Objective
Each hand, race to collect 66 card points from the tricks you win and the marriages you declare. As soon as you know you have 66, you call out and win the hand. How much you win depends on how badly your opponent is beaten. The first player to collect 7 game points wins the game.
Sixty-Six is a two-player game. Its relative Four-Hand Sixty-Six is a separate partnership game for four players with its own deal and scoring.
Setup
Take the 9s through aces from a standard deck. Deal three cards to each player, then three more, so each of you has six. Turn the next card face up as the trump card, and lay the rest of the deck face down across it as the stock, so the trump card still shows.
Cards rank, from high to low: ace, ten, king, queen, jack, nine. The card values add up to 120 points in the deck.
| Card | Card points |
|---|---|
| Ace | 11 |
| Ten | 10 |
| King | 4 |
| Queen | 3 |
| Jack | 2 |
| Nine | 0 |
How to play
The non-dealer leads to the first trick. While cards remain in the stock, you don’t have to follow suit: play any card you like. The higher card of the suit led wins, unless a trump is played, in which case the trump wins. The winner of each trick takes the top card of the stock, the loser takes the next one, and the winner leads again.
Marriages: when it is your turn to lead, you may show a king and queen of the same suit and lead one of them. A marriage in trumps scores 40; any other marriage scores 20. The points only count once you have won at least one trick.
Trump exchange: if you hold the nine of trumps and have won a trick, you may swap it for the face-up trump card before you lead.
Closing: when it is your turn to lead, you may close the stock by turning the trump card face down. From then on, and also once the stock runs out, the rules tighten. You must follow suit, and you must win the trick if you can. If you can’t follow suit, you must play a trump if you have one.
- 1Lead or follow with any card while the stock lasts
- 2Winner draws first, then the loser
- 3Show a marriage when you lead for 20 or 40
- 4Once the stock is closed or gone, follow suit and win if you can
Scoring
As soon as you have 66 or more, from card points and marriages together, say so and stop play. Your opponent counts their card points, and you score game points on this table.
| Result | Game points |
|---|---|
| You reach 66; opponent has 33 or more | 1 |
| You reach 66; opponent has under 33 | 2 |
| You reach 66; opponent has no tricks | 3 |
| Opponent calls out without 66 | 2 to you |
| Opponent closes the stock and misses 66 | 2 to you (3 if you had no tricks when they closed) |
If all the cards are played without anyone calling out, the winner of the last trick adds 10 points, and the player with the higher total wins the hand. A tie at 65 scores nothing. The first player to 7 game points wins the game.
Variations
Schnapsen: the Austrian cousin. Remove the nines to play with 20 cards and deal five each. The target is still 66, and the game plays faster and tighter.
Three players: the dealer sits out each hand and the other two play, taking turns as the deal rotates.
Some tables let the non-dealer show a marriage on the very first lead, counting the points once they win a trick. Agree on this before you start.
Tips from the table
Count every trick. Sixty-Six rewards players who know their total to the point and call out the moment they cross 66.
Close the stock when you hold strong trumps and are close to 66. Your opponent can no longer draw out of trouble and must follow suit.
In the early tricks, throw your nines and jacks on your opponent’s leads and keep your aces and tens for later. Once the stock is gone, the high cards decide everything.
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
Do I have to follow suit?
Only once the stock is closed or used up. Before that, you can play any card.
What is a marriage worth?
Forty in trumps, twenty in any other suit. You declare it when you lead, and it only counts once you have won a trick.
What does closing the stock do?
It ends the drawing and switches on the strict rules: follow suit, win the trick if you can, and trump if you can’t follow. If you close and then fall short of 66, your opponent scores at least 2 game points.
How long is a game?
The first player to 7 game points wins. Since one hand is worth 1 to 3 game points, a game usually runs a handful of hands.
New rules every month
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