Ulti
The Card Players (1890s), by Paul Cézanne
|
|
| Origin | Hungary |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Talonmariaš |
| Family | Trick-taking |
| Players | 3 |
| Skills required | Tactics & Strategy |
| Cards | 32 |
| Deck | Piquet |
| Play | Counter-clockwise |
| Playing time | 20 min. |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Related games | |
| Sixty-six | |
Ulti or Ultimó, is Hungary's national trick-taking card game for three players. It is virtually unknown outside its home borders.
Its name derives from the winning of the last trick with the lowest trump, a feature derived from several games like Trappola and Tapp Tarock played in Central Europe and in the former Austro-Hungarian empire, though the game as a whole must have grown naturally out of the Czech Mariaš, first mentioned in Hungary in 1787 and first described in 1883, as suggested by its alternative title Talonmariaš, described as "ultimáriás" by G. J. Potter in 1930. All games ultimately deriving from the old French game Marriage.
It is important to note that the rules of the game are not universal, and typically every group of players will have their own set of rules that they agree upon. When people play together for the first time, it often takes considerable amount of time until they can agree on rule set they play. Some rules can significantly alter the strategy (See reference for a different set of rules from what is described below).
Three players use a 32-card pack, with cards normally ranking A 10 K O U 9 8 7. The first dealer is chosen by any agreed means and thereafter the turn to deal and play passes to the right. The dealer deals a batch of five cards to each player, seven to the first player on his right, and then another batch of five cards to each of the players.
Each game starts with an auction. The highest bidder becomes the soloist and plays alone against the other two with an objective to fulfill whatever contract he bid. In trump games, Aces and Tens captured in tricks worth 10 points each, and winning the last trick is worth a further 10, making a possible total of 90. In addition, declaring a marriage (King and Over of the same suit) scores 20, or 40 in trumps, bringing the maximum possible total to 190. In no-trump contracts card-points and marriages do not count, and cards rank A K O U 10 9 8 7.
All bids have a form of two distinct bids — for trump games a single value bid where the trump is either Acorns, Bells or Leaves (but is not announced during the auction) and a double value bid where the trump is Hearts. In the latter case the suffix "of Hearts" is appended to the bid. The suit of Hearts itself bears no other distinction in the game, however, by naming the trump during the auction the player gives away information and is thus slightly disadvantaged.
In no-trump games such as Betli or Plain Durchmars the double value form of the bid is merely an identical, second stage which helps the auction keep going for higher bids.
...
Wikipedia