§1. Many games using playing cards are intended for four players, who play in two partnerships of two players each, with partners sitting opposite each other. A problem arises, however, if there is a group of five people want to play such a four-person game.

Offered here is a rotation scheme that is highly symmetrical, suitable for games where the object of play is to earn large numbers of points, and where each hand can be scored separately.

The players here are named A through E. Each of them plays four out of five hands, seated according to the cardinal directions, as in table one:

Properties:

1. Each player sits at each position once. If North is always the dealer, each player deals once.
2. Each player has a different left-hand opponent in each hand.
3. Each player has a different partner in each hand.
4. Each player has a different right-hand opponent in each hand.

§2. Each player scores individually for his partnership's score in each hand. Table two below contains an example of scoring:

• In hand 1, the B-E partnership earns 20 points, and the C-D partnership earns 14.
• Hand 2: A-D 13 points, C-E 11 points.
• Hand 3: A-B 9 points, D-E 12 points.
• Hand 4: A-E 15 points, B-C 17 points.
• Hand 5: A-C 8 points, B-D 16 points.

Of course, many games have scores that run into the hundreds or thousands, but these small numbers help make the arithmetic clear.

§3. In Canasta, a game is a succession of hands. In each hand, a partnership must meet a minimum melding requirement which is based on their accumulated scores from previous hands. (The higher the incoming score, the higher the meld requirement.) Table three, derived from table two, shows how to figure the successive subtotals:

Some card-players might regard this as undesirable, because when each subtotal is figured, some players have played in one more hand than others, and this difference unevenly affects the value of the minimum meld. A simple alternative is to use the same minimum meld for all hands.

§4. Table four contains a similar plan for when seven people (named A through G) want to play a game intended for six players, in three partnerships of two players each:

Properties:

1. Each player sits at each position once. If North is always the dealer, each player deals once.
2. Each player has a different near left-hand opponent in each hand.
3. Each player has a different far left-hand opponent in each hand.
4. Each player has a different partner in each hand.
5. Each player has a different far right-hand opponent in each hand.
6. Each player has a different near right-hand opponent in each hand.