Thousand rules

A three-player game of marriages and bidding, played across Poland, Ukraine and Russia. The name is the target: a thousand points. Seven cards each and three face down, bidding that starts at 100, and marriages of king and queen that score up to 100 and make their suit trump the moment they are shown. Reach your bid and score it, fall short and lose it. Near the end, a player on 880 has to win a contract to finish.

The deck

24 cards — nine up to ace. Seven cards each and three face down.

The ranking

Ace, ten, king, queen, jack, nine.

Card values

Ace 11, ten 10, king 4, queen 3, jack 2, nine nothing. 120 points in tricks.

Marriages

King and queen of the same suit, declared as you lead one of them. They are worth: hearts 100, diamonds 80, clubs 60, spades 40. A declared marriage also makes that suit trump from that moment on, replacing any previous trump.

That is the engine of the whole game — trump changes hands mid-deal, more than once.

The bidding

Starting at 100 and rising in steps of ten, players bid the number of points they will score. The winner takes the three face-down cards, then gives one card away to each opponent, keeping seven.

The play

Follow suit if you can, and beat the highest card if you are able. If you cannot follow, you must trump. Highest trump wins.

Scoring

The declarer counts tricks plus marriages. Reach the bid and score it; fall short and lose it. Defenders score what they actually took, rounded to the nearest ten.

The barrel

A player who reaches 880 is on the barrel and may only score by declaring and making a contract. Three failed attempts and they drop back to 760.