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Contributed by Noel Leaver ()
We spent some time trying different sets of rules to produce a three-handed version of Barbu. As this was often a "fill-in" we preferred a shorter game. We also found it quite easy to double declarer on 2 out of 7 hands with only 3 players. Eventually we settled on the rules below, which we have been using for at least 10 years and with 10+ different players. It has a rather different feel from the 4-player game, much faster and with more luck, though if 3 rubbers are played it is rather more balanced.
Most of rules are as for the standard (UK) 4-player game.
A standard pack with the 2s removed to reduce it to 48 cards.
Each player receives 16 cards.
The player on dealer's left is declarer and the deal rotates after each hand. There are seven deals in a rubber, so one player is declarer 3 times and the other two twice. Each contract must be played once during the 7 deals.
Often three rubbers of 7 deals are played, so that each player has a turn at being the first declarer.
No hearts: -2 per heart taken, -6 for ace. You cannot lead hearts unless you have nothing else. Total -28
No K Hearts. -21. You cannot lead hearts unless you have nothing else.
No Queens. -6, total -24.
No Tricks. -2 per trick, total -32.
No last 3. Antepenultimate -5, penultimate -10, last -15, total -30.
Dominoes. First 45, second 15, last -5. Ace high. Total +55
Trumps. 5 per trick, total 80. Must overtake with a trump if possible.
Each player must double declarer at least twice during the 7 hands. Thus the first declarer has to double on 2 out of 4 hands, the others on 2 out of 5. Declarer can only redouble, and only declarer can be doubled in the positive contracts.
Because first declarer is also last declarer, he would like to leave one of the contracts that is easy to bid (trumps, no tricks, no queens) to the end, although it is likely trumps will be bid earlier. This does not apply to the other two players; indeed when the first dealer is choosing between the last two contracts he would rather leave the more difficult one, as on the last hand he can double declarer with a good hand, but if he has a bad hand declarer cannot double him.
Don Lagosz-Sinclair () writes:
(As an alternative, the queens score can be increased to -8 each instead of -6 and the FanTan scores are 30 20 10.)
The rest of the game is unchanged.