LucyBeta

Goal

Bet how many tricks you’ll take, and take exactly that many. The game is 4 deals, and the player with the highest total wins. If players are tied, the one who scored most in the last deal wins. If they’re still tied, the tied player first to the left of the last deal’s usual first player (see Play), counting that player first, wins.

Cards

Use a standard deck without Jokers. With 3 players, use only the Ace down to the 5 of each suit: 40 cards. With 4 players, use all 52 cards.

Ranking

Hearts are trump. In each suit the Ace is highest and the lowest card in play is lowest: the 2 with 4 players, the 5 with 3.

Starting hand

Deal 10 cards to each player, and set the rest aside unseen: 10 cards with 3 players, 12 with 4.

Every hand is put in the same fixed order: clubs, diamonds, spades, then hearts, and low to high within each suit. Hold your hand facing away from you, in that order, and never look at it. Every other player can see your cards. You know only the suit of each of your own cards, and from its place in the order, something about its rank.

Play

1. Bet. Starting with the first player and going left, each player says how many tricks they’ll take, from 0 to 10. You can also take one safety with your bet: then taking one trick more than your bet still makes it, for fewer points. The bets don’t have to add up to 10.
2. Follow suit if you can. The first player leads the first trick, and play goes to the left. You know which of your cards are of the suit led, but not which card of that suit you’re playing. If you have no card of the suit led, play any card.
3. The highest heart takes the trick. If no heart was played, the highest card of the suit led takes it. The winner leads the next trick.
4. A card you play leaves its place in your hand empty. The rest of your hand keeps its order, so each card you play tells you about the cards on either side of it.
5. Play all 10 tricks, then score the deal. For the next deal, the first player moves one to the left. With 3 players, the player with the most points is first player in the last deal. If players are tied for the most, it’s the tied player first to the left of the usual first player, counting that player first.

Scoring

A missed bet is always counted from the number you bet. With a bet of 3 and a safety, taking 6 tricks scores −3. Add each deal’s points to your total. A total can go below 0.

Playing with your own deck

You’ll need to add the suits to the back of a standard deck or separate the suits. You can use divider cards or place the cards in a stand. You also need paper and a pencil to write down every bet and keep score.

How this version differs

This version plays LUZ by Taiki Shinzawa with a standard deck.

• A standard deck replaces the five suits of 1 to 12. With 4 players that leaves 12 cards aside rather than 10.
• Nothing limits the table’s bets. The published game has 15 bet beads, which cap the bets the whole table can make in a deal.

Open the rules page