Rentz

What is Rentz?

Rentz is the Romanian member of the Barbu family of card games, the ones made of several small games that everyone must play in turn. It is played by four with a pack of 32 cards, from seven to ace, and in Romania it sits next to Whist as the great evening game: a score sheet, four players and a long run of deals in which you dodge tricks one moment and race to empty your hand the next.

Here you play against three computer opponents, on three levels. Each player chooses each of the seven contracts once, so a game runs 28 deals and the highest total wins. Every day brings a Daily Rentz, with the same deals for everyone.

How to play Rentz

Everyone gets eight cards. The choice moves one seat round the table every deal: the chooser looks at their cards, picks one of the contracts they have not chosen yet, and leads.

• No Tricks. Every trick you take costs 50 points.
• No Queens. Every queen you take costs 40.
• No Diamonds. Every diamond you take costs 30.
• King of Hearts. Whoever takes the king of hearts loses 200, and the deal stops there.
• Total. All four at once: 50 a trick, 40 a queen, 30 a diamond and 200 for the king. The queen of diamonds counts as a queen and as a diamond.
• Whist. Every trick you take is worth 50.
• Rentz. No tricks here. The jacks start four rows, one per suit, and a card goes one rank above or below the end of its row. An ace lets you play again, a seven makes the next player miss a turn, and if you cannot play you pass. Going out first is worth 400, second 200, third 100.
• Tricks. In every contract but Rentz you follow the suit led if you can and play anything if you cannot. There are no trumps: the highest card of the suit led takes the trick, and whoever takes it leads next.

Your score is your total after the 28 deals plus 5000, so the leaderboard never shows a negative number.

Tips and strategy

1. Choose by your hand. Plenty of low cards and short suits suit the contracts that cost points; aces and long strong suits suit Whist; jacks with their neighbours suit Rentz.
2. Keep Total for a good hand. It is the contract that costs the most, so it pays to play it when your cards are low.
3. Duck under the trick. Play the highest card that still loses the trick and keep your low cards for later.
4. Smoke out the king. Holding neither the king nor the ace of hearts, lead low hearts: whoever holds the king may have to play it.
5. Keep the doors shut in Rentz. A ten or a queen next to a jack opens a whole row for the others. Play what you can follow up yourself, and hold back what only helps them.

Frequently asked questions

Is Rentz free?

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

Which scores does this Rentz use?

Rentz scores change from one table to the next. This game uses a common Romanian set: 50 a trick, 40 a queen, 30 a diamond and 200 for the king of hearts, all of them together in Total, 50 a trick in Whist, and 400, 200 and 100 for going out in Rentz.

Why did the deal stop before the last trick?

Because nothing was left to take. King of Hearts ends as soon as the king is taken, No Queens once all four queens are out, and No Diamonds once all eight diamonds are.

How do the levels differ?

On Easy the computer often plays whatever comes to hand and takes its contracts in order. On Medium it plays by the rules a club player knows and chooses the contract that suits its hand. On Hard it also counts the cards, remembers who could not follow suit or had to pass, and tries its options out in imagined deals before it plays.

What is the Daily Rentz?

Every day everyone plays the same 28 deals on Medium, so scores compare directly on the leaderboard.