Discover An Interesting Group of Card Games

 It's simply impossible not to have played already the super-popular Poker or any other card game with your friends. But there are many other card games besides Poker, equally interesting and exciting. For example, the family of trick-taking games offers some unique games worth checking out.

Intro to the trick-taking family

Trick-taking card games you might have already heard about even if you haven played them include Bridge, Hartenjagen (better known as Hearts), Whist, and Klaverjassen.

At the core of Hartenjagen, Klaverjassen, Whist and the rest of trick-taking games are tricks, which are the equals of rounds in other classic games. During a trick each player has to play one card from hers or his hand. The winner in each round is then decided by the score of the cards played; in some games the card with the highest value wins while in others the opposite, the lowest-scoring card. The player who triumphs in each round is said to “take the trick”.

Trick-taking games are further divided into two categories: point-trick and plain-trick games. The former concentrate entirely on the value of the cards that win each round. Klaverjassen is a good example from this category; it features a scoring system that has depth and that adds a certain complexity to the gameplay but which takes almost no time at all to learn. The latter relies exclusively on the number of tricks taken by each player to decide the winner. Whist is the best example in this category.  

Concepts

For many people trick-taking card games are most fun when played in four, with two opposite teams consisting of two players competing against each other. However, many variations exist which are designed to suit three players, five players, and sometimes even ten players. Usually when the number of players exceeds four, two packets of cards are needed. Klaverjassen is one of the card games most flexible when it comes to maximum number of players allowed.   

Trick-taking games are typically played clockwise, with a new dealer each round. Cards which are not dealt form a stock and are kept on the table. In some games they serve a purpose while in others they don't.

The first player checks his hand and puts down on the table a card; the others soon do the same. The value of the card decides who takes the trick. The play proceeds in the same fashion until, depending on the type of the game, the victorious team or player is decided.