Manchego

This is a card game for three players. It uses a normal 52 card pack. Ace ranks high, and 2 is low.

Manchego is a game of pure skill. No matter how good or bad your hand may be, there is always the opportunity to win points. It is based upon a game called "Oh Hell" (also known as "Oh Pshaw" or "Blackout").

The Game

The game consists of one of the following:

1. A fixed number of deals, eg 10.
2. Play for an agreed time period.
3. Play until a player reaches a target score, eg 10 points

The Deal

The deal rotates to the left (clockwise). Deal cards one at a time, clockwise, started with the player to dealer's left. Deal seventeen cards to each player, and lay the last card face up on the table. This card denotes trumps for the deal.

The Bidding

Each player makes a bid, starting with the player at left of dealer, and ending with the dealer. A player bids the number of tricks they expect to win, from zero to seventeen. The scorekeeper makes a note of each person's bid, which can be referred to at any time by any player.

The Play

The player at left of dealer makes the opening lead. The hands are played out in tricks. Each player must follow the suit of the lead if possible, otherwise they may play any card. A trick is won by the highest trump, or the highest card of the suit led if it contains no trump. Each player keeps the tricks they have won in clearly separate bundles in front of them.

Scoring

At the end of the seventeen tricks, scoring takes place. A player can only score by winning closer to the number of tricks they bid, than another player. For example, if a player wins exactly the right number of tricks, they win 1 point from a player who missed their target by one trick (either above or below). If a player wins two tricks too many, but another wins four tricks fewer than they wanted, the first player wins 2 points. The winner is the first player to reach the target number of points, or the player with the most points at the end of the chosen time period/number of deals. Here are some more examples of scoring.