From: bergmann@bl.cad.slb.com (Jake Bergmann)
Newsgroups: rec.games.misc,rec.games.bridge
Subject: A card game ... like Hearts squared
Date: 13 Oct 92 20:34:02 GMT
Reply-To: bergmann@blaca1.sinet.slb.com
Organization: Schlumberger CAD/CAM; Billerica, Mass. (USA)


                   Rules to  BARBU

Copying notice.  This material may be copied by anyone without charge,
provided only that it is copied without change and that this notice
accompanies it.

GAME.  A full game consists of seven deals times the number of  players
(3,4, or 5 may play).  Highest cumulative score wins.

DEAL. Each deal begins with one player dealing out  all  cards  (remove 
the two of clubs for 3 players and the twos of clubs and spades  for  5
players).  Deal rotates left, and each deal consists of  a  bidding  se-
quence followed by the play of the hand. 

BIDDING.   First the dealer selects one of the seven games, although he
may not select a game he has previously called.  Thus, over the  course
of the entire game, each player will call each game exactly once.   For
Fantan, the dealer also names the starting rank, and  for  Trumps,  the
trump suit.

Next, each player in turn may either Pass or Double.  A player's Double
will gain if he does better on the hand than the  dealer.   After  each
player has Passed or Doubled, the dealer may  Redouble  (if  there  has
been a double). The dealer must redouble all players or none.

EFFECTS OF A DOUBLE. When the hand is scored, the player  who  does 
_better_ in a double gains the difference between his score and the
other person involved in the double, and the other person loses the
difference.  In a Redouble, _twice_ the difference is used.

For example, D(ealer) calls Hearts, B and C double, and D redoubles:
                       --A-- --B-- --C-- --D-- Total
Trick Score             -2   -14    -4   -10   -30
B-D double                    -8          +8
C-D double                         +12   -12
Net result              -2   -22    +8   -14   -30

(The comparison of the scores of B and C, the two doublers, has no
consequence for the scoring.)

NOTES ON PLAY. Dealer always opens each hand.

With the exception of Fantan, play is like bridge with each trick  being
won by the highest card of the suit led, and the player who wins a trick
leading to the next.  Ace is always high.  Each player must follow  suit
if he can; otherwise he may discard any card.  See  the  description  of
the games for exceptions with respect to the cards that may  be  led  or
discarded, or the use of a trump suit.

ETIQUETTE. No discussions of strategy or tactics are permitted once  the
players have looked at their cards.  Regardless of the game score,  each
player should always be seeking to maximize his own score or his winning
chances.

SUB-GAMES.  The games are as follows:

QUEENS  Trick-taking.  Each Queen taken counts minus six points.
LOSING  Trick-taking.  Every trick taken counts as minus two (minus  three
for 5 hand play).
LAST TWO  Trick-taking.  The last trick played  scores  minus  twenty  and
the second to last trick minus ten.
HEARTS  Trick-taking, except that hearts may not be  led  until  they  are
``broken'' (i.e. a heart has been discarded)  or  if  a  player  only  has
hearts in his hand.  Each heart counts minus two, except the heart A which 
counts minus six.
BARBU  Trick-taking, except that hearts may not be led _unless_ the player
only has hearts in his hand.  The only card that matters is  the  king  of
hearts; it counts minus fifteen.  The player holding the heart  K,  unless
involved in a double, must discard it at his first opportunity.
TRUMPS  Trick-taking.  Dealer names the trump suit (he may name  No-Trump,
although this is rare and not recommended).  Note that cards in the  trump
suit outrank any cards in another suit.  Each trick counts plus 4 (3 hand),
plus five (4 hand), or plus 6 (5 hand).
FANTAN  Played like solitaire.  Dealer names the base rank (any rank  from
deuce through Ace).  Each player in turn plays one card,  building  up  or 
down toward the Aces and Deuces, with the base rank being the  first  card
played for a suit.  A player who has no choice must knock (pass his turn).
You must play if you can.  The object is to get  rid  of  your  last  card
before the other players do.  The point score for first out,  second  out,
etc., is given in the scoring summary in the next section.

