Description

"La bâtarde" (the bastard one) is a french card game in the same mood as Tarot, coinche, belote, these kind of traditionnal card games.
Each player plays one card, from the same color if possible, otherwise a trump, otherwise any card, and the one with the highest value wins the point. The originality is that you don't win by winning points, you win by announcing how many points you will win, and it can be 0 !

C/C of the beginning of the rulebook :
The Bastard one is a thrilling and mysterious card game.
Some claim that a primitive version originated in the North of India and arrived in Venice via Asia Minor, from where it spread through Europe. It is also told that it owes its name to the illegitimate daughter of a Syldavian prince who introduced to his father’s court.
Others maintain that three Portuguese sailors brought it back from much further afield.
But nothing is less sure...

In this game, there are no teams, it is every man for himself.
3 to 8 players can play.

Draw to designate the dealer (highest card). Next round the dealer shifts clockwise.

Deal the cards face down, one by one.
A “rubber” is a set of games made up of several “hands” all dealt in the same way.

After each hand is dealt, the players look at their cards and announce in advance the number of “tricks” which they think they will win. This is called “bidding”.
In this game you never pass. Each player bids on each round.
The bidding system leads all the players to agree on what “suit” is the “trump”, if any.
There are 6 possibilities: all cards are trumps, spades are trumps, hearts are trumps, diamonds are trumps, clubs are trumps – or there are no trumps.
When playing with trumps the order of the cards is different.