Twenty-Eight

Introduction
This is one of a group of South Asian trick-taking games in which the Jack and the Nine
are the highest cards in every suit. It is almost certain that they are related to the
European family of Jass games, which originated in the Netherlands. Possibly they were
brought to the Indian subcontinent from South Africa, by Asians who had been
influenced by the Afrikaans game of Klawerjas.

28 is played in India in the southern province of Kerala. It is closely related to, and
perhaps descended from, the similar north Indian game 29.

Players and Cards

28 is usually played by four players in fixed partnerships, partners facing each other.

32 cards from a standard 52-card pack are used for play. There are eight cards in each of
the usual "French" suits: hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades. The cards in every suit rank
from high to low: J-9-A-10-K-Q-8-7. The aim of the game is to win tricks containing
valuable cards. The values of the cards are:

Jacks 3 points each

Nines 2 points each

Aces 1 point each

Tens 1 point each

Other cards (K, Q, 8, 7) no points

This gives a total of 28 points for cards, hence the name of the game.

Deal and Bidding

Deal and play are counter-clockwise; the cards are shuffled by the dealer and cut by the
player to dealer's left. Four cards are then dealt to each player, one at a time.
Based on these four cards, players bid for the right to choose trumps. Each bid is a
number, and the highest bidder undertakes that his or her side will win in tricks at least
the number of points bid. The player to dealer's right speaks first, and must bid at least
14. Subsequent players, in counter-clockwise order, may either bid higher or pass. The
auction continues for as many rounds as necessary until three players pass in succession.
There is one restriction during the bidding: if you wish to bid over your partner's bid,
your left hand opponent having passed, you must bid at least 20.

The final bidder chooses a trump suit on the basis of his or her four cards, and places a
card of this suit face down. The card is not shown to the other players, who therefore will
not know at first what suit is trumps: it remains face down in front of the bidder until at
some point during the play someone calls for the trump suit to be exposed.

The dealer then completes the deal, giving four more cards to each player, so that
everyone has eight. After everyone has seen their eight cards, the final bidder or the
bidder's partner may increase the bid if they wish, but if they do so the new bid must be at
least 24.

The Play
The play can be divided into two phases: before and after the bidder's face down trump
card is exposed.

First phase:

The player to the dealer's left leads to the first trick; players must follow suit if possible,
the highest card of the suit led wins the trick, and the winner of each trick leads to the
next. During this first phase it is illegal for the bidder to lead a card of the trump suit,
unless he or she has no cards of other suits. If you have no card of the suit led you have
two options:

1. You may discard any card. This card cannot win the trick (unless the trump is
exposed during the current trick and the card you played turns out to have been a
trump).
2. Before playing a card, you may call for the bidder's face down trump to be
exposed. In this case, the bidder must turn this trump card face up for all to see,
and it is then added to the bidder's hand. Having called for the trump to be
exposed, you must play a trump to this trick if you have one; if you have no trump
you may discard any card. The play now enters the second phase.

During the first phase, the face down trump is not considered as belonging to the bidder's
hand. If the bidder holds no card of the suit that was led, the bidder has essentially the
same options as the other players: to discard any card without declaring trumps, or to
expose the face down trump card and play a trump to the trick (not necessarily the one
that was face down).
During the first phase, cards of the (concealed) trump suit have no special effect: each
trick is won by the highest card of the suit led, even if it also contains cards of the suit
that is subsequently revealed as trumps.

Second phase:

Beginning with the trick in which the trump card is exposed, each trick is won by the
highest trump in it. Tricks that contain no trumps are won by the highest card of the suit
led. Players must follow suit if possible: if unable to follow, they may play a trump or
discard a card of another suit, as they like. As before, the winner of each trick leads to the
next. The bidder is now free to lead any suit, including trumps.

Notes

1. If a situation is reached during the first phase in which the bidder has no trumps in
hand, and another player leads the trump suit, the bidder can play any card, since
the face down trump is not yet part of the bidder's hand. Of course the bidder has
the option to expose the face down trump and play it, but if it is a low trump that
cannot win the trick, it will probably be better to save it for later.
2. If no one calls for the trump to be exposed during the first seven tricks, the bidder
will be forced to expose the trump in the last trick and play it, this being the
bidder's only remaining card.

