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Official Rook Rules
Rook is a fun and strategic partnership card game from Hasbro, perfect for gatherings of 2 to 6 players. Here's a breakdown of the rules:
Objective
Be the first team to reach a specific point total (usually 300 or 500 points) by bidding on tricks and capturing valuable cards.
Players and Setup
Number of Players:
2 Players (Partnership): Team up with your opponent to reach the point goal.
3 Players: Remove all cards below 5's from the deck. The third player acts as a "dummy" hand, where you'll play two sets of cards face down – their own hand and the dummy hand.
4 Players (Partnership): Form teams of two and play as partners.
5-6 Players (Cutthroat): Every player plays for themselves, and the player with the highest score at the end wins.
Setup:
Shuffle the Deck: Thoroughly shuffle the deck of 57 cards.
Deal the Cards: Depending on the number of players:
2 or 4 Players: Deal 14 cards face down to each player.
3 Players: Deal 11 cards face down to each player and the dummy hand (two sets of 11 cards each, face down).
5-6 Players: Deal an equal number of cards to each player, aiming for as close to 10 cards per player as possible.
3. Bidding (Optional for 3+ Players): The player to the left of the dealer starts the bidding. Players can bid any number of points they believe their team can capture in tricks during the hand. Bidding goes clockwise, and players can either raise the previous bid by at least 5 points or pass. The highest bidder wins the bidding and commits to capturing that specific number of points.
Gameplay
Starting Player: The dealer (or the player to the dealer's left if bidding is used) leads the first trick by playing any card face up to the center of the table.
Playing a Trick: Following players, in turn order (clockwise), must play one card face up to the center of the table, following these rules:
Follow Suit (if possible): If you have a card in the same suit (Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, or Clubs) as the card leading the trick, you must play a card of that suit.
Trumping: If you cannot follow suit, you can play any card, including the Rook Bird card. The Rook Bird is the strongest card in the game and trumps any other suit.
Winning the Trick: The highest card of the suit led, or the highest trump card played, wins the trick. The winner of the trick gathers all the played cards face down in a pile in front of them.
Leading the Next Trick: The winner of the trick leads the next trick by playing any card face up from their hand.
Capturing Cards: At the end of the hand (after all cards are played), players count the points on the captured cards in their trick piles. Valuable cards include:
Fives: Each Five is worth 5 points.
Tens and Fourteen: Each Ten and Fourteen is worth 10 points.
Rook Bird: The Rook Bird card is worth 20 points (unless used to follow suit).
Capturing All Tricks (Optional for Bidding): If a team captures all the tricks in a hand (playing with bidding), they earn a bonus 20 points on top of the captured card points, bringing their total to 200 for the hand.
Winning the Game
Without Bidding: Play continues until one team reaches the target score (usually 300 or 500 points) by accumulating points from captured cards.
With Bidding: The team that wins the bidding round needs to capture at least the number of points they bid on to score those points. If they capture less, they score nothing for that hand. The game continues until a team reaches the target score.
Notes/Variations
Rook Bird Nest (Optional): Some Hasbro Rook sets might include a Rook Bird Nest card. This card can have different variations in gameplay depending on the specific version.
Communication: Players are not allowed to communicate information about their hands with teammates (in Partnership Rook) or other players (in Cutthroat Rook).
For the most up-to-date information on the specific rules included in your Hasbro Rook game, consult the instruction booklet that comes with the game.
