SIXTY-THREE

OBJECTIVE OF SIXTY-THREE: The objective of Sixty-Three is to be the first team to reach 152 points.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 Players

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

TYPE OF GAME: Trick-Taking Card Game

AUDIENCE: 10+

OVERVIEW OF SIXTY-THREE

Sixty-Three is a trick-taking card game for 4 players. These 4 players will split into two partnerships of 2 players and teammates will sit opposite of each other.

The goal of the game is to reach 152 points. Teams do this by bidding on how many tricks they think they can win in the round and winning certain point cards.

SETUP

The first dealer is chosen at random and passes to the left after each round. The dealer will shuffle the deck and deal each player a hand of 9 cards, 3 cards at a time. Then the bidding round can begin.

Card Rankings and Values

Sixty-Three has two different rankings, one for the trump suit and one for non-trump suits. For Sixty-Three the trump can change each round, this can change the cards in the rankings. The 5 of the suit that is the same color as the trump suit is also considered a trump card. So, if hearts are trumps, the 5 of diamonds is also a trump.

The ranking for trump suit is Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 (the one of the suit), 5 (the one of the other suit of the same color), 4, 3, and 2 (low). The other suits follow the same ranking of Ace (high). King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 (when applicable), 4, 3, and 2.

Sixty-Three also assigns certain cards with values for scoring. The only cards worth points are of the trump suit. The Ace of trump is worth 1 point, the king of trump is worth 25 points, the jack of trump is worth 1 point, the ten of trump is worth 1 point, the 9 of trumps is worth 9 points, the five of trump is worth 5 points, the other 5 of trump is also worth 5 points, the 3 of trumps is worth 15 points, and the 2 of trumps is worth 1 point.

BIDDING

The bidding starts with the player to the dealer’s left. They can either bid or pass. If bidding a player will need to bid higher than the previous bid. The bid can be a minimum of 1 point or a maximum of 63. Players are bidding for the chance to call the trump suit. The bid continues until 3 players have passed.

If all three previous players passed with no bid made the dealer must bid at least 1.

The winner of the bid will call the trump suit. Then each player is dealt 4 additional cards. All players will then discard down to a 6 card hand.

GAMEPLAY

Each team is trying to win the tricks containing the point cards. The team that won the bid will also need to win at least the number of tricks they bid to score their point cards.

The player who won the bidding round will start the game and from them players clockwise in order. The player will lead any card they wish. Other players must follow suit if able, if not able they may play a trump or any other card they wish. Tricks are won by the highest trump played, or if not applicable, by the highest-ranked card of the suit led. The winner of a trick will lead the next.

SCORING

Once all tricks have been played out players will score their tricks. The players who did not win the bid will score any points acquired through cards regardless of whether the other team completed their bid.

If the bidding team completes their bid, they will also score all points won during tricks, but if they did not complete their bid, they will lose points equal to those won in tricks.

END OF GAME

Teams keep cumulative scores over several rounds and the first team to 152 points wins the game.

Amber Crook
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