Scoring
When all eight tricks have been played, each side counts the card points in the tricks it
has won. The bidding team needs at least as many card points as the bid to win; otherwise
they lose.

The cumulative scores of the two teams are recorded on a piece of paper. The number of
game points scored depends on the bid, not on the exact number of points taken in tricks.

• If the bid was 19 or less, the bidding team wins 1 game point if successful, but
loses 2 game points if they fail.
• For bids from 20 to 24, the bidding team wins 2 game points or loses 3 game
points.
• For bids of 25 or more, the bidding team wins 3 game points or loses 4 game
points.

Bids from 20 to 24 are known as 'Honours'.

Variations
Cot
Some play a variation called 'Cot': if the winning team wins all the tricks they score twice
the usual number of game points. To prevent this, their opponents can offer to surrender
before the end of the play. If the winning side accepts the surrender, play ends and they
just score the single amount for the bid; if the winning side insists on playing on and wins
all the tricks, they win a double game, but if they lose any tricks at all, they lose a double
game.

John Hanson reports a different form of Cot: in this version it is bid after only four cards
each have been dealt. The remaining cards are not dealt and the Cot bidder has to win all
four tricks. The cards of the Cot bidder's partner are placed face up on the table. I am not
sure how this form of Cot is scored.

Thani

Some play that the bidder can announce "Thani" (or "Adi") after all eight cards have been
dealt. This is an undertaking that the bidder win every trick alone without help from
partner. The bidder leads to the first trick. If the bidder wins every trick, the bidder's team
scores 4 points; if not they lose 5 points. (Presumably the Thani is lost if the bidder's
partner wins a trick.)

John Hanson reports a version in which "Thani" can be announced before the seventh
trick by a player who has won the first six tricks. I am not sure how this form of Thani is
scored.

Three-player version

It is possible for three players to play 28. In this case the Sevens and Eights are removed
from the pack, leaving 24 cards. The compulsory minimum bid for the first player is 12,
and the highest bidder plays alone against the other two in temporary partnership.

Six-player version

28 can also be played by six players, using a pack expanded to 36 cards by adding the
sixes. The game is played between three teams of two, partners sitting opposite, and all
the cards are dealt out, three at a time, before the bidding. The minimum bid is 12. The
team that bids highest plays against the other four players as opponents.

Fifty-Six

56 is a more sophisticated variant of 28, also played in Kerala, using a double pack.
 Twenty-Nine

Introduction
This is one of a group of South Asian trick-taking games in which the Jack and the Nine
are the highest cards in every suit. It is almost certain that they are descended from the
European family of Jass games, which originated in the Netherlands. Possibly they were
brought to the Indian subcontinent from South Africa, by Asians who been influenced by
the Afrikaans game of Klawerjas.

I do not have much information on the geographic distribution of 29, but I have the
impression that it is popular across much of the northern part of India, including Bombay
and West Bengal, and also in Bangladesh.

The descriptions of this game I have seen disagree with each other in many details.
Probably there are many variations: possibly the game is played different ways by players
in different parts of India and abroad. I would be very grateful if any experienced 29
players reading this could write to me with more details of these and other variations of
this game, and the areas where they are played.

Players and Cards

29 is usually played by four players in fixed partnerships, partners facing each other.

32 cards from a standard 52-card pack are used for play. There are eight cards in each of
the usual "French" suits: hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades. The cards in every suit rank
from high to low: J-9-A-10-K-Q-8-7. The aim of the game is to win tricks containing
valuable cards. The values of the cards are:

Jacks 3 points each

Nines 2 points each

Aces 1 point each

 Tens 1 point each

Other cards (K, Q, 8, 7) no points

This gives a total of 28 points for cards. In some versions of the game, the last trick is
worth an extra card point, for a total of 29: this total explains the name of the game. Most
players nowadays do not count the point for the last trick, but the name of the game is
still 29, even when playing this version with only 28 points.

