The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (46 page)

first two players to win a trick become partners. A slam requires al

penalty cards to fal to one player, not just to one partnership.

3. Ad hoc partnerships. The passing cycle is left, right, across,

none. The first two players to win a trick – whether or not either

trick contains a penalty card – become partners for the rest of the

hand, and the other two play in partnership against them. If only

one player wins tricks, he wil , of course, score a lone slam.

Hearts for 3 or 5-7 players

Divide the cards as evenly as possible. Any extras go face down and

are added to the last trick. (Variant: Deal al the cards round until

they run out. Those with one extra card play two cards to the first

trick.) When three play, each passes four cards to the left, then four

to the right, then two to each opponent, then none at al .

Hearts for two (Draw Hearts)

Deal thirteen each and stack the rest face down. The winner of a

trick draws the top card of the stock and leads to the next trick

when his opponent has done likewise. When the stock isexhausted,

the remaining 13 cards are played out. Captured cards are counted

in the usual way. A Cribbage board may help.

Auction Hearts

Each in turn bids for the right to nominate the penalty suit, not

necessarily hearts. Whoever bids highest pays that amount into a

pool and leads to the first trick. The player or players who take

fewest of that suit take or divide the pool.

Black Maria

First described (and devised?) by Hubert Phil ips. Besides Q

counting 13, K counts 10 and A counts 7 penalty points. Pass

always to the right.

Cancel ation Hearts

Shuf le two packs (104 cards) and deal them evenly round as far as

they wil go. Any undealt cards are laid aside face down and are

captured with the last trick. There is no exchange, and eldest leads.

If two identical cards are played to a trick, neither wins. Instead, the

trick is taken by the highest unduplicated card of the suit led. A

trick containing only duplicates is held back and awarded to the

winner of the next (or, if it is the last, the previous) unduplicated

trick.

Dealer’s Choice

Instead of always passing three cards in a predetermined direction,

the dealer announces before dealing what method shal be fol owed

in that deal. It may be any of the standard pat erns or any other he

can think of, such as

Each player passes one card to each opponent, or two to each,

or two to the left and one to the right.

Three players each pass two cards to the fourth, who passes

two back to each of them. The fourth can be the dealer, or the

player with the currently smal est or greatest total of

penalties.

Domino Hearts

One of the most interesting variants. Deal six cards each and stack

the rest face down. Eldest leads. Anyone unable to fol ow suit must

draw cards from the top of the stock until able to do so; but once

the stock is exhausted the rules change, and those unable to fol ow

the stock is exhausted the rules change, and those unable to fol ow

may discard anything. A player who runs out of cards stops play,

and, if about to lead, passes the lead to the next in turn to the left.

The last player left with cards in hand adds them to those won in

tricks. Captured cards are then scored in the usual way.

Greek Hearts

Each numeral heart counts 1 penalty, courts 10 each, A 15, and

Q 50.

Heartset e

Everyone receives the same number of cards, but a certain number –

ideal y three – are laid aside face down and go to the winner of the

first trick, who may look at them privately before leading to the

second.

Joker Hearts

R. F. Foster described this as ‘a most exasperating game’. It replaces

12 with a Joker, which ranks between Ten and Jack. If discarded to

a non-heart lead, it wins the trick. On a heart lead it fal s to any

higher heart. If, however, a non-heart is led, and another player

throws a heart higher than the Ten, you may discard Joker even if

able to fol ow suit, in which case the highest heart wins the trick