Trick-Taking games have been in Europe since the 14th century and in China long before that.
They’ve come a long way since.
Top 10 Trick-Taking Games
These are my top 10 trick-taking games that I have played. I didn’t include a traditional deck of cards games or ladder climbing games like Tichu.
How do trick-taking games work?
Trick-taking games are a type of card game that involve players winning tricks, or rounds of play, in order to score points. The basic mechanics of trick-taking games involve the following steps:
- Players get a hand of cards, usually from a standard deck of playing cards.
- The start player plays a lead card, and the other players must follow suit if they are able to. If a player cannot follow suit, then they may play any card.
- The highest card of the lead suit wins the trick. If a Trump card is played, which is a card that belongs to a designated trump suit, it will beat any card of a different suit.
- The player who wins the trick collects all the played cards and starts the next trick.
- The game continues until all the cards have been played.
- Sometimes the player with the most tricks is the winner. Other times tricks are worth points as are winning certain cards such as the Aces or Kings.
What is the most famous trick-taking card game?
One of the most famous trick-taking card games is Bridge.
Bridge is a trick-taking game played by four players in teams of two, with partners sitting across from each other. The game is played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards, with the cards ranked from high to low as the ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
The goal is for one team to win as many tricks as possible, and to score points based on the number of tricks and specific cards in those tricks.
The first phase is an auction phase where players bid on the number of tricks they think they can win. The player that bids the highest starts the game with a card and the other players must follow suit. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick unless a trump card is played.
Bridge is considered one of the most strategic card games strategy and skill required. It’s a popular game around the world and is recognised as a sport by the International Olympic Committee, although the European Court disagrees.
Is Uno a trick-taking game?
No, Uno is not a trick-taking game.
Uno is a card game that is played with a special deck of cards, each card has a colour and a number or special action on it. The objective of the game is to be the first player to get rid of all the cards in their hand.
In Uno, the objective is not to win tricks, but to get rid of all your cards as fast as possible.
If you like Uno, I would recommend checking out the slightly more advanced (and more fun) Pina Pirata.
List of Trick-Taking Games
Here is a list of the trick-taking games I have reviewed:
- The Bottle Imp
- Cat in the Box
- Chronicle
- The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine
- ebbes
- Diamonds
- Joraku
- Locke & Key: The Game
- Pikoko
- Pot de Vin
- Scout
- Sticheln
- Stichling
- Tichu
- Vivaldi
Jesta ThaRogue