29 Card Game Variants
Same deck, same Jack-high order. The arguments start at the scoring.
The 29 card game variants you will meet change the scoring and the extras, not the cards: whether the last trick earns a 29th point, how much the King and Queen of trumps (the pair) are worth, whether a player can go alone, and whether bids can be doubled. Every table plays with the same 32 cards and the same order, J, 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8, 7. The variants below are the ones recorded in the rules on pagat.com, with the region where players reported them, and for each one we say whether our tables play it.
Play 29 free
What our tables play
| Rule | Our tables |
|---|---|
| Card points | J 3, 9 2, A 1, 10 1: 28 in all, no last-trick point |
| Bids | 16 to 28; if the first three pass, the dealer plays at 16 |
| Trump | Chosen by the bidder, face down until a player who can't follow suit asks |
| Asking | The player who asks must trump on that trick if able |
| Direction | Clockwise; the player on the dealer's left bids and leads first |
| Pair and doubling | Both played: the pair moves the target by 4, a double makes the hand worth 2 game points and a redouble 4. Computer players never show a pair or double |
| Match | +1 or −1 game point a hand (2 if doubled, 4 if redoubled); first to +6 wins, −6 loses (or 4 in a shorter match) |
28 or 29: the last-trick point
The old count gives one extra point to whoever wins the last trick, which makes 29 points in a hand and gives the game its name. With it, bids can go up to 29. Pagat's rules say most players now don't count it. Our tables: no last-trick point; 28 in the deck.
The lowest bid: 15 or 16
The written rules start the bidding at 15, and a dealer stuck with the bid plays at 15. Some tables open at 16 instead. Our tables: 16.
The pair, and how far it moves the bid
In the usual rule, the King and Queen of trumps, both still in one hand, can be shown once the trump is out, right after the holder's side wins a trick. The bidders' own pair takes 4 off their target, never below the minimum bid; the defenders' pair adds 4, up to 28. Two regional versions:
- Bangladesh, where it is called the marriage: it only helps a bid above 18. A bid of 19 or 20 comes down to 16, 21 to 17, and 16 to 18 get nothing.
- Lucknow: the pair can only be shown after the holder's side wins a trick by trumping a lead of another suit.
Our tables: the plain 4-point rule, never below 16 and never above 28. A Declare marriage button appears for the player holding the pair straight after their side wins a trick, and it goes once the next card is played. Computer players never show a pair.
Asking for the trump
In pagat's main rules, the first player who can't follow suit has to ask, and is not then forced to trump. Some tables make asking optional, but a player who asks must trump if they can. Another variation shows the trump only at the end of the first trick in which someone couldn't follow suit. Our tables: asking is optional and the asker must trump if able. On your turn, if you can't follow suit, an Ask for trump button appears. The computer players ask too.
Seventh card trump
Instead of choosing a suit, the bidder can call for the seventh card: the seventh card dealt to the bidder, which they haven't seen when they call, decides the trump. It is kept apart, and can't be led until it is the last card left. Our tables: not played.
Double, redouble, and the auto-double
A defender can double, so the hand counts 2 game points, and the bidders can redouble to 4. One reported version lets the doublers answer a redouble with "set", for 6. Two regional rules:
- Gorakhpur district, Uttar Pradesh: any bid of 21 or more is worth 2 game points without a double, and a double takes it to 4, no higher.
- Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand: many players double the game points lost when the bidders take less than half their bid.
Our tables: the plain double and redouble, with no "set" and no auto-double. Once the trump is set and before the first card, the defenders have 8 seconds to double, and the bidders then have 8 seconds to redouble. If nobody doubles, the hand is worth one game point, won or lost. Computer players never double or redouble.
Single hand
A player with a very strong hand can declare a single hand: no trumps, the lone player leads, their partner puts their cards face down and sits out, and the lone player must win all eight tricks. It is worth 3 game points either way, or 6 in parts of West Bengal. In Lucknow this is the call named "29", worth 8, and the partner's hand stays face up. Our tables: not played.
Which way round
In some regions 29 goes counter-clockwise, so the player on the dealer's right bids and leads first. Pagat's notes put Bangladesh in this group, where the bidding is also mostly between two players, with a partner taking over when one passes. Our tables: clockwise.
How long a match runs
The usual match ends when a side reaches +6 or −6, kept on a red six (nali) and a black six (kala). In Lucknow, players carry on past six with the 5, 4, 3 and 2, up to 20 each way, and usually stop by agreement. Our tables: six, or four if you pick the shorter match.
The 28 family
Twenty-Eight, played in Kerala, uses the same 32 cards and point values but opens the bidding at 14, allows a second raise once all eight cards are seen, and pays more game points for higher bids. We compare the two on the 28 card game page. Pagat also lists 56, 304 and the South African game Thunee as relatives.
Small glossary
- Pair, or marriage
- King and Queen of trumps in one hand: 4 off, or onto, the bidders' target.
- Hidden trump
- The suit the bidder sets face down. It has no power until revealed.
- Double, redouble
- Raising the game points at stake on one hand, from 1 to 2 to 4.
- Single hand
- One player against three, no trumps, all eight tricks.
- Game point
- What a hand is worth on the match score: +1 or −1 before any doubling.
Keep reading
- How to Play 29: the complete rules.
- 29 Strategy: bidding, the hidden trump and the pair.
- 29 Card Points: Jack 3, Nine 2, and the 29th point.