Game Design Showdown July 2006 - New-52: Gone Fishing

Entry #1 - PIROGUE
(Admin Note: Word Count = 1360)

The Trinidad & Tobago Tarpon Tournament

INTRODUCTION: PIROGUE™ is a trick taking card game based on game fishing in Trinidad and Tobago. The name of the game, PIROGUE™, refers to the local hand-made wooden boats used for Tarpon fishing in the shallows off shore.

GAME: As in a game fishing tournament where prizes are awarded for both Best Boat and Best Angler, the game of PIROGUE™ is played in teams (PIROGUES) and as individual players (ANGLERS).
The goal of the game is to be the first team OR player to peg out. Thus there are two victory conditions: Either a team can win by pegging their required PIROGUE points (50No points). Or an individual player can win by pegging his required ANGLER points (60No points).
The first PIROGUE or ANGLER to score 3No game victories wins the tournament.

PLAYERS: 4No players, 2No in each PIROGUE sitting across from one another.

THE PEG BOARD: The peg board has 4No columns of 61No ANGLER peg-holes (one column for each player) and 2No columns of 51No PIROGUE peg-holes (one column for each team).

CARDS: 52 card deck, separated into 2No smaller decks:
DECK No.1: 2 thru 10, all suits.
DECK No.2: A, K, Q, J, all suits. (NB: Face cards never have rank or suit. They represent TARPON. The Aces are SHARK cards, and have rank and may have suit, see below.)

CARD DEFINITION: TARPON cards will refer to all face cards; SHARK cards will refer to all Aces.

RANK OF CARDS: Generally, card rank order is 10 high, 2 low, with the following exceptions:

Exception No. 1: If an ANGLER leads a card and any ANGLER follows suit such that the sum of all suited cards in play totals eleven (11), the ANGLER who played the card that made eleven (called the “HOOK CARD”) wins the trick and pegs 1No PIROGUE (team) point. Even if an ANGLER follows suit after the HOOK CARD has been played, the HOOK CARD still takes the trick, unless a SHARK card has been played. See Exception No. 2.

Example of Exception No 1:
Angler A: Leads 5 of hearts.
Angler B: Plays 4 of hearts.
Angler C: Plays 2 of hearts. (HOOK CARD)
Angler D: Plays 9 of hearts.

Result: ANGLER C wins the trick and pegs 2No PIROGUE points.

Exception No. 2: If a player cannot follow suit and plays a SHARK card (see GAME PLAY below), the first SHARK card played now becomes the highest card on the table. No other card can beat it. If a SHARK card is played either before or after a HOOK CARD, the player playing the HOOK CARD does not take the trick, but does instead pegs 2No ANGLER (individual) points.

Example of Exception No 2:
Angler A: Leads 9 of clubs.
Angler B: Plays ACE of diamonds.
Angler C: Plays 2 of clubs. (HOOK CARD)
Angler D: Plays 4 of clubs.

Result: ANGLER B wins the trick; ANGLER C pegs 1No ANGLER point.

THE DEAL: First Dealer is determined randomly.
DEAL No.1: Using Deck No. 1 distribute 9No cards in combinations of 1, 2, or 3 cards at a time, clockwise, to each player, beginning with the ANGLER to the left of the dealer.
DEAL No.2: Using Deck No. 2 distribute 4No cards, one at a time, clockwise, to each ANGLER, beginning with the ANGLER to the left of the dealer.

DEALER’S OPTION, TAG & RELEASE: After looking at his cards, the dealer can declare a TAG & RELEASE suit. If the dealer declares a TAG & RELEASE suit, the face cards of that suit have NO VALUE when scoring (see SCORING below).

GAME PLAY: Opening lead is made by the ANGLER to the left of the dealer after all the cards have been distributed and the Dealer chooses a TAG & RELEASE suit. The round is played out in a series of tricks. All cards may or may not be used for the round (see the THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY RULE).

The ANGLER must lead a non-TARPON card.
NB: TARPON cards can NEVER be lead. SHARK cards can be lead if they are the only cards left in an ANGLER’s hand. The SHARK card, when lead, is suited and counts as a one (1) when summing for the HOOK CARD. For example, if ANGLER A leads SHARK of hearts, and ANGLER B follows with the 10 of hearts, ANGLER A will win the trick, but ANGLER B pegs 1No ANGLER points.

