BASSADEWITZ



OBJECTIVE OF BASSADEWITZ: To be the player with the most chips at the end of the game

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 players

NUMBER OF CARDS: 32 cards

RANK OF CARDS: (low) 7 8 9 J Q K 10 A (high)

TYPE OF GAME: Trick taking

AUDIENCE: Adults


INTRODUCTION OF BASSADEWITZ

Bassadewitz is a trick-taking game for 4 players that is played with a 32 card.  It is an Ace-Ten game, so cards rank Ace high with the 10 of each suit second highest.  In this game, the Ace, 10, and face cards all have a point value.  Players are trying to collect as few points as possible each round by avoiding the capture of tricks.  Traditionally, the game score is kept using chips, but the set of rules used here uses an alternative scoring system more similar to Hearts.

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

 Beginning with a 32 card deck which ranks (low) 7, 8, 9, J, Q, K, 10, A (high), shuffle the cards and deal 8 of them to each player.

THE PLAY

Beginning with the player seated to the dealer’s left, they may pick a card from their hand and lead it to the table.  Continuing left, each player should play a card that matches the lead-suit if they can.  If they cannot, they may play any card they want from their hand to the trick.  The highest card played that matches the lead suit wins.

Example: Westin leads with a 7 of Hearts.  Jill follows suit with an Ace of Hearts.  Brad cannot follow suit, so he plays an Ace of Spades.  Veronica finishes the trick with the Jack of Hearts.  Jill wins the trick and leads the next one.

The trick-winner gets to lead the next trick, and the round continues until all the cards are played.  Once the last trick is played, it is time to determine the score for the round.  Once the score is tallied, collect the cards.  The deal will pass left each round. 

SCORING

Players earn penalty points for cards they collect.

Aces = 11 points

10’s – 10 points

Kings = 4 points

Queens = 3 points

Jacks = 2 points

9’s, 8’s, and 7’s have no value.

The player who has the most card points earns 5 penalty points for the round, second most card points earns 4, third most earns 3, and the player with the least card points earns 0. 

If a player captures every trick, the other three people earn 4 penalty points.  If 100 card points are captured by a single player in a round, but that player does not take every trick, the other three players deduct 4 points from their score.

WINNING

Before the game begins, players should agree on how many rounds they will play. Ensuring that each player deals the same number of times keeps the game balanced.  The player who has the lowest score at the end of the final round is the winner.

Mark Ball
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