Up and Over

Release Date: 
Saturday, April 15, 2000
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Play Duration (new players): 
Play Duration (experienced): 
Minimum number of players: 
Maximum number of players: 
Minimum Age: 
9

by Jonathan Leistiko and Frank Truelove

Object

Gather tricks1 by making the sum of the cards in play equal 21, or by forcing the player to your left to cause the sum of the cards to exceed 21.

You Need

  • A standard poker deck (jokers optional).
  • Paper and pencil to tally tricks.

Setting Up

Remove the jokers from the deck (they’re not used in the basic game).

Shuffle the deck and deal 5 cards to each player. Players may look at their cards and should arrange them from low to high.

Set the deck face-down in the middle of the table and turn the top card over to start the first trick.

Variant—You may find the game more enjoyable if you deal out one less card per player for every player more than three. (Four players get four cards each. Five players get three cards each.)

Play

This game is played in tricks. The dealer begins the first trick of the game; after that, each trick begins when the last player to take a trick takes the top card of the deck, places it face-up on the table, and announces its value. Starting with the player to his or her left, and proceeding clockwise, each player must play a card from his or her hand on the trick, calculate the sum of all cards in the trick, and announce the sum. Sums can be calculated using the list of “Card Values,” below.

If the sum is less than 21, then play continues normally. If you bring the sum to exactly 21, then you take the trick. If you push the sum over 21, then the player to your right takes the trick, for forcing you to exceed 21. When you take a trick, add one to your score, and gather the cards from the trick into a pile face-down in front of you. Once taken, the cards from a trick may not be looked at.

When a trick is taken, draw your hand back up to five cards. If there are not enough cards to fill all players’ hands, then take the cards from all previous tricks, shuffle them to create a new deck, and continue filling hands and playing as normal.

Card Values

2 through 10: face value
Ace: 1 or 11, declared when played
Jack: no value
Queen: -2
King: -4

Winning

The first player to take 21 tricks wins.

Origin and Credits

Frank and I sat down one afternoon and decided to make up a new card game. The idea to do so and the rules of play were much more a product of Frank’s creativity than my own (just giving credit where credit is due). The game is called Up and Over because of how it plays: Up, up, up, and (usually) over.

1 What is a Trick?

Tricks are of the basic elements of hundreds and hundreds of card games.

  • A trick is a pile of cards created by a sequence of play in accordance with the rules of the game.
  • Tricks have a beginning and an end.
  • At the end of a trick, the trick is “taken” by a player.
  • Often, players will keep track of the number of tricks that they take because it can determine whether they win or lose the game.

In many card games (including Up and Over), a trick begins when one player plays a card in the middle of the table. Proceeding clockwise, the other players take turns playing a card in the middle of the table until a certain condition is met. In Up and Over, that condition is the sum of the cards in the trick (pile of cards) being equal to or greater than 21.

At this point, the trick ends and the players figure out who takes the trick. In many card games, the player who played the highest card on the trick gets to take the trick. In Up and Over, who takes the trick is determined by the sum of the cards. Taking tricks is a good thing to do in Up and Over and keeping track of how many tricks you’ve taken is important, because the first player to take 21 tricks wins the game.

In summary, a trick is a pile of cards created by a sequence of play in accordance with the rules of the game. Tricks have a beginning and an end, and tricks can be lost or taken. Often, players will keep track of the number of tricks that they take because it can determine whether they win or lose the game.