Nullern
Nullern Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 80 cards in 4 colours (suits)
- Score sheets
- Rules
Key Terms
What is a trick?
Each player plays one card. All of these cards together make up a trick. The trick belongs to the player who played the highest-ranking card. That player takes all the cards of the trick.
What is a trump?
A randomly chosen card. All cards of the same suit count as trumps: they are stronger than cards of other suits.
Object of the Game
This is a trick-taking game played over 20 rounds.
In the first round each player receives 1 card (one trick is played), in the second round 2 cards each (two tricks), and so on up to the tenth round, when every player holds 10 cards! In each following round they receive one card fewer (9 cards in the eleventh round, 8 in the twelfth, etc.), until they again have just 1 card each. At the end of the game a final round is played.
The trump is determined anew in every round.
The winner is the player who manages to correctly predict the number of their tricks or, by bidding zero, to take no tricks at all.
If you are wrong, you catch a grasshopper, which takes away your prize points!
Setup
- The youngest player starts. They shuffle all 80 cards and deal one to each player.
- The remaining cards are placed face down on the table as a draw pile, and the top card is turned face up. This is the trump for the current round.
- One of the players must record every player's bids, prize points and penalty grasshoppers on the special score sheet. Decide who will do this.
Playing the Game
Bids and Tricks
All players, in turn, make their bids: they try to guess how many tricks they will take in the current round. In the first round at most one trick can be taken, so each player may bid 1 or 0. In the sixth round, for example, 6 tricks can be taken, and in the twelfth round 8. A player cannot bid a number of tricks greater than the number of cards in their hand.
All players' bids are recorded on the score sheet.
Example: third round. Lena has very weak cards and no trumps, so she bids zero (she writes "0" opposite her name on the sheet). Zhenya has one trump and otherwise fairly weak cards, so he bids that he will take one trick (he writes "1"). Anya has three fairly strong cards but no trumps, so she hopes to take two tricks (she writes "2").
Play
- The player who made the highest bid plays their card first. The other players then play in turn, clockwise.
- If a trick contains no trumps, it is taken by the player who played the card of the highest rank.
- If a trick contains several cards of equal rank in different non-trump suits, it is taken by the player who played the first of these cards.
- A trump card is always higher than cards of any other suit. For example: red is trump. Then a red card of rank 1 is higher than any card of another colour with rank 20.
- If a trick contains several trumps, the rank decides the contest between them.
- If the first player has played a trump, the other players must also play trumps. However, they are not obliged to beat it (to play a stronger trump). Note: if one of the other players has no trumps in hand and bid zero this round, they may play a card of another suit, but it must be strong enough.
- If one of the other players (not the first player) plays a trump, you are not obliged to play trumps as well.
Scoring
Scoring is done after each round, and the results are recorded on the score sheet.
- For each correctly guessed trick, a player receives 10 + 1 points, which are recorded on the sheet opposite their name.
- If a player takes several tricks in a round and correctly guesses their number, they receive 10 prize points plus points for the number of tricks. (For example, Zhenya bid 3 tricks and got exactly 3, so he is credited with 13 prize points.)
- If a player bid 1 trick but took none, no points are credited to them; instead they earn a penalty grasshopper. On the sheet it can be marked with a minus sign ("-").
- Players who take more or fewer tricks than they bid earn points for the number of tricks taken, plus one penalty grasshopper.
- A player who bid zero but still took tricks earns points for the number of tricks, plus 1 penalty grasshopper.
- But if a player bid zero and really took no tricks, they immediately receive 20 prize points!!!
After the prize points have been counted and recorded, the trick cards are shuffled and returned to the draw pile: they may be placed at the bottom, or shuffled together with the cards not yet played.
End of the Game
After 19 rounds (1 card … 10 cards … 1 card), a final, twentieth round is played. It is played "blind". Each player takes one card from the draw pile and does not look at it! They are forced to bid (1 or 0) without knowing what is in their hand. The top card of the draw pile, as usual, is the trump. All players reveal their cards at the same time. The player with the strongest card takes the trick (which, unfortunately, often also brings them a penalty grasshopper).
Winner
At the end of the game, each player's total prize points are added up and the grasshoppers are subtracted: one grasshopper costs 5 points!
The player with the greatest total of prize points wins the game!
Useful to Know
- Sometimes it makes sense, at the start of a round, to pay attention to the number of tricks bid:
- If it equals the number of cards in hand, you can try to play "clean", so that nobody receives a penalty grasshopper.
- If the bids total fewer tricks than will be played in the round, somebody will have to take the extra tricks… In that case, get rid of your strong cards in advance so that you are not that "somebody".
- If the bids total more tricks than are possible in the round, it is better to play last, so that you can calculate whether you can get the trick you want.
- If you realise during the game that you have misjudged your bid, you can try to "sink" the others: for example, take a trick from under the nose of the player who really needs it, or give it to the player for whom it will be surplus. This is not a very friendly approach, but who doesn't want to win!
Say no to the grasshoppers and win!