[Thymallus]

I have the following problem.

1 x 8 year old who thinks he would like to play bridge and already imagines he is the best in the world at the game (though he hasn't played it.)

1 x Wife who has no interest in the game at all (my fault .. we played bridge with a couple who a) whipped us and tapped the cards condescendingly as they played winners they liked ... twin insults for which she has yet to forgive me!

So the question is: which 2 handed card game would be the best introductory game for an 8 year old boy who would thinks he might like to learn to play bridge?

Minibridge seems to be out since it needs a minimum of 3 players.

Thanks

John

[helene_t]

1) Double-dummy bridge
2) Double-dummy bridge but then with each dummy arranged as four piles of 3,3,3 and 4 cards rsp. so that only the top card from each pile can be seen and played.
3) Real bridge, find two more people (posibly at BBO)

[han]

Here is a card game I used to play with my father when I was that age:

Use only the cards 7 and higher (so 32 cards). Each player gets dealt 8 cards face down before him on the table. On top of those cards he gets another 8 cards, face up. So before the game starts each player has 16 cards of which he can see 8.

One player gets to decide which suit is trump. He also gets to lead. The game is played exactly as in bridge. When a card is played that has another card under it, the face down gets turned face up.

We kept track of the difference in tricks. If in the first game I get 9 tricks and my father 7, I would be up 2. The next game my father would get 11 tricks, and I would get 5, so my father would be up 4.

[kfgauss]

A pleasant bridge-like 2 player game I like is:

1. Shuffle and place the deck between you.

2. One player draws a card and either

a. discards it face down and takes the next card (which must be kept), or

b. keeps the card and discards the next one face down (neither player gets to see it)

3. repeat step 2, alternating turns, until all cards are used up (you'll have 13 cards each)

4. Bid & play "bridge" (use rubber scoring preferably). (So two cards per trick, opening leader is the defender, etc.)

----

This game has some similarities to bridge and stresses certain skills (e.g. endplays and strip-squeezes are very important), and it's also fun.

Andy

[Rain]

snap (with nice pictures)

happy family

go fish

[joshs]

I grew up on Casino and various Rummy Games (I especially liked rummy 500).

[Cascade]

Oh Hell is our favourite family card game.

It is in the whist family so involves trick taking.

It has bidding so involves some hand evaluation.

There is lots of luck and is lots of fun.

[EricK]

I like 99 ( http://www.pagat.com/exact/99.html ), although I have only played the three-handed version (any chance your wife would play that?). It has bidding (of sorts), tricks, trumps and some partnership element on occasion as well.

[hrothgar]

Magic the Gathering....

[Free]

hrothgar, on Jul 13 2006, 09:50 PM, said:

Magic the Gathering....

OMG!!! Play with blue, and use only one word: "Counter"

[Limey_p]

Any card game is good in this context, but not poker imo.

Cribbage is a good game for two, no tricks though.

AP

[Double !]

I don't know if this is the real name for this game, but there is a game that 3 people can play that also involves the concepts of trumps, of tricks, and trick-taking potential. We call the game "17".

There are 17 (or less if you so choose) hands that are played.

For the first hand, you shuffle the whole deck, deal each person one card, and turn over the next card. That card designates which suit is trumps. Then you look at your card are decide how many tricks you can take with that card (i.e.: 0 or 1). You can bid 0 tricks or as many as you think you can take on any given hand, 1, 2, 3, etc.

For the second deal each person gets two cards, for the third hand each person gets 3 cards, and so on until you reach the point where everyone gets 17 cards.
For each hand, you can bid from 0 tricks up to as many tricks you think you can take. The cards get shuffled before each hand.

I can not remember how to score the game. I remember that you get a certain number of points for making your bid (maybe twice the number that you bid: I don't remember), you get a point for overtricks, but you also lose something (maybe 5 points) for over-bidding. I wish I remembered the actual name and how to score. lololol

This can be a good game for an 8-year old because it permits you to play up to the limit of an 8-year old's interest and attention span. It's also fun for an 80 year old.
And, like bridge, it can become boring if you keep getting bad cards lololol

DHL

[Cascade]

Double !, on Jul 14 2006, 05:32 PM, said:

I don't know if this is the real name for this game, but there is a game that 3 people can play that also involves the concepts of trumps, of tricks, and trick-taking potential. We call the game "17".

