Clockwise play. Bids from 16 to 28. Hidden trump, revealed automatically at the first failure to follow suit. There are 28 card points and no last-trick bonus. Pair declarations, doubles, redoubles, seventh-card trump and single-hand play are not included.
1. Know your cards
Use the 7, 8, Q, K, 10, A, 9 and J in each of the four suits. Card strength is unusual: J is strongest, then 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8 and 7. A stronger card only wins when it belongs to the relevant suit.
| Rank, strongest first | Points per card |
|---|---|
| J | 3 |
| 9 | 2 |
| A | 1 |
| 10 | 1 |
| K, Q, 8, 7 | 0 |
A trick means one card from each of the four players. Winning a trick collects the points in all four cards, not just the winner’s card.
2. Find your partner
Your partner sits opposite you. On our table, you and North are one team. East and West are the other. Your team shares the card points you collect.
3. Bid with your first four cards
Each player receives four cards before the auction. Starting after the dealer, take turns clockwise to raise the bid or pass. A bid is a promise that your team can collect at least that many card points. Each new bid must be higher than the current bid.
The auction ends after three consecutive passes following a bid, or immediately at 28. A pass does not permanently remove you from our auction. If nobody has bid and the first three players pass, the dealer takes a forced bid of 16.
4. Choose the hidden trump
The highest bidder selects a suit using only the first four cards. The remaining four cards are then dealt to everyone. Only the bidder knows the trump until it is revealed. The player after the dealer leads, even if someone else won the auction.
5. Follow the suit that was led
If the first card is a club and you have a club, you must play a club. If you have none, you may play any card. On this beginner table, the first player who cannot follow suit automatically reveals trump before playing. There is no obligation to play a trump.
Before reveal, the highest card in the led suit wins. From the trick where trump is revealed, the highest trump in that trick wins; if no trump appears, the highest card of the led suit wins. The winning player leads the next trick.
6. Count the deal, then the match
After eight tricks, the two teams’ card points total 28. If the bidding team meets its bid, it gains one match point. If it falls short, it loses one match point. The defending team’s match score does not change. A team wins the match at +6, or loses at −6.
Why is it called 29 if there are 28 points?
Some tables give one bonus point to the winner of the final trick. Our table does not. Agree on house rules before playing elsewhere: regional versions also differ in bidding, trump reveal and pair bonuses.
Rules reference
This site uses a declared beginner variant. Compare regional versions in Pagat’s Twenty-Nine reference and the Card Game 29 description. We are independent of those publishers.