How to Play Ninety-Nine
How to Play Ninety-Nine
Ninety-Nine is a clever three-player trick-taking game in which your hidden bid tells you exactly how many tricks to win. You need a normal deck of cards, and you can find a regular deck of playing cards from Playmore. This guide uses one common version of Ninety-Nine; rules can vary by region or family, so agree on house rules before you begin.
Quick facts
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Players | 3 |
| Cards | 36 cards: ace through six in each suit |
| Cards per player | 12, with 3 set aside as the bid |
| Tricks played | 9 per deal |
| Goal | Win exactly your bid number of tricks |
| Game target | 100 points |
What you are trying to do
A trick is one small contest in which each player plays one card. The highest card wins the trick, subject to the trump suit. Before the tricks begin, each player secretly chooses three cards from their hand. The suits of those three cards form a coded bid, or prediction, of how many tricks that player plans to win.
The code is simple: each club counts as 3 tricks, each heart as 2, each spade as 1, and each diamond as 0. For example, a club, a heart, and a spade make a bid of 6. You are trying to take exactly that many tricks, not merely as many as possible. A player who takes too few or too many misses the contract.
What you need
Use a 36-card pack: remove the twos, threes, fours, and fives, leaving the ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, and 6 in every suit. You also need paper and a pencil, or a notes app, to record scores. For a first game, leave out optional declarations and revelations; they are exciting additions, but the basic game is easier to learn without them.
Set it up
Choose a dealer. Deal 12 cards to each player, one card at a time. The player to the dealer’s left leads the first trick. Deal and play move clockwise around the table, so the deal passes to the left after each deal.
Each player studies their 12 cards and selects exactly three to place face down in front of them. These are the bid cards, and they are not part of the trick play. Add their suit values to discover your secret target. Keep the three cards together and hidden until the end of the deal.
On the first deal, there is no trump suit. For later deals, the trump suit depends on how many players succeeded in the previous deal: clubs if all three succeeded, hearts if two succeeded, spades if one succeeded, and diamonds if nobody succeeded.
How to play
- Lead a card. The player left of the dealer chooses any card from their nine-card playing hand and places it face up. This starts the trick.
- Follow the suit. Each other player must play a card of the same suit as the lead if they have one. If they do not have that suit, they may play any card, including a trump.
- Compare the cards. If no trump was played, the highest card in the suit led wins. Card rank goes from high to low: ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6. If one or more trumps were played, the highest trump wins, even if it is lower than the lead card’s rank.
- Collect the trick. The winner takes the three cards, keeps the trick in a face-down pile, and leads the next trick. The winner may lead any suit.
- Continue for nine tricks. Players keep following suit whenever possible. Count each trick pile so everyone knows how many tricks they have taken, but do not reveal your bid cards yet.
- Check the contracts. When all nine tricks are complete, each player compares their actual trick total with their coded bid. A player who took exactly the promised number has succeeded. That player turns over the three bid cards to prove the target.
- Write down the scores. Give every player 1 point for each trick they actually won. Add the contract bonus described below, then determine the trump suit for the next deal from the number of successful players.
How you win
The contract bonus rewards exact play. If all three players meet their bids, each successful player adds 10 points. If exactly two players succeed, each of those two adds 20 points. If only one player succeeds, that player adds 30 points. Players who miss their bids receive no contract bonus, but they still keep the 1 point per trick they won.
For example, if you win 4 tricks after bidding 4, you receive 4 trick points plus the appropriate contract bonus. If you bid 4 but win 3 or 5, you receive only the trick points. Play deals until someone reaches at least 100 points. That player wins the game. If two players reach the target on the same deal, the higher final score wins; if the scores are equal, play another deal as a tiebreaker.
Easy first-game tips
Start by looking at your long suits and strong cards. A long suit gives you more chances to follow suit, while aces and kings often win tricks when they are not trumped. Do not automatically make the biggest possible bid. A small target can be difficult too, because winning even one extra trick makes you miss.
Remember that your three bid cards disappear from play. Setting aside three clubs promises 9 tricks, but those clubs cannot help you win them. Diamonds are useful in the code because they add nothing, yet removing a diamond also removes one card you might otherwise use to follow suit.
Watch which suits other players cannot follow. If someone plays a trump after failing to follow suit, you learn that they are short in the lead suit. Save useful cards for the right moment, and count your tricks after every round. Most importantly, keep your bid secret and aim for precision rather than taking every trick you can.
Quick questions
Can I choose any three cards for my bid?
Yes. Choose exactly three cards, set them aside face down, and use only their suits to calculate your target. Their ranks do not matter.
What happens if I take the wrong number of tricks?
You still score 1 point for each trick you took, but you do not receive the contract bonus. Your bid cards are shown only if you succeeded.