There are 17 (or less if you so choose) hands that are played.

For the first hand, you shuffle the whole deck, deal each person one card, and turn over the next card. That card designates which suit is trumps. Then you look at your card are decide how many tricks you can take with that card (i.e.: 0 or 1). You can bid 0 tricks or as many as you think you can take on any given hand, 1, 2, 3, etc.

For the second deal each person gets two cards, for the third hand each person gets 3 cards, and so on until you reach the point where everyone gets 17 cards.
For each hand, you can bid from 0 tricks up to as many tricks you think you can take. The cards get shuffled before each hand.

I can not remember how to score the game. I remember that you get a certain number of points for making your bid (maybe twice the number that you bid: I don't remember), you get a point for overtricks, but you also lose something (maybe 5 points) for over-bidding. I wish I remembered the actual name and how to score. lololol

This can be a good game for an 8-year old because it permits you to play up to the limit of an 8-year old's interest and attention span. It's also fun for an 80 year old.
And, like bridge, it can become boring if you keep getting bad cards lololol

DHL

This is "Oh Hell".

I have also heard it called "Up the river down the river" in a version that goes from one card to ten cards and then back to one card.

I have played this game with many different forms of scoring. I am sure you can do an internet search to find a common form of scoring.

With from 1 to 10 cards per player I have played:

10 cards - 10 points per trick
9 cards - 20 points per trick
...
1 card - 100 points per trick

You have to get exactly the number of tricks you specify. Failing to get the exact number scores negative at the current rate for each trick you fail by.

I have also played:

Score = 10 points + the number of tricks you aim at and zero if you fail.

In one version we state how many tricks in turn around from the dealer. The dealer at his turn is not allowed to make the number of tricks equal to the number of cards. So at least one player must miss out.

In another version we all simultaneous indicate the number of tricks we wish to get with our fingers - "on the count of three ..."

I am sure you could make up your own scoring system.

[Thymallus]

The wrinkle our family had for "Oh Hell" was that the total number of tricks bid for was not allowed to equal the total number of tricks available so someone is always going down on every deal!

[barmar]

I played Oh Hell during lunch at work many years ago, and we also had the rule prohibiting the number of tricks bid equalling the number available. I assumed this was normal, and the reason for the name -- the last bidder was usually screwed because he couldn't bid what he wanted. If you're not using that rule, you should use the alternate names "17" or "Up the River, Down the River".

Other card games that involve trick taking, and are popular preludes to learning bridge, are Hearts and Spades.

[Double !]

Cascade, on Jul 14 2006, 05:16 AM, said:

Double !, on Jul 14 2006, 05:32 PM, said:

I don't know if this is the real name for this game, but there is a game that 3 people can play that also involves the concepts of trumps, of tricks, and trick-taking potential.  We call the game "17".


This can be a good game for an 8-year old because it permits you to play up to the limit of an 8-year old's interest and attention span.  It's also fun for an 80 year old.
And, like bridge, it can become boring if you keep getting bad cards  lololol

DHL

This is "Oh Hell".

I have also heard it called "Up the river down the river" in a version that goes from one card to ten cards and then back to one card.

I have played this game with many different forms of scoring. I am sure you can do an internet search to find a common form of scoring.

With from 1 to 10 cards per player I have played:

10 cards - 10 points per trick
9 cards - 20 points per trick
...
1 card - 100 points per trick

You have to get exactly the number of tricks you specify. Failing to get the exact number scores negative at the current rate for each trick you fail by.

I have also played:

Score = 10 points + the number of tricks you aim at and zero if you fail.

In one version we state how many tricks in turn around from the dealer. The dealer at his turn is not allowed to make the number of tricks equal to the number of cards. So at least one player must miss out.

In another version we all simultaneous indicate the number of tricks we wish to get with our fingers - "on the count of three ..."

I am sure you could make up your own scoring system.

Oh, like I said, I didn't recall the name of the game.
well at least this seems to be a reasonably known game.
Thanks for the feedback, Wayne. I didn't know what "Oh, H___ was.

DHL

[Mr. Dodgy]

I've played 'Oh Hell' with my family for years, fun game for all ages. Definitely worth using the 'total bid <> total available' rule

We actually renamed this game 'Gin and Tonic' as an inverse of Douglas Adams' alcohol theory, because we found that practically everyone knows this game by a different name.