A trick is won by the highest card each round (see CARD RANK above).
The winner of the trick leads the next round. If the winner of the trick holds only TARPON cards, he must declare so and he cannot lead. The ANGLER’s partner is then offered the lead. If the ANGLER’s partner cannot lead, the lead is offered to the ANGLER to the left of the original ANGLER, then to the opposing ANGLER’s partner.

Players must always follow suit when possible.
Notes on following suit:
a) If a player cannot follow suit, the player MUST play either a TARPON card or a SHARK card.
b) If a player can neither follow suit nor play TARPON or SHARK, the player MUST play any card of the same color as the lead suit AND peg backwards 1No ANGLER POINTS.
c) If a player can neither follow suit nor play TARPON or SHARK nor match the color of the lead suit, the player MUST play any remaining card AND peg backwards 2No ANGLER POINTS.

THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY RULE: If at any point in the game all four ANGLERS are holding TARPON cards alone, no one can lead. The round is ended; the unplayed TARPON cards are set aside and cannot be used in scoring.

SCORING AFTER EACH ROUND: MELD
Separate TARPON and SHARK cards from all numbered cards.
The following melds are scored AFTER the end of each round. The melds are made from the numbered cards “caught” (i.e. tricks taken) during the round. The points from the meld are pegged on the ANGLER’s column. Cards can only be used for one meld combination.

PIROGUE™ MELDS

Caribbean Meld Points
2No or 3No Cards Totaling 11 (mixed Black and Red) = No points
2No Cards Totaling 11, All Red or All Black = 1 point
3No Cards Totaling 11, All Red or All Black = 1 point
2No Cards Totaling 11, All same suit = 2 points
3No Cards Totaling 11, All same suit = 3 points

Tobago Meld Points
2-2-2-5 = 6
2-3-3-3 = 6

Trinidad Meld Points
2-2-3-4, any suit combination (mélange) = 3
Red [2]-Black [2-3-4] = 4
Black [2]-Red [2-3-4] = 4
All Red or All Black [2-2-3-4] = 6
Red [2]-Black Suited [2-3-4] = 8
Black [2]-Red Suited [2-3-4] = 8
Red [2]-Red Suited [2-3-4] = 10
Black [2]-Black Suited [2-3-4] = 10

Tarpon Meld Points
2-2-2-2-3 = 15

SCORING OF TARPON CARDS: TARPON cards count as 2No points each, unless the suit has been designated as TAG & RELEASE, then the TARPON cards have no value. The points for all “caught” TARPON cards are pegged collectively on the team’s PIROGUE column. (NB: SHARK cards have no scoring value.)

SCORING NOTES:
a) An ANGLER may peg out during a round of tricks to win the game.
b) Any HOOK CARD points not claimed during the round, can be claimed by a member in the opposite PIROGUE before the play of the first card of the next round.
c) If two or more ANGLERS individually peg out at the end of the same round, the highest final point total wins. If still a tie, the ANGLER with the higher PIROGUE points wins. If still a tie, each ANGLER receives a game victory.
d) If both PIROGUES peg out at the same time, the higher final point total wins. If still a tie, the PIROGUE with the higher COMBINED point total of each individual ANGLER wins. If still a tie, each PIROGUE receives a game victory.

GAME END: The game ends when either one ANGLER or PIROGUE pegs 60 or 50 points, respectively.

TOURNAMENT END: The tournament ends when either one ANGLER or one PIROGUE has won three games.

Entry #3 - Bait & Tackle

Players: 3-7
Time: quick
Components: 2 decks of cards (no jokers)

Setup

Choose one person to be the dealer. They shuffle both decks together into one big deck, and deal out 12 cards to each player. Put the remaining cards in the middle as the draw deck (The Lake). The player to the dealer's left goes first.

Play

The active player draws the top card from The Lake and places it in the middle of the table. This is the Fish. Going clockwise starting with the active player, each player lays down one card on the Fish. This is their Bait.

Whoever played the highest card of the Fish's suit catches the Fish, taking all cards played (Fish included). Playing a card of a different suit can't win the Fish (it is not interested in that bait), unless nobody played a card of the correct suit, in which case the highest card takes it (it's a hungry fish). In the event of a tie, the winner is the person who played their card first (their bait was closer to the fish!).

When you catch a fish, you have the choice of taking any number of the cards you won and laying them face up in front of you as Tools. Put the rest aside for scoring, in your Catch. The person who catches the Fish is the active player for the next round.

The game is over once everyone is out of cards (all will run out on the same hand).

