OBJECTIVE OF CLUMOND: The objective of Clumond is to win exactly the number of tricks you declare.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3 Players
MATERIALS: A modified deck of 52 cards, chips for keeping score, and a flat surface.
TYPE OF GAME: Trick-Taking Card Game
AUDIENCE: Adults
OVERVIEW OF CLUMOND
Clumond is a trick-taking card game for 3 players. The goal of the game is to win a number of trips equal to the amount you declare at the end of the round.
Clumond was invented by Charles Magri. He has his own page for the game with additional resources for the game.
Chips are used to keep score in the game. each player should start with the same number of chips, and players should decide on a standard ante for the start of each round.
SETUP
A player will modify the deck by removing the 10s from it.
Each player antes into the pot the same stake.
The dealer is chosen randomly and passes clockwise for each new round. The deck is then shuffled, and each player is dealt 16 cards for their hand.
Card Ranking and Declarations
The ranking for Clumond is standard. Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 (low).
The suits of the cards are used when making declarations after the round is completed. During play, a player will complete 13 tricks. After the 13 tricks are settled, the remaining 3 cards a player holds will result in their trick declaration for the round.
Each club increases your trick declaration by 3. Each heart increases it by 2, spades by 1, and a diamond increases the trick declaration by 0. For example, at the end of the round, you may have a 3 of Hearts, 7 of spades, and 4 of Diamonds. This leaves your trick declaration at 3.
GAMEPLAY
After hands are dealt to each player, but before the play begins, each player will have the chance to “go for Clumond”. This starts with the player left of the dealer. If they do not take the offer, then it proceeds clockwise around the table.
If no player takes it, the round is played with no trumps and standard scoring. The game starts with the player left of the dealer and proceeds clockwise.
If a player decides to go for Clumond, then they may declare any suit as trumps or no trump. They will then be competing against the other two players together for the full pot. The player to the left of the declaring player will begin the sound and play proceeds clockwise.
The starting player may play any card to start the trick. Following players must follow suit if able, and if they cannot, they may play any card. The trick is won by the highest trump, if applicable. If no trumps are used for the trick, or there is not a trump suit for the round, then the trick is won by the highest-ranked card of the suit led. The winner of a trick leads the next trick.
Once 13 tricks have been played, the round ends, and scoring begins.
SCORING
After the 13 tricks are completed then each player should have 3 cards remaining in their hand. The suits of these cards determine the declaration of tricks to be won by each player.
For a standard round with no declarer, each player determines their declaration and uses that to score. If a player won 10, 11, 12, or 13 tricks, they would subtract 10 from their score to determine if they met their declaration or not. If a player is successful and wins exactly the number of tricks they declared, they will win a portion of the pot. When a player is not successful, they must pay 1 chip into the pot for each trick above or below their declaration.
For example, if a player won 9 tricks, and only was able to declare 5, then they would have to pay 4 chips to the pot.
Once all chips have been paid to the pot by any unsuccessful players, the players who were successful earn 1/3rd of the pot rounded down if necessary.
If playing with a declaring player, this player will find their declaration and payouts will be determined by if they were successful in earning exactly the number of tricks as they declared.
If they are successful, they earn the full pot. When they are not successful the pot is split evenly and given to their two opponents.
END OF GAME
The game does not have a standard end. Players should decide before starting the game if they would like to play to a target score or for a certain number of rounds. The winner is the player to have the most chips by the time limit, or the first player to reach the targeted score.
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