How to Play

Kaiser is a Canadian prairie partnership trick-taking game for 4 players using a 32-card deck with two special cards: the [5♥] (+5) and the [3♠] (-3). Teams bid 6 to 12 trick-points; first to 52 wins.

Kaiser is a Canadian partnership trick-taking game from the prairie provinces (especially Saskatchewan), played by 4 players in two teams with a stripped 32-card deck that includes two special cards: (the +5 'Five') and (the -3 'Three'). Each hand begins with bidding (6 to 12 tricks); the high bidder picks trump (or no-trump) and tries with their partner to capture enough trick-points to make their bid. Each trick is worth 1 point, the adds +5, the subtracts -3, for a maximum of +10 / minimum -3 per hand. First team to 52 points wins the match. Bid amount counts against your team if you fail to make it.

Players

Exactly 4 players in 2 fixed partnerships; partners sit across the table. Choose the first dealer at random; the deal rotates clockwise after each hand. Communication is restricted to the legal bids and plays during a hand (no table talk). Saskatchewan-style Kaiser is the canonical form; minor regional house rules vary the bid range and special-card placement.

Card Deck

A 32-card stripped deck built from a standard 52-card pack: keep all cards from 7 through Ace in every suit (8 cards per suit × 4 suits = 32). Then replace with and replace with , leaving 32 cards including the two special scoring cards. Standard rank order high to low: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, with inserted into Hearts at the 7-position and inserted into Spades at the 7-position. Trump (when not 'no-trump') beats every non-trump card.

Objective

On each hand, bid the number of trick-points you and your partner will capture; if you make your bid, score the points captured (or a fixed score equal to your bid in some house rules). Across many hands, the first partnership to reach 52 points wins the match. Failed bids are penalised: the bid amount is subtracted from the bidding team's score.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the modified 32-card deck and cut.
2. Deal 8 cards to each player, one at a time, clockwise (some groups deal in batches of 4-4 for speed).
3. Bidding phase: Starting with the player to the dealer's left, each player in clockwise turn either bids a number from 6 to 12 (the number of trick-points they pledge to capture with their partner) or passes. Each bid must be higher than the previous bid. A 'no-trump' bid outranks any suited bid of the same number.
4. Dealer's privilege: The dealer may take any standing bid by saying 'take it' (matching the bid as their own).
5. Forced bid: If all three non-dealers pass, the dealer is forced to bid at least 6.
6. Trump declaration: The high bidder names trump (any of the four suits, or 'no trump'). They lead the first trick.
7. Misdeal: if any player has the wrong number of cards, reshuffle and redeal.

Gameplay

1. Lead: The high bidder leads any card to the first trick. The winner of each trick leads the next.
2. Follow suit: Each subsequent player, in clockwise turn, must play a card of the same suit if able. If void in the led suit, they may play any card, including a trump.
3. Trump rule: A trump card beats any non-trump card. If multiple players play trumps, the highest trump wins. (In a no-trump hand, only the highest card of the led suit can win.)
4. Winning the trick: If no trumps were played, the highest card of the led suit wins. If any trumps were played, the highest trump wins. The winner gathers the four cards into their team's trick pile and leads next.
5. Special cards stay in their suit: is a Heart for following-suit purposes (it ranks at the 7-position in Hearts: between 6 and 8 if those existed, in practice between 8 and the missing 6, so it sits between 8 and 9 / it is the lowest Heart in this stripped deck). is a Spade and is the lowest Spade. They count toward suit-following normally.5♥3♠
6. End of hand: After all 8 tricks, total each team's score (see Scoring) and apply the bid result.

Scoring

• Per trick: +1 point per trick captured (8 tricks × 1 = 8 base points distributed).
• : Whichever team captures it adds +5 to their score.5♥
• : Whichever team captures it adds -3 (a penalty) to their score.3♠
• Maximum hand score: +10 (winning team takes all 8 tricks plus the , avoiding the ).5♥3♠
• Minimum hand score: -3 (a team that takes only the and nothing else).3♠
• Bid result for the bidding team: If the bidding team's hand score meets or exceeds the bid, they score what they captured. If they fall short, they score minus the bid amount (i.e., the bid is subtracted from their match total).
• Non-bidding team: Always scores what they captured (which can be negative if they took the and few tricks).3♠
• No-trump bonus: If the bid was declared 'no trump' and made, the bidding team's hand score is doubled (some house rules; agree before play).
• Match win: First team to 52 points wins. If both teams reach 52 in the same hand, the bidding team wins.
• Going below zero: A team can have a negative running score; play continues until someone hits 52.

Winning

• Match win: First partnership to reach 52 cumulative points wins.
• Tie at 52: If both teams cross 52 in the same hand, the bidding team wins.
• Bidding-team-must-win rule (variant): Some groups require the bidding team specifically to be the first to 52; the other team can only win by forcing repeated set-backs.
• Skunk: Some groups call a 52-0 finish a 'skunk' for bragging rights.

Common Variations

• No-Trump Outranks All: A no-trump bid of any number is always higher than a suited bid; some groups limit no-trump to bids of 8 or higher.
• Low / Reverse Kaiser: The bidder declares 'low'; rank order in trump and side suits is inverted (2 beats 3 beats 4 ... beats Ace). Special cards keep their values.
• Pass-the-Cards: Before bidding, partners pass two cards each face-down to communicate strength. Speeds up high bids.
• Kaiser Bid (12 No-Trump): The maximum possible bid; if made, scores 24 points (double the 12 captured) and is the most prestigious call in the game.
• Minimum Bid 7 or 8: Some Saskatchewan tables require the opening bid to be 7 or 8 instead of 6 to keep hands competitive.
• Kitty Variant: Deal 7 cards per player plus a 4-card kitty; high bidder picks up the kitty, then discards 4. Adds an information advantage to the bidder.

Tips and Strategy

• Bid trump in your longest, strongest suit. Five trumps including /// is a typical 8-bid hand.A♥A♠A♦A♣
• The is worth a bid level. Holding yourself almost guarantees +5 to your team; bid one trick higher than you would without it.5♥5♥
• Dump the aggressively. If you hold , try to throw it on a trick your partner is winning early to safely move the -3 penalty out of your way.3♠3♠
• Lead trumps when bidding. As the high bidder, lead high trumps in trick 1 to draw out opposing trumps. Keep at least one low trump in reserve to ruff with later.
• Watch for the 7-position swap. In Hearts the 7-rank is the ; in Spades the 7-rank is the . Don't confuse them with regular 7s in suit-counting.5♥3♠
• Defend against no-trump bids by leading the bidder's void. If you can guess a non-bidder's short suit, lead it to bleed their winners.
• Set the bid when possible. Failing a bid by even 1 point costs your opponents the full bid value, often a 10+ point swing.

Glossary

• Trick: One round of four cards (one per player); won by the highest trump or highest card of the led suit.
• Trump: The suit named by the high bidder; beats all other suits.
• No-trump: A bid declaring no suit as trump; only the highest card of the led suit can win each trick.
• Bid: The number of trick-points the high bidder pledges to capture (with partner) on the hand. Range 6 to 12.
• Make / Set: Make = bidding team meets or exceeds their bid (scores points). Set = bidding team falls short (loses the bid amount from their score).
• Special cards: (+5) and (-3); replace the 7 of Hearts and 7 of Spades respectively in the 32-card deck.5♥3♠
• Kaiser bid: A 12 no-trump bid; the maximum and most prestigious call.
• Skunk: Winning the match 52-0; a bragging-rights victory.