Section 4: Gameplay
Playing a trick
The opening leader plays any card. The other players play one card each in clockwise order. The suit of the first card is the suit led. Once all four cards have been played, determine the winner, gather the trick for that partnership, and have the winner lead the next trick.
Obligations when playing
- Follow suit: If able, a player must play a card of the suit led.
- Beat the winning card: When following suit, a player must play a card high enough to beat the highest card of that suit already played if able to do so.
- Trump when void: If unable to follow the suit led but holding trump, the player must play a trump.
- Overtrump when able: If the trick has already been trumped, a player required to play trump must beat the highest trump already played if able.
- Discard when free: A player with neither the suit led nor any trump may play any card.
These duties apply even when a player's partner is currently winning the trick. A player may not intentionally underplay when holding a card that is legally required to beat the current winner.
Determining the winner
- If one or more trumps were played, the highest trump wins.
- If no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led wins.
- Cards of other non-trump suits cannot win.
- Between identical cards, the copy played earlier wins.
Legal play and corrections
A card is played when released face up into the trick. If a player notices an illegal play before the trick is gathered, restore the cards and require a legal card; information revealed by the exposed card remains known. If a revoke is discovered after later play has begun, casual groups should correct the hand when practical or apply a previously agreed penalty. A simple house remedy is to award the non-offending team the hand's last-trick point and enough additional trick points to cancel any advantage gained.
Completing the hand
Play continues for twelve tricks, leaving every player with no cards. Partnerships keep their captured tricks separate until the trick-point count has been checked. Meld cards do not belong to a partnership's captured pile unless that partnership actually wins them in tricks.
Good table practice
- Play one card at a time in proper clockwise order.
- Leave each completed trick face up until its winner is clear.
- Do not review earlier tricks after they have been gathered unless correcting an error.
- Announce totals clearly and allow both teams to verify the score before the next deal.