Cruce

What is Cruce?

Cruce is Romania's own card game, played for generations in Transylvania, the Banat, Crișana and Maramureș, at kitchen tables and in village bars alike. It belongs to the family of Sixty-Six, with the same 24 cards and the same counts, but it is a game of four in two teams, partners sitting across from each other, "în cruce", as Romanians say. Here you play it with a computer partner against two computer opponents.

Each deal starts with a single round of bidding: how many game points will your side make, each one worth 33 card points? The highest bidder then names trumps in the most Romanian way there is, simply by leading the first card. The first side to 11 game points wins the match. The opponents come in three strengths, your partner always plays its best, and every day brings new deals, the same for everyone.

How to play

Four players, two teams, play going clockwise. The dealer gives everyone six cards, three and then three more.

• Card points. Ace 11, ten 10, king 4, queen 3, jack 2, nine 0: 120 in the pack. Each card shows its points in the corner. The ten ranks between the king and the ace.
• The bidding. From the dealer's left, each player speaks once: pass, or bid a number from one to six that is higher than any bid before. A bid of two says your side, partner included, will take at least 66 points. If all four pass, the cards are dealt again.
• Trumps. The highest bidder leads the first trick, and the suit of that first card is trumps for the whole deal.
• Following. Follow suit. If a card of that suit can still take the trick, you must play one that does, even over your partner. Out of the suit, you must trump, and go over the trumps already down if you can. With neither the suit nor a trump, play any card. The highest trump takes the trick, else the highest card of the suit led, and the winner leads next.
• 20 and 40. Lead a king or a queen while you hold the other one of the same suit, and your side gets 20 at once, or 40 in trumps. A declarer who opens with that card shows the 40 straight away.
• Scoring. After six tricks, each side scores a game point for every full 33, its 20s and 40s included. The bidders score only if they reach their bid; if they fall short, the bid comes off their score instead. The other side always scores what it took. There is no bonus for the last trick.
• Winning. The first side to 11 game points wins the match. If both get there on the same deal, the higher score wins.
• Score. Ten for every game point your side ends on, ten for every point the other side is short of 11, and 100 for winning the match.

Strategy tips

1. Trumps are length. A long suit makes the best trumps: over a deal, each trump beyond the first brings your side more points, on average, than an ace in another suit.
2. Open with the 40. As the declarer, leading the queen or king of a marriage names that suit trumps and banks 40 points before a single trick is played.
3. Count to 33. A bid is in game points, not in tricks. One point needs 33 with your partner, two need 66; a strong hand and a marriage often carry a bid of three.
4. Give your partner points. When your partner surely takes the trick and you cannot, lay your ten on it rather than your nine.
5. Mind the forced cards. Every player must take the trick when they can, so a low lead makes the others spend their high cards, and a ten led into an ace that is still out is a gift.

FAQ

Is Cruce free to play?

Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account needed.

Can the computer see my cards?

No. Your partner and the two opponents play only on what a player in their chair would know: their own cards, the bidding, the cards played, the marriages shown and what the rules have revealed, such as a suit someone could not follow.

Why must I play a higher card?

That is the Romanian rule: whoever can take the trick must. If you hold a higher card of the suit led, you play it, even when your partner is winning; out of the suit, you trump and beat the trumps already down if you can. The cards you may play are lit in your hand.

What happens if everyone passes?

The cards are thrown in and the next player deals a new hand. Nobody scores for that deal.

What are the daily deals?

Every day everyone gets the same deals against the same opponents, so scores compare directly on the leaderboard.