All Fours

Ages: 8 years old and up
Number of Players: 2-4
Materials: Deck of Cards, Paper and pencil for scoring
Skill Practice: Addition, Planning, Shifting, Strategy  

Goal: To get the highest number of points by capturing valuable cards

Card Values:

  • Kicked Cards (The top card turned over by the first player)
    Ace = 1 point
    Six = 2 points
    Jack = 3 points
  • Trump Cards (A trump is a suit that is higher than the other suits)
    Highest Trump = 1 point
    Lowest Trump = 1 point
    Jack of Trump = 1 point, unless “hung”
    The hanging card of the Jack of Trump = 3 points
  • Cards Taken in Tricks (A round of play)
    Ace = 4 points
    King = 3 points
    Queen = 2 points
    10 = 10 points

Set up:

  1. Dealer passes out six cards to each player
  2. The player to the dealer’s left begins play.  That player “kicks”(turns over) the top card.  This shows the trump. 
  3. The first player can reject the trump.  If that card is rejected, the card is placed at the bottom of the deck, the dealer deals 3 more cards to each player, and that 1st player “kicks” (turns over) again.

Rules for play:

  1. After the trump is determined, play begins. Play moves around to the left of the players.
  2. The first player may play any card. 
  3. The following players must play cards of that suit.
  4. The player who plays the highest card in that suit or the highest card in the trump suit wins all the cards in play or that “trick”
  5. The winner leads the next trick, and play continues until all the cards have been played.
  6. The player with the highest score wins the game.

 
Rules for particular cards:

  • If a Jack from the trump suit is played, the player receives a point. However, another play can “hang” or block the point by playing a higher value card from the trump suit.  The higher valued cards are Ace, Queen, and King.

Scoring:

  1. When all the players’ six cards in the hand have been played, the players determine their points.
  2. The cards are scored as follows
    1. Each player receives 1 point for each trick they have won
    2. The player who has the highest number of tricks for that game receives 1 point
    3. The cards in the tricks are scored. An Ace = 4 points, King = 3 points, Queen = 2 points, and a 10 = 10 points.
    4. Each player receives 1 point for each time they “kicked”
    5. Each player adds into their score the point/s they received for kicking in a valuable card. An Ace = 1 point, 6 = 2 points, Jack = 3 points.
    6. Each player adds in the number of points they received for the highest trump card= 1 point and playing the lowest trump card = 1 point.
    7.  A player receives 1 point for playing the Jack of Trump, unless it got hanged by a higher trump card. Then, the player does not receive a point.
    8. The player who hung or blocked the Jack of Trump receives 3 points.
    9. The players total the amount of points they received.
    10. The player with the highest number of points wins the game.