VINT

OBJECT OF VINT: The objective of Vint is to be the first team to accumulate 500 points.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 Players

MATERIALS: 1 Standard Deck of Cards, 1 Scoresheet, and 1 Pencil

TYPE OF GAME: Trick-Taking Card Game

AUDIENCE: Adults

OVERVIEW OF VINT

Vint is a Russian trick-taking game that is the perfect mix of Whist and Bridge, taking some elements from both. There are still many people that play Vint quite often, but it has become more of a rare game experience.

The goal is to work as a team and accumulate points as rapidly as possible. The first team to reach 500 points wins. Be strategic, smart, and make sure you are working together!

SETUP

Players must split into two-person teams. Teams are decided with a simple card draw. Each player will draw a random card from the deck. The two players who draw the highest scoring cards are paired with one another, and the two players who draw the lowest scoring cards are paired with one another.

Players should position themselves right across from their teammates. The player who drew the highest scoring card will begin the game. The dealer will then shuffle the deck, passing it to the player on their left to cut it. After the deck has been cut, the dealer can deal the cards to each player, one by one, until the entire deck has been dealt. The game is ready to begin!

GAMEPLAY

The bidding round begins as soon as all of the players pick up their cards from the table. The dealer is given the first chance to bid. Bidding is a way to win a specific number pf tricks and determining the suit that will be used as trump. The bidding continues clockwise around the group.

A player may either choose to bid or pass. A bid must be higher than the previously high bid. The bid may be higher in number, or if it is the same number, it may be a higher ranking suit. A bid of No Trump may also be used, declaring the intention to play the hand with no trump suit set. It is higher than any bid of the same number.

After three passes in a row, bidding comes to an end, with the last player making a bid being the one that is the declarer. This player’s team must try to win as many tricks as the bid. The player to their left will lead the first card to the first trick.

A player may lead with any card of their choosing. Each player afterwards must play a card of the same suit if they have one. If they do not have one, he may play any card.

The highest card of the trump suit wins the trick. If there are no trump cards played, the highest card of that suit wins the trick. The won tricks are then set to the side and gameplay continues.

After all the tricks have been played, scoring may begin. There is above the line scoring and below the line scoring. Points for each trick won, which are dependent on the bid, are tallied. For a high bid of 7 there are 70 points won, 6 wins 60 points, 5 wins 50 points, 4 wins 40 points, 3 wins 30 points, 2 wins 20 points, and 1 wins 10 points. These will be added to the below the line section.

Honor points, which are added to the above line section may be won in numerous ways.

Ways to Earn Honor Points

Win a Game: 1000

Win 2 Games: 2000

Dealt a sequence of 3 cards including an ace: 500

Dealt the ace, King, and Queen of a suit: 500

Dealt 3 or 4 aces: 5000

Winning 13 tricks: 2000

Winning 12 tricks: 1000

END OF GAME

The game comes to an end when a team has won 500 points. This team is declared the winner!

Nakoa Davis
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