Traditionally, the Twos, Threes Fours and Fives discarded from the full 52-card pack are
used as trump indicators: each player takes a set of these cards, one of each suit. The
Sixes are used to keep score: each partnership uses one red and one black Six for this
purpose.

Deal and Bidding

Deal and play are clockwise; the cards are shuffled by the dealer and cut by the player to
dealer's right. Four cards are then dealt to each player, one at a time.

Based on these four cards, players bid for the right to choose trumps. Each bid is a
number, and the highest bidder undertakes that his or her side will win in tricks at least
the number of points bid. The player to dealer's left speaks first, and subsequent players,
in clockwise order, may either bid higher or pass. The minimum bid allowed is 15 and the
maximum is 29 (assuming that the point for the last trick is to be counted). If any player
bids, the auction continues for as many rounds as necessary until three players pass in
succession. If the first three players pass, the dealer is forced to bid 15, which ends the
auction.

The final bidder chooses a trump suit and to indicate the chosen suit, arranges the face
down pile of Twos to Fives that are not used in the play so that a card of the chosen suit
is at the bottom, but does not show this card to the other players. The dealer then
completes the deal, giving four more cards to each player, so that everyone has eight.

The Play
The player to the dealer's left leads to the first trick; players must follow suit if possible,
and the winner of each trick leads to the next. Initially the trump suit is unknown to the
players other than the bidder. The first player who is unable to follow suit must ask the
bidder to declare the trump suit; the bidder then shows the trump indicator card to
everyone. If the bidder is the first player unable to follow suit, he must declare what suit
is trumps at that point. A player unable to follow suit may play any card; there is no
obligation to play a trump, even for the player who required trumps to be declared.
Starting from the trick during which the trump suit is declared, each trick is won by the
highest trump in it, or by the highest card of the suit led if it contains no trumps.

At any time after the trump has been declared, a player who holds both the King and
Queen of trumps in hand can declare them immediately after he or his partner has won a
trick. This combination is called 'Royals', or a 'Pair'. Note that a player who originally
held the King and Queen of trumps cannot declare them if one or both of them has
already been played, and that they can only be declared after the declaring side has won
either the trick during which trumps were declared or a later trick. If the Pair is declared
by the bidder or his partner, the effect is to reduce by 4 the number of card points they
require to fulfill their bid, subject to a minimum of 15; if an opponent of the bidder
declares a Pair, it increases the number of points required by the bidding side by 4,
subject to a maximum of 29.

Scoring
When all eight tricks have been played, each side counts the card points in the tricks it
has won, the winners of the last trick adding an extra card point. If the bidding side took
at least as many card points as they bid, adjusted for a declaration of a Pair if appropriate,
they win one game point; otherwise they lose one game point. The score of the team
playing against the bidder does not change.

Each side keeps score using a red Six (known as nali or red chaka) and a black Six
(known as kala or black chaka), from the cards not used in the game. These are arranged
to display either a number of red pips, representing a positive score, or a number of black
pips, for a negative score. At the start of the game no pips are showing. If the bidding
side wins, they expose one extra red pip or (if they had black pips showing) cover one
black pip; if they lose they expose a black pip or cover a red pip. The game is won by the
first team to reach a cumulative score of plus 6 game points, shown by six red pips. It
also ends if a team reaches minus 6 game points (six black pips), thereby losing the game.

Variations
Some people play 29 counter-clockwise - in which case it would be the player to dealer's
right who bids first and leads the first card. Also, some play that the bidding and play are
begun by the dealer.

It has already been mentioned that some players score a point for the last trick, but many
do not. Without the point for the last trick, the highest bid possible is of course 28. Some
explain the name 29 of the game by saying that it is the total of the number of points
required by each team to succeed. For example if the bid is 16 and there are 28 points in
play, the opponents need at least 13 points to defeat the bid. 16+13=29.

Some play that the lowest bid allowed is 16.

