Game Requirements
Usually, “Ramsas” is played with 24 cards. There are variations where one or two 52-card decks are used. The card rank order is standard: ace, king, queen, jack, ten, and nine.
How many players play?
The game is best played with 2-4 players. The maximum number of players is 6.
Objective of the game
To collect the set amount of points as quickly as possible. Usually, several rounds are played until the required number of points is collected.
Card games online. Where is the best place to play?
Ramsas Rules
Dealing the Cards
The dealers always change clockwise. The first dealer thoroughly shuffles the deck and first gives it to the player sitting on the right to cut. The cards are dealt one at a time to each player. Dealing is done clockwise.
After one round is dealt, one face-down card is placed in the middle of the table, and the dealing continues one card at a time. The cards are dealt until each player has five cards, and 4 cards are placed on the table. These cards are called the “purchase” in the game.
If all 4 players are participating, the dealer can look at the last card, and if that card is a nine of any suit, he has the right to cut and deal the cards again.
If there are fewer than 4 players, the remaining cards are set aside and not used in that round.
The last dealt card, which always goes to the dealer, is shown to all players as it indicates the trump suit for that round. There is also a rule that no player can look at their cards until the trump is announced.
Purchase
After the cards are dealt, the exciting phase of the game begins. The player sitting to the left of the dealer can buy the 4 cards placed on the table at the beginning of the dealing phase.
This player has the right to refuse to buy the cards, and the opportunity to buy the purchase passes to the player sitting to his left. This continues in a circle until a player willing to buy is found.
This player also places all 4 of his cards face down, puts them on the table, and takes his purchase. It is important to remember that the cards should not be shown to competitors!
Sometimes all players refuse to buy, and in such a case, the cards are untouched and do not participate in the further game. The game continues with the buyer, who must ask the remaining players if they really want to continue playing. If players place their face-down cards on the table and say “I won't play,” they do not participate in the further round.
It is important to note that not all players can refuse.
If there is a player from previous rounds who is just one point away from victory, he is vetoed and cannot refuse to play. In such a case, his turn is skipped, and the right to buy passes to the player sitting to his left.
Sometimes players easily give away their points! For example, if all players except the buyer refuse to play, the buyer immediately wins 5 points, and a new round is announced.
Tricks
The game continues with tricks. If there was a card buyer in the game, he has the right to start the move first. If there was no such person, the move starts with the opponent sitting to the left of the dealer.
If you want to win a trick, you can only beat the opponent's card with a higher card of the same suit.
Card Strength Calculation is as follows
- If two cards of the same suit meet, the trick is won by the higher-ranking card.
- If two equal cards meet, the higher card is considered the one that was played first.
- If any card and a trump meet, the trump is always stronger.
If two trumps meet, the trick is again won by the higher-ranking card. For example, if the first player plays a nine of clubs, the second player should play a ten of clubs. If he doesn't have such a card but has a trump, he plays it because it is the strongest card in the game.
If he doesn't have a trump either, he plays any card, but the fact is that the player has already lost this trick. It may happen that a player beats all the opponent's cards and continues his moves successfully, having already eliminated one opponent.
There are certain special rules in this game that should not be forgotten. If a player has a trump ace in his hand and has the first move, he must make that move with this card.
If the player forgets or deliberately does not play that card, keeps it for the further game, and the game friends see it, he faces a penalty.
His most powerful card becomes powerless and turns into a trump nine.
In the further game, if this ace and another nine meet, the higher card is considered the one that was played first.
Who Won and Point Calculation
After the round, when players have made all the tricks, the point calculation begins. Each player starts “Ramsas” with 0 points. How many points are needed to win is usually agreed upon at the beginning of the game. Typically, the game is played up to 20 or 25 points.
1 trick equals 1 point. After the round, all the tricks made by the players in that round are added to the total points. There are again “hooks” in the point calculation. If a player does not collect any tricks in the round, he faces a penalty and loses 5 points if his total points at that time are positive.
For example, if a player already has 3 points but does not collect any tricks, 5 points are deducted from him, and he has -2 points in total. However, if the player already has a negative point count, no more points are deducted from him. Points may also not be deducted if at the beginning of the game, after the cards are dealt, it was forgotten to ask if there are any non-players.
Also, if the situation arises that a player is just one point away from 20 and makes a trick, the round is immediately ended, and the game winner is announced.
Also, to earn even more points, don't forget the most important game characters – the jacks!
If after dealing the cards, making a purchase, and declaring surrender, any player has collected 2 jacks of the same color and shows them to the opponents – they also get 5 points.
Moreover, it is important to mention that this bonus is awarded only if the player wins at least one trick during the game.
If luck smiles on the player that day and they get 4 jacks – they shout the game's name “Ramsas” and immediately win the game.
Other variants of the card game Rummy
As mentioned at the beginning, the game can be played with one or two 52-card decks. In this case, each player is dealt 7 cards, and the remaining cards are placed on the table.
The game starts with the player sitting to the left of the dealer.
The first player places any card on the table. The next player, wanting to win the trick, places a card of the same rank or the same suit on the opponent's card.
For example, if the opponent discards a nine of clubs, the next player must discard either another nine of any suit or any other club card.
In this case, the game is played without tricks and without collecting points, just trying to get rid of all the cards.
If a player does not have a card of the same rank or suit, they draw cards from the pile until they find a suitable one.
The game is won by the player who first discards all their cards.
Interestingly, this variant resembles the popular and much-loved game “Uno“!
