2–8 players · bid your tricks, then win exactly that many 🏴☠️
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+ More players (up to 8)
Pirate Tricks
Your hand
How to play
10 rounds. In round 1 everyone gets 1 card, in round 2 2 cards, and so on up to 10. (8 players: rounds 8, 9 and 10 all deal 8 cards, so everyone gets the same number.) The whole deck of 70 cards is shuffled every round.
Bid
Look at your hand and bid how many tricks you will win this round, from 0 to the number of cards you hold. Bids are sealed: the others only see that you have bid. All bids are shown together once everyone has bid.
Play
Each trick, everyone plays one card in turn. You must follow the suit of the first numbered card if you can; the special cards may always be played. Black ⚓ is trump.
The highest card of the suit led wins, unless a black card was played (highest black wins). An Escape 🏳️ never wins (all Escapes: the first one wins). A Mermaid 🧜 beats every number. A Pirate ⚔️ beats Mermaids and numbers. The Captain 👑 beats Pirates. A Mermaid captures the Captain: if a Pirate, the Captain and a Mermaid are all in a trick, the (first) Mermaid wins. Equal specials: the first one played wins.
The Rogue 🎭 is played as a Pirate or as an Escape — you choose when you play it.
If a special card is led, there is no suit to follow; after an Escape, the next numbered card sets the suit.
The trick's winner leads the next one.
Score
Bid 1 or more and win exactly that many: 20 per trick, plus bonuses. Miss: −10 per trick you were off, no bonuses.
Bonuses (exact bids only): each 14 in tricks you won, 10 (black 14: 20); 20 per Mermaid taken by your Pirate; 30 per Pirate taken by your Captain; 40 for taking the Captain with your Mermaid.
Highest total after round 10 wins; equal totals share the win.
2 players
A third, ghost hand 👻 joins. It always plays second (or leads after winning a trick), plays the top card of its pile without following suit, plays its Rogue as an Escape, and never bids or scores. You two take turns leading each round.
By text
Tap Send to pass the link to whoever is next. The app only shows you your own hand, and hides other players' bids until everyone has bid.
But the whole game, hands and sealed bids included, travels inside the link. Someone who decodes it could read them, so this is for friendly play, not a secret vault. Undo works until you send, unless your move revealed something new (the bids, a ghost card or a new hand).
Players
Add a phone number and Send opens Messages straight to the next player with the link. No number: Send opens your share sheet. Changes go out with your next sent link.