Some allow a player who wishes to bid but is unwilling to choose a suit on the basis of
his or her first four cards, perhaps having one card of each suit, to call for the 'seventh
card' to be trumps. In this case, in the second phase of the deal, the bidder's penultimate
card is placed under the trump indicator cards and determines the trump suit. The bidder
may look at this 'seventh card' but as usual the other players will not know what suit it is
until trumps are exposed.

Some play that when you are unable to follow suit, you are not obliged to ask for the
trump suit to be declared; instead, you can simply discard a card of any suit. Of course
this discarded card cannot win the trick (unless a later player to the same trick player asks
for the trump suit to be revealed and thereby turns the card you played into a trump), but
you might have no need to win the trick if your partner's card is already winning.
However, you may choose to ask for the trump suit to be declared, and in this version,
when the bidder has declared trumps, the player who asked is obliged to play a trump to
that trick if possible. This is the only case in which a player is forced to trump a plain suit
lead; otherwise players unable to follow suit may play any card. The bidder may choose
to expose his or her own trump if unable to follow suit, and must then play a trump to the
trick. Until the trick in which trumps are declared, cards of the trump suit have no special
effect: each trick is won by the highest card of the suit led, even if it also contains cards
of the suit that is subsequently revealed as trumps. As usual, starting from the trick in
which the trump suit is declared, trumps beat cards of other suits.

It can sometimes happen that the trumps are never declared - either because every player
has two cards of every suit, or (in the version where asking for a trump declaration is
voluntary) if no one chooses to ask. If trumps have not been declared by the end of the
play, the deal is annulled, and neither team scores.

If as the bidder you call for the 'seventh card', then for the purposes of following suit this
card is not considered to belong to your hand until the trump suit is declared. If the suit of
this card is led by another player before trumps have been declared, you must follow with
a card of this suit from your hand if possible. If you are unable to follow suit from your
hand, you may either discard from another suit or declare trumps by showing your
seventh card, and follow suit with it.

Some play that after the bidder has chosen trumps or asked for the 'seventh card', but
before the dealer continues the deal, either opponent of the bidder may say 'double' if he
or she believes that the bidder's team will fail. The bidder's team will then win two game
points rather than one if they succeed and lose two game points if they fail.

Some play that after a double, the bidder or the bidder's partner can reply with a
'redouble', which doubles the score again to four game points, won or lost.

Some give the whole pile of unused cards (2s to 5s of all suits) to the trump maker, who
arranges them with a card on the bottom to indicate the trump suit - or the seventh card is
placed under them if 'seventh card' was called. A double or redouble is indicated by
flipping face up one or two cards respectively from the top of this pile. The identity of the
flipped card has no effect on the game - it is just there to remind the players that the game
has been doubled.

Some play that after all the cards have been dealt, but before the lead to the first trick, a
player with very strong cards may declare a 'single hand', undertaking to win all eight
tricks, playing alone. In this case there are no trumps, the player who announced 'single
hand' leads to the first trick, and the partner of the lone player places his or her hand face
down and takes no part in the play. The lone player's team wins 3 game points if all eight
tricks are won, and loses 3 points otherwise. Some play that 'single hand' cannot be
declared with a hand that is certain to win eight tricks - the player must have at least one
card that could conceivably lose a trick.

Some players add a Joker to each player's supply of trump indicator cards. It is then
possible for the bidder to select 'No Trumps' instead of a trump suit by placing the Joker
at the bottom of the pile. When 'No Trumps' are selected, it is of course impossible to
declare a Pair.

A session may consist of several games to six points each. Some players use the other
spare cards to record how many games each team has won or lost, a red card representing
a win and a black card a loss. Some consider a game won to be worth twice as much as a
game lost.

Siddhartha Srivastava reports the following variations from Lucknow.

