The Deal &
Selection of Trump:
For the very first hand of the game, a player cuts the deck and looks at
the card, then counts off that many places around the table, moving
counterclockwise[i].
The person they end on draws first, after the deck has been cut again to
reestablish a random first card. Each player is trying to draw their
level card, so at the start of the game everyone is looking for a 2.
Cards are drawn counterclockwise one at a time until someone has drawn
their level card and decided to show it, by laying it face up on the
table[ii].
This action establishes the level and suit of trump for the hand,
although both are subject to change until the deal is finished and play
begins.
The person who
showed their level card is now the dealer. They deal all cards except the last eight to the
players.[iii]
During the deal, players receiving their cards can attempt to change the
level and trump by playing a
pair
of their level cards. This action may only be attempted once per hand
and is first come, first served, which provides an incentive to look at
one’s cards as they are being dealt. If the player who originally set
the level/trump has another of that level card (forming a pair) and
chooses to show it, they take precedence and the level/trump stays the
same[iv];
if they do not, the level and trump are changed. After the level and
trump have been changed once they may not be changed again. When all the
cards have been dealt and any level/trump challenges have been made, the
game proceeds.
Trump is made up of
the “big” jokers, the “little” jokers, the level cards of the same suit
as trump, the six level cards not of the same suit as trump[v],
and the other cards in the trump suit, starting at Ace and going down to
2 (the level cards will be missing from this final sequence). An example
of trump from strongest to weakest is given below, assuming the level
being played is the
♠4:
JOKER, joker,
♠4,
[♥4-♣4-♦4 all equal],
♠A,
♠K,
♠Q,
♠J,
♠10,
♠9,
♠8,
♠7,
♠6,
♠5,
♠3,
♠2
The Bottom Eight:
At this point all
five players should have an equal number of cards (twenty), with the
eight undealt cards leftover. These eight cards are given to the leader,
who puts them in his hand and then replaces them with eight of his cards
face down[vi].
This pile is often called the “kitty” in other card games but is usually
just “the bottom eight” in Finding Friends. It is won by the team which
takes the last trick. Any point cards captured this way are counted
double at the end, so if the attacking team takes the final trick and
the bottom eight contains a K and a 5, they are worth thirty points. The
leader, and only the leader, may look at what was placed in the bottom
eight during the hand, and adjust strategy accordingly.
Choosing a
Teammate:
The leader chooses
a teammate by announcing a certain card; the player who throws this card
is their partner. Any non-trump card can be called, but it is usually an
Ace. If the leader already has one of that card then they say they would
like “the other”. If they do not have the named card, they say they
would like “the first”.
It is worth noting that calling “the other”
results in that player immediately knowing that they are the partner,
while calling “the first” means they will need to play it quickly to
establish that they are the partner
[vii].
The leader and their new-found partner make up the “defending” team. The
other three players form the “attacking” team.
Gameplay:
The leader starts
the first trick, and play proceeds around the table counter-clockwise,
with each player throwing the same number of cards, following suit and
pattern as much as possible. The winner is the player of the highest
card(s) in the suit which was led, or trump if it was played. If
multiple people play cards of the same strength during a trick, the
first person to play it wins the trick. The winner of each trick leads
the next one. One or more cards[viii]
may be led to start a trick, the possibilities are given below.
1. Any single card may
be led. Everyone must play a single card in that suit if they have one.
If they do not, they may play any card. Similar to other trick-taking
games, the highest card in the starting suit wins unless it was trumped,
in which case the highest trump takes the trick.
2. A pair of cards may
be led. If a player has a pair in that suit they must play it. If they
do not have a pair, they must play any two cards in that suit. If they
do not have any two cards in that suit, they must play any cards in that
suit which they have, after which they may play any cards. The trick is
won by the highest pair[ix],
with trump taking precedence.
3.
Two pairs in a row
(e.g.
♥Q♥Q-♥J♥J)
may be led.[x]
This is called a tractor and can only be beaten by another higher
tractor[xi].
Similar to the rule for responding to a pair, players must play any
pairs in the suit if they have them. If they do not, they must play any
four cards in the suit unless they run out, after which they may play
any cards. The highest tractor wins; trump takes precedence.
4. Any combination of
the three options listed above may be played together so long as each
individual element of the set cannot be beaten in its suit.
a. For example,
♠A-♠K♠K
may be played together since the
♠A is the
highest card in a suit, and a pair of
♠K cannot be
beaten if it is known that the
♠A pair does
not exist. Players must respond with cards in the same way they would to
each element, so if the set includes a pair, they must play a pair if
they have one, and then continue with other cards in the suit as usual.
To beat a set with trump, the entire response set must be trump, and all
elements of the set must be matched. A non-trump
♠A-♠K♠K
can therefore be beaten by a trump
♦Q-♦9♦9,
but a
♠Q-♦9♦9
would not win since they had to play a spade before throwing their trump
pair.
b. In a more
complicated situation, if an
♣A and a
♣Q have
already been played in a suit, it would be safe to play
♣A-♣K♣K-♣Q-♣J
together, since any card that would beat an element have already been
accounted for, all the way down to the
♣J.
c. If you are in doubt about whether a
combination can be played, you may lay it on the table under the
assumption that it is legal; if it is not, a player who can beat an
element of the set must announce this, and all cards except the losing
element are picked up. Thus, if a player tries to lead
♥A-♥K♥K-♥Q-♥J
and someone announces that they can beat the
♥J with a
♥Q, all
cards are picked up except the
♥J, which is
played alone. The player who announces that they can beat an element does not have to beat it once it is
their turn.
Scoring & Level
Promotion:
After all cards
have been played, the number of points collected by the attacking team
is added up. The promotions for a given score are shown below:
Attacking team points: | 0 | 5-35 | 40-75 | 80-115 | 120-155 | 160-195 | 200 or more |
Attacking team promotion: | - | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Defending team promotion: | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
Miscellaneous/optional rules:
· More than 5
players: the number of players required to add a third deck varies based
on player preferences. Two decks may be used with as many as 7 players,
but each player will receive very few cards and the jokers will need to
be removed to ensure that the total number of cards (not counting the
bottom) is divisible by the number of players. Adding a third deck will
give each player more cards, but also introduces further complications
with the relative strengths of single cards, pairs, and now
three-of-a-kind’s. With 7 players there are also multiple players who
are called by the leader to join the defending team. This is done by
announcing more than one partner card.
· 4 players: This is
usually played with fixed partners, in a game called Tractor. If fluid
partnerships are used like in Finding Friends, adjustments are sometimes
made to the number of points required for each promotion level. Since
there are fewer players on the attacking team, the cutoff points are
often reduced by 20 points each.
· Joker level: A pair
of Jokers may be turned over to switch to this level, in which the
Jokers are the only trump. Some people play that the Joker level is
above Ace and can only be activated by players on that level, while
others play that it can be activated at any time.
· The point multiplier used for the cards captured in the bottom eight may be determined by the trick used to capture it. If a solo card is used, the multiplier is x2 as usual. If two cards (either together or a pair) are used for the capture, the multiplier is x3, and if three cards are used, it is x4.