Humbug

This 18th century game is about the simplest two-player adaptation of Whist that can be imagined.

This game uses a standard 52-card pack.

The dealer deals all the cards one at a time, turning the last card face up. The suit of this card, which belongs to the dealer, is the trump suit for the hand.

The Play

The aim is to win tricks. Each trick consists of two cards, one played by each player. The first player plays any card and the second player must play a card of the same suit if possible. In this case the higher card wins the trick.

When all the cards have been played, the player who won more tricks wins in proportion to the difference in tricks between the players - for example 8 units if the winner has 17 tricks and the loser 9.