OBJECTIVE OF 65: The first team to win 5 victory points wins the game
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 players
NUMBER OF CARDS: 48 cards
RANK OF CARDS: (low) 3 – Ace (high)
TYPE OF GAME: Trick taking
AUDIENCE: Adults
INTRODUCTION OF 65
65 is a trick taking game played with four people in partnerships. It was created in Japan by Kuromiya Kimihiko. A card point and trick point game, teams are trying to get the most tricks as well as the most Aces, Kings, Queens, and Jacks. The numbered cards have no point value. There are a total of 65 round points possible in each round, and the team that earns 33 or more wins the round.
What separates 65 from most trick takers is how the trick is divided up after completion. The trick winner only takes the card their partner played. The rest of the trick goes to the trick-losers’ pile. This makes for some interesting decisions during game play.
THE CARDS & THE DEAL
Partners should sit across from each other at the table. 65 uses a shortened deck of 48 cards. Remove the 2’s. Spades are always trump.
Shuffle and deal 12 cards to each player. The neighbor left of the dealer will lead the first trick. Deal passes left each round.
THE PLAY
The trick can be led with any card the player chooses. Following players must match the lead suit if they are able. If they are not, they play any card they like. The highest card in the lead suit or the highest trump wins the trick.
COLLECTING THE TRICK
The trick-winner only collects the card their partner played. That is the only card their team will earn points for (if any). The opposing team collects the rest for scoring purposes. While collecting tricks, keep the trick-winner pile separate from the rest of the cards collected. Perhaps one partner can collect trick-winners while the other collects the cards from tricks lost.
CONTINUING PLAY
The trick-winner leads the next trick, and play continues until all 12 tricks are completed. After tallying up the score for the round, the game will continue until one team has earned 5 victory points or more. The deal will pass left each round.
SCORING
When the round ends, each team will have two piles of collected cards. One pile that contains trick-winning cards only, and another pile that contains cards from tricks lost.
Using the trick-winner pile, a team can count up their score for tricks won. Teams earn 2 points for each trick taken and one bonus point for winning the last trick.
Points are also earned for certain cards. Teams look in both piles for point cards.
Aces = 4 points
Kings = 3 points
Queens = 2 points
Jacks = 1 points
The team with 33 or more points earns 1 victory point. If a team captures 41 points or more they earn 2 victory points.
WINNING
The first team to earn 5 victory points or more wins the game.
- TRIPLE SNAKES - February 15, 2021