Tools

You discard a Tool (permanently, it does not go into the play area or into your Catch) to use it. Each suit has a different purpose:

Diamond - bribe the judges with this lovely diamond, by discarding it when you play your card. It adds 2 to the value of the card you played, if it was the correct suit (e.g. making a 10 count as a Queen, making an Ace count as two notches better than an Ace).
Heart - You may not have the right bait, but by gum, you've got heart! You'll catch that fish anyway! Discard when playing your card to make an incorrect suit work as the correct suit.
Spade - dig up worms with the handy spade. Use this before a Fish is dealt to swap any one card from your hand with one card from your Catch.
Club - You may club any other player as soon as they play their card, forcing them to withdraw the card they played (returning it to their hand) and play a different one of their choice. If they only have one card, they obviously must just replay the same card.

Scoring

When the game is over, everyone sorts their Catch into red and black. Red cards are worth 3 points each, black cards are worth 2. Most points wins!

Entry #5 - THE GREAT LAKES FISH OUT!

Wait for the right time, and you could be haulin’ in the Bass by the truckloads. But wait too long, and someone else is going to get your prime fishing spot. And look out for the Minnows; unless you get a full family of them, the judges don’t look too kindly on people catching those little guys.

For Four Players.

FISH OUT! is played in a series of games, until one player scores 50 points, who is declared King Fisher!

The center of the table is the LAKE.

The cards represent FISH.

Players “STOCK THE LAKE” with Fish by placing cards into the center of table. All Fish stocked to the Lake are played face up in any reasonable way so that card ranks and suits are visible.

Players “FISH OUT” the Lake by collecting all of the cards from the Lake which all match a chosen suit.

A game is played with a standard 52-card deck which is shuffled and dealt face-down to all players. After looking at their cards, players select three cards and pass them face down to a different player each round, as is common in Spades.

A game is played in a series of Tricks. The player with the 2 of Clubs starts the first round by playing the 2 of Clubs. A trick is defined loosely here, as some tricks will have no cards taken by players, and in others, multiple players will take up cards. Cards remain on the table until a player Fishes Out a suit.

During a trick, each player in turn plays a card face-up from their hand. Players do not have to follow suit. After all players have played their cards, players who have played the highest ranking card of each suit keep their card; all players otherwise must stock the Lake.
Cards are ranked as Ace low/King High.

EXAMPLE:
Joe plays 10 of Hearts.
Wanda plays 3 of Hearts.
Anna plays 6 of Spades.
Marty plays Jack of Diamonds.

Joe has the highest Heart, beating Wanda; Joe keeps his heart while Wanda places her card in the Lake. Anna and Marty both have the highest rank in their suits because their suits are uncontested by other players and keep their cards.

For those players who still hold their card, they may decide to either stock the Lake with it, or Fish Out all of the cards from the Lake that have the same suit of their card. When Fishing Out, the player collects all of the cards of their matching suit (including the card they hold) and places those cards face up in front of them in a stack. Each suit should be in its own stack.

However, there are three restrictions to Fishing Out:
1) If the Lake has no cards with the suit of the card played, the player cannot Fish Out and MUST stock the Lake with his card.

2) A player can only Fish Out a maximum of 4 times per game, once for each suit (check the stacks of Fished Out cards in front of them).

EXAMPLE:
Joe Fished Out spades on a previous trick in this game, all subsequent spades played by Joe in this game must be used to stock the Lake.

3) On the last trick of a game, the player does not have the option of stocking the Lake or Fishing Out. The player MUST Fish Out if the player meets the above requirements. Otherwise, he stocks the Lake.

The player who Fished Out the most cards begins the next trick. If no one Fished Out, then the player who started the last trick leads again. If there is a tie for the most cards Fished Out, then the player who tied for the most who is closest clockwise to the player who began the last trick leads.

After all cards have been played, players are scored based on the Fish in their stacks. There may be unclaimed Fish in the Lake.

SCORING (Pre-playtesting, first-guess):
Each Ace scores -9, unless a player has all four Aces, then the four Aces score a total of +18 instead.

Each Jack, Queen, and King scores +3 points.

All other cards score +1 point.

Entry #7 - Big Game Deep Fishing

for 3-4 players

Contents:

One deck of 52 standard playing cards

Aim:

To score the most points by catching fish cards with their bait cards over 10 rounds of play.

