TROIKA



OBJECT OF TROIKA: The objective of Troika is to be the first team to accumulate fifty-two points.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: Four Players

MATERIALS: 1 Standard 52 Card Deck

TYPE OF GAME: Trick Taking Card Game

AUDIENCE: Adults


OVERVIEW OF TROIKA

Troika is an awesome trick taking game that originated in Canada. This game can accommodate four players, allowing them to play in teams of two people. The goal of the game is to accumulate fifty-two points.

SETUP

To begin setup, a deck of thirty-two cards must be created. In order to do this, remove the aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, tens, nines, eights, seven of Clubs, seven of Diamonds, three of Spades, and five of Hearts. These cards will create the deck that is used throughout the game.

To determine which players will be partnered together players will draw for high cards. The two players with the highest cards will be paired, and the remaining two players will be paired. To determine the dealer, cards will be shuffled out until a player receives a Jack. This player will be the first dealer. Deal will rotate around the group in a clockwise fashion after each hand has come to an end.

Players will sit so they are oriented directly across from their partner. The dealer will shuffle the cards, allowing the person on their right to cut the deck. The dealer will then deal out eight cards to each player. The game is ready to begin!

GAMEPLAY

Bidding begins immediately after all the cards have been dealt, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. Each player has one chance to pass or bid. In order to bid, a player must bid between six and twelve and it must be higher than the previous bid. The player must state if they are playing without a trump suit.

The dealer must make a bid that is at least equal to the previous bid. A bid consists of the estimated number of points that the player thinks their team will earn in that hand. After bidding comes to an end, the player with the highest bid chooses the trump suit. The highest bidder also played the first trick.

Each player following, in a clockwise manner, must play one card to the truck. If players have a card matching the suit that was originally played, they must play it. On the other hand, if they have no cards matching, they may play any card from their hand. The highest trump card wins the trick. If there are no trump cards, the highest scoring cards wins the game.

The cards will then be placed to the side, to allow for scoring later. The hand will continue in this manner until eight tricks have been played.

For each trick won, the team earns one point. If they win the five of Hearts in a trick, five points are won. If they win the three of Spades in a trick, they lose three points. If the highest bidder’s team scores at least as many points as they bid, the team adds the points they accumulated during that hand to their total score.

If the team does not make the points bid, they must subtract their bid from their accumulated points. When a hand comes to an end, if a team has accumulated a total of fifty-two points, then the game comes to an end and they are declared the winners!

END OF GAME

The game comes to an end when a team has earned fifty-two points. This team is declared the winner!

Nakoa Davis
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