Objective
The aim is the same as in Napoleon. When you win the bidding, take at least as many tricks as you bid. When someone else wins it, help stop them. The extra hand, called the widow, gives a player with a nearly great hand a way to reach for the top bid.
The game is thought to be named after Sir Garnet Wolseley, a British general of the Victorian era, in keeping with Napoleon’s other bids, Wellington and Blücher.
Setup
Cards rank ace high, then king, queen, jack and down to two. Give everyone the same number of chips.
Deal five cards to each player, three at a time and then two at a time, and deal one extra hand of five cards face down. This is the widow. The rest of the deck is not used for the hand.
How to play
Bidding works as in Napoleon. Starting with the player to the dealer’s left, each player gets one turn to pass or bid higher than the last bid. The bids run from two (or one, at some tables) up to Nap, a bid to win all five tricks, with misère (losing every trick) between three and four if your table plays it.
On your turn to bid, instead of bidding on your own cards, you may pick up the widow. Look at all ten cards, keep any five, and discard the other five face down without showing them. Taking the widow is a bid of Nap, and in most written rules it ends the bidding. If nobody takes the widow, it stays face down and plays no part in the hand.
The high bidder leads to the first trick, and the suit of that card is trumps. Follow suit if you can. If you cannot, play a trump or throw any card. The highest trump wins, or the highest card of the suit led. The winner of each trick leads the next.
- 1On your turn, pass, bid on your own hand, or take the widow
- 2If you take it, keep five of the ten cards and go Nap
- 3High bidder leads; that card’s suit is trumps
- 4Follow suit if you can, then settle up after five tricks
Scoring
Settle each hand in chips. If the bidder makes the bid, every other player pays the bidder. If the bidder falls short, the bidder pays every other player. Extra tricks earn nothing.
| Bid | Bidder wins (from each player) | Bidder loses (to each player) |
|---|---|---|
| One or two | 1 per trick bid | 1 per trick bid |
| Three | 3 | 3 |
| Misère (optional) | 3 | 3 |
| Four | 4 | 4 |
| Nap on your own hand | 10 | 5 |
| Nap with the widow | 10 | 10 |
Some tables also use Wellington and Blücher, the double and triple Nap bids from Napoleon. If you do, agree before the first deal how they fit with the widow.
Variations
Napoleon: the parent game, played the same way with no widow.
Peep Nap: one extra card instead of five. The high bidder may swap it into their hand, and there is no requirement to bid Nap.
With a pool: add a shared pool, as in Pool Nap, that goes to the first player who makes a Nap.
Tips from the table
Take the widow when you hold two or three strong cards in one suit. Five more cards give you a good chance to fill in the rest.
Keep top trumps first, then aces. If you are winning every trick, you will be leading every trick, so pull the defenders’ trumps early and then cash your side aces.
Count the cost before you reach for it. A failed widow Nap costs twice a normal miss, and one stray trick is all it takes.
When someone else takes the widow, the defenders need only one trick between them. Hold on to any card that might be the highest of its suit.
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
Who can take the widow?
Any player, on their own turn to bid. Once someone takes it, it is gone for that hand.
Do I have to bid Nap if I take the widow?
Yes. Taking the widow is itself the Nap bid.
What happens to the five cards I discard?
They go face down to one side, unseen, and play no part in the hand.
How is Sir Garnet different from Peep Nap?
Peep Nap adds a single extra card that the high bidder may swap in, whatever they bid. Sir Garnet adds a whole five-card hand, and using it commits you to winning every trick.
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