Alternate Scoring: There are various scoring schemes for Blackout in
addition to the one given above. One common alternative scoring method is to award each successful bid 10 points plus the amount of their bid. As in the standard game, the player must still win the exact number of tricks bid in order to earn this score.
Simultaneous Bidding: In order to help prevent a player from influencing his bid based on what previous players may have bid, an optional rule that is sometimes used is that of simultaneous bidding. In this variant, all players submit their bids at the same time. To do this, each player places his two hands, in a fist on the table. At a signal from the dealer, each player then immediately displays a number of fingers equal to his bid. These bids should then be recorded by one player (usually the dealer) for scoring at the end of the hand.
Reverse Deals: In this variation, the individual deals are played in reverse order. Thus, for the first deal, the maximum number of cards are dealt, and on each subsequent hand one less card is dealt until the last deal, which is the one card hand. The first, maximum card hand is played at no trump while the other deals use the standard turn-up card for determining the trump suit, as described above. In all other respects the game is played identically to the standard game.
Full Rotation: This variation is the same as the standard game, except for there are additional deals in each game. After the hand with the maximum deals is dealt, the next deal would consist of one less card and so on for each deal back down to the one card deal which is the last in the game.
Hook Rule: In this version, a player may not bid such that the TOTAL number of tricks bid so far (by all players combined in this deal) totals exactly the same as the number of tricks in the game. Thus, a player on his turn may not make a bid which would cause this total of all the bids to be over the possible total for the hand. This forces each hand to be either over or under bid. Oftentimes, this may cause the dealer (the last bidder) to make a bid in which they would not normally want to make. In this version the deal rotates clockwise around the table to the next player after each completed deal.
Cooperative Blackout: Cooperative (or Co-Op) Blackout is a unique variant of
Blackout, being one of a very few
card games using a standard deck of cards which feature completely cooperative gameplay. Thus, in this version of the game, every player plays towards
the same common goal. All the players will either all win together or all lose together.
Similar to the standard, competitive version, this
variant can be played by 2 to 7 players. The game uses one standard deck, however a second, shuffled deck is used to determine the trump suit for each hand. As in the standard game, on each round the player's will receive a different number of cards, based on the current round.
After the cards are dealt on each round, a card from the second deck is exposed, the suit of this card being set as the trump suit for the hand. This card and all other cards from the second deck play no further part in the game. After the trump suit is exposed, a round of bidding begins, starting with the player to the dealer's immediate left. Each player has exactly one opportunity to bid and may not pass. A player makes a bid based on exactly how many tricks he expects to win this hand. A player may make a bid of 0 if he expects to win no tricks during the hand. The total
summation of all the bids must equal exactly the number of cards dealt to each player during the hand. Thus the players may have some general discussion before the round of bidding. However, the players may never reveal the exact nature of their hand, such as specific suits or numbers, they may make statements regarding the general strengths of the hand (i.e. a player might say "I have a hand which is strong in one suit, somewhat strong in another suit and very weak in the remaining two suits", or a player may state "I can definitely win three tricks based on this trump suit").
Once all the bids have been made, play begins with the player to the immediate left of the dealer leading the first card to the first trick. Each other player, in a clockwise direction around the table then plays one card from his own hand to the trick. If he has a card of the suit originally led to the trick, he must play a card of that suit. If he has no cards of that suit, he may play any card from his hand, including a card from the trump suit. The highest card of the trump suit played to the trick wins the trick (if it contains any). If no cards of the trump suit were played to the trick, the highest card of the suit originally led to the trick wins it.
After all tricks have been played and won, the won tricks by the players are compared to their bids for the hand. If every player managed to win exactly as many tricks as bid, the hand is a winner and the players are entitled to move to the next round. However, if any players have won or lost more tricks than bid, the hand is not a winner, and the same round must be replayed. In either case, the deck is passed to the player to the left of the last dealer, who shuffles and deals the next hand.
