How to Play The Diamonds Card Game

The Diamonds Card Game is a card game for four players in which each player tries to win the cards that are worth the most points. Players win a trick by playing the highest ranking card in a round where all four players play one card. Each card a player wins is worth a certain number of points, but cards in the diamonds suit are worth the most points, which is the reason the game is called the Diamonds Card Game. The player with the highest score wins the game.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Deck of playing cards
• Pen or pencil
• Sheet of paper

Playing the Game

1. Find a group of three friends to play the Diamonds Card Game. The Diamonds Card Game is designed for exactly four players. There are no partnerships in the Diamonds Card Game, as each player is trying to accumulate as many points as possible for himself.

2. Deal 13 cards to each player. Players are allowed to look at the cards in their hand. Explain to each player that diamonds are special in the Diamonds Card Game and each card in the diamond suit is actually one card value higher than its face value. In other words, the 10 of diamonds is equal to a jack of any other suit, and the ace of diamonds cannot be defeated or tied by any other ace.

3. Instruct the player to the left of the dealer to play a card from his hand first. Each player then attempts to play a higher card from his hand, remember diamonds are all worth one rank higher than their face value. The player that plays the highest card wins the trick and places it in his scoring pile. If multiple players tie for the high card, each flips over his top face down card from his scoring pile. The player with the highest card wins the 4-card trick, but does not win the cards from the other player's scoring pile used to break the tie. If there is still a tie, each player involved in the tie flips over the next card in his scoring pile. If a player has no remaining cards in his scoring pile, the other player wins the trick.

4. Direct the player that won the previous trick to lead the first card for the next trick. Remember, players do not have to follow the suit led in the Diamonds Card Game.

5. Continue playing until all 13 tricks have been played. Score the hand using the Scoring The Diamonds Card Game section below. Play until one player has reached a pre-determined score, or a pre-determined number of rounds have been played. The high scorer is the winner.

Scoring The Game

6. Direct each player to pick up the cards he won in the Diamonds Card Game by winning tricks and examine them.

7. Score 1 point for every card with a face value of 10 or below in any suit that is not diamonds, royal cards in suits that are not diamonds score 5 points each, and the aces of spades, hearts, and clubs all score 10 points.

8. Score 3 points for every diamond in each player's hand that is a 10 or below. Face cards in the diamond suit are all worth 10 points, and the ace of diamonds is worth 20 points.

9. Add up the total points for each player in this round of the Diamonds Card Game and write his score on the score sheet.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep in mind that a king of diamonds can tie any ace for high card on a trick, because each diamond has a value of one higher than its face value.
• If there is a tie for the first trick, the cards are shuffled face down and distributed evenly among the players that tied. This is because no player has any cards in his pile from winning tricks at that point.
• Do not attempt to tie an opponent for the high card if you are playing last if you have not won a trick yet, as you will not be able to win the tie breaker.