Pilotta

Πιλόττα

Pilotta (in Greek _el. ), is a 32 trick-taking card game broadly similar to Contract Bridge, played primarily in Cyprus and is closely related to the French game Belote. It is very popular among the Cypriot population, especially the youngsters, who usually arrange “pilotta meetings” in places such as cafés. Some usual Pilotta hangouts are the colleges and cafeterias, which in some cases act as incentive for people to actually bother going to class. It is a fairly easy game to learn, but one which requires skills of good memory, good teamplaying, tactics and of course, luck!

An interesting fact about "good" players, is that they may essentially know more or less which cards you're holding, provided they have played with you long enough and if the game has already begun.

Variations from the French Belote

Bidding

One variation from the French Belote is based on biddings. In Pilotta you can only bid on

* Hearts ♥
* Diamonds ♦
* Clubs ♣
* Spades ♠

"No trumps" and "All trumps" are excluded in Cyprus Pilotta, since Pilotta is a variation of Contract Belote and not Modern Belote, which doesn't have these special options or rules.

Dealing

There are a few steps in order to deal the cards and are similar to the French Belote.But first, a dealer must be declared at the beginning of the game.

Declaring the Dealer

1. The 32 card deck is shuffled and then 'cut' (this can be done by any of the four players). 2. Immediately after, upon seeing the suit(or tribe) of cards which has made the cut, we already know who is the dealer because there are four players and four suits.

This is because the declaration works anti-clockwise in the order shown above,♥ > ♦ > ♣ > ♠ (hearts, diamonds, clubs and then spades)

And so, if the suit which made the cut is hearts, for example, then the player who shuffled and cut the deck will be the dealer. If it was spades, then the person on the left of the shuffler is the dealer.

The dealer is only declared once, at the beginning of the game; the order of the dealing continues anti-clockwise afterwards until the game is over (usually 351 points)

Dealing the cards

The cards are given counter-clockwise; first, 3 cards are given to each player, starting from the one on the dealer's right and ending at the dealer himself. Then, another 2 cards are dealt, and then another 3.

Playing and scoring extra points

In Pilotta there are some specific rules of play when it comes to scoring extra points.These extra points are called declarations, or in Greek, statements.

Below are all of the possible declarations one can earn extra points with (from lowest to highest). In the game, most of the time, declarations will judge who is the winner or the loser of the round.

*"Three in a row" (20 points): this can be either 7,8,9 (of diamonds ♦ for example) and it gives 20 points.

*"Belote" (20 points): If you hold the King and the Queen of the suit which has been declared as the leading suit, i.e. trumps, then you immediately score 20 extra points.

Note that when you hold the Belote, nobody can deny you those extra 20 points, even if the opponent holds four Jacks, and even if the opponent makes a Capot©. Also, you can declare the Belote whenever you meld it, not at the start of the first round as all of the others.

*"Four in a row" (50 points): the same as having 7,8,9 with the only difference that you need to also hold the 10 to complete four in a row, which scores 50 points.

*"Five in a row" (100 points): Holding 5 cards of the same suit in a row scores 100 points.

*"Four of a kind" (100 points): If you're holding four queens, four kings, four aces or four tens, you immediately score 100 points.

*"Four nines" (150 points): This is a special case; Nines give 150 points if you hold all four nines.

*"Four jacks" (200 points): This is a special case; Jacks give 200 points if you hold all four of them.

Note that holding three cards in a row scores the same points (20) as if one had an Ace, a King and the Queen of the same suit, with the only difference that the sequence with the Ace is stronger than the one holding the 9 and would 'beat' the opponents' hand, therefore cancelling their 20 points and making the Ace's sequence the only valid one between the two.

Note that declarations must be spoken on the first turn (the game has 8 turns, or tricks) and shown on the second trick, just before the player plays his card. If he decides to show the cards (for example four Aces) just after he has played his card, then immediately the points are not counted.

coring

Usually the score ends when the first team reaches 351 points.

In some cases, the limit can go up to 400 points if the players want to pursue a "lengthy" game, or correspondingly lowered to 251 and even 151 points if they are in a hurry, or just want to finish quickly.

External links

* [http://www.webpilotta.com play pilotta online]
* [http://www.islandofcyprus.net/about_pilotta.htm Rules of Pilotta]