Twenty-Nine

Overview

Twenty-Nine is a four-player trick-taking match for two teams. You bid card points, not tricks. The trump suit stays secret until someone cannot follow the suit that was led.

• Players: 4 on two teams (Bottom & Top vs Left & Right)
• Deck: 32 cards, 7 through Ace in each suit
• Hand: 4 cards for the auction, then 4 more, for 8 cards each
• Tricks: 8 per deal
• Match goal: First team to +6 game points wins. A team that falls to −6 loses.

Card Rank and Points

Rank is not Ace-high. In every suit the order is Jack, 9, Ace, 10, King, Queen, 8, 7.

• Jack is worth 3 card points. The 9 is worth 2. Ace and 10 are worth 1 each.
• King, Queen, 8, and 7 are worth 0.
• Those values add up to 28 across the deck. The team that wins the last trick also gets 1 extra point, so a full deal is worth 29.
• A trick's points go to the team that wins it.

Bidding

Everyone is dealt 4 cards first. Bidding starts with the player to the dealer's right and goes counter-clockwise.

• Bid the card points your team will take, from 16 to 29. Each new bid must be higher than the last, or you may pass.
• The highest bidder's team takes the contract at that number.
• If everyone passes, the first player asked must take 16.
• The high bidder then secretly chooses the trump suit from those first 4 cards. The other players do not see it.
• Four more cards are dealt. Everyone now holds 8.

Double and Redouble

After the second deal, the opponent sitting to the high bidder's right may double.

• Passing keeps the deal at 1 game point.
• Doubling raises the swing to 2 game points. The high bidder may then redouble, which raises it to 4.
• Declining a redouble leaves the deal doubled.

Playing the Tricks

There are 8 tricks. Play moves counter-clockwise: Bottom → Right → Top → Left.

• The player to the dealer's right leads the first trick and may play any card. That is the same seat that opened the bidding, not necessarily the high bidder.
• Everyone else must follow the suit that was led if they have it.
• While trump is still hidden, it has no power. The highest card of the led suit wins, using the Twenty-Nine rank order.
• The first player who cannot follow suit reveals the trump. From then on, any trump beats any card of another suit, and a higher trump beats a lower one.
• The player who wins the trick leads the next one.

The Pair

After trump has been revealed, a team that wins a trick may declare the King and Queen of trump if one of them still holds both.

• Each team may declare once.
• The bidding team's pair lowers their target by 4. A bid of 20 becomes 16.
• The other team's pair raises the bidding team's target by 4. A bid of 20 becomes 24.
• The target never leaves the range 16–29.

Scoring a Deal

Only the bidding team's match score changes. The other team's game points stay where they are.

• The deal ends as soon as the bidding team reaches its target, or as soon as the other team has taken enough points that the target can no longer be reached.
• If neither happens early, all 8 tricks are played, including the extra point on the last trick.
• Made: the bidding team gains 1 game point. Failed: they lose 1.
• A doubled deal is +2 or −2. A redoubled deal is +4 or −4.

Winning the Match

• Game points add up across deals. The first team to reach +6 wins.
• A team that falls to −6 loses, and the other team wins the match.
• After each deal the dealer moves one seat to the right, and a new deal begins.

Teams and Seats

When you sit at Bottom, your partner is Top. Your opponents are Left and Right.

If multiple humans play on one device (hot-seat), extra human seats are filled clockwise from Bottom:

• Remaining seats are filled by bots. You can assign bots randomly or pick a character for each side.

Playing a Card (This App)

On your turn, legal cards are highlighted. To play:

• Press and hold a legal card to select it (only one card is previewed at a time).
• While holding, you can slide to another legal card to change your choice.
• Push the card toward the center (the court) and release to play it.
• If you release without pushing far enough, the card returns to your hand.

Card-Play Signals

No secret talk is allowed, but you may hint to your partner by how you play a card. Signals are turned on with the Allow signals option when a game is created (on by default); online it is chosen by the game creator and applies to everyone.

On your turn, tap Give a signal, pick a signal, then play a card — all four players see the animation.

• Slam: You slam the card down. This tells your partner you'd like them to lead this suit the next time they lead.
• Drop: You drop the card from a few inches up. This tells everyone you have no more cards of that suit.
• Signals are only a hint from how you play — they never change the rules, scoring, or which card wins.

Quick Reference

Bots

Bots play by the same rules but do not see hidden hands — only their own cards and what has already been played. Harder bots count cards and play more strategically; easier bots make more mistakes.

Named bots (Easy → Advanced): KADO, POCHAQ, PUCHOQ, SADA, TANA, JANGARA, TANOOR, TIZAB, ZELZELA.