Welcome to Norwegian

Hey there! Have you ever heard of Norwegian? It’s a cool card game that can be played by 2 to 7 players. It’s actually quite similar to another game called Cucumber. The main objective of Norwegian is to be the last player standing. Exciting, right? Let me give you a rundown of how it all works!

Getting Started

First things first, let’s set up the game. To kick things off, one player will be chosen as the dealer for the round. After the first round, the dealer will be the player who lost the previous round. Fair enough, don’t you think?

The dealer will then shuffle the deck of cards and deal 5 cards face-down to each player. Keep in mind, this is just for the first round. In future rounds, the dealer will deal cards equal to the value of the loser’s card, with a maximum of 7 cards. So, the more you lose, the more cards you get. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

Now that everyone has their starting hand, the remaining cards are placed in a pile face-down, within reach of all players. Ready to dive in?

Before we jump into the game, let’s quickly go over the ranking of cards in Norwegian. Here it is, from highest to lowest: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Notice that the suit of the cards doesn’t matter in this game. It’s all about the numbers!

Once the cards are dealt, I have the choice to get rid of some cards from my hand. However, I have to keep at least 2 cards from my original hand. After discarding, I can draw new cards to bring my hand back up to its original size for the round. If I decide to do this, then all players, one by one, will also have the choice to discard the same number of cards as I did. They can either draw new cards or pass.

GAMEPLAY

In Norwegian, we play a series of rounds, and in each round, we play tricks. The game begins with the dealer playing the first card of the trick. After that, the winner of the trick will start the next one.

When you’re playing a trick in Norwegian, you get to choose any card to start the trick. Then, the other players have to play a card that is either the same rank or higher. If they don’t have a matching card, they have to play their lowest-ranking card instead. The player who plays the highest-ranked card or the last card played wins the trick.

It’s important to note that the cards played by each player stay in front of them. This means that you can look through the other players’ cards to help you decide which card to play next.

SCORING

At the end of each round, the player who won the last trick receives a penalty. The penalty is equal to the rank of the card they won the trick with. Face cards (Aces through Jacks) are worth 11 points, while the remaining cards are worth their face value.

If a player’s score reaches 21 or more, they are eliminated from the game.

So, here’s how the game works: when we start new rounds, the player on the left of the dealer (as long as they haven’t been eliminated) becomes the new dealer. This keeps going until we have a winner.

THE END OF THE GAME

Now, the game ends when there’s only one player left standing, who hasn’t been eliminated. That person is the winner!

Hey there, I’m Amber! I’m a huge fan of gaming and I consider myself to be a master at it. I also have a soft spot for dogs, plants, and D&D.

Hey, I’m Amber! I love gaming and I’m pretty darn good at it. You’ll usually find me playing with my trusty dog by my side and surrounded by my plant collection. Oh, and D&D is my jam!