Goofspiel (GOPS)

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Setup
3. Playing a round
4. Ties
5. End of the game
6. Tips for beginners
7. Variants

Overview

Goofspiel – often called GOPS, short for "Game of Pure Strategy" – is a quick game of bluffing and guessing for two. There are no tricks and no luck in your hand: both players start with exactly the same cards. One by one, prize cards are turned up, and you both secretly bid for each one with a card from your hand. The higher bid wins the prize. Whoever collects the most prize points wins.

• Players: 2 (3–5 in a variant, see Variants).
• You need: one standard 52-card deck. Paper and pencil help if you play several games.

Setup

1. Sort the deck into its four suits. Put the hearts and the jokers away – they are not used.
2. Prize pile: shuffle the 13 diamonds and put them face down in the middle.
3. Hands: one player takes all 13 spades, the other all 13 clubs. These are your bidding cards; keep them in your hand.

Card values. For bidding, the cards rank from low to high:

A (lowest) – 2 – 3 – … – 10 – J – Q – K (highest)

As prizes, the diamonds are worth: Ace 1, 2–10 face value, Jack 11, Queen 12, King 13. All 13 prizes together are worth 91 points.

Playing a round

1. Turn the top card of the prize pile face up. This is the prize you are both playing for.
2. Each player chooses one card from their hand and puts it face down on the table. This is your bid.
3. When both are ready, turn the two bids face up at the same time.
4. The higher bid wins the prize card. The winner puts it face up in front of them.
5. Both bid cards are out of the game – put them aside. You can't use a card twice.
6. Turn up the next prize card and bid again.

Example: The Q♦ (12 points) is turned up. Anna bids K♠, Ben bids J♣. Anna's King is higher, so she wins 12 points. Both bid cards are put aside – Anna has no King left for the rest of the game.

Ties

If both bids are equal, nobody wins the prize. The bid cards are put aside, but the prize stays in the middle. Turn up the next prize card: the next bid is for both prizes together. If that bid is a tie too, a third prize is added, and so on.

If the very last bid is a tie, the prize cards still in the middle go to nobody.

Example: The 5♦ is up. Both bid a 6 – tie. The 5♦ stays, and the 9♦ is turned up next to it. Now the bid is for 14 points. Ben bids 10♣, Anna 8♠ – Ben takes both cards.

End of the game

After 13 rounds both hands are empty. Each player adds up the values of the diamonds they won. The higher total wins; equal totals (possible after a tie) are a draw. For a longer match, play several games and add up the totals.

Tips for beginners

• Save your big cards for big prizes. Spending your King on the 2♦ is a waste.
• Win by one. The perfect bid is exactly one higher than your opponent's – you keep your strong cards and they lose a good one.
• If you won't win it, give it up cheaply. When you can't win a prize, bid your Ace or 2 so you lose as little as possible.
• Count the cards. You can always see which cards your opponent has left. Late in the game you can often work out exactly what they will bid.

Variants

Optional – agree before playing.

• No carry-over: on a tie, the prize is put aside as well, and the next bid is only for the next prize.
• High Ace: the Ace counts as the highest card, worth 14 as a prize.
• Three to five players: each player takes a whole suit (with 3 players the whole deck is used; with 4 or 5, add suits from a second deck). Everyone bids at the same time; the highest bid wins. For ties, agree beforehand: either all tied cards drop out and the highest unique bid wins, or the prize carries over to the next round.