Charms

Players receive a hand made from two shuffled decks: one of numbered ranks and one of four suits. Each player must hold at least three number cards and three suit cards before play begins. Play proceeds as a trick-taking round with a twist: the opening lead uses a pair composed of one number and one suit card, then subsequent tricks are played by replacing either the number or the suit so the other half remains visible. Players declare a bid for how many tricks they expect to win, then play 12 tricks with a trump suit in effect and score positive or negative points based on whether their prediction matches the actual tricks taken. A typical match uses multiple deals (commonly eight) and tallies scores across deals to determine the winner.

Players: 3–4 best 4
Age: 10+
Complexity: 2.1 / 5