• After four cards each have been dealt, a player can declare "Tenny". In this case
no further cards are dealt, and the Tenny player's objective is to win all four
tricks, playing alone with no trumps. The Tenny player's partner's four-card hand
is placed face up on the table and is not used in the play. The Tenny player leads
to the first trick. If the Tenny is successful, the player's team wins 4 points;
otherwise they lose 4. In this variation, 'single hand' (known as '29') is also played
with the bidder's partner's hand exposed throughout. It scores 8 points if
successful and loses 8 points if not.
• During the bidding, a player can equal the previous bid by saying "ditto". For
example, if the first player bids 16 points, the next could say "ditto", which would
mean that he is also bidding 16 points. You cannot say "ditto" if the previous bid
was "ditto" - the next bidder has to raise the bid. In the example, after "16" -
"ditto", the next player would have to bid at least 17 or pass. If no one raises the
bid after a "ditto", the player who said "ditto" is the declarer and chooses the
trump suit.
• "Pair" or "Royals" can only be declared immediately after the holder or partner
has won a trick by playing a trump on a non-trump trick.
• When scoring, after a team has exhausted all the available pips on one of their
sixes (red or black), the game carries on with that team using fives, then fours,
threes and twos. This extends the game, allowing a team to score up to 20
(6+5+4+3+2) positive or negative points. The game would end if a team reached
 that total, but more often it is ended sooner by mutual agreement, with the pips
exposed by each team showing the final scores.

Fifty Six

Introduction
This is one of a group of South Asian trick-taking games in which the Jack and the Nine
are the highest cards in every suit. It is almost certain that they are related to the
European family of Jass games, which originated in the Netherlands. 56 is popular in the
southern province of Kerala, India. It is an expanded form of the simpler game 28, played
with a double pack.

Players and Cards

56 can be played by four, six or eight players, divided into two fixed partnerships. The
players from the two teams sit alternately, each player between two opponents.

The four- and six-player versions are played with 48 cards - all the Aces, Kings, Queens,
Jacks, Tens and Nines from two standard 52-card packs. The cards in each of the suits
(hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades) rank from high to low: J-9-A-10-K-Q. When eight
play the Eights and Sevens are added as the lowest cards of each suit, making a 64-card
pack. The aim of the game is to win tricks containing valuable cards. The values of the
cards are:

Jacks 3 points each

Nines 2 points each

Aces 1 point each

Tens 1 point each

Other cards (K, Q, 8, 7) no points

This gives a total of 56 points for cards, hence the name of the game.
Some of the low cards (2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) not used in playing the game are used for keeping
score. These cards are known as tables. One team begins the game with 12 red tables
(hearts and diamonds) and the other with 12 black tables (hearts and spades). After each
hand, the losing team has to give the appropriate number of tables to the winning team, as
explained under "scoring". When a team loses a hand and does not have enough tables
left to pay the winners, they have lost the match.

Deal and Bidding

The deal, bidding and play are clockwise according to some sources, but counter-
clockwise according to others. This page is written assuming counter-clockwise play. If
you are playing clockwise, 'left' and 'right' should be reversed throughout.

The first dealer is chosen by drawing cards - highest deals. The dealer shuffles, the player
to dealer's left cuts, and the dealer deals out all the cards in batches of four at a time. Each
player thus has a hand of 12 cards in a 4-player game, and 8 cards in a 6-player or 8-
player game, since the 8-player game uses 64 cards.

The player to dealer's right bids first, and the bidding continues counter-clockwise around
the table. Each bid specifies a number of points and a trump suit or 'no trumps'. The team
that makes the last and highest bid has the objective of taking at least the number of
points bid, with the trump suit (or no trumps) specified in the bid. The minimum bid is 28
and the maximum is of course 56.

In the bidding, all suits and 'no trumps' are equal; each bid must be numerically higher
than the previous bid. A player who does not wish to bid can pass. If the most recent bid
was made by an opponent, then at your turn, instead of bidding or passing, you can
'double' the bid. If the most recent bid was a double by an opponent of a bid made by a
member of your team, then you can 'redouble' at your turn. A redouble ends the auction.

If everyone passes initially, the hand is played in no trumps, and scored as though the
dealer's opponents had bid 28. If someone bids, the bidding continues until either there is
a redouble, or a bid or double is followed by passes from all the other players in
succession. The trump suit and objective are then as specified in the last and highest bid.

When bidding, there are several different forms of words that can be used. These are
generally given conventional meanings, and used to convey information to one's
partner(s) about what cards are held.

