Twenty Nine
Twentynine (29) is a trick-taking card game playable by 4 players in teams of 2. The goal of the game is bidding and securing the bid points as a team to gain tricks and accumulate game points to win.
Determination of partnerships
The network model appropriately and randomly forms teams at the start of the games. The teams once formed remain the same till the end of all predetermined rounds.
Seating positions
The team partners will be seated directly across from each other at the table.
Deck
32 cards from the standard card deck are used. 8 cards from each suit with the following values:
- Jacks - 3 points
- Nines - 2 points
- Aces - 1 point
- Tens - 1 point
- Kings - 0 points (higher than Q, 8, 7)
- Queens - 0 points (higher than 8, 7)
- Eights - 0 points (higher than 7)
- Sevens - 0 points
Dealer
The network game acts responsible for shuffling and dealing cards to all 4 players. After determining the partnerships and first dealer, the deck is shuffled and 4 cards are dealt to each player one at a time. The highest bidder chooses a trump and once the trump is chosen, each player is dealt 4 more cards so that everyone has 8.
Bidding & Trump Selection
Once 4 cards are dealt to everyone, the player to the right of the dealer bids first, each bid is a number and the highest bidder undertakes that their team will win in tricks at least the number of points bid. The minimum bid value is 15 and other players can either raise it or pass upto 29 making it the highest bid value. Since the minimum bid value is 15, the first bidder bids 15, if everyone else passes, the bid is 15 and the first bidder also becomes the highest bidder. Bidding continues till 3 of 4 players pass. The highest bidder chooses one of their cards as the trump suit. The trump suit can be exposed when a player calls for it.
How to Play?
The player to the dealer’s right plays the first card to the first trick. He may play any card from his hand. Each other player then, in a counterclockwise rotation, plays one card to the trick. Players must follow suit if possible. A player unable to follow suit may play any card, there are no restrictions on which card must be played. Starting from the trick during which the trump suit is declared, each trick is won by the highest trump in it or by the highest card of the suit led if it contains no trumps. The player who wins the hand accumulates all the card points they win.
Objective
The goal of the game is bidding and securing the bid points as a team to gain tricks and accumulate game points to win.
Trump Reveal
Initially the trump suit is unknown to the players other than the bidder. Players who are unable to follow suit must explicitly reveal the trump suit (if not already revealed). If the highest bidder is the player who cannot follow suit, they must declare the trump.
Royal Pair
At any point after the trump has been declared, a player who holds both the King and Queen of trumps in hand can declare them (royal pair) on their turn if they/their partner has won the last trick. This combination is called “Royal Pair”. A player who originally held the King and Queen of trumps cannot declare them if one or both of them has already been played, and they can only be declared after the declaring side has won a trick. If the Pair is declared by the bidder or their partner, the number of card points they require to fulfill their bid is reduced by 4 upto a minimum of 15. If an opponent of the bidder team declares a Pair, it increases the points required by the bidding team by 4, to a maximum of 29.
Scoring
When all eight tricks have been played, each side tallies the card points in the tricks they have won, the winners of the last trick adding an extra card point. If the bidding team took at least as many card points as they bid (adjusted for a declaration of a Pair), they win 1 game point, otherwise they lose 1 game point. The score of the team playing against the bidder does not change. The team which wins the most of the predetermined number of rounds wins.