The goal is to see how few hands are required in order to play through an entire game.
Jabberwocky: Jabberwocky is a variant of Blackout which appears to have originated in
the state of Hawaii in the early 1980's. However, it was also known to have been played in areas of Austria at around the same time period.
Jabberwocky is designed to be played by 3 to 5 players using one standard 52 card deck. The ranking of the cards in Jabberwocky is as follows, from high to low; Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
As in Blackout, the goal of each hand is to correctly bid the exact number of tricks a player expects to win during that hand. The number of cards dealt each hand changes on each hand.
Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be performed in the same way as the parent game, Blackout. Once determined, the dealer shuffles the pack and offers it to the player at his right to cut. The dealer completes the cut and then begins the deal. The cards are dealt in a
clockwise direction, one at a time and face-down around the table. The number of cards dealt will be different each round. On the first round, each player is dealt three cards. This increases each hand, until each player receives nine total cards. On the next hand after each player receives nine cards, the number of cards dealt on each round decreases by one each hand until, on the last hand of the deal, each player again receives three total cards. After the dealer has dealt each player the requisite number of cards for the current round, he turns over the next card in the pack, placing the card on the center of the table. The suit of this card is set as the trump suit for the hand.
After the cards have been dealt, the players pick up their cards for examination. Starting with the player to the dealer's immediate left, each player makes one bid, indicating the number of tricks he believes he will win during the current hand. The lowest bid is 0 and the highest bid is the total number of cards dealt during the current hand. The bidding continues in a clockwise direction with each player making one bid. The dealer will have the last bid of the hand. One stipulation on the bidding, is that the total of all bids made cannot equal the total number of cards dealt, and thus he must bid in such a manner that this total is not equal to the number of cards dealt on the current hand.
After each player has declared his bid (which should be recorded on paper
for reference), the play of the hand begins. The player to the immediate left of the dealer leads the first card to the first trick. Each other player, in a clockwise rotation then
plays one card to the same trick. If a player has a card of the same suit as the card originally led to the trick he must play it. If he does not have a card of that suit, he may play any card from his hand, including a card from the trump suit. After each player has played one card to the trick, the trick is examined to determine who has won the trick. The highest card of the trump suit wins the trick. If the trick contains no cards from the trump suit, the highest card of the original suit led to this trick wins it. Each player should keep track of the number of tricks he has won. The cards comprising the trick are set aside. It should be noted that the leader of a trick may not lead a card of the trump suit, until a card of the trump suit has already been played to a trick during the current hand, or if that player only has cards from the trump suit remaining in his hand. If a player revokes (fails to follow suit to a trick when able) three points are immediately subtracted from his accumulated game score. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.
After all tricks from the current have been played and won, the players then compare the number of tricks they won during the hand to their bid for the hand. If a player manages to win exactly as many tricks as bid, he scores one point, otherwise he scores 0 points. After all 13 hands have been played, the player with the highest total score is declared the game winner.
Up and Down the River: Up and Down the River is a variant of Blackout which is played very similar to the standard game with the following differences:
- This game is designed to be played by four or five players, using one standard 52 card deck.
- A game of Up and Down the River consists of exactly 19 deals. The first deal consists of 1 card and continues increasing with one card per deal until a deal in which each player receives 10 total cards. After the deal with 10 cards, each subsequent deal consists of one fewer card than the previous deal. The last deal of the game consists of one card again.
- In this game, a player earns one point for each trick won and ten points if his bid is exactly equal to the number of tricks he bid. The exception is if a player bids 0 tricks and manages to win 0 tricks he wins five points instead of ten.
- If a player wins greater or fewer tricks than bid, his point total for the hand is the number of tricks won subtracted by the amount of the failed bid.
In all other aspects the game Up and Down the River is played identically to the parent game Blackout as described in the instructions above.
