Rules
Sixty-Six takes five minutes to explain and still has enough depth for years. Here is everything you need for the game on this site, with examples.
At a glance
- Two players, 24 cards, each holds six.
- Tricks earn card points. King and queen of one suit earn 20, in trumps 40.
- The first to hold 66 points and declare it wins the hand.
- While the stock is open you may play any card. After that: follow suit, beat the card if you can, otherwise trump.
- A hand is worth 1 to 3 game points. The first to 7 game points wins the match.
The cards
The deck has 24 cards: ace, ten, king, queen, jack and nine in four suits. That is also their order of strength. So the ten ranks above the king, which surprises many new players.
The number in the bottom corner is the card’s value in points. All cards together hold 120 points, plus up to 10 for the last trick. The nine is worth nothing, but as a trump it is still useful.
In the game you can choose a French or a German deck. The German deck has the suits acorns, leaves, hearts and bells, and the queen and jack are called Ober and Unter. Values and rules stay the same.
How a hand goes
- Deal. Each player gets six cards. The next card is placed face up under the stock; its suit is trumps. The rest lies face down on top of it.
- Lead. The player who did not deal leads the first card. The opponent plays a card to it.
- Trick. The higher card of the suit led wins the trick, unless a trump was played, then the trump wins. A card of another suit that is not trump always loses.
- Draw. The trick winner draws a card from the stock first, then the other player. Both hold six cards again. The face-up trump card is drawn last.
- Continue. The trick winner leads next. This goes on until someone declares 66 or all cards are played.
Two phases
A hand has two parts with different obligations. It switches when the stock runs out or someone closes it.
Stock open
- You may play any card. You need not follow suit or win the trick.
- After every trick both players draw.
- Melding and exchanging the trump nine are allowed.
Stock empty or closed
- Follow suit: you must play the suit that was led.
- Head the trick: if you can play a higher card of that suit, you must.
- Trump: if you have none of the suit, you must trump. Only without trumps may you discard any card.
In the second phase every card gives something away. If your opponent plays a small trump on an ace instead of following suit, they have no cards of that suit left. Keep track, and by the end you know the opponent’s hand.
Melds: 20 and 40
If you hold the king and queen of the same suit (a marriage), you can meld them when it is your lead. You show both cards and lead one of them.
- The points only count once you have won at least one trick. Until then they are kept pending.
- You may meld only while cards are still drawn. Right before closing is still fine, after that it is not.
- The second card you showed stays in your hand, but your opponent now knows it.
Exchanging the trump nine
If you hold the nine of trumps, you can swap it for the face-up trump card under the stock. You can do this when it is your lead and at least two cards remain in the stock. A card worth nothing often turns into an ace or a ten.
Closing
When it is your lead and at least two cards remain in the stock, you can close it. The face-up trump is turned over, nobody draws any more, and from now on you must follow suit, head the trick and trump.
It pays off when your six cards are sure to reach 66 before your opponent draws better ones. It is risky:
- If you then fail to reach 66, your opponent gets 2 game points.
- If your opponent had not won a trick yet when you closed, they even get 3 game points.
- If your opponent declares 66 after you closed, they get 2 game points.
Declaring 66
As soon as you have 66 points, you may declare. The hand ends at once; you do not have to play on. You declare when it is your turn, so right after winning a trick or with a meld when leading.
A false declaration costs you: your opponent gets 2 game points. Reaching 66 without declaring does not count. If your opponent wins after that, your chance is gone.
In the settings you can turn on “Declare 66 automatically”. The bot always declares as soon as it has 66.
When nobody declares
If the stock ran out and nobody declared 66, all cards are played. The last trick is worth 10 extra points. Then whoever has more points wins. On a tie nobody wins, and the next hand is worth one game point more.
If the stock was closed, there is no bonus for the last trick. Then all that counts is whether the player who closed reached 66.
Scoring and match
What a won hand is worth depends on how far the loser got:
| The loser has … | Game points | |
|---|---|---|
| 33 points or more | 1 | |
| fewer than 33 points (Schneider) | 2 | |
| not a single trick (Schwarz) | 3 |
The first to collect 7 game points wins the match. In the game they are counted in chalk strokes, like on a pub slate:
Variants
Sixty-Six is not played the same way everywhere. The default here follows the most detailed source (pagat.com). Three house rules can be switched in the settings:
- Declare 66 automatically: the game declares for you as soon as you have 66.
- Exchange the trump nine only after winning a trick: some groups play it that way.
- Allow melds with an empty or closed stock: common in the Austrian game Schnapsen.
Terms
- Points
- The card values in your tricks, plus melds. German: Augen.
- Game points
- What a won hand adds to the match score, 1 to 3.
- Stock
- The face-down pile you draw from. German: Talon.
- Trumps
- The suit of the face-up card under the stock. Any trump beats any other suit.
- Follow suit
- Play a card of the suit that was led.
- Close
- Shut the stock: no more drawing, and the strict rules apply. German: zudrehen.
- Schneider
- The loser has fewer than 33 points.
- Schwarz
- The loser has not won a trick.