Bonking

Last updated March 15, 2019

Bonking is a trick-taking card game for 4 players that is played with a deck of cards. Everyone plays for themselves. In total 11 rounds are played, in which every round has its own goal. The goal of the game is to score as many points as possible. The player who scores the most points is declared the winner.

A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games. A small number of card games played with traditional decks have formally standardized rules, but most are folk games whose rules vary by region, culture, and person. Games using playing cards exploit the fact that cards are individually identifiable from one side only, so that each player knows only the cards he holds and not those held by anyone else. For this reason card games are often characterized as games of chance or “imperfect information”—as distinct from games of strategy or “perfect information,” where the current position is fully visible to all players throughout the game.

Object

It's a game that, with exception to 'Domino', is played on basis of taking tricks. The trick is taken by the player who played the highest card in the suit of the leading card or, if it applies, the one who played the highest trump. The card rankings are as usual, the ace being high and 2 low. Players are obliged to follow suit if able to do so. If a trump is in the round, a player is allowed (not obligated), if he cannot follow suit, to play a trump.

A trump is a playing card which is elevated above its usual rank in trick-taking games. Typically, an entire suit is nominated as a trump suit; these cards then outrank all cards of plain (non-trump) suits. In other contexts, the term trump card can refer to any sort of action, authority, or policy which automatically prevails over all others.

Gameplay

One of the players starts as dealer and shuffles the deck. After this, he deals every player 13 cards. The cards are dealt clockwise. The player who sits across the table from the dealer can choose which of the rounds is played. He is not allowed to choose a round that has already been played. The player to the right of the dealer starts doubling. After the descriptions of the rounds is the explanation of doubling. The player on the left of the dealer plays the leading card. After the first trick the player who took that trick plays the next leading card. After each round the cards are shuffled and dealt by the player to the left of the previous dealer. As noted before, each of the rounds has its own goal.

Rounds

1st round

Ducking: Goal is to take the fewest tricks possible. There are no trumps. Each trick taken by a player gives that player -5 points.

2nd round

Heartshunting: Goal is to avoid getting any hearts in the trick you take. There are no trump cards. A player cannot play hearts as leading cards unless the player cannot do otherwise. Every hearts gotten gives the player -5 points.

3rd round

Kingjacks: Goal is to avoid getting any kings and jacks in the tricks you take. There are no trump cards. Each king gotten gives a player -20 points and each jack gives a player -10 points.

4th round

Queens: Goal is to avoid getting any queens in the tricks you take. There are no trump cards. Each queen gotten gives a player -30 points.

5th round

King of Hearts: There are no trump cards. A player isn't allowed to play hearts as leading card unless he cannot do otherwise. The player to get the king of hearts in one of the tricks taken gets -50 points.

6th round

Last trick: There are no trumps. The player who takes the last trick gets -50 points.

7th round

Domino: All played cards stay on the table. When it's a players turn he has (if he's able) to play an 8 OR a card that connects to a previously played card (6 of diamonds connects to 7 of diamonds, but not the 7 of spades or 8 of diamonds). The players are allowed to skip their turn, but only if that player can not make a legal play. The player who plays the last card gets -50 points.

8th to 11th round

Trumps: Every player is allowed to choose the trump for the round once. The player can choose what suit is trump, or choose to play No Trump. The player is not allowed to choose a suit that has already been chosen. Every trick taken gives a player 10 points. Note that only 4 out of 5 possibilities are played.

Doubling

Before the chosen round is played all players have the opportunity to double others. The player to the right of the dealer starts doubling. If a player doubles another, the difference in point obtained in that round will be added to his point total and subtracted from the other players total. If a player doubles a player and that player doubles back, the difference is accounted twice.

The person who chose the round can only double back, that is, he cannot double players who haven't doubled him.

If the points are divided correctly, the sum of the final scores of all four player will be 0, even if players have doubled during the game.

Related Research Articles

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