Romanian Whist

Romanian Whist is a trick-taking game for 3-6 players where winning the most tricks is exactly the wrong goal. Each round you predict how many tricks you'll take - and you only score if you hit that number precisely. One too many hurts just as much as one too few.

HOW A GAME GOES

Rounds start with a single card each, climb to eight, and come back down again. The deck resizes to the size of your table, so the cards stay meaningful whether there are three of you or six.

After the deal, one card is turned face up to set the trump - except in the eight-card rounds, where every card is dealt and there is no trump at all.

Then the bidding, and the twist that makes the game: the last player to bid is forbidden from making the numbers add up neatly. Someone at the table is always going to be wrong.

THREE WAYS TO PLAY

• Solo - against AI opponents that count the cards, work out who has run out of which suit, and read what the bidding gives away • Pass and play - three to six people, one device, no setup • Online - create a room, share the link, play with friends anywhere

WHERE IT GETS TENSE

• Make your bid exactly and you score five points plus your bid. Miss it and you lose the difference. • String enough correct bids together and you earn a bonus - a run worth protecting, and worth breaking. • If every player misses in the same round, the round is void. Fresh cards, same dealer, nothing scored. • At the halfway point you can declare you are Playing for Zero. Finish the game on exactly nothing and you win outright, whoever is ahead. Finish on anything else and you lose. The choice is irreversible.

The full rules are built in, so nobody has to be the person who explains them.

No ads. No accounts. No in-app purchases.