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Spades- Variations of the Game
Posted by oscar in Card Games, Spades on October 5th, 2009
Spades is one of the most flexible card games around, and there are a number of variations that can be implemented in every stage of the game to suit your playing group’s liking and interests.
Number of players: In the traditional format, the game was meant to be played by four players, forming two partnerships of two players each. The other variations are:
• Solo Spades: This variation of the game is also known as ‘Cut Throat Spades’.
• Two players: Played between two players, this variation does not involve any dealing of cards. Cards are drawn by the players from a face-down deck.
• Three players: In this arrangement of an odd number of players, there is no opportunity for a partnership. Players play individually and each one gets 17 cards, after the 2s of Clubs have been removed.
• Five players: There are again no partnerships here, and each player plays with 10 cards, after 2s of reds have been removed.
• Six players: With these many players, the game can be either played solo or in partnerships (two or three). It entails that an extra pack of 52 cards is put into the game. More than six players can also play, making groups accordingly.
Variations in Dealing:
• Face-up Deal: This variation of Spades entails that the dealer lays out the cards for each with their faces up, and this goes on up to four cards. This brings about a ‘power check’ competition to the game.
• Kitty: If in a game, the number of players is such that the playing cards cannot be evenly distributed, a ‘kitty’ is used in place of the usual widow, and it is composed of all the cards that are leftover or are played as tricks.
• Deuce starts: Irrespective of who deals the cards in this variation of the game, it is always the player who holds the 2 of Club who begins the game by leading the same.
Variations in Bidding:
Board: In the ‘Going Board’ variation of Spades, the minimum bid required to be made by each team is four tricks. Sometimes, this format can be altered to settle on a minimum bid that is agreed upon by the players.
Auction Spades: In this variation, the game play of Spades is combined with the unique auction-based style of bidding seen in Contract bridge. Thus, when a team has made its minimum bid, the subsequent bidders raise must raise it or else, pass their turn. The winning team makes its contract, while the opponents can either ‘set’ them or even force them to bid overtricks.
Suicide: Such bidding is done only when there are four players (two partnerships), wherein partners must make opposite bids (a player can bid either a minimum of four tricks, or else, Nil).
Whiz: this format requires that the player must either make a bid of the all the spades in his hand, or he must go nil. Mirrors is a similar version of this format.
The game is also seen with a number of variations based on trump, game play, and even scoring patterns.
Cluedo: Advice from Pro’s and Experts
Posted by oscar in Board Games, Cluedo on October 4th, 2009
Cluedo is not a very difficult game to play. People generally need to know the main rules to play the game. As cluedo varies from country to country, there are many tips available to play the game. We will guide you as to how to set up the board and how the game should be played without any flaws.
It is advisable that Mrs Scarlett should always start the game. It is always good to throw the dice first as it is a good advantage. It is also important that you move your character into a room as soon as possible. It so happens that when you move into a room, you are allowed to make the call as to who has committed the murder. The call you make has to be a good one and it requires a considerable amount of thinking and not just a fast answer. Always play in a group of six as one person is bound to be the murderer and it is not so important to play the detective.
There is not much to say about those who play cluedo Pc games as there is not much strategy involved in it. Basically Pc games have cheat codes which totally spoil the game as it gives away the secrets of the game and then it becomes easy to play. For example, you just have to type in a cheat code and you will get all the weapons even without earning them. This is where we disagree on the PC game. Playing this game as a board game is much better any given day.
There are various important tips to play the game. These help you win the game. Some pointers are, a particular player should lure another player so as to find out who has committed the murder in the game. Every player should be aware of what he is doing and what his opponents are doing. If no one has a card, this means that one of the particular players have guessed one card correctly or either wants to confuse the opponent in getting the wrong answer. Players are encouraged to confuse their partner as it is the best way to win.
It is to be noted that, once a player has entered the room, no other player can come into the room at the same time. Any person can use the secret passage if it’s their turn. Suggestions should be given after the character is moved and if the player desires to change his decision. It is always advisable to take a note of the card every time it is turned over and also record the accusation.
These are some good tips on how to play and win this game. However with new rules and new ways to play the game it has become more simplified by cheat codes which generally spoil the game.
Scrabble: Tips for Experts and Advanced Players
Posted by oscar in Board Games, Scrabble on August 7th, 2009
When you get on the losing side, it’s so easy to shift blame to “bad luck”. There are scrabble players who don’t attribute anything to “luck” or “chance”. There are people who are lucky or unlucky. But in Scrabble, there are people who most definitely make bad luck for themselves! If you are a scrabble expert or are aspiring to be, you know what we are talking about it!
Managing your rack is a skill to master. You must know which tiles to play now and which ones to hold back. Here are some basic rules of thumb:
Try and Maintain a Healthy Balance of Consonants and Vowels
There are about 2 tiles for every 3 consonants in the tile bag. Let’s assume you play a four-letter word and you have 3 consonants left. Chances are that you will pick at least 2-3 consonants for your refill. If you get three consonants, you have only yourself to blame! You will then be staring at a rack full of consonants and only one vowel. This restricts your options of making words and you’re most likely to resort to three letter words thereby exhausting your only vowel. It is okay to compromise a little on score so that you don’t have to face situations where your rack is dominated by only consonants or only vowels.
Try and Get Rid of Pairs of Letters on your Rack
If you keep back pairs of letters or more on your rack, you are merely restricting your options. Assuming you have two I’s on your rack, use at least one in your current play. You might run the horror of having two more I’s added onto your rack, if you don’t get rid of pairs of letters!
Don’t Keep the High Scoring Tiles from Play
High scoring tiles are so made because they are the least used in English language. It is a natural temptation to save them and use them for triple word scores to multiply your points. But the more of these you accumulate the fewer options you will have to actually make a word out of them.
Save the Blank Tiles, S, T and E’s
E is obviously the most useful vowel. Using S’s and T’s, you can make so many bonus words that will surely fetch you 40+! Make wise use of these letters. However, don’t let them clog your rack like mentioned above. A blank tile is also a blessing in disguise! Get a bingo if you get a blank tile! However, don’t liberally use your S’s and T’s… Remember, S pluralizes nouns and singularizes most verbs! It is an integral asset in your bank. Your opponent could be smart enough to capitalize on them!
Build your Vocabulary
Mnemonics, wacky definitions, anagram clusters are some of the tools you can employ to build your vocabulary. Know your two letter word lists and then progress to three letter words, especially words created with the front and back extensions of the two letter words. If you’re bingo-hungry, mug up as many 7-8 letter words as well!
Keep practicing. You will find yourself becoming an expert soon. Indulge in your passion for scrabble and review your moves at the end of each game. You will learn more this way. Good luck!
Oscar
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