Clag: Clag is another game in the style of Blackout in which the game is played over a series of hands and players attempt to bid the exact number of tricks they think they will win on each hand. What makes this game unique amongst such games is that it features a number of hands with differing rules. The name Clag is actually an acronym for "Clouds Low, Aircraft Grounded". This was undoubtedly the conditions in which this was played, as the game originated in the Royal British Air Force, and being at it's most popular during the Second World War. The game is sometimes also played under the name Clagg, Cleg or Nomination Whist.
Clag is designed to be played by three to seven players using one standard 52 card deck. As in most other games of this type, the ranking of the cards as found 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, with draw for high cards one such method which is commonly used. Using this method, each player would draw a card from the shuffled, face-down deck. The players would then seat themselves at the table in the order of cards drawn from higher to lower. If multiple players draw cards of the same rank, those players would discard and redraw,
continuing to draw cards until drawing a card which has not been drawn by any previous player. The player drawing the highest card of all is set as the first dealer. After each deal the role of dealer rotates around the table in a clockwise direction.
Clag is played over the course of 20 deals, with the
exact number of cards dealt to each player on each round first
ascending, starting with one card and increasing to a maximum of seven, then a series
several deals all consisting of seven cards, and then finally a series of deals
in which the number of cards descends back to one card. The rules for most of the deals are similar to standard Blackout, with several special deals played during the course of the game.
During most of the deals, the dealer would first deal out the requisite number of cards (see chart further below) face down to each player. After the players have the necessary number of cards for that deal, the dealer sets the remainder of the deck face-up on the table and turns the next card from the deck face-up to set the trump suit for the hand. The player's then pick up their hands for examination. Starting with the player to the dealer's immediate left and continuing in a clockwise direction, each player must state a bid of the exact number of tricks he intends to win during the hand (bids of zero tricks are allowed). His score will be directly based off this bid and whether his bid is correct, so players generally attempt to make accurate bids. After the bids are made and recorded by a scorekeeper, the play of the hand begins. The player to the immediate left of the dealer leads to the first trick.
In leading to a new trick, a player may play any card of choice remaining in his hand. Each other player in a clockwise direction must then play a card to that same trick from his own hand. If he has a card of the same suit as originally led to the suit he must play that card. If he has no such card he may play any card from his hand, including any card from the trump suit if he has one. The trick is won by the highest card in the trump suit played to the trick, if any. If the trick contains no cards of the trump suit, the trick is won by the player of the highest card of the suit originally led to that trick. The cards from that trick are set aside, face down and the winner of each trick then leads the first card to the next trick from the cards remaining in hand.
As previously mentioned, the game is played over the course of twenty deals, with the number of cards differing on most deals. The following chart displays the round number, number of cards dealt and any special rules or notes for that particular hand.
| Round Number | Number of Cards Dealt | Special Notes |
|---|
| 1 | 1 | - |
| 2 | 2 | - |
| 3 | 3 | - |
| 4 | 4 | - |
| 5 | 5 | - |
| 6 | 6 | - |
| 7 | 7 | - |
| 8 | 7 | In this round, no trump card is exposed and the round is played with no trump suit
used. |
| 9 | 7 | In the ninth round, a trump suit is exposed and used for the hand.