Example:  Dealer calls Fantan Jacks. As there are no cards on the table,
only the four Jacks are eligible for  play.   Dealer  plays  diamond  J.
Player A may now play one of the remaining Jacks, or the diamond  10  or 
diamond Q.  He has only the spade J, so he must play it.  Now there  are
six cards which can be played (heart J, club J, diamond Q,  diamond  10,
spade Q, and spade 10); B has none of them  and  thus  knocks.  C  plays
spade 10, etc.

SCORING SUMMARY.
           Total points for hand
           Five-   Four-   Three-
Game       handed  handed  handed  What gets points
----       ------  ------  ------  ----------------
Barbu       -15     -15     -15    King of hearts = -15
Fantan      +69     +60     +65    For five: 1st +40, 2nd +20, 3rd +10,
                                                      4th + 5, 5th - 6
                                   For four: 1st +40, 2nd +20, 3rd +10, 4th -10
                                   For three:1st +50, 2nd +25, 3rd -10
Hearts      -30     -30     -30    Heart Ace = -6, other hearts = -2
Last Two    -30     -30     -30    Last = -20, next-to-last -10
Losing      -30     -26     -34    Trick = (for five) -3; (for four/three) -2
Queens      -24     -24     -24    Queen = -6
Trumps      +60     +65     +68    Trick = (Five) +6; (Four) +5; (Three) +4

The game total must always come out to zero.  A check-total column
in often helpful.

STRATEGY.

FANTAN. The most important game.  Extremities (Ace or deuce) are  unde-
sirable.  Clusters around a rank are very useful.
TRUMPS. A safe but valuable call.  It should be reserved for hands where
you expect to win more than half the tricks.  In chosing a trump  suit,
length is more important than strength.
BARBU. Holding the heart K is helpful (you will almost  always  have  a
chance to discard it), especially if combined  with  length  in  hearts
and/or a short suit elsewhere.
LOSING. You should hold a low average card level. Runs of low cards are
very helpful; you will be happy to lead them.  A suit  like  Q-9-5,  by
contrast, will take fewest tricks if the player on your left leads  it.
HEARTS. Quality of the heart suit; helpful to have  low  hearts.  Avoid
long side suits without low cards.
QUEENS. Avoid short suits with A, K, or Q, or long suits  with  no  low
cards. Short suits are helpful.
LAST TWO.  The most difficult game. Try  to  create  a  situation  where,
with two cards left to play, (1) you are not on lead, holding only  cards
in a suit no-one else has and/or bottom cards in other suits, or (2)  you
are on lead and you hold a bottom card.  To create  this  situation,  you
must (1) not release your low cards too early, (2) for suits in which you
have no low cards, eliminate either all your cards or all of your opponents'
cards, and (3) use your highest cards to gain the lead so  that  you  can
play the suit you want.  For this reason A-K-3-2 is  a  delightful  suit;
J-10-9-6 is a disaster.

Last Two and Fantan are antithetical (a good hand for one is disaster for
the other) as, to a lesser degree, are Losing  and  Trumps.   Hearts  and
Barbu depend on the quality of the heart suit.   Fantan,  Last  Two,  and
Queens are swing games; Losing and Hearts are the  most frequent  bailout
calls; Barbu is a riskier bailout call  in  that  it  is  often  doubled.

THANKS.  Thanks to 
                              David A. Smith
                              112 Avon Hill Street
                              Cambridge MA 02140    ,
the author of the 1985 rules for three- and  four-handed  play.  The
five-handed rules, and this article, are  due  to  W.  Geoff  Bryant
(bryant@bl.cad.slb.com) and Jake Bergmann (bergmann@bl.cad.slb.com).