When no one has previously bid, there are four styles that can be used:

1. Number followed by suit - e.g. 28 Clubs

2. Suit followed by number - e.g. Clubs 28
3. Number followed by 'No-trump' - e.g. 28 No-trump
4. Number followed by 'Noes' - e.g. 28 Noes
After a bid by another player, two additional styles are possible, indicating the number by
which the bid is increased:

5. Plus number followed by suit - e.g. Plus Two Diamonds (which takes the bidding
level to 30 if the previous bid was 28)
6. Plus number followed by 'Noes' - e.g. Plus One Noes (which takes the bidding
level to 29 if the previous bid was 28)

Note that in some groups, the suit of Diamonds is known as "Dice", so one would bid
"30 Dice", etc., rather than "30 Diamonds".

• Number followed by suit conventionally shows that you have the highest card(s)
of the suit with others. At a minimum level it shows just one top card (a jack, if no
cards of this suit have previously been indicated). Jumps can be used to show
additional top cards.
• Suit followed by number shows strength in the suit but without the highest card.
• 'Plus One' in a suit shows the highest card alone. 'Plus two' would show two top
cards alone, and so on.
• While a bid of 'No-trump' shows general strength without any particularly good
suit, a bid of 'Noes' is generally used to indicate that one has no cards at all in the
suit most recently bid. No cards in the suit bid before that is variously shown by
jumping in Noes or by bidding 'Plus One Noes'.

It is not compulsory to follow the above conventions. In some circumstanmces it may be

a good tactic to make a bid that does not reflect the cards you hold, in order to mislead
the opponents.

The Play
The player to the right of ther dealer leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit if
they can. A player who has no card of the suit led may play any card. If a trick contains
trumps, it is won by the highest trump played. If two equal trumps are played, the one
played earlier ranks higher. If no trumps are played to a trick, it is won by the highest
card played of the suit that was led, or by the first played of two equal highest cards of
that suit. The winner of each trick leads to the next.

Scoring
The bidders win if the tricks they won contain at least as many points as they bid.
Otherwise they lose. The score is kept using "tables" (the low cards not used in play).
Each team begins the match with 12 of these tables, and pays or receives tables according
to the bid as follows:

Bid Bidding team wins Bidding team loses

28 to 39 receive 1 table pay 2 tables
40 to 47 receive 2 tables pay 3 tables
48 to 55 receive 3 tables pay 4 tables
56 receive 4 tables pay 5 tables

Bids of 40 and above are sometimes known as Honours.

If the final bid was doubled, the number of tables paid or received is doubled. If it was
redoubled, the number of tables paid or received is multiplied by 4.

Variations
Some groups do not allow everyone to pass. If you are the last player of the non-dealer's
team to bid and everyone before you has passed, you are forced to bid at least 28. This
means that by the time the bidding reaches the dealer, there has always been at least one
bid.

Some play that if any player has no points (his hand consists entirely of Kings and
Queens), the cards are thrown in and redealt by the same dealer.

Some play that in the unlikely case where one player is dealt all eight Jacks, the cards
must be thrown in and redealt by the same dealer.

Some play with slightly different scoring:

• In one version, all bids from 40 to 55 win 2 or lose 3; a bid of 56 wins 3 or loses
4.
• In another version bids from 40 to 48 win 2 or lose 3 and all bids of 49 or more
win 3 or lose 4.

As in 28, some play a variation called 'Cot': if the winning team wins all the tricks they
win twice the usual number of tables. To prevent this, their opponents can offer to
surrender before the end of the play. If the winning side accepts the surrender, play ends
and they just win the ordinary number of tables for the bid; if the winning side insists on
playing on and wins all the tricks, they win twice the usual number of tables for their bid,
but if they lose any tricks at all, they lose twice the usual number of tables for their bid.
The Card Game called Fifty-Six (56)
This card game is typical to Kerala, India. I have seen people playing this,
wherever they can - fields, trains, etc,. The game is somewhat similar to
Bridge , one of the commonly played card game around the world. If you see
any descrepancy in the following description of the game, please bring it to my
attention by emailing to raj_nair@iwaynet.net.