However before the trump suit is exposed the players must make their bids for the hand. |
| 10 | 7 | In the tenth round a trump suit is exposed and used for the hand. However, in this round, each player must make his bid before picking up and viewing his hand. |
| 11 | 7 | In this round, the cards for each player should be dealt in a distinct pile and a trump card exposed for use in the hand. Each player must bid without viewing his hand. In addition, during this round, the players must play the cards to the trick in the specific order in which they are found in the pile as dealt for the player. Obviously, since each player has no choice what card he will play, the obligation to play to the same suit is lifted. The rules for winning the trick are the same, however, with the highest card in the trump suit or the highest card of the suit originally played to the trick winning the trick. |
| 12 | 7 | In this round, called Misere, a trump suit is
exposed and used but players may look at the cards in his hand. However each player must make a bid of exactly zero and each player attempts to lose as many tricks as possible during the hand. The scoring for this hand is different than most of the other hands as will be described further below. |
| 13 | 7 | In this round, called Misere-No Trump, no trump
suit is exposed but players may look at the cards in hand. Similar to the last hand, each player must bid zero and attempts to win no tricks during the hand. The scoring for this hand is different than most of the other hands during the game, as described below. |
| 14 | 7 | - |
| 15 | 6 | - |
| 16 | 5 | - |
| 17 | 4 | - |
| 18 | 3 | - |
| 19 | 2 | - |
| 20 | 1 | - |
After each hand, the player examine the cards to determine the number of tricks won, with the score directly based off this number. In all but the Misere rounds, if a player wins more or less tricks than actually won during the hand, that player scores zero points for the hand. If a player manages to win exactly as many tricks as bid during those hands, that player earns 10 points plus 2 points for each trick won during that hand. On the two Misere hands played during the hand, if a player wins no tricks during those hands he earns ten points, otherwise each player loses two points for each trick won during those hands.
After all twenty rounds are played, each player accumulates his score earned over the course of the game. The player with the highest total score is declared the game winner.
Although the rules given above are those most commonly used in playing this game, there are a few variations worth noting that are sometimes used in this game. The following are some of the most popular:
- Caller Clag: Since it can take quite some time to play twenty rounds, some players who want to have a shorter game will play less rounds. Usually when this variant is played, a set number of hands is decided on before hand which will be played. As before, the deal rotates in a clockwise direction around the table. The dealer (also called the Caller) decides how many cards to deal each hand (from three to seven). After the deal, the dealer elects which type of hand will be played. He may decide this after reviewing the cards in his hand.
In this Caller Clag variant, there are several other modifications the Caller can make to the current hand
in addition to the number of cards to be included in that deal:
- Suit Precedence:
If a suit precedence is announced the player states a specific ordering of each suit in the deck. Thus, every card in the deck is ordered, first by suit, and then within that suit by rank of card within that suit. Since every card has a rank compared to any other, no trump suit is turned or used in this variant. The normal ordering of suit precedence is (from high to low); Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades. However, the dealer may announce any suit ordering of his choosing for the hand. Despite the fact there is a suit precedence, rules of following suit to a trick still apply. However, the trick is always won by the highest card (by suit and then rank) played to that trick.
- Nuloss:
This is also a modifier that can be added to any deal. If this is called, the card ranking of all cards in the deck is reversed, thus the order of the deck for that hand becomes as follows (from high to low): 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace.
- Blind Hand:
If the Caller declares a Blind Hand, each player, after looking at his hand and making his bid, must shuffle the cards from his hand and place them face-down in a pile on the table. He must then play the cards to the tricks during the hand in the order they are found in the pile, from top to bottom.
- Misere:
As in the standard game, a Misere game may be played (and thus declared by the Caller). This is a bid in which each player must bid exactly zero and attempts to win zero tricks during the hand.
- Ascending Madness:
In this call, the scoring is modified. Players still earn 10 points for bidding the exact number of tricks won. However, every player (whether he makes his bid exactly or not)
also wins a number of points for specific ordering of tricks during the hand. The winner of the first trick earns 2 points, the winner of the second trick earns 4 points, and ascending with each subsequent trick during the hand worth two more points than the previous trick.
- Descending Madness:
In a call of Descending Madness, scoring for this round is modified. Players will still earn 10 points for bidding the exact number of tricks won during the hand. However, tricks won during the hand will earn points for that player regardless of whether he won exactly the number of tricks bid at the start of that hand. The winner of the first trick earns a number of points equal to 2
multiplied the number of cards in that deal. Each subsequent trick earns the winner of said trick a number of points equal to two less than the previous trick during that hand.
