Preference

The classic three-player game of Russia and Eastern Europe. Climb the bidding a step at a time, take the talon, and decide whether to whist against the declarer. 3 players.

Also known as Preferans.

Who To Play With

or
bots

How to play Preference

  1. 1A game for three with 32 cards: 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of each suit, Ace high. Everyone gets ten cards and two more lie face down in the middle as the talon.
  2. 2Bidding starts left of the dealer. A contract is a number of tricks out of ten and a trump suit, and they climb one step at a time: 6♠, 6♣, 6♦, 6♥, 6 no trumps, then 7♠ and so on up to 10 no trumps. On your turn bid the next step or pass. Once you pass you're out of the bidding.
  3. 3Misère is a promise to take no tricks at all, with no trumps. It sits just above 8 no trumps, and you can only call it if it's your first call.
  4. 4The winner of the bidding shows everyone the talon, takes it, and sets two cards aside face down. Then they name the contract: what they bid, or anything above it up to one level higher. A misère stays a misère.
  5. 5Each of the other two then says whist (play against the contract) or pass. If both pass, the declarer is given the contract without playing. Nobody whists against a misère: the others simply try to make the declarer take a trick.
  6. 6The player left of the dealer leads first. Follow suit if you can; if you can't, you must play a trump if you have one. The highest trump wins the trick, otherwise the highest card of the suit led, and the winner leads next.
  7. 7Contracts of 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 tricks are worth 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. Making yours scores five times its worth; for each trick you fall short you lose five times its worth. A misère scores 50 if you take no tricks, and costs 20 for every trick you take.
  8. 8Each whister scores the contract's worth for every trick they took, and a lone whister counts both defenders' tricks. The defenders must take 4 tricks between them against a six, 2 against a seven and 1 against anything higher; each trick they fall short costs every whister the contract's worth.
  9. 9If all three pass, the deal is played with no trumps and everyone tries to dodge tricks: each trick you take costs 2, and taking none scores 5.
  10. 10A game is 12 deals, so everyone deals four times. The highest score after the last deal wins.

More trick-taking games

All 220 games, free, in your browser.