Russian whist
| Skruuvi | |
| Origin | Russia |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Russian whist, Skruf-whist |
| Type | trick-taking |
| Players | 4, in partnerships |
| Skills required | Trick play, Communication through the bidding system |
| Age range | Adults |
| Cards | 52 |
| Deck | Anglo-American |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Card rank (highest to lowest) | A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 |
| Related games | |
| Whist, Auction bridge, Contract bridge | |
Vint is a Russian card-game, similar to both bridge and whist and it is sometimes referred to as Russian whist. Vint means a screw in Russian, and the name is given to the game because the four players, each in turn, propose, bid and overbid each other until one, having bid higher than the others care to follow, makes the trump, and his vis-a-vis plays as his partner.
The game spread to Finland, where it evolved into Skruuvi, which features also a kitty and misère contracts.
Vint has many similarities to rubber bridge: The cards have the same rank. The score of tricks is entered under the line, and points for slam, honors, and penalties for undertricks above the line. The bidding is similar to bridge, one bids the number of tricks and the trump suit or no trump.
During the progress of the bidding and declaring, opportunity is taken by the players to indicate by their calls their strength in the various suits and the high cards they hold, so that, when the playing begins, the position of the best cards and the strength of the different hands can often be fairly accurately estimated.
Unlike Bridge, in Vint there is no dummy, all taken tricks count toward a game (that is, the tricks taken by the defenders as well as the tricks taken by the declarer side including overtricks, regardless of whether the contract was made or not), and the bidding ends after eight consecutive passes (everyone passes twice including the player who made the last bid.) The value of a trick depends on the level of the contract. In higher contracts the value of a trick is higher.
The card play follows the standard whist formula. One must follow suit, but if unable to do so, one can play any card. The trick is won by the highest trump, if there are trumps in the trick, otherwise by the highest card of the suit led. The winner of the trick starts the next one.
Points are awarded also for honours. In a no trump declaration aces count only as honors; in a suit declaration both the aces and the five next highest cards.
The game emerged during the latter half of the 19th century. In primitive forms, known as Siberian Vint, the value of the trick depended on the level of the contract and the trump suit. Later, this was simplified so that the level of the contract was the only thing the value of the trick depended on.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the kitty was added to the game. The highest bidder took a kitty of 4 cards to his hand and gave one card for every other player before the card play started. Towards the end of the 19th century, also the card exchange mechanism used in Skruuvi was born. The highest bidder took the kitty in his hand, gave 4 cards for his partner, who, in turn, gave one card for every other player. This enabled the declarer side arrange themselves very shaped hands, which lead to higher contracts.
...
Wikipedia