Ace Trump

a trick-taking Decktet game for 2 to 6 players

(It works best with 3 or 4 players.)

Object of the game: To take as many tricks as possible.

Setup

The deck is dealt out evenly to the players: With three players, each is dealt 12 cards. With four players, each is dealt 9 cards. With five players, each player is dealt 7 cards and the final card is set aside. With six players, each is dealt 6 cards.

Two players games are usually played with only part of the deck. Each player is dealt 9 cards and the remainder are set aside. The game could be played with the entire deck, but it would be awkward and not really worth the trouble.

There is no bidding. The player to the dealer's left may lead any card.

Game play

Clockwise around the table, each player plays a card that matches a suit with the card that was led; if a player has no cards of the suit led, he may play any card from his hand.

In order to follow suit, a card need only match one suit. For example: If the Diplomat (8 of Moons and Suns) was led, then each subsequent player must play a card with a Moon or Sun on it if they can. They are not especially required to play a card with both a moon and sun, even if they have one.

If no trump was played, then the highest card that follows suit wins the trick. If any trumps are played, then the highest trump wins the trick. An Ace is below 2; a Crown is above 9.

The winner of the trick leads the next trick.

Trump: There is no trump suit until an Ace is played. The suit of that Ace is then trump for that trick and until another Ace is played.

Note that an Ace that decides trump does not automatically win the trick. If it follows suit, then it will definitely lose the trick to a higher trump.

Scoring: Each trick is worth 1 point. When playing repeated hands, the first player to accumulate 36 points wins. The length of the game can be adjusted by raising or lowering the target score.

Variants

There are several ways to change or add to the rules. In fact, Sticky Aces was originally the default.

Sticky Aces: In this variant, only the first Ace determines the trump suit. Subsequent Aces are simply the low card of their suit. This makes it a big advantage to go first, because it gives you the option of leading an Ace; that is guaranteed to lose the first trick, but determines the trump suit for the remainder of the hand.

Early bird: In this variant, ties are resolved by order of play. If two cards of the same rank are played on a trick, the earlier one beats the later one.

The Excuse: If you are playing with the Excuse, shuffle it into the deck. This will leave you with a left over card after dealing; set it aside without looking at it. The Excuse may be played in any trick, even if the player who has it could play a card that would follow suit. However, the Excuse card never wins a trick.

Partners: For an even number players. Players on opposite sides of the table are partners, and their scores are added together.

Bidding: After looking at their hands, players bid the number of tricks they think they can take, starting with the player on the dealer's left and going clockwise around the table. If you take fewer tricks than their bid, you score no points. If you make your bid, you score 5 points for each trick bid and 1 point for each overtrick.

Tides of fortune: In this variant for 2 to 4 players, each player is dealt only one card for the first hand. After that, the last card played in the last trick of the previous hand determines the number of cards dealt to each player in the following hand: 1 each if the last card was an Ace, between 2 and 9 if the last card was a number, or 9 if the last card was a crown. Other than the variable hand size, the usual rules apply.

Fixed trump: Although it wouldn't be Ace Trump anymore, you could play a similar trick taking game without a variable trump. Just decide on the trump suit before dealing.

Credits

Original design: P.D. Magnus

Playtesting: Cristyn Magnus, Mike Chapman, Bryan Keneally, Robert Howell

The Decktet is presently available only as a digital document. You assemble it yourself.

• Download the basic version [PDF] containing bridge sized cards. It has colour suits and lineart illustrations, so as to minimize the drain on your printer ink. Scaled for Japanese size card sleeves.
• Download the deluxe version [PDF] containing poker sized cards and full colour illustrations. Scaled for American size card sleeves.
• Download reference cards [PDF] that summarize scoring for Biscuit, Quincunx, and Turtle Butt.
• Download a game box [PDF] that you can cut out and assemble. It is scaled to hold poker sized cards in plastic card protectors.

The Decktet is ©2003-8 P.D. Magnus. Some rights reserved. The deck, illustrations, and supporting text are offered as open content under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be negotiated.