Welcome to Maniglia!

Hey there! I want to tell you all about Maniglia, a really cool card game that can be played by 3 to 5 players. The aim of the game is to get enough points to win before your opponents do. Exciting, right?

The number of points you need to win and the number of cards you get dealt depend on how many players there are. If there are 4 players, you can play with or without partners. It’s up to you!

Getting Started

To begin, we randomly choose a dealer. That dealer will change for each new round. Then, we shuffle the deck and the player sitting to the left of the dealer gets to cut the deck. Simple, right?

If you’re playing with just 3 people, we take out the 2s from the deck. That’s it!

When it comes to playing a 4-player partnership game, the first thing we need to do is deal the cards. The dealer gives each player 10 cards, splitting them into two batches of 5 cards each. But here’s the exciting part: the last card the dealer receives is dealt face up, and it determines the trump suit!

Now, if that final card has a point value attached to it, the dealer’s team gets to score some game points. However, there is a condition for this to happen – the dealer’s team must have 29 or fewer points. Only then can they rack up those valuable game points when the card is revealed.

But what about games with different numbers of players? Well, it turns out that we have a solution for every situation. In a 3-player game, each player gets a hand of 12 cards. In a 4-player game without partnerships, each player still receives a 10-card hand. Lastly, in a 5-player game, each player is dealt 8 cards. Notice that in a 5-player game, we don’t flip any cards to determine the trump suit. It’s a little different, but still loads of fun!

Now, let’s talk about the ranking and values of the cards:

Here’s how the cards are ranked in this game: 7 is the highest card, followed by the Ace, King, Horse, Maid, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 as the lowest card.

The cards in this game have different values for scoring. 7s are worth 5 points, aces are worth 4 points, kings are worth 3 points, horses are worth 2 points, and maids are worth 1 point. Any other cards do not have a point value.

Let’s Play!

If you’re playing with 4 players and partners, the game begins with the player to the right of the dealer. They can choose any card to start the game. The next players must play a card of the same suit if they have one. If their opponent is winning, they must do their best to beat them. If they don’t have a card of the same suit, they can play a trump card. If they don’t need to play a trump card or if they can’t beat their opponent at all, they can play any card they want.

The magic happens when the highest trump card is played, if there is one. But if no trump cards are in play, it’s all about the highest-ranking card of the initially led suit. Whoever has that card wins the trick and collects it into their personal score pile. And it’s this winner who gets to lead the next trick.

Now, for games with 3, 4, or 5 players without partners, there’s an auction to kick things off. The player to the right of the dealer gets the ball rolling by either passing or putting forth a bid with a certain number of points. Then, it’s a sequential cycle where players can either pass or make a higher bid than the previous one. Just keep in mind that the minimum bid is 20 points, and the maximum differs based on the number of players: 72 for 3 players, 70 for 4 players, and 68 for 5 players.

Once the auction concludes, the player who won the bidding war gets to call the trump suit and forms a team with all the other players. Now, the gameplay starts with the player to the right of the dealer, following the same rules as mentioned above.

Now, let’s talk about scoring.

Once I’ve played all my tricks and come out victorious, it’s time to tally up the points.

In a 4-player partnership game, my teammate and I will add up the value of all the cards we’ve won. On top of that, for each trick we’ve won, we’ll earn an extra point. If our total score is more than 35 points, we’ll subtract that from 35 to find out how many game points we’ve earned for that round. The opposing team won’t earn any points.

In all other games, I still keep track of my score. If I’m the one who won the auction and I earned as many or more points as I bid, I’ll score the same number of points as my bid. But if I fail to meet my bid, the other players will score that many points instead.

END OF GAME

The game comes to an end when either I or my team reaches the point total needed to win, or surpasses it. And that makes us the ultimate winner(s)!

Hey there! If you’re playing a 4-player partnership game, the goal is to reach a score of 35. But for any other games, you and your friends can decide on a target score before you begin.

Let me introduce myself – I’m Amber (They/Them), a writer from Austin who knows a thing or two about gaming. I consider myself a gaming master, and I’m also a big fan of dogs, plants, and D&D.

Let me introduce myself – I’m Amber (They/Them), a writer from Austin who knows a thing or two about gaming. I consider myself a gaming master, and I’m also a big fan of dogs, plants, and D&D.