Objective
When you win the bidding, take at least as many of the five tricks as you bid. When someone else wins it, work with the other players to stop them. Every hand is settled on its own, in chips or on a running score, and the game lasts as long as you like: play a set number of deals or stop at an agreed time.
Setup
Give everyone the same number of chips. Cards rank ace high, then king, queen, jack and down to two.
The dealer deals five cards to each player, three at a time and then two at a time. The rest of the deck is not used for that hand. The deal passes to the left after each hand.
How to play
Bidding starts with the player to the dealer’s left. Each player gets one chance to bid or pass, and every bid must be higher than the one before. A bid is the number of tricks you promise to win, with a suit of your choosing as trumps. Many tables start the bidding at two; others allow a bid of one. Nap is a bid to win all five tricks. Many tables also allow misère, a bid to lose every trick, which ranks between three and four. If everyone passes, the cards are thrown in and the next player deals.
The high bidder leads to the first trick, and the suit of that card is trumps for the hand. Everyone must follow suit if they can. If you cannot, you may play a trump or throw any other card. The highest trump wins the trick, or the highest card of the suit led if no trump was played. The winner of each trick leads the next.
Extra tricks earn nothing, so many tables stop the play as soon as the bidder has made the bid or been defeated.
- 1Bid once, higher than the last bid, or pass
- 2High bidder leads; that card’s suit is trumps
- 3Follow suit if you can, otherwise trump or discard
- 4Settle up: the bidder collects from or pays every player
Scoring
If the bidder makes the bid, every other player pays the bidder. If the bidder falls short, the bidder pays every other player. Misère is usually played with no trump suit at all: the bidder leads any card and tries to lose every trick.
| Bid | Tricks needed | Bidder wins (from each player) | Bidder loses (to each player) |
|---|---|---|---|
| One or two | 1 or 2 | 1 per trick bid | 1 per trick bid |
| Three | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Misère (optional) | None | 3 | 3 |
| Four | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Nap | All 5 | 10 | 5 |
| Wellington | All 5 | 20 | 10 |
| Blücher | All 5 | 30 | 15 |
Wellington can only be bid after someone has bid Nap, and Blücher only after Wellington. They exist for the hand where two players both think they can take all five tricks.
Variations
Peep Nap: one extra card is dealt face down to the middle. The high bidder may take it and discard a card in its place, and at some tables any player may pay a chip to peek at it before bidding.
Pool Nap: players feed a shared pool, which goes to the first player who makes a Nap. A player who bids Nap and fails usually has to add to the pool.
Sir Garnet: an extra hand of five cards is dealt face down. A player may pick it up on their turn to bid, keep the best five of ten, and must then bid Nap.
Tips from the table
Bid on a suit you can lead. Your first card names trumps, so a long suit headed by the ace and king is worth more than high cards scattered across suits.
Remember that most of the deck sits out. With four players, 32 cards are never dealt, so a king or queen is often the top card of its suit in that hand.
When you are not the bidder, play as a team with the other defenders. Save your winners for the tricks the bidder needs, and do not waste a high card on a trick another defender has already won.
Video Guides Are on the Way
We’re filming Game Guides that walk through full hands at the table, from the deal to the score.
Frequently asked
What does it mean to go Nap?
Bidding Nap means promising to win all five tricks, for the biggest regular payout in the game. The British phrase ‘go nap’, meaning to risk everything, comes from this game.
Who chooses trumps?
The high bidder, by leading. Whatever suit they lead to the first trick is trumps for the hand.
Can I bid Wellington without anyone bidding Nap first?
No. Wellington only comes in after a Nap bid, and Blücher only after Wellington.
How is Napoleon different from Peep Nap and Pool Nap?
They are the same game with one change each. Peep Nap adds a face-down card the bidder can swap in. Pool Nap adds a shared pool won by a successful Nap.
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