24: Wer zuletzt sticht, sticht am besten!
24: Wer zuletzt sticht, sticht am besten! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 51 cards
- 45 playing cards: in 4 suits, values 1 to 11 each
- 1 white "24" card
- 4 suit cards for marking the trump suit
- 2 ranking cards ("1 is high" and "11 is high")
- 1 score pad
Object of the Game
24 is a trick-taking game. In each round the players try to win as many tricks as possible. Each trick won costs the player points. This is good, because the aim of the game is to reach 0 points.
If a player wins no trick at all, however, that player gains points, and a great many of them. That is of course less good.
The game ends when a player reaches 0 points, or when a player has doubled their starting point total.
Setup
Every player starts with 24 points. These are noted for each player on the score pad. A dealer for the first round is chosen. The four suit cards and the two ranking cards are each placed face up in the middle of the table as separate stacks. The ranking card "11 is high" must lie on top. For the suit cards, it does not matter at first which suit lies on top. The 45 playing cards are shuffled, and then the dealer deals 3 cards to each player, clockwise (including to themselves). The player to the left of the dealer (= the starting player) now determines the trump for the current round. A trump suit must be determined. Each of the four suits is available to choose. The corresponding suit card is placed face up to show the choice. Each player then receives 3 more cards. Now, beginning with the starting player, each player (including the dealer) may give up to 3 cards and receives from the dealer the same number of new cards from the stack. Now every player has their hand for this round.
Playing a Round
The starting player plays any card. All other players add one card each, clockwise. The led suit must be followed. If a player cannot follow, because they have no card of the led suit, they may discard any card or trump with a trump card.
When every player has played a card, the player with the highest card (in the led suit, or the highest trump) wins the trick and then plays any card of their choice to lead the next trick.
When all 6 cards have been played, the tricks won are scored.
Scoring a Round
Each trick is worth 1 point.
If the announced trump suit was yellow, each trick is worth 2 points.
These points are subtracted from the score currently noted for the respective player.
Example:
Stefan has a noted score of 18 at the start of the round. He wins 2 tricks. The trump suit was red. His new score is therefore 16. Had the trump suit not been red but yellow, his new score would have been 14.
If a player has won no trick, the total of all possible points in this round is added to that player's score. In a normal game that is 6 points; if the trump suit was yellow, it is even 12 points.
Example:
Markus has a noted score of 14 at the start of the round. He wins no trick. The trump suit was red. His new score is therefore 20. Had the trump suit not been red but yellow, his new score would have been even 26.
Special Rules
The "24"
The "24" is always the highest trump card in the game, no matter which suit was announced as trump. However, it belongs by colour to the announced trump suit. That means that you must play the "24" when trump is led and you have no other trump card you can or want to play. Of course, you may also follow with the "24" when you still have other trump cards in your hand.
"1" Played
At the moment a player plays a card with the value "1", that player has the right to change the order of values for the remaining tricks of this round. If the player decides to do so, then from then on the "1" is the highest card in the game and the "11" is the lowest. The change of order only takes effect from the next trick. To show the current order, the corresponding ranking card is placed face up.
Example:
The order is still unchanged, so the "11" is the highest card. Michael plays a red "8". Stefan plays the red "11" on top. Markus adds the red "1" and declares that the order changes. Stefan wins the trick, because the order only changes from the next trick.
The order can be changed several times in one round, or even during a single trick. The last declaration is always the one that counts.
Example:
The order is still unchanged, so the "11" is the highest card. Stefan plays the blue "1" and declares that the order reverses from the next trick. Markus plays the blue "11" on top. Michael trumps with the yellow "1" and declares that the order changes again. So the "11" remains the highest card.
A player must decide at the moment they play a "1" whether the order should change or not. It cannot be done later.
Warning: If the order is changed, this also affects the "24". From then on the "24" is no longer the highest trump, but the lowest.
Blind Call of the Trump
The player who determines the trump may also name yellow as trump without having taken up and looked at their cards. This player should announce it before the dealer begins dealing the cards.
If "yellow blind" is played, each trick counts double, so instead of 2 points each trick is worth 4 points.
Own Trump Without a Trick
The player who has determined the trump must win a trick. If they do not, they receive double the points they would normally add to their score. (So 12 in a normal game, 24 if they named yellow as trump, and 48, which means losing the game, if yellow blind was named as trump.)
End of the Game
The game ends when a player has 0 points or fewer after a round. That player has won.
If several players reach this at the same time, the player who goes further below 0 wins. If this is still a tie, these players share the victory.
The game also ends when one or more players have 48 or more points after a round. The player who has the lowest score at that moment wins. If there is a tie, these players share the victory.
Variants
a) Trump Chaos
For a somewhat more turbulent (and less predictable) game, try the following additional rule.
Analogous to a "1" being played, the "2" now also has a function. Whenever a player plays a "2", they may, if they wish, determine a new trump suit, which applies from the next trick onwards. Now the suit cards for marking the trump become especially important. For scoring at the end of a round, the trump suit counts that was last determined as trump. (That is, a "2" played in the last round no longer changes the course of play, but it can still change the scoring.)
Warning: If yellow blind was determined as trump, the trump suit may not be changed!
Note: Because in this variant announcing the trump suit clearly loses value, we strongly recommend dropping the rule "Own Trump Without a Trick".
b) Dropping Out of the Round
This variant allows a player not to take part in the current round, because they do not think their hand is promising. The player must make this decision as soon as they have received their first six cards and the dealer asks them to exchange 0 to 3 cards.
The score of a player who has dropped out does not change in this round. The starting player may never drop out. Furthermore, only so many players may drop out that at least two players (the starting player and one other player) take part in this round. (So this variant cannot be used in a two-player game.)
c) Point-Based Restrictions
This variant is meant to make it harder for the leading player or players. A player who has 12 or fewer points may no longer drop out (when the variant b) Dropping Out of the Round is played). A player who has 6 or fewer points may no longer exchange cards. "Yellow blind" may only be named by a player who has 25 or more points.