gooseberry extension

David Parlett's trick-taking card game Gooseberry Fool is designed for specifically three players. Unconventional are both the criterion for determining which player wins each trick, and the method of calculating each player's score.

This page shows a method of adapting the play of each hand to five participants, while analogous rules for any larger odd number of players can be extrapolated. Finding elegant rules for an even number of players is more difficult.

Defining what constitutes a complete session, in other words a series of hands with some kind of total score, is left to the reader.

A context of standard playing cards is assumed, usually omitting some ranks and adding a Joker. Significant are the colors of suits: Clubs and Spades black, Hearts and Diamonds red.

table one
rule	Parlett's three-player version	proposed five-player version
A.	Deal 11 cards each from a 32-card pack plus Joker. Cards rank A-K-Q-J-T-9-8-7 in each suit.	Deal 9 cards each from a 44-card pack plus Joker. Cards rank A-K-Q-J-T-9-8-7-6-5-4 in each suit.
B.	The hand is played out in tricks: B1. The player at dealer's left leads to the first trick. B2. No player may lead the Joker to any trick unless holding no other card. B3. After a card is led, each player in clockwise order adds a card to the trick: Each player must follow suit if possible, otherwise must play the Joker if held, otherwise may play any card. From B2, the Joker can never be led to a trick unless it is the last trick, when there is no need for a rule addressing the following of suit.
C.	Which card wins the trick? C1. If the Joker is present, it wins. C2. Otherwise, if an odd number of black cards are present: C2a. If an odd number of clubs are present, the club of middling rank wins. C2b. If an odd number of spades are present, the spade of middling rank wins. C3. Otherwise, if an odd number of red cards are present: C3a. If an odd number of hearts are present, the heart of middling rank wins. C3b. If an odd number of diamonds are present, the diamond of middling rank wins. The suit selected under C2 or C3 is termed the emergent suit. Often there will be only one card in the emergent suit, and it necessarily wins the trick. This is equivalent to Parlett's rule for 3 players, and extends to any odd number of players.
D.	The winner of one trick leads to the next, unless the trick is won with the Joker. In that case the trick winner is not required to keep it, but may instead give the Joker to any other player, who will lead to the next trick.
E.	When all cards have been played to tricks, you score: 1 point for each trick you have won, 2 points for each trick won by the player on your right, 0 points for each trick won by the player on your left. The players' three scores will always total 33, which is 11 × (1 + 2). The scores can never tie, because the number of tricks is not a multiple of three. Whoever scores the middling number of points earns a bonus of 10 points.	When all cards have been played to tricks, you score: 1 point for each trick you have won, 2 points for each trick won by the player on your near right, 3 points for each trick won by the player on your far right, 4 points for each trick won by the player on your far left, 0 points for each trick won by the player on your near left. The players' five scores will always total 90, which is 9 × (1 + 2 + 3 + 4). The scores can never tie, because the number of tricks is not a multiple of five. Whoever scores the middling number of points earns a bonus of 30 points.

table one

rule

Parlett's three-player version

proposed five-player version

Deal 11 cards each from a 32-card pack plus Joker. Cards rank A-K-Q-J-T-9-8-7 in each suit.

Deal 9 cards each from a 44-card pack plus Joker. Cards rank A-K-Q-J-T-9-8-7-6-5-4 in each suit.

The hand is played out in tricks:

B1. The player at dealer's left leads to the first trick.
B2. No player may lead the Joker to any trick unless holding no other card.
B3. After a card is led, each player in clockwise order adds a card to the trick:
- Each player must follow suit if possible,
  - otherwise must play the Joker if held,
    - otherwise may play any card.

From B2, the Joker can never be led to a trick unless it is the last trick, when there is no need for a rule addressing the following of suit.

Which card wins the trick?

C1. If the Joker is present, it wins.
C2. Otherwise, if an odd number of black cards are present:
- C2a. If an odd number of clubs are present, the club of middling rank wins.
- C2b. If an odd number of spades are present, the spade of middling rank wins.
C3. Otherwise, if an odd number of red cards are present:
- C3a. If an odd number of hearts are present, the heart of middling rank wins.
- C3b. If an odd number of diamonds are present, the diamond of middling rank wins.

The suit selected under C2 or C3 is termed the emergent suit. Often there will be only one card in the emergent suit, and it necessarily wins the trick.

This is equivalent to Parlett's rule for 3 players, and extends to any odd number of players.

The winner of one trick leads to the next, unless the trick is won with the Joker. In that case the trick winner is not required to keep it, but may instead give the Joker to any other player, who will lead to the next trick.

When all cards have been played to tricks, you score:

1 point for each trick you have won,
2 points for each trick won by the player on your right,
0 points for each trick won by the player on your left.

The players' three scores will always total 33, which is 11 × (1 + 2). The scores can never tie, because the number of tricks is not a multiple of three. Whoever scores the middling number of points earns a bonus of 10 points.

