Partnership Game with Unknown Partners
Donovan Loucks
played with partners in which players begin by not knowing who their
partners are. Does this sound familiar to anyone? I'm intrigued by this,
as it may have applications to mystery games. Thanks!
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| Donovan K. Loucks Phoenix, Arizona dlo...@primenet.com |
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John McLeod
<dlo...@primenet.com> writes
>A couple o' months ago, someone posted some information about a card game
>played with partners in which players begin by not knowing who their
>partners are. Does this sound familiar to anyone? I'm intrigued by this,
>as it may have applications to mystery games. Thanks!
This happens in games where the partnerships are determined by who holds
particular cards. You find out who your partner is for certain when the
relevant card is played, or you may be able to deduce or suspect it
earlier by observing the tacics adopted by the players.
There are many card games like this - usually for 4 players, sometimes
for 5. Here are some examples. For those I have marked with a * you can
find the rules in my Card Games site (URL in my signature).
Doppelkopf (4 players - holders of the two queens of trumps are
partners)
Koenigsrufen* (4 players - declarer's partner is the holder of a
king called by declarer)
French Tarot* (5 player version - declarer's partner is the holder
of a king called by declarer)
Bavarian Schafkopf (4 players - declarer's partner id the holder of an
ace called by declarer)
Sheepshead (Shep)* (5 player version - declarer's partner is the holder
of the jack of diamonds)
Hungarian Tarokk* (4 players - declarer's partner is the holder of a
called trump, usually the XX)
Briscola (5 player version - declarer's partner is the holder
of a called trump)
This list is by no means complete. Perhaps others will add to it.
--
John McLeod jo...@pagat.demon.co.uk 10011...@compuserve.com
For information on card games visit http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/card-games/
theodore hwa
: In article <44l3jc$s...@nnrp3.news.primenet.com>, Donovan Loucks
: >A couple o' months ago, someone posted some information about a card game
: >played with partners in which players begin by not knowing who their
: >partners are. Does this sound familiar to anyone? I'm intrigued by this,
: >as it may have applications to mystery games. Thanks!
[list of some games deleted]
I noticed that in the games listed, partners were determined by fixed cards.
I played a game a couple of years ago in which the situation is a little
different, namely, one player names a card (that he doesn't have), and the
player who holds it is his partner, but cannot say anything (at least not
until that card has been played.)
The rules are like this. Four players, entire deck is dealt out so that
each player receives 13 cards. The object is to take as many face cards
(A,K,Q,J) in tricks as possible. I don't quite remember how the trump
suit was determined. (Maybe the whole deck wasn't dealt out and there
was a widow, or the last card was the trump, or something. It could even
be determined during the bidding, as in bridge. The last possibility
seems the most likely to me.)
The game begins with bidding. A bid is any number from 1 to 16 (indicating
the number of face cards to take), or a pass. Every bid must be higher than
the previous one. The bidding ends when a bid
is followed by 3 consecutive passes. The player who made the final bid
(the "declarer") now names a card and the player who holds it is his partner
, but does not disclose this fact to anyone until the named card is played.
The player to the left of the declarer makes the opening lead and play
proceeds as in many trick-taking games (i.e., follow suit if able, otherwise
play any card. Highest card of suit led, or highest trump if there is one
wins the trick. Winner leads to next trick.)
I don't remember how hands were scored. But in this type of game, each player
must receive a score separately, since partnerships aren't fixed.
: --
Donovan Loucks
This happens in games where the partnerships are determined by who
holds particular cards. You find out who your partner is for certain
when the relevant card is played, or you may be able to deduce or
suspect it earlier by observing the tacics adopted by the players.
There are many card games like this - usually for 4 players, sometimes
for 5. Here are some examples. For those I have marked with a * you can
find the rules in my Card Games site (URL in my signature).
Thank you, John, for your help and your suggested list of games. I'll
have to try them out sometime! Unfortunately, they probably lack the kind
of elements I'm looking for, although they _are_ exactly what I asked for.
What I'm hoping to find is some sort of multi-player game where there are
several unknowns that the players must discover. Once I've found that,
I'm hoping I can radically alter the play and adapt it for my own use.
It's not so much that I'm hoping to find a game where players don't know
who their _partners_ are, but instead one where no one knows what their
_roles_ are, and they must discover them through the play of the cards.
The hand of cards they hold gives them some edge in discovering their
particular role. My concept here is vauge at best, but that's because
it's merely a concept. I don't have any particular mechanisms or themes
in mind. Nonetheless, thanks for your suggestions!
Donovan Loucks
Also a game from Parker Brothers called "Beggars And Thieves" fit this
category. I believe it was based somewhat on SchafsKopf(but am
unsure).
Surprisingly, this doesn't ring a bell with me. Approximately when was
"Beggars and Thieves" published, and did it use a traditional or special
deck of cards? Thanks for the information!
John McLeod
<dlo...@primenet.com> writes
>
>It's not so much that I'm hoping to find a game where players don't know
>who their _partners_ are, but instead one where no one knows what their
>_roles_ are, and they must discover them through the play of the cards.
Probably still off the mark, but you may also be interested to look at
Robert Abbott's card game Eleusis. In this game the dealer secretly
invents and records the rule which determines what cards can be played.
The others try to play cards and the dealer says whether each play is
legal or illegal. From these calls the players try to discover the rule.
The scoring is balanced so that the player who can guess the rule
quickly does well, and it is in dealer's interest to invent a rule which
some but not all players will guess.