Trick-taker - Black Jack
Quick concept for a bidding mechanism in a trick taking game using a standard deck of cards:
- Standard trick taking base:
- Leader plays a card to start a "trick", all players must follow suit unless they cannot. Highest card wins the trick. Winner starts the next trick.
- Trump suit decided by revealing top card of the deck
- When a trick is won, it is placed in a face up pile in the winning player's tableaux, with the winning card placed on top.
- The value of the trick = the value of the winning card.
- If a trick is won via trump, the value of the trick = the highest trump, even if higher value cards are contained within.
- End of round each player sums the value of each of their tricks and gains that many points.
- All face cards are worth 10. Ace is 1 or 10.
- If a player would earn more than 21 pts, they "bust" and instead gain -1 pt.
- Players want to win tricks with low cards for more control over their sums, or attempt to avoid tricks - trying to only win one or two with a face.
Misc. (dubious) ideas to complicate the formula:
- Trump suit decided by player bid.
- Each player discards one card from hand face down, then simultaneously reveals.
- The suit with the strongest showing (more cards, ties broken by value) becomes trump suit.
- Two cards are dealt from the top of the deck to an imaginary "Dealer"; one face up, one face down.
- To score points, you must win tricks of greater value than than the imaginary player's pile.
- Maybe more mechanisms for manipulating the "dealer's" pile?
- Swapping cards, taking or giving cards to the dealer, etc.
- Special abilities on some cards that activate if they are won in a trick, incentivizing players to play high cards to grab them.
- This overall concept might be very sensitive to the strength of a player's opening hand. If a player gets a lot of high cards, it will be difficult to shed them without winning tricks and busting.
- Need ample means for players to manipulate their hands before a round begins:
- Discarding cards before the round starts.
- Passing cards face down to other players.
- Perhaps including passing to the "Dealer" facedown to form their pile-to-beat?
- What if instead of busting at 21, players bust if they go over the Dealer's face down pile?
- Dealer pile is sum of facedown cards passed to them, plus one face up card flipped from the deck. (Maybe this decides trump suit)