- Non-Exact Scoring:
Another variant rule that is often added is to prohibit the total number of tricks bid by every player from
equaling the number of cards dealt that round. Thus, the last player to bid on that round must make a bid such that this total does not equal the number of cards in that hand.
Kachuful: Kachuful is a game in similar style to some of the other games on this page,
it having originated in India.
The game is also sometimes titled Judgment, apparently due to the fact
that the players attempt to use skillful judgment in estimating the
number of tricks they think they will win during the hand. Kachuful can be played by 3 to 10 players and uses one standard 52 card deck. The ranking of the cards in this deck are as follows (from high to low): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be performed in a variety of ways, with deal for high cards a common method. Using that method, each player would draw a card from the shuffled face-down deck. If multiple players draw cards of the same rank, those players would draw again, continuing to draw cards from the deck until drawing a card that no previous player has already drawn. The players would thus seat themselves at the table in the order of cards dealt, from highest to lowest. The player drawing the highest card of all becomes the first dealer, and after each hand the deal rotates in a clockwise direction around the table.
As in most other games of this type, the game is played in a series of rounds. On the first round each player is dealt one card, on the second round two cards up to a maximum number of cards based on the number of players. Thusly, the number of rounds played is directly dependent on the number of participants in the game. The following chart shows the number of hands played based on this number of participants:
| Number of Players | Total Number of Rounds/Hands in a Game |
|---|
| 3 | 17 |
| 4 | 12 |
| 5 | 10 |
| 6 | 8 |
| 7 | 7 |
| 8 | 6 |
| 9 | 5 |
| 10 | 5 |
In addition, on each round the trump suit to be used for that hand changes. On the first round the trump suit is set as Spades, on the second round the trump suit
to be used is Diamonds, on the third round the trump suit is set as Clubs and on the fourth round the trump suit is set as Hearts. After the fourth hand, the rotation starts again with Spades,
continuing through the cycle of trump suit to be used for each subsequent round, all the way to the last round of the hand.
After the hands have been dealt, the bidding begins. As in most other games of this type each player
must make a bid of the number of tricks he expects to win during the round
or hand. However, in Kachuful, all players bid simultaneously. This is done by, after each player has had
an opportunity to examine his hand, and on an announcement from the dealer, all players simultaneously holding out a number of fingers (using both hands if necessary) to indicate
his exact bid. For bids over 10, a player can shout the number 10 and add the number of additional fingers for any additional tricks he expects to win over 10. A bid of zero can be made by showing no extended fingers during the bidding phase.
If there are more than five players in the game, the same specific player may not make a bid of 0 more than 5 rounds in sequence. In this case, if that player has already made a bid of 5 for the previous five rounds, he must bid something other than zero on the next round.
The player to the immediate left of the dealer leads the first card to the first trick. Each other player, in a clockwise direction around the table then plays one card from his own hand to the same trick. If a player has a card of the suit originally played to the trick he must play it. If he does not have such a card he may play any card from his hand, including a card from the trump suit. After all players have played one card to the trick, it is determined who has won the trick and the trick is set aside. The player of the highest card of the trump suit to the trick wins the trick. If no card of the trump suit has been played to the trick, the player of the highest card of the suit originally led to the trick wins it. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick during the round.
After all tricks for that round have been played and won, scoring for
the round occurs. If a player manages to win exactly the number of tricks bid, he earns 10 points plus one point for each trick won during that round. If a player does not earn exactly the number of tricks bid he earns zero points for the round. If a player's bid was 100 and the player managed to win the exact number of tricks bid, that player wins exactly 100 points for that round.
After the total number of hands as shown in the table has been played, the player with the highest accumulated point total is declared the overall game winner.
Whist (Romanian): Despite the word Whist in the name, this game is more related to Blackout and other games detailed on this page then
actual Whist (although it does
also share some common features of Whist as well). In the geographical location
(Romania, of course) where the game originated and is most popular, the game is usually titled
simply "Whist", however, in most descriptions of the game it is called Romanian Whist to distinguish it from the standard English game
of Whist.
