Welcome to the thrilling world of Racehorse!

Racehorse is an exciting card game designed for 5 or more players. Its objective is simple: score as many points as you can to emerge as the winner!

Just like in any competitive game, Racehorse is played with stakes involved. The pitcher, the brave soul among us, will be the one who pays or receives payment after each round.

Getting Started – The Setup

Before we kick off the game, the first dealer is chosen at random. For each new deal, the dealer position shifts to the left.

Once that’s sorted, the deck of cards is thoroughly shuffled, and each player is dealt a hand of 6 cards. Make sure you pay attention to the cards in your hand as they hold the key to your victory!

Understanding the Card Rankings and Point Values

In Racehorse, the suits are ranked in the following order: Ace (the highest), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 (the lowest).

But that’s not all! During the game, there are certain cards or criteria that can earn you additional points. So, stay focused and seize every opportunity to boost your score!

When it comes to scoring in the game of cards, there are four types of points: high, low, game, and jack.

Let’s start with high points. These are awarded to the team that holds the highest trump card during play. If you have the highest trump, you get 1 point.

Next, we have low points. These are given to the team that wins the lowest trump card in a trick. If you have the lowest trump, you earn 1 point.

The game point is awarded to the team that scores the most points overall. So, it’s important to keep track of your points and aim for victory.

Finally, we have the jack point. This is given to the team that wins the jack of trumps in a trick. If you manage to win the jack, you get an extra point.

In total, there are four possible points to be won in a round. Do your best to earn as many as possible!

Now, let’s talk about the scoring system for the game point. Your score is based on the cards you win in tricks. Each ace is worth 4 points, each king is worth 3, each queen is worth 2, each jack is worth 1, and each 10 is worth 10 points.

BIDDING

Okay, let’s get this game started! First, everyone gets their cards. Make sure you pay attention because the bidding is about to begin. The player to the left of the dealer will go first, and then each player will take their turn bidding higher or passing. The goal is to bid on how many points you think you can win in a round.

Remember, the minimum bid is 2, and the maximum bid is a bid of Smudge, which is 5. If you bid Smudge, that means you have to win all four points and all six tricks. It’s a tough one!

If all the other players pass, the dealer has to bid 2. But here’s a twist: the dealer can also steal the highest bid by bidding the same amount.

The bidding only ends when everyone passes except for one player, or when someone bids Smudge. The person who wins the bid becomes the pitcher.

Usually, the other players will team up temporarily to try and prevent the pitcher from making their bid. It’s all about strategy!

Time to Play!

So here’s how it works:

I’m the pitcher and I get to go first. The card I choose to play will determine the trump for the round. The rest of the players have to either follow suit or play a trump. If they can’t follow suit, they can play a trump or any other card they have.

The trick is won by the highest-ranked trump card, or if no trumps were played, the highest card of the suit led. The person who wins the trick gets to collect all the cards and choose which card to play for the next trick.

The round ends once we’ve played all 6 tricks.

PAYOUTS

After each round, it’s time for payouts.

First, I’ll find out if I was successful in completing my bid. If I was, I get paid 1 dollar for each point I bid, and each of the other players has to pay me. But if I wasn’t successful, I have to pay 1 dollar for each point I bid to each opponent. So, it’s a game of strategy and luck!

When it comes to scoring points, opponents in a game don’t earn any extra payment for the scores they make.

If a pitcher is unsuccessful in their attempt, they are considered “upped” for the next round. In contrast, a successful pitcher gets to deal for the next round. An “upped” pitcher will have the player sitting to their right take charge of dealing in the next round.

Hi, I’m Amber. I love playing games and I’m also an avid writer. Dogs, plants, and Dungeons & Dragons are some of my favorite things in the world.

Hi, I’m Amber. I’m an enthusiastic gamer and a writer from Austin. I’m proud to call myself a gaming master, and I have a deep affection for dogs, plants, and the game Dungeons & Dragons.