Call Break rules

Four players, no partners, spades always trump.

Call Break is a four-player trick-taking game where everyone plays for themselves. There are no partnerships and no trump selection: spades are always trump. What you bid is the number of tricks you will take, and you are scored on how exactly you deliver.

The deal and the bid

A full 52-card deck, thirteen cards each. Before play, every player declares how many tricks they expect to win — anywhere from one to thirteen. There is no auction; each player calls once.

Playing

Follow the led suit if you can. If you cannot, you must play a spade if you hold one — and if a spade has already been played to the trick, you must play a higher one if you are able. Only when you have neither the led suit nor a usable spade may you discard freely.

That forced-cut rule is what separates Call Break from Spades, and it is why holding low spades late in a hand is dangerous rather than safe.

Scoring

• Made your bid — you score your bid, plus 0.1 for each trick above it.
• Missed your bid — you lose your bid entirely.

Overtricks are worth almost nothing, so there is no reward for winning more than you promised and a heavy penalty for winning fewer. Call Break rewards an accurate call far more than an ambitious one.