ROOK FOR TWO

Hey there! Let me tell you about Rook for Two, a card game that has been around since 1914. The rules were created by George S. Parker, the man behind Parker Bros. But here’s an interesting fact: the Rook card, which is usually a big part of the game, wasn’t originally included in the standard rules. That’s right, the instructions back in 1914 didn’t mention the Rook card at all. And that’s how we’re going to play it here on GameRules, just like it was in 1914.

Now, it’s important to know that this version of the game is different from the 2-player variation you might find in Hasbro’s instructions for Rook. So, don’t get them confused!

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

First things first, we need to prepare the deck. We’re going to remove all the 1’s, 2’s, 3’s, and the Rook card, leaving us with a deck of 44 cards. To decide who gets to deal first, let’s draw some cards and see who gets lucky!

Now, here comes an interesting twist. In this version of the game, we have something called a Dummy hand. Basically, the Dummy is like a third player, but it doesn’t really think or make decisions. It just follows a set of rules. So, when we’re dealing the cards, the Dummy will always get the same number of cards as the two real players. It keeps things fair and interesting!

First, I want to explain the card dealing process in the game. We start by handing out one card at a time to each player, including the Dummy. In the end, we all have 13 cards. The Dummy’s hand is positioned on the dealer’s right and is kept in a neat pile, face down. Additionally, the last five cards make up the nest and are also kept face down. When it comes to dealing, we take turns so that it’s fair for everyone.

Now, let’s get into the actual gameplay!

When it’s time to decide the trump color for the round, we have a bidding process.

During bidding, players compete to see who gets to choose the trump color. In total, there are 126 points up for grabs each round. You can earn 100 points by counting cards and an additional 26 points by capturing tricks.

When we begin playing, the dealer takes the lead with an automatic bid of 30 points. Then, it’s our turn to bid. We keep going until someone decides to pass. Once that happens, the winning bidder gets to choose the trump color. And here’s the exciting part – the player also gets to pick up the five-card nest and add it to their own hand. But wait, there’s more! They can even swap out two cards from their hand with two cards from the nest. Well, actually, it has to be either two cards or none at all – no in-between. After this exchange, we bid farewell to the nest as it exits the game.

TIME FOR THE FIRST TRICK

When we play the card game opposite the dealer, I get the honor of leading the first trick. I can choose any card from my hand and play it. Now it’s the Dummy’s turn. The dealer takes the top card from the Dummy’s hand and plays it to the trick. It doesn’t matter what color was led, the Dummy always plays the top card from their pile.
Next comes the player after the Dummy. They must play a card of the same color as the one that was led, if they have one. But if they don’t, they can play any card. The winner is determined by the highest card in the color that was led, or if a trump card was played, the highest trump card. Whoever wins the trick gets to lead the next one. If the Dummy wins the trick, we put the cards face down near their hand. And the Dummy gets to lead the next trick with the top card from their hand.

We keep playing like this until we’ve played all of the tricks. And then we keep playing rounds until someone wins.

SCORING

When playing the game of Dummy, there’s no need to keep score. If you make the bid for the trump suit, we each get 2 points for every trick we win. But that’s not all – you also earn points for specific cards:

Each 5 card is worth 5 points.

Each 10 card is worth 10 points.

Each 14 card is also worth 10 points.

If you’re the one who called trump but failed to meet your bid, you earn zero points – nothing, nada. However, your opponent’s points for the round are doubled!

WINNING

The player who reaches 150 points first is declared the winner.

The player who reaches 150 points first is declared the winner.