56 card game
Fifty-six is a trick-taking card game popular in India. It belongs to a group of South Asian trick-taking games.[1] The number 56 represents the maximum points that a team can score in a single game.
 56 cards | |
| Origin | India |
|---|---|
| Type | Trick-taking |
| Players | 6 (variants: 4, 8) |
| Skills required | Memory, Tactics |
| Cards | 48 (for 6 player version) |
| Deck | French |
| Play | Counter-clockwise |
| Card rank (highest first) | J 9 A 10 K Q 8 7 |
| Playing time | 45 minutes - 2 hours (depending on number of games) |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Related games | |
| Twenty-eight (card game) | |
Search 56 card game on Amazon.
Origin
Fifty-six is said to have originated in India. It is similar to the game of 28[2][circular reference], which is also a trick-taking card game, but with half the number of points. 56 is hugely popular in the southern state of Kerala in South India, where it is also known as ambathiyaru.
Players and Cards[3]
56 is played by players taking alternating positions on each team at the table (4, 6 or 8 players). Deal and play are counter-clockwise. The game is played by extracting the following cards from two standard decks of 52 cards each (depending on the number of players).
J, 9, A, 10 (for 4, 6 and 8 player versions)
K, Q (only added for 6 and 8 player versions)
8, 7 (only added for 8 player version)
Points[4]
J = 3 points each
9 = 2 points each
A, 10 = 1 point each
K, Q, 8, 7 = 0 points
Priority[5]
Card priority is in the order of: J 9 A 10 K Q 8 7
Gameplay
The dealer shuffles the cards and distributes 8 cards to each player. Then the bidding starts with the player to the right of the dealer. During bidding, each player announces a bid in the format (number)(Trump suit/NT for No Trump). The number in the bid represents the estimated number of points that the team can win. If there is a trump suit, it means that this suit (e.g. Hearts/Spade/Clubs/Diamonds) carries more power than other suits during card play and the trick will be awarded to the player/team that plays the highest priority card in the trump suit.
Bidding has to be done in approved formats only and continues until one of the following conditions are met:
- 'Pass' by all other players, showing that they are in agreement to the last bid.
- One of the players redoubles.
Bidding is also intended for players within a team to understand the cards that other players in the team might have. This helps them to set the bid value and trump suit.
It is not permitted to communicate in any other format during gameplay (e.g. declaring the cards you have by verbal or non-verbal communication).
Once the bidding is over, card play starts with the first player discarding a card. Other players have to follow suit if they possess a card of the same suit. If they do not have a card of the same suit, they can either play another suit which may or may not be the trump suit (if a trump is set). At the end of each trick, the player who has played the card of highest priority gets to take all points from the trick. This player also gets to play next and discard the next card. This continues until the team that won the bid achieves the number of points bid – or the opposite team has won enough points to ensure that the bid-winning team cannot win the number of points bid.
The next game starts with the player to the right of the player that started the previous play. This continues until the target number of games is played. Usually 12 games are played to conclude one match in a 6 player game. Points of each game are added up as the match progresses and tallied at the end to declare the winning team.
Bidding
The bid can only be done in certain formats stipulated by the rule convention followed. There are slight variations between the 56 international rules and 56 Kerala rules.
Here are some examples of valid bids[6]:
- 28 Hearts
- Hearts 28
- +1 Hearts
- 28 NT (No Trump)
- 30 NS (Noes)
- Pass
Every bid has to increase the bid value by a minimum of 1 point (not applicable for 'Pass').
It is beneficial to understand the meaning of each bid and thereby understand the kind of cards that other players have. This will determine the strategy of each team to either continue or stop bidding.
Meaning of bids
- Number followed by suit indicates that you have a minimum of 4 cards in that suit, one of them being a Jack.
- Suit followed by number indicates that the player does not have the highest card but has other cards in the suit.
- Plus one, +2 etc. are jumps in bid to indicate that many number of additional higher value cards in the suit.
- Bid of No Trump shows general strength (3 or more Jacks but not many cards in a single suit).
- NS (Noes) indicates that the player has no cards in the suit previously bid (+1 NS indicate no cards in the suit bid previous to the last bid).
Double and Redouble
During the bidding phase, a player can bid 'Double' to indicate a challenge to the opposite team that they cannot achieve the number of points bid. A redouble represents a challenge back by the bid-winning team. Bidding ends as soon a 'Redouble' is done.
Card play
The goal of this phase for each team is to win the maximum number of tricks. The trick is won by the player (or team) that has discarded the highest priority card. If there are two cards of the same priority, then the points are awarded to the player who played the card first. Play is always in anti-clockwise direction. Card play continues until either the bid-winning team has won the number of points that they bid or when the opposite team has won enough points thereby preventing the bid-winning team from achieving their goal.
Scoring
Depending on the winning bid number, points are awarded to the winning team as follows:[7]
| Bid Points | If bid-winning team wins, they get | If opposite team wins, they get |
|---|---|---|
| 28-39 | 1 point | 2 points |
| 40-47 | 2 points | 3 points |
| 48-55 | 3 points | 4 points |
| 56 | 4 points | 5 points |
Additions in case of Double and Redouble
If the winning team has doubled, the number of points are also doubled.
If the winning team has redoubled, the number of points are multiplied by 3.
Maximum points
The maximum points that a team can get in a game is 15 (in the case where the bidding team bid 56, the opposite team doubled, then the bidding team redoubled and lost. The opposite team is now awarded 5*3 = 15 points).
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Variants
Twenty Eight
28 is a variant where the maximum number of points per game is half of 56, i.e. 28. It is also a trick-taking game but the trump is not disclosed in the beginning. Details of the game are mentioned here.
References
- ↑ "56 card game". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "twenty eight card game". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Rules of the 56 card game". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "56 points". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "priority". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Rules of the 56 card game". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Rules of the 56 card game". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "56 rules at pagat.com". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "56 rules at 56cardgameonline". Unknown parameter
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56 card game page
56 card game
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