Svoi Kozyri: A Mix of Strategy and Skill

Hey there! Have you ever played a card game where you have to get rid of your cards without being the last one holding any? Well, let me introduce you to Svoi Kozyri – a game that combines the excitement of shedding cards with the strategy and skill of a trick-taking game. It’s a blast with four players, but you can still have a great time with just two or three!

Getting Started

Before we dive in, let’s set up our deck of cards. We’re going to remove all the cards that are 5 and below, so that means saying goodbye to those low-value cards. We’ll be left with the Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, 10s, 9s, 8s, 7s, and 6s. Now, let’s get ready to play!

But hold on a second! We need to choose our trump suits. Each player will pick a different suit to be their trump. This adds an extra layer of strategy and competition to the game. Okay, now we’re really ready!

Who should be the first dealer, you ask? Well, it’s up to you! You can use a fair method like flipping a coin or drawing straws. From the second round onwards, the dealer will be the player who lost the previous round. Let the dealing begin!

When you play Svoi Kozyri, the dealer will shuffle the deck of cards and give one card to each player, going around in a circle. After everyone has their hand, we all check if we have any sixes. If we have sixes that are not in our trump suit, we give them to someone who has the same trump suit as the six. This makes sure that each player has at least one card in their trump suit, and it also means that everyone might start the game with a different number of cards in their hand.

Ranking the Cards

In Svoi Kozyri, each player has a different trump suit, but the order of cards is the same for both trumps and non-trumps. The highest-ranked card is the Ace, followed by the King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, and finally, the lowest-ranked card is the 6.

Hey there! Let me explain how trumps work in this game. Each player has their own trump suit, and that suit is powerful only during their turn. Let’s say I’m Player A and my trump suit is spades. Player B’s suit is diamonds, Player C’s suit is hearts, and Player D’s suit is clubs.

Okay, let’s start a trick. As Player A, I play a Queen of hearts. Now it’s Player B’s turn. They play a Jack of diamonds, which beats my Queen of hearts because it’s one of their trumps. Now it’s Player C’s turn. They can either play a diamond higher than a Jack or play one of their trumps. They decide to play a Queen of diamonds. Lastly, it’s Player D’s turn. They finish the trick by playing a 6 of clubs.

Awesome! All players have successfully played a card during the trick without having to draw any more cards. And that’s how trumps work in this game!

GAMEPLAY

When we start playing the game, I get the first turn. I can choose any card to play. Then it’s your turn, and you have three choices. You can play a card of the same suit as mine, play a trump card, or draw cards.

To play a card, you need to beat the top card of the play pile. You can do this by playing a card that is higher in rank but the same suit as the top card, or by playing one of your trump cards. If the top card is a trump card, you will need to beat it with one of your own trump cards. Once a card is played to beat the previous one, another card needs to be played on top of the pile. The next player will then need to beat that card in order to play a card of their own.

If you can’t or don’t want to beat the last card played, you have another option: draw cards. Here’s how it works:

If the top card is not one of your trumps, you’ll draw the top three cards from the play pile and add them to your hand. However, if the top card is a trump card (but not the ace), you’ll draw five cards instead. And if the top card is the ace of your trump suit, you’ll draw the entire play pile into your hand.

Once you’ve made your draw, the new top card becomes the card that the next player must beat. But what if there’s no card left? In that case, the next player will simply play one card for their turn.

This cycle continues until only one player has cards left in their hand. That’s when the game ends.

If I manage to play my last card and there are at least two other players still in the game, but I don’t have a second card to beat the top card on the pile, the next player doesn’t have to beat my card. Instead, they just play a single card, as if it’s the beginning of the game.

When the Game Ends

The game is not won; it’s just that I didn’t lose. The player who discards all their cards last is the loser and will be the one to deal the next game. However, there is one exception. If the final player is left with only one card and they can play it to beat the top card on the pile, then it’s a draw. In this case, the previous dealer deals again.