Romanian Whist rules

Every player gets at most 8 cards, so the deck depends on the table. Aces are high.

• 4 players: 32 cards, 7 to Ace
• 5 players: 40 cards, 5 to Ace
• 6 players: 48 cards, 3 to Ace

The game opens with one 8-card round for each player, counts down 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, plays one 1-card round for each player, climbs back up 2 to 7 and ends with one 8-card round for each player. A four-handed game is 24 rounds, five-handed 27, six-handed 30.

In the 8-8-8 variant the 1-card rounds are played with 8 cards instead; nothing else changes.

The deal passes to the next player every round. Once the cards are dealt, the next card of the deck is turned up and its suit is trumps for the round. In the 8-card rounds the whole deck is dealt, so they are played with no trumps.

Starting after the dealer, each player bids how many tricks they will take, from zero to the number of cards in the round. The dealer bids last and may not make the bids add up to the number of cards — so at least one player at the table will miss.

The first bidder leads the first trick; whoever wins a trick leads the next.

• You must follow the suit that was led.
• If you can’t, you must play a trump if you have one.
• Only with neither may you play any card.

The highest trump takes the trick; with no trump in it, the highest card of the suit led.

Take exactly what you bid and score 5 plus your bid. Miss, over or under, and lose the difference.

• Bid 3, took 3: +8
• Bid 0, took 0: +5
• Bid 2, took 4: −2
• Bid 1, took 0: −1

The highest total after the last round wins. On onlinewhist.com a tie on points goes to the player who broke fewer contracts, then fewer in the 8-card rounds, then missed fewer tricks in all, then had the smaller worst miss.