The 29-card game is an Indian trick game, also widely popular in many parts of South Asia, such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Malaysia, amongst many other countries. It originates from the family of European games, called Jass games. Just like many other trick-taking games, this one is also played in partnership/team.
It is a four-player game played in two partnerships. It consists of a 52-card deck, out of which only 32 are used. Let us tell you the details of the 29-card game, such as the basic rules of the 29-card game, how to play, strategy, and so on.
The objective of the Game
The 29 card game is considered one of the best card games to churn your brains. The main objective is to win tricks with valuable cards, which means winning four cards, one from each player. The player possessing the card with the highest value wins the trick and is entitled to win all the cards in that round.
According to the rules of the 29-card game, the player who wins the bid is the winner of the existing turn The bid winner must choose the trump suit and, along with their partner, try to win as many points as they have bid in order to win the game. The goal is to win a set by winning 6 games.
Deck Setup
According to the rules of the 29-card game, it is played with a deck of 52 cards, out of which 32 are used, dividing them equally among the four players. Therefore, each player gets 8 cards. Following is the rank of the cards:
J (thes highest), 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8, and 7 (the lowest)
Card values
In the 29-card game, only 32 cards are used from the deck of 52 cards. The cards are J, 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8, and 7. Here, J has the highest ranking, while 7 has the lowest rank.
The card values are as follows:
| Card Name | Points |
| Jack | 3 |
| Nines | 2 |
| Aces | 1 |
| Tens | 1 |
| King, Queen, 8, and 7 | 0 |
The total points of the 32 cards sum up to 28. While in some variations of the game, the points may add up to 29 due to a special rule for the last trick; this can be configured in the game from the Rules Popup as shown here. The deck is finalised after removing the 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s of every suit. The 6s are also removed but are kept separately from the other removed cards to maintain the set score.
Number of Players
The 29-card game is a partnership game that can be played with 4 people, forming a partnership of two. The partners in the same team face each other during the game, taking a cardinal direction. Thus, the players sitting in the North and South are a team, whereas the players seated in the East and West are partners.
How to Play 29 Card Game
Let us now give you an in-depth explanation of how to play 29 card game so you can understand the methodology and strive to win the trick. Here are some essential 29-card game rules and tips to remember.
- The teams are formed, and the player who will be the dealer for the first game is decided before the game begins.
- The dealer must distribute 4 cards to each player at the beginning of the bidding.
- To the right of the dealer, the player must begin the bid.
- The minimum bid that can be placed is 16. (Some players follow a rule in which the first player must place a bid of at least 16). The other players/challengers can then raise the bid.
- Whoever wins the bid gets to choose the trump card, which must not be shown to other players.
- The maximum bid can be 28 or 29 depending on whether the last trick has 1 extra point or not. (Technically, the maximum bid can be 32 or 33 due to pair/marriage, as explained here.)
- Another 4 cards are given to each player at the end of the bidding.
- The game starts with the player sitting to the right of the dealer.
- After all the eight tricks are over, the total points collected by the bid-winning team are counted to check if they made more than the points they had bid.
The Deal
The dealer shuffles the deck and distributes four cards to each player. The four cards can be distributed in many ways. A common way to distribute is to distribute the top four cards of the shuffled deck to the player on the right and then the next four cards to the next player (in counterclockwise order) and similarly to all four players.
The Bidding
The 29-card game is played counterclockwise, i.e., the player to the right takes the next turn.
The players begin by placing a bid to elect Trump. A bid is a number that represents the number of points that a person thinks their partnership/team can score. The highest bidder wins, and the game begins with the player to the right of the dealer. Players can either raise the bid or pass. The bids continue until 3 players pass. In case everyone passes, the dealer must reshuffle the cards and start bidding again. The bidding process is explained here with an example.
The Play
The game begins with the player to the right of the dealer leading the first trick. The following players must play cards of the ‘lead suit’. The winner of each trick leads to the first trick of the next round. In the beginning, the trump suit is hidden from everyone other than the bidder. The player who fails to follow suit must ask the bidder to declare the trump suit. The player who asked for the trump to be revealed must play a trump card at this point, and if they do not have a trump card, they can play any card.
Beginning with the trick during which the trump suit is declared, each trick is won by the highest trump or the highest card of the lead suit if there are no trumps.
The Scoring
After the completion of 8 tricks, each team must count the card points it has won in tricks. If the bidding team takes card points equivalent to their bid, they win one game point.
The teams can keep score using the red or black six from the unused cards in the game. These cards are arranged to show red pips, which represent a positive score, or black pips, which show a negative score. Pips are not displayed at the beginning of the game. They are revealed as the players win or lose a point. To end the game, either a team must have +6 points or -6 points. The set scoring is explained here with an example.
Conclusion
The 29-card game is a strategic game that requires the team to win tricks in hand. We hope that this guide on how to play a 29-card game helps you understand the basic rules and win the tricks strategically. One must never forget to bid strategically and consider points in hand to set the tone of the game.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How is the deck structured in the 29-card game?
In the 29-card game, the deck is structured with 32 cards out of the 52 cards by removing the 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 6s.
2. How are the cards ranked in 29 cards?
In the 29-card game, the deck ranking is J (highest), 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8, and 7. Out of the 52 card decks, only 32 are used, and 8 are distributed to each of the 4 players.
3. Can the 29-card game be played with fewer than four players?
No, the 29-card game cannot be played with less than 4 players, as it has to be played with 4 players in a partnership of two each.
