NUMBER OF PLAYERS 3 to 7 (ideal for 3 or 4)Despite being a simple game to learn, Oh Hell is surprisingly difficult to win. It’s also a great game for spoilers—those people who get a thrill from sabotaging other people’s hands.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS 3 to 7 (ideal for 3 or 4)
HOW TO DEAL Start with a fifty-two-card deck. In the first round, all players receive one card, in the second round two cards, etc. The number of rounds depends on the total number of players:
3 players: 15 rounds
4 players: 13 rounds
5 players: 10 rounds
6 players: 8 rounds
7 players: 7 rounds
Card ranking is standard, with aces always high.
SCORING Players who make their bid exactly score 10 points plus the value of the bid (so a successful bid of 2 scores 12 points). Otherwise no points are scored.
HOW TO PLAY Once all cards are dealt, the dealer turns up a card from the deck to determine trump for the round. Next, the player to the left of the dealer opens the bidding. Players bid only once, from zero up to the total number of cards in the current round. The bid winner must win exactly the number of tricks bid—no more, no less.
After the bidding is complete, the player to the left of the dealer plays a card. Tricks are won by the highest trump (which may be played at any time), or by the highest card in the leading suit. The trick winner leads the next trick. The last trick of every round is always played “no trump,” which means there is no trump suit. Scores are tallied once all cards are played. The deal rotates left.