Forum: boardgames.stackexchange.com
Tags: <solo-whist>
Title: What variations are there on Solo whist?
Question: This was the second trick-taking game that I learned as a kid and it involved bidding and gambling (we played for tiddlywinks). Needs 4 players and you can play to lose. It was used as a  training-wheels simple introduction to the concepts of contract bridge (my dad was a bridge-player).   Since childhood, I've never heard of anyone else playing the game - is it known as something else? I've found it in the odd card game book, but the rules were slightly different to what I recall.

Answers:
sents: text: The Pagat site is very useful:
text: http://www.pagat.com/boston/solowhist.html It explains the main game "Solo Whist", and also lists some minor variations, and other similar games in this "Boston group".
text: They say that it is mainly played in Britain.
text: Here in Australia we also play it.
text: Solo Whist was taught to us as children to introduce us to card games, and has held us in good stead for Bridge.
text: Regarding the "Prop and Cop": We believe that that is an important aspect of the main game.
text: We do have that bid, and we find it to be very enjoyable.
text: It is an opportunity to collaborate as two teams, rather than three people collaborating to defeat the solo declarer.
text: If a Prop-and-Cop does not eventuate, then we also sometimes do the "Goulash" deal.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/12778/David Crossley
score: 3
sents: text: See Wikipedia's page on trick-taking games for a lot of variations.
text: The version you mention could possibly be Spades .
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/11743/AndyT
score: 2
sents: text: We have a variation regarding the dealing:
text: We deal in clumps, i.e. one round of four, and three rounds of three.
text: We allow the dealer to do whatever order that they want.
text: Some try to get fancy regarding when they deal each four (e.g. different for each round), while most just start with a packet of 4 (i.e. 4,3,3,3) so as not to confuse themselves.
text: The Pagat and Wikipedia descriptions involve a single deck and use the final card of the dealer face-up to determine the trump suit.
text: We instead use a second deck.
text: This is then ready to go for the next game, being already shuffled and so just needing to be cut.
text: So the game should be faster.
text: This also means that the dealer does not need to expose one of their cards.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/12778/David Crossley
score: 1
sents: text: We have a variation which we call " Nash Whist ".
text: (Disclosure:
text: Our group of players has been refining "Solo Whist" for many years.
text: I have documented our version at the linked location.)
text: We have streamlined and simplified the shuffling and dealing (as described in the earlier answer).
text: In the original game the bids are limited.
text: Apart from the Misere bids, the solo bids are Solo (five tricks) and Abundance (nine tricks) etc.
text: This means that the main bid that occurs is Solo, and you also get paid for any "over-tricks" that you manage to make beyond the five.
text: For Nash Whist, we added other bids at every level from 6 to 13.
text: We also added rank of suits, as for Bridge (explained below) and No-trumps.
text: Apart from the normal Prop-and-Cop, the minimal bid is the normal "Five-in" solo, i.e. play alone against the other three with the initial turned-up suit as trumps.
text: So win five tricks in the indicated trump suit.
text: The trump suit can be changed by any bidder when it is their turn to bid.
text: Higher bids will beat the previous bid.
text: For example "Seven-Out" in any suit will beat "Six-In" (i.e. Six in trumps) and Seven-In will beat Seven-Out.
text: The rank of suits is as for Bridge (i.e. Spades is highest, then Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs).
text: For example, if Hearts was turned up trumps and the current bid is Six-In, then a bid of Seven-Out Clubs would beat that, and a bid of Seven-Out Diamonds would beat that.
text: Note that a bid of Six-Out Spades does not beat Six-In, because in this example Hearts are trumps and so automatically rank at the top.
text: The bidding can start at any level, and proceeds with higher bids until no-one wants to bid further.
text: The last bid is the "declarer".
text: Their suit is now Trumps.
text: There are no payments for over-tricks.
text: This encourages people to bid to the limit of their hand and not be safe.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/12778/David Crossley
score: 1
sents: text: We have a three-handed variant.
text: We simply remove the whole Clubs suit.
text: No Prop-and-Cop.
text: Misere is difficult and often does not occur, so we add a "Triste" bid below 8-out, allowing one trick to be won.
text: Everything else is the same, just need to modify some guidelines for hand-assessment and play.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/12778/David Crossley
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
There are many variants including Solo Whist, Nash Whist, using a second deck or a third hand.
The website http://www.pagat.com/boston/solowhist.html explains the main game and lists some variations. You can deal in clumps, i.e. one round of four, and three rounds of three or even use a second deck. You can play where the trump suit can be changed by any bidder when it is their turn to bid, or have a three-handed variant.