Multiplayer Belote Classic

Aim for 501 points and the trophies! This is a trick-taking game played by 4 players, using 32 cards with all 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 cards removed from a deck of standard playing cards. Two players sitting opposite to each other are teammates such that 2 partnerships are formed. The goal of the game is to score 501 points before the other team does so by winning the tricks. At the start of the game, a player is randomly selected to be the dealer, while the player on the right of the dealer will become the dealer in the next round. Each player gets 3 cards and then another 2 cards. When every player has 5 cards, a face-up card will be placed in the middle of the table by the dealer. The player on the right of the dealer can choose if he takes the suit of the card as the trump and becomes the taker. He can also choose to pass, so that the next player gets the chance to accept the card as the trump or to pass as well. If everyone passes during the first round, the player on the right of the dealer can choose any suit except the suit of the card on the table as the trump, or he can pass again. If he passes, the next player gets to choose and so on. As soon as a player chooses a trump, the bidding phase will end. If all players pass in the second round, the game will be forfeited. The player on the left of the dealer will become the dealer, and cards will be redistributed.

During the bidding phase, the player who has chosen the trump must take the card on the table regardless of the suit and he will be dealt 2 extra cards. Each of the remaining players will be dealt 3 extra cards. After that, the dealer will lead the first trick by playing any card. The suit of the card he played will become the leading suit of the current trick, and the other players must play cards of the same suit if they can. If a player does not have cards of the leading suit he must play a trump, unless his teammate is the current winner of the trick; if the player does not have a trump, he can play any card. If the current trick contains trump cards, the players must play a higher ranking trump if they can; but when a player's partner is the current winner of the trick, the player does not need to fulfill this requirement. After all players have played a card, the highest ranking trump wins the trick. If no trumps are played then the highest ranking card of the leading suit wins. The ranks of non-trump cards are A-10-K-Q-J-9-8-7, while the ranks of the trump cards are J-9-A-10-K-Q-8-7. The winner of the trick starts the next trick and the round ends after 8 tricks have been played.

Each team then calculates their points according to the cards in the tricks they won. The scores for non-trump cards are A - 11 points, 10 - 10 points, K - 4 points, Q - 3 points, J - 2 points, others - 0 point; and that for the trump cards are J - 20 points, 9 - 14 points, A - 11 points, 10 - 10 points, K - 4 points, Q - 3 points, others - 0 point. The winner of the last trick gets an additional 10 points. If a player owns the K and Q of the trump, it is called a "belote" and the player will be given extra 20 points. If the round is won by getting all tricks, extra 252 points are awarded. If a player has won all tricks by himself in the round, extra 350 points will be awarded to his team. If the team which chose the trump cannot score more points than the other team, all of their points will be given to the other team except the bonus points from belote. The bonus points from belote and re-belote are in every case given to the owners and are counted in the total points at the end of the game. When a team has reached 501 points, the game is won.

This game was suggested by Karim Hossenbux.

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