Setup:

Shuffle the deck and deal 10 'bait' cards face down to each player. Players pick up their cards into their hands. Deal 10 'fish' cards in a row (the deep sea) on the table, all face up except the 5th and 10th cards which are dealt face down (mystery fish). Any remaining cards are put to one side out of play.

Sequence of Play:

The player who most recently went fishing (in real life or by playing a board game) begins the first round of play. Each subsequent round is started by the player who won the last trick (i.e. caught the last fish).

In each round, the starting player places a bait card from their hand face up on the table in front of them. Each other player going clockwise does the same. When all players have played a card, the trick is won (fish is caught) by the player who played the highest value card (ace=1, jack/queen/king=10). If the fish card for that round is face up then a 'trump' suit is applicable that matches its suit (face down fish have no trump suit). Ties are broken by the starting player going clockwise. The winning player takes the fish card from the central row for that round and keeps it in a face down pile by their side. All bait cards played in that round are then discarded.

End of the Game:

When the 10th fish is caught it is the end of the game. Each player reveals their caught fish cards and tallies up their score as follows:

1pt for each fish they caught
1pt for having the most weight of fish in each suit (ace=1, jack/queen/king=10). Ties get 1pt each.

The player with the most points wins the game.

Theme notes:

Each card in the central row represent different types of fish:

ace= anchovy
2 = sardine
3 = herring
4 = mackerel
5 = flounder
6 = plaice
7 = ray
8 = bass
9 = cod
10 = tuna
jack = barracuda
queen = swordfish
king = marlin

The suits of the cards played by players represent the different types of bait and the suit of each fish represents that fish's preferred bait (i.e. trump suit):

hearts = rag worms
diamonds = grubs
clubs = clams
spades = shrimps

Entry #9 - Hook and Sinker.

A fishing tournament for 2 to 4 players.

The Deck:
Standard deck of 52 cards. The suits represent both different types of fish and the bait/lures and they prefer.
Cards are ranked 2 through ace. In cases of cards with the same rank, the eldest card counts as higher than later ones of the same rank.

The twos are called hooks. They're wild (can be played no matter what suit was led) and always trump. But they're low trump.
The threes are called sinkers. They're also wild and a kind of trump, but they hold the cards for the next trick rather than helping to take tricks.
Aces are trophies (the biggest fish) and also represent the secret sweet spots where they lurk, and which you have discovered. They're worth the most points, so try to pick the perfect time to go to that sweet spot to ensure you land the big one.

Aces are worth 15, the tens and face cards are worth 10, and the rest are worth 5.

The Deal:
Create a dummy hand in addition to the player's hands. Deal out all of the cards, giving any extra cards to the dummy.
2 players: 17 each, 18 dummy.
3 players: 13 each, 13 dummy.
4 players: 10 each, 12 dummy.

Beginning on the dealer's left, players bid for the privilege of naming trump (the bait that everything's hitting this hand) or pass. The bid represents the number of points the player must take in play. Continue around until all pass. If no one bids, the hand is played with no trump suit (but twos and threes are still trump). Tip: the more high cards you have in hand, the fewer "feeding frenzy" rounds (see below) will come up, so bid accordingly.

Play:
Each round begins with "the stocker" -- a card played from the dummy's hand, and play continues starting with the first player and going clockwise. The player to the dealer's left is initially the first player. Thereafter, the player who wins a trick becomes the first player for the next trick. Players must either follow the suit, if possible. Wild cards are suitless and are never forced to be played.

There are two types of rounds: regular and feeding frenzy. The stocker determines the type of the round.

Regular Round:
If the stocker is a number card, it is the lead card (for following suit), and it represents the fish that will be caught that round. It is the only card to be scored. The cards the players play are discarded; they only determine who gets the score card.

After all players have played a card, the trick is scored.

• If any trophies (aces) were played (not counting the stocker), the last ace played is placed on top of the dummy's hand for the dummy to play to start the next trick. That ace doesn't count for determining who takes the current trick (although other aces do).
• If any sinkers (threes) are played (not counting the stocker), the stocker is set beside the dummy's hand to be awarded to the player who takes the next trick. The player who played the eldest sinker becomes the first player for the next trick. Sinkers have no effect (except as being a three of trump) on the last trick.
• If no sinkers were played, the highest trump takes the trick. If no trump were played, the highest card of the suit led takes the trick. If no cards of the suit led were played, then the highest card played takes the trick.

