How to Shoot the Moon in the Card Game Rook

In Rook, players who bid 180 points and reach that score "shoot the moon."

In the five-player card game Rook, players score points by taking tricks, with the goal of reaching 500 points to win the game. Players bid at the start of each hand based on the quality of the cards they hold. The term, "shooting the moon," means a player bids the maximum of 180 points then he and his partner must collect 180 points at the end of the hand.

Things You'll Need

• Deck of playing cards

Instructions

1. Remove one joker from the deck; the remaining joker is the rook. Deal 10 cards to each player and three cards to a neutral kitty. The player left of the dealer opens by bidding at least 75 points or passing. All bids must be divisible by five. Bidding continues until all but one player passes or the bid reaches 180.

2. The player who wins the bid adds the kitty to his hand and names any suit, high-card-no-suit or low-card-no-suit as trump. She also calls a partner card which can be any card other than one in her hand. The player holding the partner card shares points with the winning bidder but cannot reveal it until it's played. The remaining three players also share points for that hand.

3. The player discards three cards that are out of play for that hand but still provide points to the players who take the last trick of the hand.

4. The player who won the bid may lead or choose the player to the left to lead. Play continues to the left, with players required to follow suit if possible. If a suit is named as trump, the rook is the lowest trump. If no suit is named, the rook is the only trump. After the round is completed, the player with the highest trump card --- or if there is no trump, the highest card in the suit for a called high game or the lowest for low games --- wins the trick and leads the next round.

5. After 10 rounds, the players total their points as follows: The rook is worth 20; aces are worth 15, kings and tens are worth 10, and fives are worth 5. If the player who named trump and his partner collect the number of points equal to or greater than their bid, they each collect the total points in their hands plus the points in the kitty if one of them took the last trick. If not, they each deduct the number of points from their scores. If the bid was 180 points and they collect at least that number of points, they successfully shoot the moon.

Tips & Warnings

• When bidding, base your decision to shoot the moon on the number of high cards in the suit you decide to name as trump. If you name trump, call the highest card in that suit that is not in your hand as the partner card. If you decide to name high-low, name the rook as the partner card because your partner will hold the only trump in the hand.

References

• Rook Online: Rules of Rook