Barbu
France’s seven-contract marathon. Dodge tricks, hearts, queens and the bearded king, then chase trumps and race out in Domino. 4 players.
How to play Barbu
- 1Four players, 13 cards each, aces high. The game is 28 hands. Each player in turn is the declarer for seven hands in a row, and must pick each of the seven contracts below exactly once, choosing after looking at their cards.
- 2In the trick contracts you follow suit if you can, the highest card of the suit led wins, and the winner leads next. The declarer leads the first trick.
- 3No Tricks: −2 for every trick you take. No Hearts: −2 for every heart you take and −6 for the A♥; you can’t lead a heart while you hold another suit. No Queens: −6 for each queen you take. No Last Two: −10 for the second-to-last trick and −20 for the last.
- 4Barbu: the K♥ is the bearded king, and whoever takes it loses 20. You can’t lead a heart while you hold another suit, and if you can’t follow suit while holding the K♥ you must throw it.
- 5the declarer names a trump suit and every trick is worth +5. If you can’t follow suit you must trump, beating any trump already in the trick if you can.
- 6Domino: the declarer names a starting rank. In turn, starting with the declarer, play a card of that rank to begin a suit’s row, or the next card up or down on a row that has begun. Pass only when nothing fits. The first player out scores +45, the second +20, the third +5 and the last −5.
- 7No Hearts, No Queens and Barbu end early once every card that counts has been taken. After all 28 hands the highest total wins.
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