Feeding Frenzy Round:
If the stocker is a face card, this is a "feeding frenzy" round. The dummy's card is removed and the winner of the round scores all cards played by the players. The first player may play any card he or she likes. That card sets the suit for the round.

When all players have played a card to the trick, the trick is scored as before. If a sinker is played, all the cards are set aside for the next trick (except on the last trick). Otherwise, the winner of the trick gets all the cards played (but not the stocker).

Ending the Hand:
After the last trick (when the players' hands are exhausted), players score their score piles. If the high bidder missed his or her bid, he is set back the bid amount instead.

Play a set number of hands, or until a set score is reached.

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Entry #11 - Go Fish!

A game for 3 to 5 players

The aim of the game is to have the best catch. You score for the quantity and quality of your fish (runs and sets) in your catch basket.

Take two decks of standard playing cards. Remove the Aces, Kings and Queens. Each player receives one Ace, King and Queen. These represent the lures they will be using to try and catch the best fish. Remove any unused Aces, Kings and Queens from the game.

Shuffle the remaining cards together. Begin by dealing X cards to each player (6 for three players, 5 for four players, 4 for five players.) The players keep these cards face-down in front of them but may look at them at any time – this is their initial “catch basket”.

Choose a starting player and give them some sort of marker.

Begin by dealing five face-up cards in a line - this is the display. Each player chooses a lure and plays it face-down. The lures are revealed simultaneously. Aces are resolved first, then Kings and then Queens.

A player that played their Ace may choose a card in the display OR the discard pile and add it to their pile. However, they must then add a different card from their catch basket to the display. They then return the Ace to their hand. If multiple players played Aces, then cards are resolved in clockwise order from the start player.

A player that played their King may take all but one of the cards in the display OR the discard pile and add them to the catch basket. They must then add their King lure and the remaining card to the discard pile. If multiple players played Kings then the first player clockwise beginning with the start player has the option to take the cards; if they do not, then the choice passes to the next King player. Once a King player has taken cards, the King phase ends. All King players who didn’t get cards return their King lures to their hand.

A player that played their Queen may take all the cards in the discard pile and add them to their catch basket. They must then add their Queen lure to the discard pile. If multiple players played Queens then the first player clockwise beginning with the start player has the option to take the cards; if they do not, then the choice passes to the next Queen player. Once a Queen player has taken the discards, the Queen phase ends. All Queen players who didn’t get cards return their Queen lures to their hand.

The start player marker is passed clockwise. If there are any cards still in the display, they are puttinto the discard pile and a new round begins.

There are twelve rounds. In a three-player game, two cards will be left over. They are added to the discard pile (and therefore may be claimed by a player using their Queen card.)

Players now sort their catches into runs (sequential series of cards) or sets (cards of the same type), although each card may only form part of one run or set. Scoring is triangular: 1=1,2=3,3=6,4=10 and 5+=15. King and Queen lures may be used in scoring but not Aces. The winner is the player with the highest score.

Entry #13 - Drywater River Fishing Competition

3-6 players

Players compete in a fishing contest, trying to capture four different kinds of fish (represented by the four suits): rainbow trout (diamonds), catfish (clubs), carp (hearts) and pike (spades). Using the right bait (same suit as the fish to be captured) and placing their lines closer to the prey (the lower the played card value, the shorter the distance), competitors will try to beat their rivals. But some fish are small (J), some medium-sized (Q) and some big (K), and there are special point awards for different sets, so competitors need to manage their resources to get the most valuable prey.

Components:
2 decks of poker cards.

Setup:
The cards are divided in two decks: A-10 and Jokers (bait cards) and J, Q, K (fish cards).
The bait cards are shuffled, and 8 cards are dealt to each player. The rest is placed on the table as a reserve pile.
The fish cards are shuffled, placed face down on the table, and the topmost is turned face up (this is the first fish to be captured).

Game-play:
Competitors play, clockwise, one face up card each. The suit represents the type of bait: to catch a fish you need to use the right bait (same suit). The card value represents how close from the fish the fisherman is throwing his line. Lower values beat higher values (Aces = 1). Jokers are special bait, and beat any regular bait (at any distance).
The player that wins the trick takes the fish, and a new fish-card is turned face up for the next round.
All players replenish their hands from the reserve pile.
The winner of the previous round plays first.
Turns go on until all fish are captured. If the bait-card reserve runs out, the played cards are reshuffled to form a new reserve pile.

