Sixty-six (game)

Infobox CardGame
title =Sixty-six
image_link =
image_caption =
alt_names =
type = Trick-taking
players = 4, in partnerships
ages =
num_cards = 24
deck =
play = Clockwise
card_rank = A 10 K Q J 9
origin =
related = Marjapussi, Bezique, Pinochle
playing_time =
random_chance =
skills =
footnotes =

Sixty Six is a four player trick taking card game. This game uses German card ordering, where the 10 is stronger than the King. The deck is made of 24 cards, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, and ace. A deck can be made with the cards 8 and below removed from a standard playing card deck. Black sixes and red fours are commonly used for scoring. This game is played in by two, three or four--two teams of two. Team members sit across from each other. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=bE8MAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA371&dq=%22Sixty-six%22+card&ei=qXUSSPDeIIHAigGYu-DZBQ] ]

coring points

Each team gets a black 6 and a red 4, used for scoring.

There are 30 points per suit, for a total of 120 points in the deck. Points are distributed amongst the cards as such:

*Ace - 11 points
*Ten - 10 points
*King - 4 points
*Queen - 3 points
*Jack - 2 points
*Nine - 0 points

In addition, points are awarded to players who have a "marriage" (King and Queen of the same suit). In order to get the points for the marriage, the king or queen must be led (i.e. the first card played in the trick) and the other card must be in the same player's hand. It is not necessary to take the trick, just to lead. 40 points are awarded for a Marriage in trump, 20 points are awarded for a marriage in an off-suit. The player must announce the marriage (as "40" or "20") when leading, otherwise the player does not receive the award.

coring for game

Points are kept in 33-point increments. Score is kept up to 10 points.

When a team has a positive score, the black six is kept face up in front of one of the players of the team to keep score. Place the red four face down over the black six on the front of the card. For each 33 points scored, uncover one of the 6 clubs. After 6 points are scored, place the four under the six and keep the remaining 4 points on the 4.

When a team has a negative score, start with the red four (we'll assume diamonds) covered by the six. Uncover one diamond for each point in the negative. For less than negative four, place the four over the six.

For positive scores above six, the red four is the bottom card while for negative scores below four, the red four is the top card.

For example, if one team has -3 points, then the 4 of diamonds will have 1 of its diamonds covered by a face-down 6. If the other team has 5 points, the four will be face down, covering 1 of the clubs on the 6.

Bidding

The play to the left of the dealer initiates bidding. Bidding is done based on how many points the player thinks they will make in the hand. Each player either bids greater than the previous bid or passes. Each player bids or passes only once. The player who has the highest bid leads. Trump is determined by the first card played. Each tick on the scoresheet is 33 points. Bids are not additive. If your partner bids 1 and you bid two, the bid for that hand is 2, not 3. Since bidding is based on number of points you want to take, use the following table:

*1 - A bid of 1 is for 33 points. This can be fairly simple, since the person who gets the bid determines what trump is. If you have an Ace/Ten or Ace and two others in the same suit, a 1 bid may be safe. Remember, there are only 30 points per suit. If you have a Marriage, you can lead that for 40 points, so you are always safe to bid 1 with a marriage.
*2 - A bid of 2 is for 66 points. This is slightly more than half the points in the deck. Rule-of-thumb - you should bid 2 when you have a Marriage, because you already have 40 (You only need 26 more). Chances are that your partner will give you those points to reach your 2 bid.
*3 - A bid of 3 is for 99 points. This is tough, but with a trump marriage and strong trump, it is doable.
*4 - A bid of 4 is for 132 points. Remember there are only 120 points in the deck, so this requires a marriage to make it. Generally people don't bid 4.
*5/"Moon". Shooting the moon means taking all tricks. Also, the partner's hand is placed face down and the partner does not play. Play is only between the 3 remaining players.

Examples

• KClubs QClubs TDiams QDiams 9Diams JSpades -- With this hand, you have a Marriage. It is safe to bid 1. If your partner has bid one, you may want to bid two. The assumption is that the partner does not have a marriage (since you have 2 Queens, it is less likely than if you had just one).

• AClubs TClubs JClubs THearts 9Hearts JHearts -- Strong trump hand if clubs are led. Should be safe to bid one (remember, tricks should only go around once since there are only six cards per suit!)

• ASpades TSpades KSpades AHearts KDiams JDiams -- Strong trump with Ace in another suit generally makes a player more likely to bid higher. This should be a safe 2 hand. If there was another Ace, you could bid 3. All calculated risks.

• ADiams 9Clubs QSpades 9Spades KHearts QHearts -- Certainly bid 1 if you lead hearts (40 points for the marriage). You might even get the Diamond trick, and it may be worth a bid of two.

Scoring the bid

It is important to note that there is no penalty in underbidding. If you overbid, however, you are set your bid. For example, if you bid 2 and make 65 points (66 required), then you lose two points.

In order to get points, you must make your bid. However, if you exceed your bid, you can get more points. For example, if you bid 2 (66 points) and you score 105 points, you get 3 points (since you got more than 99 points, but less than 132 points).

The opposing team gets points based on what they collect. If they collect 35 points, they make one on the scorecard. (The opposing team bids are not considered).

Play

After the players bid, the player who bid highest begins play. The first card led is automatically trump.

Players must follow suit (as in most trick taking games). If a player has the ability to play higher, they must play higher (i.e. "you must climb") -- even if you are climbing over your own teammate. If a player does not have the led suit, but does have trump, they player must play trump. This can be a useful way of removing trump from your opponent while getting rid of low-point cards (i.e. the 9s). If you do not have the led suit or trump, your are free to play any of the remaining cards.

Since points matter at the end, you want to give high-point cards to your partner (Aces, Tens), and if necessary, give low-point cards to your opponents.

coring

As mentioned earlier, the team that bid highest must make their bid in order to score. Failure to do so results in a reduction of points.

At the end of the hand, teams count up their points and add in the points of any called marriages. If the marriage wasn't led, it isn't scored.

For the opponents, for every 33 points, score one on the scorecards.

For the bidding team, if they made their bid, score one on the scorecard for every 33 points. If they were set, remove the bid from their scorecard.

References