KNOCK OUT WHIST

OBJECT OF KNOCK OUT WHIST: The object of Knock Out Whist is to win the last trick of the game or be the last surviving player.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 7 players

MATERIALS: A standard deck of 52-cards, a way to keeps score, and a flat surface.

TYPE OF GAME: Trick-Taking Card Game

AUDIENCE: All Ages

OVERVIEW OF KNOCK OUT WHIST

Knock Out Whist is a trick-taking game for 2 to 7 players. The goal of the game is to either be the last player remaining or to win the final trick of the game. The game lasts for 7 rounds, where each hand dealt decreases in six until the last round contains only one trick.

SETUP

The first dealer is randomly assigned, and after that passes to the left for each new round. it may happen that the next dealer has been eliminated from the game from the previous round, if this is the case they will still deal before exiting the game.

The dealer will shuffle the cards and deal a hand of cards to each player determined by the round. For the first round, 7 cards are dealt to each player, and this decreases by one each following round till only one card is dealt for the final round.

For the first round, the remaining deck is used to determine the trump suit for the round. The top card is revealed, and its suit becomes the trump suit. For future rounds, the player to win the most tricks will pick the trump suit for the fo9llwoing round. if there is a tie for most tricks the player to choose trumps is randomly chosen from the tied players.

Card Ranking

The ranking for Knock Out is traditional. It is Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 (low).

GAMEPLAY

The game starts with the player left of the dealer. The player may lead any card they wish. The following players must follow suit if able to, if they are not able to though, they may play any card. As with most trick-taking games, the highest trump wins the trick. If there are no trumps, however, the trick is won by the highest card of the original card’s suit. The winner of a trick collects their trick and will lead the next one.

KNOCK OUT

At the end of the round players may be eliminated. If a player took no tricks in the previous round, they will be kicked from the game.

There is an exception. The first player, or multiple players if they would both be kicked the same round, receive a dog life. This means they will be dealt a single card the next round, and they may choose when to play it. If they choose not to play it for a trick they knock instead. If they win the trick, they play their card to, they are not eliminated, and the next round they receive a standard hand. If they lose the trick, they play their card to, they are out of the game.

A dog life if only available to the first player(s) who would be eliminated, after this when players win no tricks, they are just kicked from the game.

END OF GAME

The game ends either when all but one player is eliminated or when a player wins the last trick of the game. this player is the winner.   

Amber Crook
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