66 - Sixty Six 1.0.7

Sixty-six is a 6-card game played with a deck of 24 cards consisting of the Ace, Ten, King, Queen, Jack, and Nine. Each card has a specific point value, with the Ace worth 11 points, Ten worth 10 points, King worth 4 points, Queen worth 3 points, Jack worth 2 points, and Nine worth 0 points.

The dealer is determined by any method acceptable to both players. The deal then alternates between players. Each player is dealt six cards, and the top card of the remaining deck is turned face-up to reveal the trump suit. The remaining stock is placed crosswise on the trump card.

The non-dealer leads to the first trick. The winner of each trick is determined by the highest card of the suit led or the highest trump card in the trick if it contains a card from the trump suit. Until the stock is depleted, there are no restrictions on following suit or trumping. The winner of each trick scores the value of the two cards in the trick as indicated in the table above. Players must keep track of their own scores since they are not recorded and cannot look back at previous tricks. After a trick is played, the winner takes the top card from the stock to replenish their hand, followed by the loser doing the same. The winner of each trick leads to the next trick.

The holder of the lowest trump card, the nine, has the option to exchange it for the turned up trump card. This can only be done by a player who has the lead and has won at least one trick. The exchange must be made immediately after restocking their hand and when no cards are in play.

During their turn as the leader, a player can form a marriage by playing a Queen-King couple of the same suit simultaneously. Regular marriages are worth 20 card points, while trump marriages are worth 40 card points. Marriages are typically announced to the opponent, often by stating the number of points earned. However, these points do not count towards the player's total until they have taken at least one trick.

Once the stock is depleted and the turned up trump card is taken by the loser of the sixth trick, stricter rules come into play. Players must now follow the suit led whenever possible and must trump if they do not hold cards of the suit led. Marriages can no longer be played.

Closing is indicated when a player has a strong enough hand to reach the target of 66 card points under the stock-depleted rules outlined above. The player must also have the lead for the next trick to close. Indication of closing is done by turning over the face-up trump card before or after replenishing their hand back to six cards. The rules for play after closing become even more strict, following the guidelines mentioned earlier for play after depletion of the stock. The stock is now considered "closed," meaning that players no longer replenish their hands, and there is no 10-point bonus for taking the last trick. If the closer reaches 66 card points first, they earn game points as described below. If they fail to reach 66 card points or if their opponent reaches 66 card points first, their opponent scores 2 game points or 3 if that opponent has not taken any tricks.

If a player believes that the points earned from tricks and marriages add up to 66 or more, they can stop the game and begin counting card points. If the player who stopped the game does not have 66 card and marriage points, then their opponent wins 2 game points or 3 if their opponent has not taken any tricks. However, if the player does have 66 points, they earn game points as follows:

• 1 game point if the opponent has 33 or more card points
• 2 game points if the opponent has won at least one trick and has 0–32 card points