Feral Worlds: Tabletop Games · Card Games · Classic rules
Pinochle
Bid. Meld. Take the tricks.
Setup
- Players: four: you and North against West and East.
- Cards: a 48-card deck, twelve cards each.
- Rank: from high to low: A, 10, K, Q, J, 9. A 10 beats a King.
- Bidding: from 20 up, raising by at least 1. Pass and you are out. If the first three pass, the dealer must bid 20.
How to play
- 1Bid. Bid the points your side expects to make in meld and counters, or pass. The top bidder names trump.
- 2Pass four cards. The bidder’s partner passes four cards to the bidder, usually trump and Aces. The bidder then passes four back, usually low cards outside trump.
- 3Show meld. Everybody shows their meld. Partners’ meld adds together, and the cards go back in the hand.
- 4Lead. The bidder leads. Follow suit, and beat the winning card if you can. With no suit to follow, trump if you have one.
- 5Count the tricks. Each Ace, 10 and King taken scores a point, and the last trick scores one too.
- 6Make the bid. The bidders add up their meld and counters. Reach the bid and they score it all.
- 7Or go set. Fall short, and the bidders lose the bid. The other side scores what it took.
Winning
The first team to reach the target wins: 50 in our Quick game and 150 in the Full game. If both teams reach it in the same hand, the bidders win.
Scoring
| Meld | Points |
|---|---|
| Run: A, 10, K, Q, J of trump | 15 |
| Double run: two of each of those | 150 |
| Royal marriage: K and Q of trump | 4 |
| Extra K or Q: of trump, with a single run | 2 each |
| Marriage: K and Q of another suit | 2 |
| Dix: the 9 of trump | 1 each |
| Pinochle: Q of spades and J of diamonds | 4 |
| Double pinochle: both of each | 30 |
| Aces around: an Ace of each suit | 10 |
| Kings around: a King of each suit | 8 |
| Queens around: a Queen of each suit | 6 |
| Jacks around: a Jack of each suit | 4 |
| Double around: two of every suit | 100, 80, 60, 40 |
| Roundhouse: a marriage in all four suits | 24 |
Our Classic rules: two of everything counts ten times (a double run 150, double aces 100, kings 80, queens 60, jacks 40), except a double pinochle, which is 30. A team that takes no tricks scores no meld. Some tables pass cards between partners after the bid, or bid in fives; those are house rules.
Key terms
- Meld:
- Scoring combinations in your hand, shown after the bid.
- Counters:
- Aces, 10s and Kings taken in tricks: a point each.
- Run:
- The Ace, 10, King, Queen and Jack of the trump suit.
- Marriage:
- A King and Queen of the same suit.
- Pinochle:
- The Queen of Spades with the Jack of Diamonds.
- Set:
- When the bidders fall short of their bid, and lose it.