OBJECTIVE OF SIX POINT NORTHEASTERN WISCONSIN SMEAR: The objective of Six Point Northeastern Wisconsin Smear is to reach a score of 21.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 Players
MATERIALS: A modified 52-card deck, 2 jokers, a way to keep score, and a flat surface.
TYPE OF GAME: Trick-Taking Card Game
AUDIENCE: Adult
OVERVIEW OF SIX POINT NORTHEASTERN WISCONSIN SMEAR
Six Point Northeastern Wisconsin Smear is a trick-taking card game for 4 players. The goal is for your team to reach a score of 21 before your opponents.
This game is played with partnerships. Partners will sit opposite each other.
Players should decide before the start of the game how many of the undealt cards the bidder will get to see. It will be between 0 to 3 cards.
SETUP
The deck is modified to a 34-card deck. All cards ranked 6 and lower are removed.
The first dealer is chosen at random and passes to the left for each new deal.
This deck is shuffled and dealt out each player receiving 6 cards. The remaining deck is kept by the dealer for later.
Card Rankings and Point Values
Trumps are ranked Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, and Jokers (low). All other suits are ranked Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, and 7 (low). Some play that if played within the same trick the first joker played outranks the second, and some play that the second played outranks the first. Players should determine which ruling will be played with before the game begins.
For bidding, there are points awarded to players who win certain cards or meet certain criteria during the game
There are points awarded to players who win certain cards or meet certain criteria during the game. The things that award a point are the high trump, low trump, Jack, Jokers, and Game.
The high trump point is given to the team who plays the ace of trump. The low trump point is given to the team who plays the lowest numeric trump in play (will usually be the 7 of trumps but can be the 8 if the 7 is not in play). Jack is given to the team who wins the jack of trump in a trick. There are two joker points awarded to the team that wins each joker. Finally, the game point is awarded to the team that scored the most points throughout the game.
For the game point, players tally their score based on the cards their team won in tricks. Each ace is worth 4 points, each king is worth 3, each queen is worth 2, each jack is worth 1, each 10 is worth 10 points, and the joker is worth 1 point.
There will be a total of 6 points up for grabs.
BIDDING
Once all players have received their hands the round of bidding can begin. The player on the dealer’s left will start and in turn, each player will bid higher than the previous or pass. Each player only gets one chance to bid. Players bid on how many of the above points they must win in a round.
The minimum bid is 2 and the maximum bid is 6.
If all other players pass, then the cards are thrown in a redealt by the same dealer.
The bidding ends once the dealer bids or passes, or a bid of 6 is made. The winner is the highest bidder and they become the bidder.
After the bidding is completed, the bidder takes the number of undealt cards they are allowed. They will then discard down to 6. They may not discard trumps unless they hold more than 6. All discarded cards count for the bidder’s team for game point, but the undealt cards count for neither team.
GAMEPLAY
The bidder will lead to the first trick. The first card played reveals the trumps suit. Play proceeds in clockwise order. The following players must follow suit if able or trump. If they cannot follow suit may play any card, including trumps.
The trick is won by the highest-ranked trump. If not applicable, then the trick is won by the highest card of the suit led. The winner collects the trick and leads to the next trick.
The round ends once all 6 tricks are played.
SCORING
Scoring happens after each round.
The bidder’s team will determine if they were successful in completing their bid. If they were successful, they score the number of points won (this may be more than bid). If they were not successful, then the number bid is subtracted from their score. It is possible to have a negative score. The opposing team scores any points earned to their score as well.
END OF GAME
The game is played until a team reaches a score of 21 or more. This team is the winner.
Some play that the game can only be won during a round with a successful bid, or that if a team would earn more than 21 points during a round where they were not the bidding team, then the points exceeding 21 are not counted.
- 12 BEST HARRY POTTER BOARD GAMES - November 16, 2023
- 50 BEST HALLOWEEN GAMES - October 4, 2023
- 50 BEST CHRISTMAS GAMES - September 13, 2023