How to Play Forty-Fives
How to Play Forty-Fives
Forty-Fives is a lively Irish trick-taking game for 3–6 players. You need a normal deck of cards, a way to record points, and a little table space. If you need one, you can find a regular deck of playing cards from Playmore. This guide uses one common Irish-style version; rules can vary between regions and families, so agree on house rules before you begin.
Quick facts
| Fact | Beginner version |
|---|---|
| Players | 3–6, playing individually |
| Cards | One standard 52-card deck, with no Jokers |
| Cards per player | Five |
| Hand length | Five tricks |
| Goal | Reach 45 points first |
What you are trying to do
Your aim is to win tricks. A trick is one small contest in which every player plays one card. The strongest card wins, and the winner leads the next trick. Each trick is worth 5 points. The player who plays the highest trump during the hand earns another 5 points, usually called the high-trump or game bonus. Since five tricks are played, a hand can provide up to 30 points: 25 for the tricks and 5 for the bonus. Keep a running total over several hands. The first player to reach 45 points at the end of a hand wins.
What you need
Use a standard 52-card deck. Remove Jokers and any special cards. You also need paper and a pencil, or a notes app, for the score. Choose a dealer for the first hand; the deal moves clockwise after each hand. The player to the dealer’s left is the first leader.
Two words will help. A suit is one of the four card families: hearts, diamonds, clubs, or spades. Trump is the suit chosen for the hand that beats every non-trump suit.
Set it up
- Shuffle the deck and let the player on the dealer’s right cut it.
- Deal five cards to each player, going clockwise. Deal three cards first and two next, or two first and three next, but use the same pattern throughout your game.
- Turn the next card face up. Its suit is trump for this hand. Set the remaining deck aside.
- Before play, the player holding the ace of the trump suit may exchange any card in their hand for the face-up card. This is called robbing the pack. If they do not exchange, they must ask the dealer to turn the card down, announcing who holds the ace; that ace then becomes the lowest trump, even if it is the ace of hearts. If an ace is turned, the dealer may discard it and take the ace into their hand after the first trick, or keep the original hand and announce that choice. For a first game, you may skip this step if everyone agrees.
- Write everyone’s score as zero. The player left of the dealer leads the first trick.
How to play
- Lead a card. The first leader may play any card. On later tricks, the winner of the previous trick leads.
- Follow the led suit when required. If a non-trump card is led, you must play that suit if you have one. If you do not have it, you may play a trump or discard another card. A discard is a card from a different suit that cannot win unless it is trump.
- Handle a trump lead. If trump is led, play a trump if you can. The top three trumps have a special privilege: the 5 of trump, the jack of trump, and the ace of hearts may hold back when a lower trump is led. They may instead play another card. This exception is often called reneging.
- Compare the cards. Any trump beats a non-trump card. If no trump is played, the highest card of the suit led wins. The winner collects the cards, keeps them in a separate pile, and leads the next trick.
- Use the unusual ranking. In trump, the 5 is highest, then the jack, then the ace of hearts. If hearts are not trump, the ace of the trump suit is next. The remaining trump cards follow the colour-based order below. In non-trump suits, the order is also unusual: red suits run K, Q, J, 10 down to 2, while black suits run K, Q, J, A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. In other words, remember “high in red, low in black.”
- Finish all five tricks. Everyone should have played all five cards. As you play, notice which powerful trumps have appeared, because the highest trump played matters for the bonus.
Here is a compact trump reminder. For hearts or diamonds as trump, after the top cards, the red-suit order is K, Q, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, 3, 2. For clubs or spades as trump, the black-suit order is K, Q, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. The ace of hearts remains the third-highest trump even when hearts is not the named trump suit. The ace of the named trump suit comes below it, unless hearts itself is trump.
How you win
After the fifth trick, count how many tricks each player won. Add 5 points for every trick. Then award 5 extra points to the player who played the highest trump in that hand. For example, if Maya wins three tricks, she scores 15 points. If she also played the highest trump, she scores 20. If two players appear to have the same rank, check the suits carefully: the 5, jack, and ace of hearts are special cards, and there is only one card of each rank and suit.
Record the new totals, gather the cards, and pass the deal to the left. Continue until someone has at least 45 points after a completed hand. If two players pass 45 in the same hand, agree beforehand whether the higher score wins or whether the first total recorded wins. For a simple beginner game, the higher total wins.
Easy first-game tips
Keep the three top trumps in mind: the 5 of trump, the jack of trump, and the ace of hearts. They are precious, but do not automatically play one on the first trick. Saving a strong trump can let you take a later trick when the score is close. Watch the turned-up suit before sorting your hand, and separate your trump cards from your other cards.
When you cannot follow the led suit, do not waste a high card from another non-trump suit; it cannot beat the led suit. Instead, consider trumping if the trick is important. Also pay attention to the black-suit order: a 2 is stronger than a 10 in a black suit, which is the opposite of what many beginners expect. Finally, say the score aloud after each hand so nobody loses track.
Quick questions
Can I play Forty-Fives with teams?
Yes. Partnerships are common with four or six players. Partners sit opposite when possible and share one score, but individual play is easier for a first game.
Why is it called Forty-Fives?
The name is traditional. In this beginner scoring version, the match ends when a player reaches 45 points, while some related games use different targets or bidding rules.