Things You'll Need:
- A well-lighted and ventilated room
- One card size table and four chairs
- Pens/pencils and paper for scorekeeping (A specially designed scoresheet can be downloaded)
- Four enthusiastic card players (This is a "solo" or individuals game, best played with four persons)
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Step 1
There are seven contracts in the game. (An optional eighth contract is available in order to have a symmetrical number of deals.) All of the cards are dealt. The standard game consists of 28 hands, with each player having the opportunity to play the seven contract schedule. After a player has selected and completed the hand of his choice, that contract is eliminated from his list. There are five contracts that have negative points and two contracts which yield positive points. The following steps explain each contract.
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Step 2
Contract 1 - NO TRICKS ("Nullos") MINUS 26 points
Each trick taken counts as minus two points. There are 13 tricks to be distributed. This contract should be selected if you have a hand with a lot of low cards, or a long and safe suit. Nullos can also be a "safety valve" if you cannot make another choice and want to minimize the number of negative points for a given hand. -
Step 3
Contract 2 - NO QUEENS MINUS 24 points
Each Queen taken counts as minus six points, for a total of negative 24. After all four Queens have been captured, the hand ends. -
Step 4
Contract 3 - TRUMPS PLUS 65 points
There are 13 tricks. The player selecting this option declares a trump suit (some circles play with No trump as a choice). When a trump is played, the next player must "climb" (play a higher trump, if possible). If an off-suit is led, a player may trump or discard another suit. -
Step 5
Contract 4 - NO HEARTS MINUS 30 Points
This level is similar to the game of Hearts, with two exceptions. The Queen of spades is not a penalty card and the Ace of hearts counts as a six point penalty. All of the other hearts count for minus two points each. Hearts may not be led until the heart suit is "broken" or a player has all hearts in his hand. -
Step 6
Contract 5 - LAST TWO Minus 30 Points
This is a very difficult hand to play. There is no trump suit. The person who takes the second to last trick is pinned with minus 10 points, and the unfortunate winner of the last card gets "yoked" for minus 20 points. A very brutal game, indeed! -
Step 7
Contract 6 - BARBU or KING OF HEARTS Minus 30 Points
The King of Hearts is like a Supersized Queen of spades! Whomever catches him is nailed for minus 30 points. Hearts may not be led until the suit is broken. The hand ends when his Majesty has been taken. -
Step 8
Contract 7 - FAN TAN-or-DOMINOES Plus 65 Points
(1st Place= +40; 2nd Place= +25; 3rd Place= +10; 4th Place= -10)
Fan Tan is a popular game in its own right. The person selecting game, "starts" by laying down any card. From there, the next person must play a card one rank higher or lower of the same suit as the first card led, or, the identical rank of another suit. Otherwise, he must pass. The idea is to get rid of all of one's cards, and to do it as soon as possible. A person, on turn, must make a play, if legally possible. The positive point reward is a very tempting prize, indeed! -
Step 9
Contract 8 - RAVAGE CITY (Optional) ZERO Points
This is a devilish game, in which the idea is not to take more than four cards in any given suit. (Two tricks in the same suit is usually fatal.) The most popular scoring system penalizes the person who has taken the most cards in the same suit, minus 24, with the others receiving zero points each. Ties split any negative points. -
Step 10
Notes (Misc.)
The scorer must be accurate and will constantly need to balance the scoresheet after each Round. There is also a "doubling" option in the game, which heightens the competitive aspect. Players should be familiar with the Rules of the Game and the individual contracts. A good reference site is pagat.com under the Alphabetical Index of Card Games and "B" for Barbu (see link below).
