Barbu

Barbu is a trick-taking card game played with a standard 52-card deck. It is most popular in Romania and is considered a national card game there. The game is typically played by four players in fixed partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other. The objective of Barbu is to score points by winning tricks, and specifically by collecting certain cards, while avoiding others.

The ranking of cards in Barbu is unusual. The trump suit ranks from highest to lowest: Ace, Ten, King, Queen, Jack, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two. However, outside of the trump suit, the ranking is standard: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two. This difference in ranking between trump and non-trump suits is a key strategic element of the game.

Points are awarded for winning tricks containing specific cards. The Ace is worth 11 points, the Ten is worth 10 points, and the King is worth 5 points. The Queen and Jack are worth nothing. However, there is a penalty card, the Jack of Clubs, which subtracts 25 points if taken by a partnership. Players aim to win tricks to collect points, but must be careful not to collect the Jack of Clubs.

The game is played over a series of hands. Before each hand, players bid on the number of points they believe their partnership can score. The partnership with the highest bid must make their declared score, while the other partnership tries to prevent them from doing so. If the declaring partnership makes their bid, they score the bid amount. If they fail, they lose the bid amount. The game continues until one partnership reaches a predetermined score, usually 100 or 200 points.