Romanian Whist is designed for play by 3 to 6 players, with each participant playing independently. The deck used for this game varies based on the number of players. The following chart shows the number of cards which should be used for the differing number of current players in the game:
| Number of Players | Cards Used | Cards Included and Ranking (Highest to Lowest) | Number of Deals in a Game |
|---|
| 3 | 24 | Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9 | 20 |
| 4 | 32 | Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7 | 23 |
| 5 | 40 | Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 | 26 |
| 6 | 48 | Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 | 29 |
Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be performed using any standard method, with draw for high card a common method. After every hand, the role of dealer rotates around the table in a clockwise direction.
As in many other games of this type, the game is played in a series of
deals. However, this game differs from most others of this type in the
specific progression of the deals. While this game does increase and
later decrease the number of cards dealt during subsequent hands over
the course of the game, it does so much more slowly. On the first hand, the deal consists of exactly one card to every player. After the first deal, every other player, in proper
clockwise rotation, also deals a hand consisting of exactly one card. After each player in turn has dealt out a one-card hand, the deal will have rotated around the table to the original dealer. This player then deals a two card hand. The next player then deals a three card hand, with the progression of one additional card dealt per player until a player deals the first eight card hand. After this each additional player deals one eight card hand. After each player has thus dealt an eight card hand, the next player deals a seven card hand, and the deals rotate around the table, with each specific deal containing one card less than the previous deal, until the number of cards dealt reaches one (one card hand). Each additional player thus deals a one card hand. After each of the players has then dealt these last one card hands, the game ends. As an example, in a four player game, the following be the number of cards dealt for each of the hands played during the game. 1 card, 1 card, 1 card, 1 card, 2 cards, 3 cards, 4
cards, 5 cards, 6 cards, 7 cards, 8 cards, 8 cards, 8 cards, 8 cards, 7
cards, 6 cards, 5 cards, 4 cards, 3 cards, 2 cards, 1 card, 1 card, 1
card, 1 card.
During each of these hands, the cards are dealt out in a clockwise direction, with the player to the dealer's immediate left receiving the first card and continuing the deal until each player has the appropriate number of cards for that particular round. Any unused cards are placed face-down in a pile near the center of the table, and the top card of this pile is exposed and set next to the pile to determine the trump suit for this deal. The suit of this card indicates the trump suit used during the round. On the eight card hands, since all the cards will be dealt, and there will be none remaining, and none to
thus expose, those rounds are played without the use of a trump suit.
After the cards have been dealt, the players pick up the hands and a round of bidding occurs, starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer. Continuing in a clockwise rotation around the table each player states the exact number of tricks he expects to win during this deal (a bid of zero
is also permitted). The total of all the bids may never equal the total number of cards dealt on that hand. Thus, the last player to bid must confirm his bid to ensure that his bid does not cause the total of all bids during that hand equal the exact number of cards dealt during that hand. These bids should be recorded somewhere to help in scoring at the end of each hand.
After all the bids have been made, the player to the immediate left of the dealer leads the first card to the first trick. Each other player, in a clockwise rotation then plays one card remaining in his hand to the trick.
The leader to a trick may play any card remaining in his hand as he prefers. In playing to a trick that has already been started, a player must play a card of the suit originally led to that trick if he has one. If he has no such card, but does have a card in the trump suit, he must play a card from the trump suit to the trick. If he has no cards of the suit led and no cards from the trump suit, he may play any card from his hand to the trick. After each player has played one card to the trick, it is examined to determine the winner of that trick.
The player of the highest trump card to a trick wins that trick (if it contains any cards of the trump suit). If the trick contains no cards of the trump suit, the trick is won by the player of the highest card of the suit originally led to the trick. The winner of a trick leads the first card to the next trick during that deal.
