How to play romanian whist

Romanian whist is a bid & trick-taking card game where each player tries to win exactly as many tricks as they have bid.

Players

3-6 players

Cards

8 cards for each player, starting from the highest card rank (24 cards for 3 players, 32 for 4 players, etc.)

Card ranks: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9...

Deal

The number of cards dealt to each player varies during the game.

E.g. for 3 players: 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1

E.g. for 4 players: 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1

The rounds with 1 and 8 cards is equal to the number of player.

For rounds with 1 to 7 cards, there is also a TRUMP card. Rounds with 8 cards will be played without a TRUMP.

Bidding

Every player in order, says how many tricks he thinks he will get.

The sum of all tricks bid must not be the same as the number of cards dealt to each player.

E.g. round with four cards, three players: the first player says "2", the next "1". The third player can not bid "1", because that would make the sum of the tricks 4. He can bid 0, 2, 3 or 4.

Play

The current round first player plays the first card. The other players must play a card of the same suit if possible. Any player who has no card of the suit led must play a trump if they can. A player who has no cards of the suit led and no trumps can play any card. The trick is won by whoever played the highest trump, or if no trump was played, by whoever played the highest card of the suit led. The winner of the trick leads to the next. The objective is to win exactly the number of tricks you said you would win.

Turn

At the beginning of every round the starting player changes clockwise, taking in consideration the previous rounds starting player. During a round, after the first trick, the player who won the last trick will play the first card.

Scoring

A round ends when all cards are played.

  • The players who made their contract (exactly) get 5 points plus the number of tricks they made
  • If you take fewer tricks than you bid you lose one point for each undertrick
  • If you take more tricks than you bid you lose one point for each overtrick

E.g. Suppose you bid 3 tricks. If you take exactly 3 you will win 8 points (5+3). If you take only two tricks you lose 1 point; the same if you take 4 tricks. If you take 1 or 5 tricks (two different from your bid) you will lose 2 points; if you take no tricks or 6 tricks you will lose 3.

Bonus points

  • 5 consecutive wins - plus 5 points
  • 5 consecutive losses - minus 5 points