Scoring:
Once the fish are over, scores are calculated:
Each fish has an inherent value: J=1, Q=2, K=3.
And there are some extra awards for special sets:
3 fish of the same type but different sizes (J, Q, K, suited) = 5 points.
4 fish of the same size but different types (4J, 4Q or 4K of different suits) = 5 points.
All the fish of any type (the 6 J, Q and K of any suit) = 10 points.
All the fish of any size (the 8 J, Q or K) = 10 points.

The player with the highest score wins.

Entry #15 - LUNKER

A trick-taking card game for four to eight players, playing in partners.

Success in a bass fishing tournament depends on finding a "pattern." You must recognize what's making the fish bite today and position yourself to take advantage of it.

In each trick, players strive to ensure their team has played the highest card in the trick's most-played suit.

Players are said to be pursuing a particular strategy, depending on the suit they play:

* Spades ("Shad"). Find the prey and you'll find the bass. * Clubs ("Weeds"). Track the bass to where they lurk.
* Diamonds ("Lures"). Clever flashes of colour can tempt the sleepiest fish.
* Hearts ("Heart"). Finesse and the right attitude have carried many tournament challengers through to victory.

Each hand represents a single tournament.

Preparation

You need 3 decks. Divide them into:

The Player's Deck. Two normal decks. Remove all face cards, aces and one set of hearts.

The Bite Deck. A small deck containing only the 3-9 in hearts.

The Bass Deck. A deck representing keepers and undersized fish. It includes all face cards from two decks, one Ace of Spades, and all 36 numbered cards from the third deck.

Dealing a Hand

Bite Deck

The dealer reveals 2 cards from the Bite Deck. If the cards are far apart, the fish are active and many will be caught. If the cards are close, the lake has shut down and every hooked fish will be precious.

Cards in your hand that match or fall between the values drawn from the Bite Deck are called "bites." For example, if the Bite Deck shows a 3 and 5, then the 3s, 4s, and 5s in any suit are "bites." Scoring is based on these cards.

Player's Deck

Deal 7 cards to each player.

Partners exchange 2 cards. This gives you some knowledge of your partner's hand.

Playing a trick

The dealer leads any card from his hand. Play proceeds clockwise.

Generally, you may play any card to a trick.

However, if you have a bite in the suit just played, you must follow suit.

For example, the Bite Deck shows 5-7. The dealer leads the 2 of clubs. The next player has no clubs, and plays the 9 of diamonds. The following player has the 4 and 5 of diamonds in his hand. The 5 of diamonds is a bite, so he must play one of these diamonds. He may pick which one.

What's this rule do? It can help you create the majority you want, expose the contents of your opponent's hand, or draw bites to a majority you're winning.

You cannot play a card to a trick if the identical card is already there. If you must, then slough it (play it upsidedown to no effect.)

Changing the Bite Deck

If you play a 2 in any suit, the weather shifts and you must immediately draw one Bite Deck card. Use it to replace one of the current Bite Deck cards.

Everyone will now have different bites in their hand, and the current trick will change in value.

Winning the trick

The person who played the highest card in the majority suit wins the trick.

For example, if three clubs, two hearts and a diamond are played, the highest club takes the trick.

Breaking ties

If there's a tie involving hearts, hearts wins. (There are fewer hearts in the deck, but they're more powerful in a pinch.)

Remaining ties are broken by:

* the number of bites in the suit; * the sum of the card values in the suit; and finally,
* traditional suit ranks (spades, diamonds, clubs).

Catching Fish

The winner of the trick draws one card from the Bass Deck for each bite in the trick. Draw one card at a time.

Each team may only keep four fish per hand, and you must decide immediately whether to keep or discard a fish. Think you can do better? Decide without consulting your partner.

Scoring the Hand

After the last trick, each team calculates its total fish weight in ounces. You can't complain about these ridiculous values unless your country uses the metric system.

The base weights are:
Jack-32 oz, Queen-48 oz, King-64 oz (a "lunker").

Suits provide bonus weight: diamonds (+6), hearts (+12), spades (+18).

The Ace of Spades is known as Ole Granddad. It weighs 80 ounces.

The team with the highest total weight wins the hand, scoring 30 points. The team with the heaviest fish scores an additional 10 points. Split the prizes in case of ties.

The game consists of seven hands. Hands 4-6 are known as the "regionals" and point values double. The last hand is the "national" and it's worth triple points.

2-Deck Streamlined Variation

Omit the Bass Deck. Tournaments are won by bites alone.

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