Twenty-Nine

Twenty nine is a variation of Solitaire that is highly popular in South East Asia, possibly introduced to the continent by Dutch traders hundreds of years ago. The game is played by four people in partnerships, with the partners facing each other.

The scoring is fairly complicated, with a stripped deck of thirty-two cards being used out of the usual fifty-two. The cards used are, in order of value for the game: Jacks, nines, Aces, tens, Kings, Queens, eights and sevens. Jacks are worth 3 points, nines 2 points, Aces and tens one point each, while the remaining four values (Kings, Queens, eights and sevens) are not worth any points at all. All the points available in the game add up to twenty-eight, and the player's aim is to score the most points with every trick. Other variations of the game add an extra trick worth one more point, hence the name 'Twenty-nine', but the game's name does not change even if the points add up to twenty-eight. Each players receives four cards from the dealer, one at a time, and must bid trumps based on the cards they hold. Play is quite complicated, with players opting to bid or hold their cards. If everyone holds, the dealer MUST bid fifteen. At this point all the players receive another four cards and the final bidder gets to choose the trump card, hiding the trump indicator card at the bottom of the pile of cards not used in the game (twos to sixes).

Following the dealing and bidding process play can begin. The player to the left of the dealer begins, and the other plays follow on, matching suit if possible. If a player holds both the King and Queen of trumps they can declare them as Royals, but only if neither of these cards has been used in the game already.

Fortunately, all the hard work of keeping score and working out trumps and tricks is negated by playing on the computer and all the player need to do is name his or her computer opponents and partner using the names of friends, imaginary characters or celebrities if so desired!

Pros

• A fun and absorbing card game ideal for Solitaire fans

Cons

• The game is unusual and hard to follow as regards scoring and bidding