Oh Hell
Say how many. Then take exactly that.
The trick-taking game where more is as bad as less. Bid how many tricks you will take, then take exactly that many, while the hand shrinks and swells around you. Here is everything you need to know before you sit down.
- Free practice
- No sign-up
- Play in your browser
Join a Game Room
Oh HellGot a room code?
- Players
- 3 to 7
- You need
- A standard deck
- Style
- Bid and take tricks
- Goal
- Most points
What is Oh Hell?
Not too many. Not too few.
Oh Hell is a trick-taking game for every player on their own. Before each hand, you each bid how many tricks you expect to win. Hit your bid exactly and you score. Take one more, or one fewer, and you score nothing.
That one rule turns the game inside out. Sometimes the best card in your hand is the one you have to lose with. And the dealer has to bid last, with a catch: they may not bid so that everyone can make it.
The practice table
Try itLearn it with the cards in your hand.
Play against three bots with our Classic rules. The coach works out your bid by dealing the hidden cards a few hundred times, and explains every play as you go.
- Easy, Normal, or Sharp bots. Sharp bots look ahead to steer for their exact bid.
- Quick game starts at 5 cards (9 hands). Full game starts at 7 (13 hands).
- No account, no host, nothing saved.
Scoring chart
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Bid 0, took 0 | 10 |
| Bid 1, took 1 | 11 |
| Bid 2, took 2 | 12 |
| Bid 3, took 3 | 13 |
| Any other number of tricks | 0 |
A little history
Known by many names.
Oh Hell is a relative of whist that has been played for generations under many names: Up and Down the River, Contract Whist, Blob, and more. The oldest versions turned up trump the same way and counted exact bids the same way.
Like most card table classics, it travels with house rules: how many cards to deal, how the hook works, how to score. These are our Classic rules.
Fun facts
- You bid how many tricks you expect to win, and you score only if you take exactly that many.
- An exact bid is worth 10 plus the bid, so even a bid of zero scores 10.
- The dealer bids last and may not bid so that everyone can make their bid. That is the hook.
- Sometimes the best card in your hand is the one you have to lose with.
Why people love it
Everyone is in on the bluff.
Exact is everything.
An ace is not always good news. If you need zero tricks, it is the card you most want to throw away.
The hand keeps changing.
It starts with a handful of cards and shrinks to one, so a hand of a single card is a pure guess, and a big hand is a puzzle.
The dealer pays.
The dealer bids last, but may not bid the number that lets everyone make their bid. Somebody has to miss.
Quick to learn.
Follow suit, trump wins, bid and take. You can learn it at the table in one hand.
How to play
Deal. Bid. Take it exactly.
Setup
- Players: four at our table: you and three bots. Everyone plays alone.
- Cards: a standard 52-card deck. Aces are high.
- The deal: the hand size counts down to one card each, then back up. Our Quick game starts at 5 cards, the Full game at 7.
- Trump: after the deal, the top card of the stock is turned face up. Its suit is trump for the hand.
Winning
After the last hand, the player with the most points wins. Hands where nobody scores happen, so the lead can change at the very end.
- 1
Bid your tricks
Starting left of the dealer, each player bids how many tricks they will take, from none to the whole hand.
- 2
The dealer’s hook
The dealer bids last and may not bid the number that makes all the bids add up to the number of tricks.
- 3
Lead and follow
The player left of the dealer leads. Follow the suit led if you can; if not, play anything.
- 4
Trump wins
The highest trump wins the trick, or else the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads next.
- 5
Hit it exactly
Take exactly the number of tricks you bid and score 10 plus your bid.
- 6
Miss by one
Too many tricks, or too few, scores nothing for the hand.
These are our Classic rules, and they'll be shown in every room before the game starts. Printable rules card →
Lessons
Learn it in a few minutes.
6 quick lessons, one idea each. Make the call, see why it works, and move on. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Trump wins
Hearts are trump. Clubs were led and you have no clubs. Which card wins the trick?
North
WestLed
East
You- Trump
- Hearts
Your hand
Scoring
Exactly what you said.
Every player scores alone. A bid is a promise: keep it and you get 10 plus the bid. Break it, either way, and the hand scores nothing.
| Result | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| Bid 0, took 0 | 10 | |
| Bid 1, took 1 | 11 | |
| Bid 2, took 2 | 12 | |
| Bid 3, took 3 | 13 | |
| Any other number of tricks | 0 |
Our Classic rules: 10 plus the bid for an exact bid, and nothing otherwise. The dealer may not make the bids total the number of tricks. Some tables score a point a trick and add 10 for an exact bid; we use the simpler scoring.
Strategy
Play it smart. Then play it feral.
Tip 1
Count trumps and aces.
Top trumps and aces are your likely tricks. Small cards in other suits usually take nothing, unless you can trump them.
Tip 2
A short hand is a guess.
With one or two cards, bid what the table is likely to do: look at your single card against the turned-up trump.
Tip 3
Steer the end.
Once your bid is made, play your high cards where they lose. While you still need tricks, save them for tricks you can win.
Tip 4
Watch the bids.
When the bids add up to far under the hand size, somebody is going to be forced to take extras. That might be you.
Tip 5
Use the hook.
The dealer cannot bid the number that makes the bids total the tricks, so the player before you may be about to fail.
What would you do?
One decision. Every day.
A new Oh Hell puzzle every day, the same for everyone. Solve it, then send it to the group chat and see who gets it right.
Want more? See today's puzzles for every game →
Your path to game night
Learn it here. Play it with friends.
Finish the lessons or win a practice game and you're ready to sit down at a real Oh Hell table with your people.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Oh Hell? Tell us in Discord.
Found a bug, a rule that feels off, or a house rule your family swears by? Our Discord is where we collect play-test feedback, and where game nights are starting to happen.
Glossary
Talk like a regular.
- Trick
- One card from each player. The highest trump wins it, or else the highest card of the suit led.
- Trump
- The suit of the card turned up after the deal. A trump beats any other suit.
- Bid
- How many tricks you say you will take this hand.
- The hook
- The dealer’s restriction: they may not make the bids add up to the number of tricks.
- Exact bid
- Taking exactly the number of tricks you bid. It scores 10 plus the bid.
- Ruff
- Winning a trick with a trump when you cannot follow the suit led.
- Ducking
- Playing a card that loses on purpose, to avoid taking a trick you do not want.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played Classic. In Feral mode, the host writes the house rules: how the hand counts down, how the hook works, how exact bids score. We'll show you what Oh Hell can do when it's ready.
In the Card Games pack
Oh Hell is on the ballot.
Backers vote on which card games join the Card Games pack. Owning the pack means every one that joins is yours too.
$9.95, one time, to host every game in it. Playing is always free. Packs go on sale when the full game launches.
Oh Hell is on the ballot
Save me a seat.
Hear when the Kickstarter opens so you can vote Oh Hell into the Card Games pack, and when you can host it with friends.