Sixty-three card game
Encyclopedia
Sixty-three is a card game popular in Carleton County, New Brunswick
, and on Cape Breton Island
, Nova Scotia
, and is named after the number of points which can be taken in a hand. This game is nearly identical to the Pitch
variant Pedro
. It also has features reminiscent of Euchre
.
Sixty-three is played by four players, in two teams, and uses a full deck of cards plus one joker
. The players on the same team should sit opposite each other, and any 'table talk' or transfer of information about the games between partners is strictly forbidden.
Dealing
The dealer will customarily offer to let the person to their right cut the deck prior to a hand. The players are dealt 9 cards each (given out to each player three cards at a time), after which a bid
round ensues to determine which suit
will be trump.
Bidding
Each player bids based on the number of points he/she feels that their team can take, with the minimum bid being 25 and the maximum bid being 63 (hence the name of the game). The player willing to bid the highest will 'take the hand' and be able to decide which suit will be trump. It is not unusual for partners to bid against each other if they both have a good hand. Bidding should be done aggressively to try to ensure that trump is picked by either yourself or your teammate, however, should a team fail to 'make their bid', i.e. they fail to take as many points as they bid, then their score will drop by the amount of their bid. A king
, the card worth the most points (see below), is generally required in a hand before it is considered biddable.
Re-dealing
After the bidding, players discard all non-trump cards in their hands, and the dealer deals more cards from the remainder of the deck until each player has six in their hand. Should a player have more than six trump in their hand, then they may give the excess trump to their partner, provided it is a card not worth any points (see below) and that the transfer is carried out face-up so the other team may see. Any cards now in the hand which are not trump are referred to as dirt.
Gameplay
The person who won the bid then plays the lead card in the first hand (he must lead trump in the first hand), and the players then attempt to take as many points for their team as possible in the ensuing rounds. A round consists of each player playing one card, with the winner of the round playing the lead card in the next round. If trump is lead, all players must follow suit if they can. Should a dirt card be lead, then players may either play dirt as well (any suit), or trump should they choose to. Any trump card will take any dirt card. Should a player run out of trump, they may play all their remaining cards in one hand and be considered out of the hand. The hand is finished when all players have played all their cards. The game ends when one team reaches 250 points (usually five to ten hands will be required for this).
). The 2 (including its one point) is always kept by the person who plays it, regardless of who wins the hand. These point values apply only for cards of the trump suit as decided in the bidding round - all 'dirt' suits are worthless.
Note: In Inverness County
, Cape Breton Island
, the 3 of trump is worth 15 and the Joker is not used.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, and on Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, and is named after the number of points which can be taken in a hand. This game is nearly identical to the Pitch
Pitch (card game)
Pitch is an American trick-taking card game derived from the English game of All Fours . Historically, Pitch started as "Blind All Fours", a very simple All Fours variant that is still played in England as a pub game...
variant Pedro
Pedro (game)
Pedro is an American trick-taking card game of the All Fours family based on Auction Pitch. Its most popular variant is known as Cinch, Double Pedro or High Five. Developed in Denver, Colorado in the 1880s, it was soon regarded as the most important member of the All Fours family...
. It also has features reminiscent of Euchre
Euchre
Euchre or eucre, is a trick-taking card game most commonly played with four people in two partnerships with a deck of 24 standard playing cards. It is the game responsible for introducing the joker into modern packs; this was invented around 1860 to act as a top trump or best bower...
.
Gameplay
SetupSixty-three is played by four players, in two teams, and uses a full deck of cards plus one joker
Joker (playing card)
Joker is a special type of playing card found in most modern decks, or else a type of tile in some Mahjong game sets.-Name:It is believed that the term "Joker" comes from a mispronunciation of Jucker, the German/Alsatian name for the game Euchre. The card was originally introduced in about 1860 for...
. The players on the same team should sit opposite each other, and any 'table talk' or transfer of information about the games between partners is strictly forbidden.
Dealing
The dealer will customarily offer to let the person to their right cut the deck prior to a hand. The players are dealt 9 cards each (given out to each player three cards at a time), after which a bid
Bidding
Bidding is an offer of setting a price one is willing to pay for something. A price offer is called a bid. The term may be used in context of auctions, stock exchange, card games, or real estate transactions....
round ensues to determine which suit
Suit (cards)
In playing cards, a suit is one of several categories into which the cards of a deck are divided. Most often, each card bears one of several symbols showing to which suit it belongs; the suit may alternatively or in addition be indicated by the color printed on the card...
will be trump.
Bidding
Each player bids based on the number of points he/she feels that their team can take, with the minimum bid being 25 and the maximum bid being 63 (hence the name of the game). The player willing to bid the highest will 'take the hand' and be able to decide which suit will be trump. It is not unusual for partners to bid against each other if they both have a good hand. Bidding should be done aggressively to try to ensure that trump is picked by either yourself or your teammate, however, should a team fail to 'make their bid', i.e. they fail to take as many points as they bid, then their score will drop by the amount of their bid. A king
King (playing card)
The king is a playing card with a picture of a king on it. The usual rank of a king is as if it were a 13; that is, above the queen. In some games, the king is the highest-ranked card; in others, the ace is higher...
, the card worth the most points (see below), is generally required in a hand before it is considered biddable.
Re-dealing
After the bidding, players discard all non-trump cards in their hands, and the dealer deals more cards from the remainder of the deck until each player has six in their hand. Should a player have more than six trump in their hand, then they may give the excess trump to their partner, provided it is a card not worth any points (see below) and that the transfer is carried out face-up so the other team may see. Any cards now in the hand which are not trump are referred to as dirt.
Gameplay
The person who won the bid then plays the lead card in the first hand (he must lead trump in the first hand), and the players then attempt to take as many points for their team as possible in the ensuing rounds. A round consists of each player playing one card, with the winner of the round playing the lead card in the next round. If trump is lead, all players must follow suit if they can. Should a dirt card be lead, then players may either play dirt as well (any suit), or trump should they choose to. Any trump card will take any dirt card. Should a player run out of trump, they may play all their remaining cards in one hand and be considered out of the hand. The hand is finished when all players have played all their cards. The game ends when one team reaches 250 points (usually five to ten hands will be required for this).
Point values and killing power of cards in Sixty-three
The cards are arranged in descending order for killing power, with point values listed by the side of each card. The 'opposite 5' means the 5 which is the same colour as trump (e.g. the 5 of clubs is opposite the 5 of spadesSpades
Spades is a partnership trick-taking card game devised in the United States in the 1930s, in which the object is for each pair or partnership to take at least the number of tricks they bid on before play began. Spades is a descendant of the Whist family of card games, which also includes Bridge,...
). The 2 (including its one point) is always kept by the person who plays it, regardless of who wins the hand. These point values apply only for cards of the trump suit as decided in the bidding round - all 'dirt' suits are worthless.
- Ace - 1 point
- King - 25 points
- Queen
- Jack - 1 point
- 10 - 1 point
- 9 - 9 points
- 8
- 7
- 6
- 5, opposite 5 - 5 points
- 4
- 3
- 2 - 1 point
- Joker - 15 points
Note: In Inverness County
Inverness County, Nova Scotia
Inverness County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Its territory is almost contiguous with the Municipality of Inverness County, which only excludes the town of Port Hawkesbury and First Nation reserves.-History:...
, Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
, the 3 of trump is worth 15 and the Joker is not used.