Clubs Card Game Rules & Cards

Clubs is a popular card game that is all about taking calculated risks, in which players try to win as many club cards as possible to score points. The game can be played with 3 to 5 players and is all about winning as many club cards as possible to score points. The game has a simple goal – to win 50 points, and the player with the most points at the end of the six hands wins the game.

Clubs Cards to Play the Game

To play the clubs card game, you will need a standard deck of playing cards that has 52 cards in a single deck. The 13 cards from the clubs suit, which are Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, and King, are used in the game. The club suit is designated with the symbol ♣.

Club Card Game Rules and Instructions

The goal of the game is to score 50 points and use clubs cards to score as many tricks as possible. The lower the club card you take, the more points you are likely to win. However, players can also form clubs or put together cards from clubs, spades, hearts, and diamonds to rack up a high score. 

On the other hand, players can also earn bonus points by playing all the cards in their hands as quickly as possible. The game has six deals, but players can play more if they want, and the winner is the person with the most points at the end of the six hands.

How to Play Clubs Card Game

To begin the game, the dealer picks up the deck, distributes 13 cards to each of the players, and places the remaining cards in the center of the table to establish a draw pile. Next, flip over the top card of the draw pile to bring up the discard pile.

Starting the play

To start the play, the player sitting to the left of the dealer leads the first trick by playing a card of their choice, and the other players follow suit in a clockwise order of playing.

Taking the turns

In clubs, each player plays their turn by laying down a card of the same suit as the lead; if possible, where a player won’t match the suit, they can also play any card from their hand in order to win. The player with the highest card of the suit led or the highest club (trump) wins the trick.

Trick Types

The players can come up with a single card, a pair, a 3-of-a-kind, a 4-of-a-kind, or a run of two or more cards. During their turn, players have the option to either play or pass, and they are required to remove cards from their hands and place them face-up on top of the previously played cards. However, the cards must be the same trick type and have the same number of cards as the lead.

Following Suits

In the play, all the players must always follow suit, if possible, and in case a player cannot follow suit, they may play any card from their hand.

Bidding

After that, every player, starting with the player to the dealer’s left, bids how many tricks they expect to win. Also, players can bid zero, but the total number of bids may not equal the number of cards handed out.

Exchanging Cards

All players can choose if they want to keep their cards or exchange them for the bid hand. The players taking part in exchanging cards get to see 26 cards instead of 13.

Play or Pass

While taking their turn, players can also decide to either play or pass. To play, players place cards from their hands face up on top of the previously played cards. The cards must be the same trick type (single, set, or run) and have the same number of cards as the lead. The highest card played must be higher than the highest card of the previous play.

Playing Options

The players can play all the cards in their hand at once, or they can pick to play one card at a time.

Rounds

In the card game Clubs, a round ends when a player scores 50 points or decides on points to end the game. When the round ends, players are required to tally their points and bonus cards to determine the winner. Meanwhile, if no player reaches 50 points, they continue into a new round of play.

Scoring in Clubs Game

In Clubs, each player scores one point for each trick bid and can get 10 bonus points for making the contract. When a player doesn’t fulfill the contract, meaning they don’t take the number of tricks bid, they score one point for each trick taken.

Besides that, players can also score bonus points for playing all of their cards each round, as well. The number of bonus cards used depends on the number of players; for 6 players, all the bonus cards are used, whereas for 3 players, only the 0, 2, and 5 bonus cards are used.

Winning

In clubs, the player with the most points (or you can decide in the scores to end a round) at the end of a round wins. The game winning goal is simple: collect 50 points, or be the player who finishes with the most points at the end of the game.

In the game, players can also get more points by taking fewer club cards, but the last player to go out for the round does not score any points. Indeed, players can also get bonus points by discarding all the cards in their hands as quickly as possible.