After all tricks have been played and won during that hand, scoring for that hand is performed. The following is the scores that will earned or lost for that hand:
- If a player wins exactly as many tricks as he bid, he earns a total of five points, added to a number equal to the number of tricks he won during that hand.
- If a player wins more tricks than bid, he earns no points, and loses one point for each trick he won over his bid.
- If a player wins fewer tricks than bid, that player earns no points, and loses a number of points equal to the number of tricks that he had won less than his bid.
Each player's cumulative score after each hand is added to that players ongoing total. After the total number of hands is played as per the chart, the game ends and the player with the highest positive score is the winner. If all players have a negative score, the player with the least negative score is declared the game winner.
7 Truf: 7 Truf is an Indonesian game which follows a similar concept
to Blackout and most of the other games found on this page. It uses a
reduced 32 card deck, which can be created by removing all cards lower than seven from a standard deck. The ranking of the cards in this deck are thus (from highest to lowest): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7. This game should not be confused with another somewhat similar Indonesian game,
Truf.
7 Truf is designed for play by four players, each playing independently. As in other forms of this game, a game of 7 Truf consists of a large number of deals, for this game a total of 22.
| Deal Number | Cards Dealt per Player | Notes | | | Deal Number | Cards Dealt per Player | Notes |
|---|
| 1 | 1 | | | 12 | 7 | |
| 2 | 2 | | | 13 | 6 | |
| 3 | 3 | | | 14 | 5 | |
| 4 | 4 | | | 15 | 4 | |
| 5 | 5 | | | 16 | 3 | |
| 6 | 6 | | | 17 | 2 | |
| 7 | 7 | | | 18 | 1 | |
| 8 | 8 | Deal played with no trump suit | |
19 | 8 | Deal played with no trump suit |
| 9 | 8 | Deal played with no trump suit | |
20 | 8 | Deal played with no trump suit |
| 10 | 8 | Deal played with no trump suit | |
21 | 8 | Deal played with no trump suit |
| 11 | 8 | Deal played with no trump suit | |
22 | 8 | Deal played with no trump suit |
On all hands in which fewer than 8 cards are dealt, after the cards for that deal have been dealt out, the dealer then turns over the next card from the remainder of the undealt cards from the deck. The suit of this card determines the
trump suit to be used for that hand. In the hands in which eight cards are dealt per player, no card is thus turned and that hand is played without use of a trump suit.
Once the cards have been dealt and trump suit determined (if any), there is a round of bidding, starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer and proceeding in a clockwise direction around the table. Each player has exactly one opportunity to bid. This bid is the number of tricks the player expects to win this hand. This can be anything from 0 up to the total number of cards dealt on that hand. These bids should be recorded on the
score sheet, for use during scoring for the hand. In this game, as many other similar type games, the Hook rule is in effect. This means that the last bidder (the dealer) cannot bid a number which causes the current total of all bids to be exactly the same as the number of cards dealt that round. He must make a bid in which this total is either fewer or greater than the total cards dealt on that deal.
After all the bids have been recorded, play of the hand begins. The player to the immediate left of the dealer leads the first card to the first trick. Each other player then plays one card to that same trick, in a clockwise direction around the table. If a player has a card of the same suit as originally led to the trick he must play such a card. If, however, he has no such card he may play any card from his hand, including a card from the trump suit (if that hand features a trump suit).
Once each player has played a card to the trick in turn, it is determined who is the winner of that trick. The player of the highest card of the trump suit played to the trick wins the trick. If the trick contains no cards of the trump suit (or the hand is played without a trump suit), the trick is won by the player of the highest card in the suit originally led to the trick. Cards won in tricks are set aside, out of play, and the winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.
