Partnerships in Trick-Taking Card Games

Undoubtedly, they have a rich and captivating game play which makes them fun to play. They also tend to be highly accessible, even if at the same time they manage to stay somewhat complex because of the card combinations they allow. Finally, they require players to interact and collaborate with each other all the time.

Team play

Partnership is essential in many trick-taking games. While in some such as Oh Hell players compete against each other, in others such as

Klaverjassen the emphasis is on team play. Trick-taking games use differently the concept of partnership. Below we'll take a look at how various games treat it.  

·         In most games played in four the players who sit opposite to each other are teammates. Popular card games that use this kind of fixed partnership include Spades and Bridge.

·         In many contract and auction games played in three the contractor plays on his own and has to face the other players who form a team. The same rule applies even if the number of players is greater than three.    

·         In Klaverjassen, which is also known as Klaverjas, the players can either form a team or play on their own, depending on the total number of players. For example, when played in four, two opposite teams each consisting of two players are formed, but when played in three, each is on his own.   

·         In a few games the partnerships are formed randomly. For example, in some variants of Schafkopf the two players who hold the black Queens automatically become teammates. This form of partnership is unique and not typically encountered in most trick-taking card games because at times it requires additional rules to decide what happens when a single player has in his hand both black Queens.     

·         In some contractor games the contractor enters a partnership with the player who takes the first trick. In a special version the first round winner is replaced with a player who holds a specific card.

·         In Pinochle and other related games teams are usually formed only when there are enough players available. Otherwise each player plays on their own.

Whether it's Schafkopf or Klaverjas, individual play or team play, trick-taking card games are inventive and entertaining and worth checking out.