to follow suit if they can, but if not, they can play any card they want to the trick. The winner of the trick is the player who has the highest card of the same suit, or if there are trumps, the highest trump card. Then, the player who won the trick gets to lead the next one. The round ends after all three tricks have been played and won.

In the game of cards, there are two special hands that can have a significant impact on the outcome. If a player is lucky enough to hold all the Unders, they automatically win all three tricks in a round, regardless of what the other players have in their hands or what trump is. It’s a winning hand that can’t be beaten.

Another special hand is having two Unders and an Over. If a player has this combination, they have the option to exchange these cards for the bottom three cards of the remaining deck. This exchange can be made at any time before the first card is played in the first trick. In games with three or four players, two people can do this. However, in a game with five players, only the first player to declare it can make the exchange.

Once the round is over, it’s time for the payouts. The pot is split evenly into three parts, and the player who wins a trick receives one-third of the pot. If there’s an uneven amount of chips in the pot, the remaining value goes to the lifter.

The game can be played for as many rounds as you like. When you’ve finished playing, the player with the most chips is declared the winner. So, play your cards right and gather those chips to claim victory!