When all cards have been played to tricks, you score:

1 point for each trick you have won,
2 points for each trick won by the player on your near right,
3 points for each trick won by the player on your far right,
4 points for each trick won by the player on your far left,
0 points for each trick won by the player on your near left.

The players' five scores will always total 90, which is 9 × (1 + 2 + 3 + 4). The scores can never tie, because the number of tricks is not a multiple of five. Whoever scores the middling number of points earns a bonus of 30 points.

table one addendum
rule	seven players
E.	When all cards have been played to tricks, you score: 1 point for each trick you have won, 2 points for each trick won by the player on your near right, 3 points for each trick won by the player on your middle right, 4 points for each trick won by the player on your far right, 5 points for each trick won by the player on your far left, 6 points for each trick won by the player on your middle left, 0 points for each trick won by the player on your near left.
The pattern is easily extended to more players.

table one addendum

rule

seven players

When all cards have been played to tricks, you score:

1 point for each trick you have won,
2 points for each trick won by the player on your near right,
3 points for each trick won by the player on your middle right,
4 points for each trick won by the player on your far right,
5 points for each trick won by the player on your far left,
6 points for each trick won by the player on your middle left,
0 points for each trick won by the player on your near left.

The pattern is easily extended to more players.

1. In nearly all play of Anglo-American card games, the turn of play passes around the table clockwise, in other words, to the left. This includes dealing, the bidding of Bridge, trick play, the betting at Poker, the draw-meld-discard of Rummy, and so forth. Rule E above, as given by Parlett, induces a counterclockwise progression in calculating scores, which some people may find unintuitive. Hence the present author (Barber) recommends the following reversal:

table two
rule	three players	five players
E′.	When all cards have been played to tricks, you score: 1 point for each trick you have won, 2 points for each trick won by the player on your left, 0 points for each trick won by the player on your right.	When all cards have been played to tricks, you score: 1 point for each trick you have won, 2 points for each trick won by the player on your near left, 3 points for each trick won by the player on your far left, 4 points for each trick won by the player on your far right, 0 points for each trick won by the player on your near right.

table two

rule

three players

five players

E′.

When all cards have been played to tricks, you score:

1 point for each trick you have won,
2 points for each trick won by the player on your left,
0 points for each trick won by the player on your right.

When all cards have been played to tricks, you score:

1 point for each trick you have won,
2 points for each trick won by the player on your near left,
3 points for each trick won by the player on your far left,
4 points for each trick won by the player on your far right,
0 points for each trick won by the player on your near right.

2. Although cards rank A-K-Q-J-T-9-8-7 in each suit, it does not matter whether Ace is considered high and Seven low, or vice versa. This reflects the middlingness criterion.

3. Because the colors of cards are essential to the game, some people might extend rule B3 as follows:

4. The game is not spoiled if a pack of some other size is used, and 1 or 2 cards are left undealt. For example, 3 players could use a 40-card pack without Jokers, dealing 13 each, playing 13 tricks, leaving one card unused. Players would need to decide whether this extra card should be turned face up or face down. Beyond that, players might invent a new rule to give it special significance; for example they might turn the extra card face up, and then require the player who holds the other card of same rank and color to lead it to the first trick.

5. A group of 3 players might prefer a 16-trick game using a 48-card pack and no Joker.

6. It is possible to play with multiple Jokers. For example, sometimes a pack of 52 cards includes 3 Jokers. Using that, a group of 5 players can deal 11 cards each, and play 11 tricks. All Jokers are considered equal.

To adapt rule B: A player may not lead a Joker to a trick unless holding no other card. However, the player on lead might be down to 2 or 3 cards, all of them Jokers. This is anticipated to be rare, because rule B3 will have often mandated the play of a Joker on an earlier trick. In response, a simple rule is recommended: when a Joker is led to a trick, each of the other players may contribute any desired card, Joker or natural.

7. Five players might try a double pack of 32 cards plus a Joker, totaling 65 cards. Thirteen would be the number of cards dealt and tricks played. Cards would rank A-K-Q-J-T-9-8-7. If two cards in the emergent suit of a trick are equal, they are ignored when determining the middling card. Examples: from K-J-J-8-7 ignore the Jacks, leaving K-8-7, of which the Eight is middling; from A-T-T-9-9 ignore the Tens and Nine, leaving only the Ace, which wins the trick. Not recommended is to use a triple pack or larger, because then there might be 3 equal cards in a trick, and a good rule to cover that situation is not evident.

8. A group of 7 players will probably decide that a pack of 52 cards is too small. If they can find it, a 63-card pack for six-handed 500 is exactly right for a 9-trick game. Another way to get 63 cards into play is to use a double pack of 32 with no Joker, and to leave one card undealt. For 11 tricks, combine a pack of 40, a pack of 36, and a Joker. When the component packs are of different sizes, it is very important that they have matching back designs. Clockwise scoring for 7 players:

9. The point schedules of rules E and E′ are so constructed as to prevent ties; there may be simpler schedules that also achieve this goal. Alternatively, players who are not averse to ties might choose smaller numbers for arithmetic convenience.