JAZZY GOPS

OBJECTIVE OF JAZZY GOPS: Be the first to 100 points

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3 players

NUMBER OF CARDS: 53 cards

RANK OF CARDS: (low) Ace,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,J,Q,K,Ace (high)

TYPE OF GAME: Trick taking

AUDIENCE: Adults

INTRODUCTION OF JAZZY GOPS

Jazzy Gops is a three player variation of the Game of Pure Strategy designed by David Parlett.  In this game, players have perfect knowledge pertaining to the cards available for play.  They must try their best to remember what cards have been played and throw cards to the trick wisely in order to earn the best prize cards.

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

 Separate all of the cards by suit.  The Diamonds and Joker are prize cards, and they should be shuffled together and placed in a pile face down.  Each player chooses one of the other suits and takes those cards as their hand. keonhacai

THE PLAY

DETERMINE THE PRIZE FOR THE TRICK

Flip the top Diamond card over.  This is the prize card for the trick.  The Diamond Ace is worth 1, the numbered cards are worth the number on the card, and the Queen is worth zero.  The Jack will be worth the same as the lowest Diamond card captured by the player.  The King will be worth the same as the highest Diamond captured by the player.  The Joker is worth the same as the next Diamond card in the stack.  The player that wins the Joker also wins that diamond card.

THE TRICK

Cards are played to the trick and revealed simultaneously.  If an Ace is played, whether it is high or low must be declared immediately while turning it.  Whoever plays the highest ranking card wins the Diamond. That player takes the diamond and places it face up in front of them.

If two cards of the same rank are played, the third card wins the trick.  If all three players throw the same card to the trick, nobody wins it.  A second trick is played with the winner collecting the diamond.  The three cards from the tied up trick are put back into the players’ hands.

If the Joker is revealed last, it is worth zero points.

SCORING

Players tally up their score for the Diamonds they capture.  Only the players who earn the most and the least points add them to their score.  The player in the middle earns zero.  If two players tie, the third player earns their points, and the tied up players earn zero.

WINNING

The first player to reach 100 points or more wins.

For another variation of Gops by David, check out Throps.