How To Play Amerikaner |
Amerikaner is a popular trick taking game played in Norway. Despite the sound of the game's name (which is Norwegian for American) the game does not appear to relate to any specific game from the United States or the Americas. The standard game of Amerikaner is played by four players, all playing independently and uses one standard 52 card deck. The ranking of the cards in this deck are as follows (from highest to lowest): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be performed using a variety of methods, such as a draw for high cards. Using this method, the players would take their preference of seats at the table in order of rank of card drawn, from highest to lowest. The player drawing the highest card of all would be set as the first dealer. After each hand, the role of dealer rotates around the table in a clockwise direction.
Once the players are seated and the first dealer selected, the dealer thoroughly shuffles the deck and offers it to the player at his right to cut. After the cut, he begins dealing the cards in a clockwise direction, starting with the player at his immediate left. He deals the cards one-by-one and face down, continuing until each player has a total of 12 cards. He then places the remaining four cards from the deck face-down near the center of the table as the kitty.
After the deal, the players then pick up and their hands, and a round of bidding begins. The player to the immediate left of the dealer has the first bid. A player must name a bid or pass. A bid equates to a number of tricks that player is contracting to win during the current hand, if he becomes the highest bidder. The minimum bid is 6. If a player makes a bid, his bid must be higher than any previous bid during the current hand. The bidding continues in a clockwise direction around the table until a high bid is followed by three consecutive passes. Once a player passes, he is no longer permitted to make any bids during this hand. Normally the highest bid is 12, however there is also one higher bid, "Amerikaner", which will be described below.
If all four players initially pass (no bids on the hand), the cards are all thrown in, reshuffled and redealt by the same dealer.
Once a high bidder is determined during the bidding, this player then picks up the four card kitty adding it to his hand. He then discards any four cards form his hand (which may include cards taken from the kitty) to reduce his hand back to 12 cards. The discarded cards are set aside and out of play.
The high bidder has the first play, leading the first card to the
first trick. The suit of the card he leads to this first trick is set as the
trump suit for that hand. Immediately on playing his first card to the
trick, the high bidder also calls out for a specific card from the trump
suit that he does not have in hand. Whichever other player has this card
then becomes this player's temporary partner for the hand, and must play the
called card, on his turn, to this first trick.
The special bid of Amerikaner, however, is played somewhat differently. The bidder of Amerikaner is bidding to win all twelve tricks during the hand, and must play alone, without the aid of a partner. In the bid of Amerikaner the hand is played with no trump suit.
The leader to each trick may play any card of choice from his hand. Each other player, in a clockwise direction then also plays one card to the same trick. If a player has a card of the suit originally led to the trick he must play it. If he has no card in the suit led, he may play any card of choice remaining in his hand, including a card from the trump suit.
After each player has played one card to the trick, it is determined who has won the trick. The player of the highest card in the trump suit played to the trick wins it. However, if the trick contains no cards in the trump suit, it is won by the highest card played to the trick in the suit originally led to that trick. Cards won in tricks are set aside and out of play. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.
After all twelve tricks have been played, the hand is then scored. If the bidder and his partner managed to win at least as many tricks as bid, both these players earn a number of points equal to the amount of the high bid. If they fail to win at least as many tricks as the high bid, each of these players must subtract from their ongoing score a number equal to the amount of the high bid. Negative scores are possible. The opponents of the high bidder and his partner earn one point per trick won, regardless of whether the high bidder made his bid or not.
In a bid of Amerikaner, if the high bidder manages to win every trick during the hand, he earns 52 points. However if this player loses one or more tricks during the hand, he must subtract 52 points from his ongoing score. The other three players each earn one point per trick that player manages to win during the hand.
Whichever player first manages to reach or exceed a score of 52 total accumulated points over any number of hands is immediately declared the game winner.