Players and Cards

There are 4, 6 or 8 players in two fixed partnerships, which means each team
has 2, 3, or 4 players. Alternate players belong to the same team. The game is
played clockwise. Only one score is kept for each side.

Two decks of cards are used, with the following point values and order:

Cards # Points Total Points

Jack 8 3 24

9 (Nine) 8 2 16

Ace 8 1 8

10 (Ten) 8 1 8

King 8 0 0

Queen 8 0 0

Total 48 - 56

Hence the name 56.

If 8 people are playing, 8 (Eights) and 7(Sevens) may also used, which also
have 0 point values. If 4 people are playing, you could eliminate Kings and
Queens.

Deal
The cards are shuffled by the dealer and (optionally) cut by the player left to
the dealer. The dealer deals all the cards 4 at a time, if there are 48 cards/4 or 6
players or 64 cards/8 players. The cards are dealt 3 at a time if there are 48
cards/8 players. So each player can get 12, 8 or 6 cards.

Bidding

The next step is an auction (bidding) to determine which team will be the final
bidder. A bid specifies the number of points and a trump suit (or that there will
be no trumps). The side (team) which bids the highest will try to win at least
that many points with the specified suit as trumps.

The mandatory bidding, by the opposite team of the dealer, starts at 28 points
with or without a trump. Examples are: 28 Clubs, 28 Hearts, 28 Noes or 28 No
Trumps. There is a difference between NOES and NOTRUMPS, Noes means
that the bidder is not strong in any suit, but has to bid something. No-trump
means, the dealer is strong with Jacks, but not in any suit. It is customary that
you should have at least 4 cards with a jack in any particular suit to start at 28.
That is, if you have a Jack of Clubs and 3 other Clubs you can start bidding at
28 Clubs. If your partner bids at a suit and you are strong in the same suit, you
can "support" him by increasing the point value in the same suit. If you have 2
Jacks and some other cards in the same suit, you can start your bid adding 2 to
the previous bid (29 when bidding starts). Similarly, if you have 2 Jacks and a
Nine in the same suit you can increase the bid by 3. If you have 2 Jacks and 2
Nines, you can increase by 4 and so on. If your partner starts at 30 Clubs
(meaning he has 2 Jacks and a Nine), for example, and you have the other Nine
and an Ace of Clubs, you can up the bidding by 2 (i.e. 32 Clubs). If your
partner bid, for example 28 Clubs (he has one of the Clubs Jack and a few other
cards in Clubs), and you just have the other Jack of Clubs, you can say "Plus
One" Clubs and so on. If your partner bids in a specific suit and you have
nothing in that suit, you can increase it by one and say Noes for the suit
(Example: Your partner bids 28 Clubs and you bid as 29 Noes). If your partner
bids in a specific suit, you don't have anything in that suit, but the opposite
team member between you and your partner bids something, then you bid as
"Plus One Noes" (Example: Your partner bids at 28 Hearts, the other team
member bids at 30 Spades, you can say "Plus One Noes", meaning you have no
Hearts). If you are strong in some other suit than your partner, you may open
that suit with whatever the next point value is. You should always allow the
other team to bid at their turn.

It is also possible, during the bidding to "double" a bid by the other side or to
"redouble" the opponents double. Doubling and redoubling essentially increase
the score for the bid contract if won and penalties if lost. If someone then bids
higher, any previous doubles and redoubles are cancelled.

So here is a complete scenario. The bidding starts with the player immediately
right to the dealer. At each turn a player may either:

• Pass by saying "pass". This indicates that the player does not wish to bid,
double or redouble on that round, but a player who has passed is still
allowed to bid, double or redouble at a later turn.
• Make a bid, which must be higher than the previous bid if any (or a
minimum 28 at start);
• Say "double", if the previous bid was by an opponent, and has not
already been doubled;
• Say "redouble", if the previous bid was by one's own side and has been
doubled by an opponent, but not yet redoubled;

If everybody pass on their first turn, it is implied that the bidding stopped at 28
Noes. If you bid a suit and your partner(s) did not support nor bid anything
else, then you cannot change the suit, but can go to the next higher level
(explained later) in the same suit. So bidding is the most important part of the
game and if you follow it carefully, at the end of bidding, you should know
what exactly your partner(s) have and what your opponents may have.

