Trick-Taker - Spite | Casus Ludi

Name: Spite, Terrible Trumps, ...?

A Trick-taking game using a standard deck of cards for 3 players:

(Maybe four?)

Setup:

Deal out deck evenly among 3 players.

Set aside the left over card face down for the moment. (If playing with 4, burn 4 cards face down)
This card starts a new area called the "Pool"

Players pass each other cards.

For each other player, each player picks one card from their hand and places it face down on the table facing them.
Once all players have picked their cards, all players exchange their face down card and add the new one to their hand.

Flip the the face down card in the Pool. It is the Trump suit for the round.

Play:

Standard trick taking base:

Each round the leader plays a card to start a "trick". All players must follow suit unless they cannot, at which point they may play any card. Highest card in lead suit wins the trick. Winner starts the next trick.
Trumps must be "broken into" by first being played off-suit before they can be lead.

When a trick is won, the lowest card in the trick is discarded facedown to the Pool. All remaining cards in the trick are taken by the winning player and are stacked with the winning card on top.

Each trick's value is equal to the card that won it.
Face cards =10, Ace = 11

Ex. In a trick of 4H, 7H, KH: The 4H is discarded facedown in the pool, and the KH is placed on top of the 7H. The trick's value is 10 in Hearts.

Trump wins are in trump suit.
If a non trump card is played off-suit, it is the lowest value card in the trick.

Ex. In a trick where Spades are the trump suit, that lead with a KH, followed by a 3S and a 2C: The 2C is discarded facedown to the pool, and the 3S is placed on top of the KH. The trick's value is 3 in Spades.

At end of round reveal all facedown cards in the Pool. The suit with the greatest value sum of cards is the suit that players can score points for having tricks in.

Ex. The pool is revealed and the sum in each suit present is: 20 in Hearts, 24 in Clubs, 8 in Spades, and 32 in Diamonds. All players score the sum of all their tricks with a Diamond card on top.

If there is a tie for strongest suit in the Pool, all tied suits cancel out and the next strongest suit scores.

Play until each player has dealt twice.

Players are stretched in two different directions: You want to get voids ASAP so you can have control over when to play which cards... but if you have the most of one suit then you're giving control to other players to dictate what goes into the pot as they can continuously play off-suit on you.

Playing off-suit is perfect for denying validity and controlling scoring because the off card goes in instead of the won suit but a trump denies the won suit all together. 2 ways of denying someone value for the cards they play.

Flatter hands = better?

Potential wrinkles:

Last card in hand is discarded directly into dealer pool.
Discard bidding for trump suit for 4 players?
Players passing cards to each other to start?
Players passing cards into pool to start? (Before trump suit revealed)
Something isn't quite clicking for points
Trumps need something more to do. At the moment they're conditionally useful, but otherwise terrible. Needs player agency to control for how to use or avoid trumps.
When a trump wins, the card that would be sent to the pool becomes the new face up trump indicator and the old one flipped over.
If you're the only one who collects trump suit, you shoot the moon and trump becomes what scores

Dogs of War investment system?

Every suit is a royal house at war with each other. All house's favor starts at -2 points.
At the end of every round, the house with the strongest showing in the Pool gets +1 point. (Or goes up 1 on a track.)
At the end of every round, the player with the heaviest investment in each suit gets 1 favor in that house.
End of game, players multiply their favor against the house's standing for points.