Woodland Tricks

Full rules

1. Overview
2. The cards
3. Setup
4. Playing a trick
5. The special cards
6. End of a round
7. Winning the game
8. Tips for beginners
9. Variants

Overview

Woodland Tricks is a trick-taking game for two. Both players play one card each; the higher card wins both, and the two cards together are called a trick. A round has 13 tricks. The unusual part is the scoring: you score well if you win few tricks (0–3) or most of them (7–9) – but if you get greedy and win 10 or more, you score nothing. On top of that, every odd card (A, 3, 5, 7, 9, J) has a special power that bends the rules a little. The first player to reach 21 points wins.

• Players: exactly 2.
• You need: one standard 52-card deck and paper and pencil for the score.

Woodland Tricks is our own adaptation for an ordinary deck, inspired by The Fox in the Forest (Joshua Buergel, Foxtrot Games and Renegade Game Studios, 2017). It has not been playtested yet.

What differs from the original: only the cards – three ordinary suits from Ace to Jack take the place of the original's own 33-card deck, and the powers sit on the odd cards just as there. Deal, powers and scoring are the same. The tie-break at the end of the game is our own addition.

The cards

Take three suits – we use ♠ ♥ ♦ – and in each of them only the cards Ace to Jack. That is 33 cards. The clubs, the Queens, the Kings and the jokers stay in the box.

Each card has a number: the Ace is 1 and the lowest card, then 2, 3 … 10, and the Jack is 11 and the highest card.

The six odd values – A, 3, 5, 7, 9 and J – have a power (see "The special cards" below). The even cards have none.

Setup

1. Choose a dealer for the first round; after that the deal alternates.
2. The dealer shuffles the 33 cards and deals 13 cards to each player, one at a time, face down.
3. The remaining 7 cards go face down in the middle as the draw pile. Turn its top card face up and lay it next to the pile: this is the trump card. Its suit is trumps for this round. The draw pile now has 6 cards.
4. Pick up your cards and sort them. Don't show them to your opponent.

Playing a trick

The non-dealer leads (plays the first card of) the first trick. After that, the winner of each trick leads the next one, unless an Ace says otherwise.

1. The leader plays any card face up.
2. The other player must follow suit – play a card of the same suit – if they can. If they can't, they may play any card.

Who wins the trick?

• If a trump (a card of the trump suit) was played, the higher trump wins.
• Otherwise the higher card of the suit that was led wins. A card of the third suit never wins.

The winner takes both cards and lays them face down in front of themselves as one trick. Keep your tricks slightly apart, so both of you can count them at any time.

Example: Hearts are trumps. Anna leads the 8♠. Ben has no spades and plays the 2♥ – a trump – and wins the trick, although his card is lower.

The special cards

Every odd card has a power. It works when the card is played – as the leading card or as the answer. Powers are never optional unless it says "may".

Some details:

• Comeback (A): it only matters if you lose. Your opponent still takes the trick.
• Trump swap (3): the trump card you take goes into your hand and can be played later. The card you put down becomes the new trump card, and its suit is trumps from now on – for this trick and all later ones, unless another 3 changes it again.
• Draw (5): you may put back the very card you just drew. Your hand stays the same size. The draw pile never runs out – it always keeps its 6 cards.
• Ambush (9): for following suit, the 9 is still a card of its own suit; only when the winner is decided does it count as a trump. "Only 9" means your opponent did not play a 9 as well – if both cards are 9s, neither power works. If the other card is a real trump, the higher value wins as between two trumps: the 9 beats trumps from A to 8 and loses to the 10 and J.
• Command (J): only when the Jack is led. If your opponent holds the Ace of that suit, they may choose between the Ace and their highest card. The Ace then triggers its own power: if it loses, its owner leads the next trick.

Example: Spades are trumps. Ben leads the J♦. Anna holds A♦, 4♦ and 9♦, so she must play either the A♦ or the 9♦ (her highest diamond). She chooses the A♦: she loses the trick, but thanks to the Ace she leads the next trick.

Example: Hearts are trumps. Anna leads the 6♥. Ben has no hearts and plays the 9♠. It is the only 9 in the trick, so it counts as a trump: now both cards are trumps, and Ben's 9 beats Anna's 6. Had Anna led the 10♥, her 10 would have won.

End of a round

Both hands always hold the same number of cards (a 5 never changes that), so a round always lasts exactly 13 tricks. Then each player counts their tricks and scores:

Add the points from 7s (Bonus) that you won during the round.

Example: Anna won 8 tricks and one trick with a 7 in it; Ben won 5 tricks and a trick with both 7s. Anna scores 6 + 1 = 7, Ben scores 2 + 2 = 4.

Note that the two players' trick counts always add up to 13. If one player wins 10 or more, the other has 3 or fewer and scores the full 6.

Winning the game

Keep a running total. As soon as one or both players reach 21 points at the end of a round, the game ends and the higher total wins. If the totals are equal, whoever scored more in the last round wins; if that is equal too, play one more round.

Tips for beginners

• Decide early whether you aim for few tricks or for 7–9. The middle (4–6) scores badly.
• Count the trump suit. There are only 11 cards per suit. Six cards lie unseen in the draw pile, so you never know for sure what your opponent holds.
• Aces are escape cards: a low card you can lose on purpose while keeping the lead.
• Keep a 3 back if the trump suit is bad for you. Swapping trumps late can turn a round around.
• Watch for the 10-trick trap. If you are winning too much, start throwing away high cards.

Variants

All optional – agree before you start.

• Shorter game: play to 16 points.
• Other suits: any three suits work; just keep the Ace to Jack of each.