Simple Strange
A not so "simple" trick-taking game for three players.Object
To take more tricks than your opponent.Starting
Two packs of cards are needed. These should be shuffled together to form a single deck of 104 cards. Thirty four cards are dealt to each player (a total of 102 cards) and the last two are turned face up and placed at the edge of the playing area.
Trump suits and Super-trumps
Like many other trick-taking games, Strange uses a trump suit system. The trump suits are determined by the two cards turned-up at the end of the deal. This means it is entirely possible (and indeed quite likely) that there will be two trump suits.Also, since there is two of every card in the deck (by virtue of having two packs of cards), the cards turned-up will have duplicates in the deck. These cards are called the Super-trumps.e.g. If, after the deal, the two cards turned-up are the J
and Q
, then the trump suits are
and
and the Super-trumps are the J
and Q
.Super-trumps are better than any other card of that trump suit, and the higher of the Super-trumps is better than its lower counterpart.So in our e.g. the Q
is the best
trump card the J
is the best
, with the Q being better than the J (which stands to reason).
Play
The player left of the dealer leads for the first trick, and all subsequent tricks are lead by the player who won the previous trick. Each trick consists of two cards played by each player, the first player leading any two cards he wants and the rest of the players following suit (playing a trump or throwing away if this is not possible). e.g. Suppose player one leads 3
and 8
then player two must play a
and a
if he has them. If he has a
but no
he must play the
but can either trump or throw away against the 3
. if he has no
or
he may trump or throw away against both cards.
Once all players have played cards for a trick, it is necessary to determine the trick winner (see below). The winner collects the cards to indicate his won trick, and then leads cards for the next trick.
Determining the trick winner
In order to determine who has won a particular trick, and by how much, a pip system is used. For minor (non-trump) suits each card has a pip value equal to its face value. With J's worth 11 pips, Q's 12, K's 13 and A's 14. For trump suits, each card has a pip value of 13 + its face value. This means that K's of the trump suits are worth 26 pips. The Lower Super-trump is worth 28 pips and the higher Super-trump 29 pips. However if a minor suit card is played against a card of any other suit (i.e. it is thrown away) it is worth 0 pips, whereas trump suit cards always have their same pip value no matter what suit they are played against.Example 1
In game where 6
an K
are the Super-trumps we have the following trick- Player one leads J
and 3
- Player two plays 9
and 4
- Player three plays 7
and 6
Here player one has 24 + 3 = 27 (for the J of trumps and the 3 minor), player two has 22 + 4 = 26 (for the 9 of trumps and the 4 minor) and player three has 20 + 6 = 26 (for the 7 of trumps and the 6 minor). Therefore player one wins, collects his/her trick and leads for the next trick.
Example 2
In a game where J
and 4
are the Super-trumps, consider the following sequence of play- Player one leads A
and J
(14 + 24 = 38 ) - Player two plays 5
and 7
(18 + 20 = 38 ) having no 
- Player three plays Q
and K
( 12 + 26 = 38 !! )
So no-one wins the trick! In this case the cards are left on the table and player one leads again for another trick. This continues until one player wins the most recent trick. when this happens the winner gathers all his individual tricks and then leads for the next trick. Suppose then we have the following next trick- Player one leads Q
and Q
( 25 + 25 = 50 ) - Player two plays J
and 10
( 29 + 23 = 52 ) having no 
- Player three plays 2
and 6
( 0 + 19 = 19 ) having only one 
Player two wins by playing his Super-trump! He/she collects both of the tricks and then leads.If the last trick of the game is drawn, then all the undecided tricks are abandoned and only those tricks already won are counted.Winning the Game
The game ends when all the tricks have been played (seventeen in all). The player with the most tricks is the winner.
Variations
- Two Player Simple Strange - If all the cards were dealt out between the two players, each would know exactly what the other had. So for a two player variation we suggest limiting the deal to either 32 or 34 cards each.
After the chosen number of cards has been dealt to each player, the next two are turned face up, while the rest are put aside and not used until the next game.
- Reoccurring Strange - A complex version of strange, where tricks also determine what cards players can carry over to following rounds.
You can read the rules for Reoccurring Strange on its own page.
Credits
Devised by Andy B and Francis.To new card games page