Welcome to Ristikontra! Let’s learn how to play this exciting trick-taking card game.

In Ristikontra, four players form two teams of two players each. Partners sit across from each other, and the ultimate goal is to earn 7 game points before the opposing team does.

So, how do you earn game points? Well, it’s simple! By winning rounds and scoring more points than the other team. You can earn points by winning valuable cards during tricks.

Getting Started: Setup

To determine the first dealer, we choose randomly and rotate clockwise for each new deal.

The dealer shuffles the deck and deals each player a hand of 6 cards. The remaining cards are kept facedown in the center as the stockpile.

Understanding Card Ranking and Value

In Ristikontra, there’s no hierarchy of cards. The only important thing is whether a card is of the same rank as another. However, certain cards have assigned values that players can accumulate during the rounds. Aces are the most valuable, worth 11 points. Kings come next, with a value of 4 points. Queens are worth 3 points, jacks are worth 2 points, and 10s are worth 10 points. The remaining cards have no value. Therefore, a total of 120 points are up for grabs in each round.

HOW TO PLAY

The game of cards starts with the player on the left of the dealer, and then it goes around in a clockwise direction. Each player gets a turn to play a card in the trick. The first player can choose any card they want, and the same goes for the following players. The trick is won by the player who plays the last card of the same rank as the first card played. To give you an example, let’s say Player A plays a 2, Player B plays a 5, Player C plays a 2, and Player D plays a 4. In this case, Player C would be the winner of the trick. The winner of a trick gets to start the next one.

When playing, it’s important to keep in mind that you want to win tricks that have valuable cards in them.

After each player has played their card, they will draw a new card from the stock to refill their hand up to 6 cards. When the stock is empty, players will no longer draw cards, but they will still continue playing the cards that they have left in their hands.

So here’s the deal: when it comes to leading a trick, there’s one important rule you gotta remember. And that rule is you can’t lead four tricks in a row with cards of the same rank.

Now, while there are still cards left in the stock, you have the option to lead or play with the top card from the stock. If you choose to do this, you gotta reveal that top card and play it to the trick. But once you make that move, you can’t change your mind, my friend. If you do, you won’t even get to draw a card afterward, and you’ll be stuck with six cards in your hand.

THE KEY TO VICTORY

Once all the tricks have been played and won, it’s time to tally up the score. If a team scores 61 or more points, they earn a game point. If they manage to score all 120 points, that’s worth 2 game points. But here’s the twist: if both teams end up with exactly 60 points, no game point is awarded. However, the opportunity to win an extra game point is up for grabs in the next round. So, if a game point carries over to the next round, scoring 61 points will earn you 2 game points, and scoring 120 points will earn you a whopping 3 game points.

THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

The game comes to an end when a team reaches the milestone of 7 game points. The first team to achieve this feat emerges victorious and wins the game.

Ristikontra – learn to play with