A trick-taking game where you never know what you'll get. v1.0 by Nycki, 2025.
Summary: play rounds of 5 tricks, with each trick being a high-card competition. The first team to 10 points wins the game.
Set up: Pick out the 9, 10, J, Q, K, A of each suit, plus one Joker, for 25 cards in total. Only these cards will be used. Choose a player to deal first, deal rotates clockwise.
Each round: Shuffle 25 cards and deal 5 to each player. The remaining 5 cards are left in the middle, called the Boneyard.
Dealer turns one bone face up. Starting on dealer's left, each player in turn may choose to Take It or Leave It. If all four players Leave It, collect the cards and re-deal. The taking player is now the Maker.
The Maker now takes the face-up card and places it in front of them, and then discards a card from their hand face down. The taken card sets the trump suit for this round. It also sets a round modifier, see below.
The Maker leads the first trick, by playing any card from their hand. The face up card is considered to be part of their hand, at all times. All other players, moving clockwise, must play a card of the same suit, if able. If they are not able, they may play any other card instead. The winner is whoever plays the highest card while following suit. Exception: if a player plays out of suit, but their card is also the trump suit, then they win the trick instead. If there are multiple trump cards, the highest one wins. Whoever wins the first trick leads the second trick, and so on until the fifth trick.
The Jack of trumps becomes the right bower this round, higher than an ace. The other jack of the same color becomes the left bower, higher than an ace but lower than the right bower. The joker, or benny, is always the highest card of trump, above the right bower.
Makers get 1 point if they win 3 of 5 tricks, or 2 points if they win 5 tricks. Defenders get 2 points if makers win 2 or fewer tricks. If any team is at 10 points or more, the team with the highest score wins, otherwise begin a new round.
- Nine of Spades: Copycats. Flip over one bone card, all tens are treated as a copy of that card.
- Nine of Hearts: Meet Cute. Flip over two more cards and use both effects.
- Nine of Clubs: Golf Club. The order of cards within each suit is reversed, except for the bowers and the benny.
- Nine of Diamonds: Collect Call. Maker takes one card from each player, then gives one card to each player, their choice.
- Ten of Spades: Grave robber. Once per round, after a trick is scored, maker's partner may take a card from that trick and place it in their hand.
- Ten of Hearts: Sweet Nothings. Maker and maker's partner may exchange one card with each other.
- Ten of Clubs: Therapy Club. All non-makers must reveal a card face up, of their choice.
- Ten of Diamonds: Lucky Penny. Maker's partner places a bone face down in front of them. They may play that card in any trick. They do not get to look at it first.
- Jack of Spades: Party Crasher. Leader's partner plays last, instead of third.
- Jack of Hearts: Polycule. Flip over two bone cards, and add both of their modifiers to this round.
- Jack of Clubs: Strip Club. When a Queen wins a trick, that team immediately gets one extra point.
- Jack of Diamonds: Fool's Gold. Once per round, maker's partner may play a card of any suit as if it were itself-and-a-half of the led suit (the fool's ten of hearts beats the real ten of hearts).
- Queen of Spades: Shoot The Moon. Makers get two points if they lose all five tricks.
- Queen of Hearts: Heartbreaker. Players are not required to follow suit this round.
- Queen of Clubs: Fight Club. There is no trump suit this round.
- Queen of Diamonds: Square Deal. Aces and 9s have each other's value this round.
- King of Spades: Scheme. Flip over a bone card, and add its modifier to this round and the next round.
- King of Hearts: Soul Mate. the Ace of the off-suit is now considered to be the Ace-and-a-half of trumps, similar to the left bower.
- King of Clubs: Club Sandwich. If allied players play any matching pair (for instance, two jacks), treat the second played card as the Ace-and-a-half of trumps.
- King of Diamonds: Mad Genius. If you and your partner play a 9 and 10 in any order, treat the 9 as the Benny-and-a-half of trumps.
- Ace of Spades: Assassin. The Benny is now the lowest-ranked card, instead of the highest.
- Ace of Hearts: Fusion. Whenever a player wins a trick, they may decline to lead the next trick. Their partner leads instead.
- Ace of Clubs: Spiked Club. If defenders win this round, they get 1 fewer point.
- Ace of Diamonds: High Stakes. If makers win, they get 1 additional point.
- Joker: Dummy. Maker's partner lays their hand face up. Maker chooses all plays for their partner.