Kaiser

The Canadian prairies’ partnership game. Bid for points, not tricks: take the 5♥ for five more and dodge the 3♠. 4 players, in partnerships.

Who To Play With

or
bots

How to play Kaiser

  1. 1Four players in two partnerships; partners sit across from each other. The deck has 32 cards: ace down to eight in every suit, the 7♣ and 7♦, and two special cards, the 5♥ and the 3♠. Everyone gets eight. Aces are high.
  2. 2Each trick is worth 1 point. Whoever takes the 5♥ in a trick gets 5 more for their side, and whoever takes the 3♠ loses 3. That makes 10 points in every hand.
  3. 3Starting after the dealer, each player gets one bid: how many points their side will take, from 7 to 12, or a pass. A no-trump bid beats the same number with trump. Every bid must beat the last, except that the dealer, bidding last, may take the bid at the same number. If the first three all pass, the dealer must bid.
  4. 4The winner of the bid names trump (unless they bid no trump) and leads the first trick. Follow the suit led if you can; otherwise play anything. The highest trump wins, or else the highest card of the suit led.
  5. 5If the bidding side takes at least the points they bid, they score what they took; if not, they lose the amount they bid. In no trump, either way counts double. The other side scores what they took.
  6. 6A side with 45 or more points scores nothing when the other side holds the bid: they have to bid their way out. The first side to reach 52 wins; if both get there in the same hand, the bidding side wins.

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