Ristiklappi is a Finnish card game played between four people. Each team has two players, and the two teammates sit opposite each other. This game is a mix of teamwork, smart play and a little strategy. The main goal of the game is to win 7 game points, but the points you get in each round depend on the valuable cards you win.
Game Setup
- The dealer is chosen at random first. The left player deals in each round.
- Each player is dealt 6 cards.
- A stockpile of the remaining cards is placed face down in the middle of the table.
Card’s Value
There is no suit or standard ranking in the game. Here it is just seen whether the card matches the rank of any other card or not. But some cards have a value which is counted at the end of the rounds:
- Ace = 11 points
- Ten = 10 points
- King = 4 points
- Queen = 3 points
- Jack = 2 points
- Other cards = 0 points
The total score of the round is 120 points.
How it is played
- The game starts with the left-of-dealer player and proceeds clockwise.
- In each trick all players play one card each. The player who last plays a card of the same rank as the one played first in the trick wins the trick.
Example:
Player A – 2
Player B – 7
Player C – 2
Player D – 9
Here player C will win the trick because he played the same rank (2) last.
- The player who wins the trick leads the next trick.
- After each turn players draw cards from the stockpile so that they again have 5 cards in their hand.
- When the stockpile is exhausted, players continue the game with the cards left in their hands.
Some Special Rules
- No player can lead 4 times in a row with a card of the same rank.
- As long as the stock pile is still there, a player can show the top card of the stock and play it. But he must then take that card.
- If you play the stock card, you will not get an extra card because you will already have 5 cards.
Cleaning Rule
A twist to the game comes from the cleaning rules:
- If a team wins the queen when the stockpile has not been exhausted yet, they must later win a king trick to clean it up.
- All 4 kings cannot be played before the stock is exhausted. If 3 have been exhausted, the fourth king can only be played when the stock is exhausted.
- If a team is led by the queen in a trick, the king played in that trick will not count for cleaning up.
Scoring System
At the end of the game, each team counts the score of the tricks it has won.
How to get game points:
- If a team scores 61 or more points and also cleans the queen, they get a game point.
- If both teams are tied at 60-60 and both clean, no one gets a game point.
Shameful losses breakdown:
- 4–59 points with clean = Respectable loss
- 4+ points without clean = Piss game (shameful loss)
- 0–3 points without queen = Lappi
- 0 tricks = Kortiton Lappi (and also shameful)
- Only queen se point = Piss Lappi
Game Ka End
The game ends when any team wins 7 game points. The team that reaches 7 first, wins.
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