Whist
Bid the game, call an ace for a secret partner, take the tricks.
4 players45-90 min
Overview
Danish whist (es-makker whist), the Danish card-club classic. Bid how many tricks you'll take and how — with your own trumps, vip, gode, stærke, halve or sans — or go for sol and take as few as possible. The winner calls an ace: whoever holds it is their secret partner until the ace is played. Exchange with the cat, play thirteen tricks, and the losers pay the winners from the Danish points table. After the set number of deals, the highest balance wins.
How it plays
- Four players, 13 cards each, plus three Jokers (the top trumps) and a 3-card cat.
- Bid 7 to 13 tricks. At the same number: ordinary < vip < gode (clubs trumps) < stærke (spades) < halve (the partner names trumps) < sans (no trumps).
- Negative games, played alone with no trumps and aces low: sol (take exactly 1 trick), ren sol (none), and bordlægger versions with your hand open after the first trick.
- The winning bidder calls an ace they don't hold; its holder is the secret partner. If the ace is in the cat, the bidder plays alone.
- The cat is offered to the bidder first, then round the table: pick it up, then put three cards down.
- Follow suit if you can. The called ace must be played the first time its suit is led. No Joker may be led to the first trick.
- Scoring: 7-8 tricks = 20, then doubling up to 640 for 13. Special games ×2, playing alone ×3. Sol 50, ren sol 100, bordlægger 150/200. Every loser pays every winner.
- Play 4, 8, 12 or 16 deals; Jokers, the special games, sans, sol and bordlægger are table options.