The bidding continues until there are no bidding by the members of the
opposite team. The last bid becomes the point value and suit for that game. The
team who made the final bid will now try to get at least that many points of the
bid. The first player is the one, on the right of the dealer.

The Play

The player immediately to the right of the dealer leads the first trick. It is
customary to lead Jacks, if you have any. Also you may get rid off your
opponents' trumps by leading the higher value trumps that you or your
partner(s) hold.

Play proceeds clockwise. Each player must, if possible, play a card of the suit
led. If you do not have the suit, that is being led, you may "trump" it by playing
any of the trump cards. If you do not have the suit nor any trump, then you may
play any card. It is not wise enough to "trump" your partner's trick or play a
high point value card for your opponent's trick, unless it will help you in some
way. A trick is won by the highest trump in it, or if no trumps were played by
the highest card of the suit led. The winner of a trick leads to the next.
Scoring

The minimum bidding is 28 and the maximum is 56. The scores depend on the
point value of the final bid (or level of bidding).

39 and below: Scores 1 if won and 2 if lost

40-48 (Honors): Scores 2 if won and 3 if lost

49-56: Scores 3 if won and 4 if lost

In some places, a slightly different scoring system is used. 40-47 : 2 if won and
3 if lost, 48-55 : 3 if won and 4 if lost 56 : 4 if won and 5 if lost.

The scores double or redouble, depending on the double/redouble bidding.

Special Cases of Bidding

1. If you do not have Jack in a particular suit, but is strong in that suit (i.e.
5-6 cards of the same suit), you can bid by specifying the suit first and
then the point value instead of point value and suit (example: bid
Diamonds 28 rather than 28 Diamonds, meaning you may have Nines,
Aces, Kings, etc, of Hearts with no Jacks).
2. As mentioned before, it is the common practice to start a bid only if you
have at least 4 cards in the same suit, including the Jack. But if your
partners have built up a strong bid declaring all of their Jacks and other
possible tricks, then you have to show them all the tricks you may be
able to take. In this case you may open a suit with 1, 2 or 3 cards. For
example, suppose your partners built up a bid of 48 Clubs (i.e. they are
not sure about 1 trick). If you can show them that you can take that one
trick, they could easily go up to 56 Clubs. This one trick may be in any
other suit.
3. Cot (I am not sure about the spelling): Before the completion of the
game, the opposite team can ask the bidding team, if they can take all the
tricks. If the answer is yes and they did not get all the tricks, the score is
doubled. This variation is not allowed in all places.

Partnership Agreement and Convensions

As in most card games, partners are forbidden to convey information to each

other by talking, gesture, facial expressions, etc,. However there is considerable
scope for partners to exchange information within the rules of the game by their
choice of bids or cards played.

The bidding mechanism is such that if a player makes a bid (or double or
redouble), it is always possible for the player's partner at their next turn to
override that bid with a higher bid. This makes it possible for partners to assign
arbitrary meanings to bids. Bids can be classified as "natural" (which can be
taken at face value - that is they convey a genuine wish to play a final bid to
take the relevant number of tricks or more with the trump suit stated) or
"conventional" or "artificial" (which carry an agreed meaning other than
"natural").

For example if we are partners, we might agree that a bid of 28 Clubs by me

shows a strong hand, but has nothing to do with wanting Clubs as trumps.
Provided that we both understand this, you will not leave me to play a hand of
28 Clubs, but will make some other bid, natural or artificial.

Always remember that these games are played for fun and should be taken as
such. You may often be playing with an unfamiliar or inexperienced partner or
in an informal setting. Be courteous to your partners as well as your opponents.
There is no need to get all uptight, if your partner made a mistake (wrong play).
That is how they learn the game. Discuss it with your partner after that game is
over, in a courteous manner. He or she will definitely appreciate it and will
want to be your partner next time you play the game.

Have fun!!