OBJECTIVE OF BOSTON: The objective of Boston
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 Players
MATERIALS: 1 Standard 52 Card Deck and scoring chips
TYPE OF GAME: Trick Taking Card Game
AUDIENCE: Adults
OVERVIEW OF BOSTON
Boston was made in the 1700’s in France. There are many variations, allowing for a variety of gameplay and even more players! The goal is to earn the most points. There are no teams, like there are in normal trick taking games, so you are all on your own!
SETUP
Firstly, players must decide seating positions and who will play the dealer for the first round. This is done by drawing for the high card. The player who draws the highest card will become the dealer and choose their set first. The player with the lowest card will choose their seat last.
The dealer will then shuffle the deck and deals the entire deck out, one card at a time to each player. The position of the dealer will rotate clockwise around the group. The cards will not be shuffled after the first hand.
Scoring chips should be assigned an amount with some being 100, 50, and 5 points. Chips should then be evenly distributed among the players. The game is ready to begin!
GAMEPLAY
After the deal, players must place five chips into the middle. Bidding begins immediately after all players have paid their chips. The player to the left of the dealer will begin the bidding. Going clockwise around the group, players may choose to play or pass.
If a player passes, they are not allowed to bid for the remainder of that hand. Bids of the same category may be declared as long as they are of a higher rank. The suits are ranked highest to lowest, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades. The bidding continues until there have been three passes in a row.
Once the bid ends, the play begins. The player to the left of the dealer will play the first trick, determining the trump suit. Each player, continuing clockwise around the group, will play one card to the trick. The card should be higher than the last. If a player is unable to play a higher card, then they may play any one card from their hand.
Once all tricks have been played, it is determined if the highest bidder made their bid. If the player was able to meet their bid, then they may collect all of the chips that are found in the center of the table. Players must pay the winner if they met their bid.
Player’s Bid | Trump Suit for Hand | |||
Spades (♠) | Clubs (♣) | Hearts (♥) | Diamonds (♦) | |
5 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 30 |
6 | 30 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
7 | 50 | 50 | 60 | 70 |
8 | 70 | 70 | 80 | 90 |
9 | 90 | 90 | 100 | 110 |
10 | 110 | 110 | 120 | 130 |
11 | 130 | 130 | 140 | 150 |
12 | 150 | 150 | 160 | 170 |
13 | 400 | 400 | 450 | 500 |
If the player did not meet their bid, then they must pay the same amount of potential won chips to each player. After twelve hands, the game comes to an end and the points are tallied. The player who has won the most points, or chips, wins the game!
Bid Types
Simple Boston- 2 points- player must declare suit, win five or more tricks, and play a five
Six Levees- 4 points- player must win six tricks, declares the trump suit
Little Misere- 4 points- player must win zero tricks
Seven Levees- 8 points- player must win seven tricks
Picolissimo- 8 points- player will win exactly one trick during the hand
Eight Levees- 8 points- player will win eight tricks
Grand Misere- 8 points- player will not win any tricks
Nine Levees- 8 points- player will win nine tricks
Ten Levees- 8 points- player will win ten tricks
Eleven Levees- 16 points- player will win eleven tricks
Twelve Levees- 16 points- player will win twelve tricks
Grand Boston- 32 points- player will win all thirteen tricks
END OF GAME
After twelve hands, the game comes to an end. The player with the most chips at the end of the game is declared the winner!
- Comprehensive Guide to the Board Game Go (weiqi, baduk) - January 23, 2024
- Are Creative Suites Changing Gaming - October 30, 2023
- How Classic Games Have Been Reimagined for Modern Audiences - October 5, 2023