Royal Mastheads

Contributed by R. Kieva (RJKieva@aol.com)

This is a four player game. Shuffle the deck and turn the top card over. That card dictates what the trump suit is and what the suit masthead is (e.g. if it's 2 than diamonds is the trump and the twos are the mastheads). The mastheads are the cards that are worth the most points in each suit. Put the card at the bottom of the deck and cut it. Then deal 13 cards to each player. Each player then sets aside two cards to form the pot. The pot goes to the player who wins the most tricks. The player to the dealer's left starts. Trump cards beat all other cards and aces are low. Players must follow suit if possible. Scoring is done during the game on a scorecard and bonus points are added at the end of the game. The ultimate winner is the player that accumulates the most points at the end of a set. A set consists of ten games or a predetermined number of games.

Scoring (done during the game)

    Number cards (2-10)   1   2   3   4
    Jack, Queen, King     2   4   6   8

Aces count as 10 points against. Mastheads double the value of the cards (e.g. If the threes are the mastheads than they're worth the same as the Jack, Queen and King).

Bonus Points (scored after the game)

    Taking in 3 mastheads         25 points
    Taking in 4 mastheads         50 points
    Winning 9 tricks             100 points
    Winning 10 tricks            200 points
    Winning 11 tricks            400 points
    Taking in 7-11 royal cards   500 points
    Taking in all royal cards   1000 points
    Taking in all trump cards   2000 points

NOTE: For two player variation a game is played with half the deck. The next game is played with the other half of the deck. Bonus points are added once the entire deck is played.