99 Card Game

NINETY-NINE
Players 3 (also 2, 4, 5) Cards 36 (for 3 players) Type Precision

tricks
Cards
36 cards ranking A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6 in each suit.
Deal
Whoever cuts the highest cards deals first. The turn to deal and play passes
always to the left. Deal 12 cards each one at a time.
Trumps
The first deal is played with diamonds as trump. Thereafter, the trump suit for
each deal is determined by the number of players who succeeded in matching
their bids in the previous deal, namely clubs if all three succeeded, hearts if two,
spades if one, or diamonds if nobody made their contract.
Object
To win exactly the number of tricks you bid. You bid secretly by discarding 3 of
your 12 dealt cards face down, leaving nine cards in your hand to play to tricks.
Your bid-cards must be selected in such a way as to represent how many of the
nine tricks you undertake to win. For this purpose, the suit of each bid-card
represents a specific number of tricks by means of the following code:
any diamond discarded represents 0 tricks bid

any spade discarded represents 1 trick bid
any heart discarded represents 2 tricks bid
any club discarded represents 3 tricks bid.
These representations are easily remembered because they are based on the shapes of
the suit signs: a diamond is a nought with straight sides, a spade has one point, a heart
has two cheeks, and a club has three bobbles, as illustrated above. Note that the ranks of
the bid-cards are irrelevant to the number bid. It's only their suits that count.
Premium bids
Normally, bid-cards are left face down throughout the play of tricks. But:
 For an additional bonus, you may offer to declare by turning your

bid-cards face up at start of play, thus declaring your target and
revealing more information about the lie of cards.
 For a higher bonus, you may also offer to reveal. This involves not
only turning your bid-cards up but also then playing with your hand
of cards exposed on the table before the opening lead.
Only one player may declare or reveal in each deal. If more than one wish
to declare, the leader has priority over the middle player, and either of them has
priority over the dealer. Anyone offering to 'reveal' has priority over anyone only
offering to 'declare', regardless of position. If two or more wish to reveal,
however, then the same positional priority applies.
Play
Dealer's left-hand neighbour leads to the first trick. You must follow suit if you
can, but may play any card if you can't. The trick is taken by the highest card of
the suit led, or by the highest trump if any are played. The winner of each trick
leads to the next.
Score
If you took exactly the number of tricks you bid, you must turn up your bid-cards
to prove it. If not, you can keep them hidden. You each score 1 point for each
trick you won, regardless of how many you bid. In addition, if you succeeded in
winning exactly the number of tricks you bid you add a bonus related to how
many players succeeded, as follows:
 If all three succeeded, each adds a bonus of 10 points.

 If only two succeeded, they each add a bonus of 20.
 If only one player succeeded, that player adds a bonus of 30.
 There is an additional bonus of 30 for 'declaring' or 60 for 'revealing'.
This goes to the declarer/revealer if successful, or to each opponent
if not.
The highest score that can be made in one deal is 99. This occurs when one player
wins 9 tricks (9 points), is the only player to succeed (add 30), and played with
cards revealed (add 60).
Game
Play nine deals, or any higher multiple of nine, and the winner is the player with
the highest score. Alternatively, a game is 100 points and the overall winner is the
first to win three games.
Strategy
1. There are three players and nine tricks. Therefore: if in doubt, bid three.
2. Note that the four suits differ in trick-taking potential according to to their
differences in bidding value. Since the average bid is three, and the various
ways of representing this are [ ], [ ] and [ ], it follows that
diamonds and spades are more likely to be out in bids than hearts and
clubs. Given an average distribution, clubs and hearts are therefore usually
all in play and will go round at least twice without being ruffed, so their
Aces and Kings are usually reliable trick-winners. Clubs are especially
reliable as trumps, as it would be self-defeating to discard them in bids. At
the opposite extreme, diamonds are very unreliable. The Ace is as often as
not ruffed on the first diamond lead, and when diamonds are trumps there
is usually at least one player who will discard three of them - especially
Ace, King and Queen - for a plausible bid of zero.
3. Because you are aiming for an exact number, low cards are as important as
probable trick-losers as high ones are as probable winners. Middle-ranking
cards are unreliable in either respect, so it is usually best to discard Jacks,
Tens and Nines as bid-cards and to retain Aces, Kings, Sevens and Sixes
as trick-winners and losers respectively. This consideration will often lead
you to the best of several possible bids.
4. Nevertheless, if you really cannot find a sensible way of bidding, a good
ploy is to throw out three cards whose absence from play is most likely to
upset everyone else, such as the top three trumps, or three Aces. You may
not make your bid, but neither will anyone else, and if you should happen
to win a majority of tricks, you will even gain on the deal!
5. If you have a middling card that may or may not win a trick, such as J,
lead it at the earliest opportunity in order to clarify the situation.
6. A no-trumper always favours the lead player. Never declare at no trumps
unless you have the opening lead, or unless you have a cast-iron bid of
zero (in any position).
Fo r var iants , p le ase visit :

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NINETY-NINE

Players 3 (also 2, 4, 5) Cards 36 (for 3 players) Type Precision

any diamond discarded represents 0 tricks bid

 For an additional bonus, you may offer to declare by turning your

 If all three succeeded, each adds a bonus of 10 points.

Fo r var iants , p le ase visit :

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