After all the tricks for the hand have been played and won, scoring for that hand occurs. If a player bid 1 or more tricks and manages to win exactly as many tricks as bid, that player earns a score for that hand equal to 10 multiplied by the amount of his bid on that hand. If a player
"Passed" (equal to a bid of 0 tricks) and wins no tricks on that hand, he earns a score of 5 multiplied by the number of cards dealt to him in that hand. Players who fail to score the exact number of tricks as bid still score one point for each trick won during that hand. These scores for each hand are added to an accumulated score from hand to hand.
Once all 22 hands have been played and scored, the players compare scores and he with the highest score is declared the game winner.
La Podrida: La Podrida (translating from the Spanish language as "rotten") is a variant of Blackout that is commonly played in Spain and is very similar to the standard game. La Podrida is usually played by 3 to 8 players, each player playing independently. The game uses one standard 52 card deck using the same
card rankings as in the standard game.
Determination of seating positions can be performed in a number of ways, with drawing for high cards most common. Using this method each player draws a card from the shuffled deck, with any players drawing cards of the same rank, discarding those cards and drawing again. Each player would then take his choice of seat at the table in order of cards drawn, from highest to lowest. The player drawing the highest ranked card of all is set as the first dealer. After each hand the role of dealer rotates around the table in a counter-clockwise direction.
As in many other games of this type, the game consists of a
specific number of hands. The exact number of cards dealt will be directly dependent on the number of active participants in the game. The following chart shows the total number of hands played, and makeup of those hands for varying number of players:
| Number of Players | Number of Hands Played | Sequence of Hands (shown as the number of cards dealt for each subsequent hand) |
|---|
| 3 | 29 | 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 |
| 4 | 22 | 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 |
| 5 | 17 | 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 |
| 6 | 14 | 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
| 7 | 13 | 7, 6, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
The dealer thus deals out the requisite number of cards to each player,
one-by-one and face-down. He starts with the player at his right and
continues in a counter-clockwise direction until each player has the
needed number of cards for the hand played. After the cards have been
dealt, any undealt cards remaining are placed in a face-down pile on the
table. Lastly, the top card from this stack of unused cards is turned
over and exposed, with the suit of that card setting the trump suit for
the hand. If there are no remaining cards left after the deal (namely
the first and last hand in the four player game), before that hand is
played, a random card should be dealt from the shuffled deck, with the
suit of that card setting the trump suit for the hand.
After the deal, the players pick up their hands and a round of bidding
begins. Each player, starting with the player at the immediate left of
the dealer, and proceeding in a clockwise direction makes a bid equal to
the exact number of tricks that player expects to win during the hand.
The bid as made by each player should be noted on the score sheet by a
designated scorekeeper for the hand (the planillero), for use in scoring at the end of that hand. The last player to bid (the dealer) must make his bid such that the total sum of all bids does not equal the exact number of tricks to be played in that hand (called the hook rule). Bids of zero are also permitted by any player.
The player to the immediate left of the dealer leads the first card to the first trick, and each other player in a clockwise order plays a card to that same trick.
The leader to a trick may play any card of choice to the trick. In playing to a trick led by another player, each player must play a card of the suit originally led to that trick if they have one. If they have no such card, but do have a card in the trump suit, they must then play any card from the trump suit. If they have no card cards of the suit led nor any cards from the trump suit, the player may play any other card remaining in his hand.
After each player has played a card to the trick, it is determined who has won that trick. The player of the highest card in the trump suit wins the trick. If the trick contains no cards in the trump suit, the trick is won by the highest card of the suit
originally led to that trick. Cards won in tricks are set aside, face-down and out of play. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.
After every trick has been played and won during that hand, scoring occurs for that hand. Each player earns one point for each trick won during the hand. In addition, if a player manages to win exactly the number of tricks as bid on that hand, he wins an additional bonus of 10 points for the hand.
After the number of proscribed hands have thus been played (as per the chart above), the player with the highest total score is declared the game winner.
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Blackout is an exciting card game that consists of bidding and playing tricks in some ways similar to
Contract Bridge. This game is played under a variety of other names as well, some of which are quite colorful.
