BA-KAR-EE

Rare card game that uses standard playing cards with the addition of 8 Royal Aces and eight Jokers. As there are two packs, this makes a total of 120 cards per game.

The game is a curious mix of Rummy and Whist. Each player gets 18 cards dealt to them. There now begins a phase of drawing and discarding until a player lays down a run or set of 5 cards (5 Nines or a run of five, for example). Bonuses and penalties are then scored and every player must reduce their hand to 13 cards.

Then the auction begins and one player (or team if playing partnerships) will win the auction and then need to make that many tricks as bid. Card play is exactly the same as standard games like Whist. Royal Aces secured in this phase (or Release) score sizeable bonus points.

It can be seen that strategy is needed at every phase. If you use a high scoring 5 cards in the first stage (known as Release), the cards used will not be available to you for the auction and card-play in the 2nd phase.

The object is to be the first player (or partnership) to score 1,000 points.