Fortey-One (41)

OBJECT OF 41: The object of 41 is to have your teammate or yourself reach 41 points before the other players.   

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 players

MATERIALS: One standard 52-card deck, a way to keep score, and a flat surface.

TYPE OF GAME: Trick-Taking Card Game

AUDIENCE: Adult

OVERVIEW OF 41

41 is a trick-taking card game for 4 players. There are two partnerships of 2, with teammates sitting opposite of each other. While this is a partnership game, players keep their scores individually as well as bid individually. 

The goal of the game is to have one member of your team reach 41 points before the other team does. This can be achieved by making bids and completing them by winning tricks. this scores you points at the end of rounds. 

SETUP AND BIDDING

The firsts dealer is chosen at random and passes to the right with each new round. The dealer will shuffle the deck and deal each player 13 card hands in a batch of 1 and them batches of two at a time till 13 cards are reached. Dealing is done counterclockwise. 

After hands are received the bidding begins. Each player only gets one bid. It starts with the player to the dealer’s right and continues counterclockwise from them. Each player is making a bid on how many tricks they believe they can win. All players must bid at least one. Bids of 1 through 6 score that many points, while bids of 7 and more score double the number bid.

If all players’ bids do not total at least 11 then cards are reclaimed and redealt. 

Card Ranking 

Cards are ranked Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 (low). The hearts suit is always trump. 

GAMEPLAY

The game begins with the player to the dealer’s right. Then players continue counterclockwise. They may lead any card to the trick. The following players must follow suit if able, if not they may play any card, including trumps. 

The highest trump, if applicable, wins the trick, if no trumps, then the highest card of the suit led wins. The player who wins the trick places it in their score pile and leads the next trick. 

SCORING

After the last trick is played scoring can begin. Each player scores individually and cumulatively. It is possible to have a negative score. 

If a player scored at least or more tricks than they bid, they score the number of points according to their bid. If they bid 6 and won 8, they still only score 6 points. Bids of 7 or more score double points. 

If a player fails to score as many points as they bid, then they lose the amount of points bid. This does include doubles for larger bid, so a failed bid of 7 loses you 14 points. 

END OF GAME

A team wins if one of them reaches 41 points or more while the other teammate has a positive score. If both teams achieve this in the same round the team with the higher score wins. 

Amber Crook
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