How to Play

Nap is the shortened (and more commonly used) name for Napoleon, a classic British pub trick-taking game for 3 to 7 players. Each player gets 5 cards and bids for the right to name trump through their opening lead; the bid winner plays alone against the rest and must capture at least the declared number of tricks.

Nap is the shortened (and more commonly used) name for Napoleon, a classic British pub trick-taking game for 3 to 7 players (4 or 5 ideal). Each player gets 5 cards and bids for the right to name trump through their opening lead; the bid winner plays alone against the rest and must capture at least the declared number of tricks. Stakes are paid symmetrically (made bids collect from each opponent, set bids pay to each opponent). Hands take under two minutes; a full pub session commonly runs 30 to 90 minutes. Nap and Napoleon are the same game; Nap is the standard everyday shorthand in British usage.

Players

3 to 7 players; 4 or 5 is ideal. Every player plays individually (no partnerships). The first dealer is chosen by dealing one card to each player; lowest card deals (Ace = low for this draw). The deal rotates clockwise after each hand. The player to the dealer's left (eldest hand) bids first and leads the first trick if they win the auction.

Card Deck

One standard 52-card deck, no jokers. All four suits (clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades) and all thirteen ranks are used. Ranks within each suit: Ace (high) through 2 (low). The trump suit is set each hand by the bid winner's opening lead (see Setup and Deal); there is no permanent trump.

Objective

As the bid winner, capture at least the declared number of tricks (or exactly zero tricks on a Misère bid). Success collects stakes from each opponent; failure pays stakes back in reverse. Across many hands, finish with the highest stake total to win the session.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the 52-card deck thoroughly; the dealer offers a cut to the player on the right (minimum 4 cards per packet).
2. Deal 5 cards face-down to each player in two rounds: three cards first, then two. The remaining undealt cards are set aside untouched; no stock is used.
3. Bidding phase: Starting with eldest hand, each player in clockwise order either bids once or passes. Bids ascend strictly (each bid must be higher than all previous bids) and any bid must be at least Three. The legal bids from lowest to highest are: Three, Misère, Four, Nap, Wellington, Blücher. Players who have passed cannot re-enter the auction.4♠3♠
4. Trump by lead: After bidding ends, the highest bidder leads any card to the first trick. The suit of that first led card becomes trump for the hand. Misère bids are played with no trump; the lead card simply opens play.
5. Misdeal: If a card is exposed during the deal or someone receives the wrong number of cards, the deal is void and the same dealer redeals.

Bidding

1. Three: Undertake to win at least 3 of the 5 tricks.3♠
2. Misère (Mis): Undertake to lose every trick (win zero). No trump applies; the bidder aims for zero. Ranks between Three and Four in the auction.4♠3♠
3. Four: Undertake to win at least 4 tricks.4♠
4. Nap (Napoleon): Undertake to win all 5 tricks.
5. Wellington: Undertake to win all 5 tricks at double stakes; only available if Nap has already been bid.
6. Blücher: Undertake to win all 5 tricks at triple stakes; only available if Wellington has already been bid. The highest possible bid.
7. Passing: Declining to bid. A passed player cannot bid again during the same hand. If every player passes, the deal is thrown in and the next dealer deals fresh.
8. One chance: Each player gets only one chance to bid; once you pass or commit to a bid, you cannot revise.

Gameplay

1. Leading the first trick: The bid winner leads any card. Trump is set by the suit of that card (or absent in Misère).
2. Trick structure: Play proceeds clockwise. Each player plays one card face-up to the centre. You must follow suit if you hold any card of the led suit; if void, you may play any card.
3. Winning a trick: The highest trump played wins; if no trump is played, the highest card of the led suit wins (off-suit non-trump cards cannot win). The trick winner leads the next trick.
4. Misère play: No trump; the highest card of the led suit wins every trick. The bidder must take zero tricks; capturing even one trick ends the bid in failure.
5. End of hand: The hand ends as soon as all 5 tricks have been played.
6. Renege (revoke): Failing to follow suit when able is a renege. If the bidder reneges, they pay opponents as though they lost; if an opponent reneges, they pay the bidder as though the bidder won. Play stops immediately when a renege is identified.

Scoring

• Stake system: Every player antes an equal number of chips into a shared session pool; each deal settles individually in chips between the bidder and each opponent.
• Three: Success pays the bidder 3 stakes from each opponent; failure costs the bidder 3 stakes to each opponent.3♠
• Four: Similar but at 4 stakes per opponent.4♠
• Nap (5 tricks): Success pays 10 stakes per opponent; failure costs 5 stakes per opponent (asymmetric because Nap is risky).
• Misère: Success pays the bidder 3 stakes from each opponent; failure costs 3 stakes to each opponent. Some houses align Misère stakes with Nap; agree before play.
• Wellington: Double Nap stakes: 20 per opponent on success, 10 per opponent on failure.
• Blücher: Triple Nap stakes: 30 per opponent on success, 15 per opponent on failure.
• Overtricks and undertricks: The bid is binary: made or set. Winning more tricks than bid awards no extra; winning fewer is a full set.
• Renege penalty: A reneging bidder pays full failure stakes; a reneging opponent pays the bidder full success stakes.

Winning

• Hand winner: Whoever settled positively on the current hand (the bidder if they made their bid; each opponent if the bidder failed).
• Match winner: After an agreed number of deals (or when the pub session ends), whoever has the most chips wins.
• Tie-breakers: If two or more players are tied on chips at match end, play one additional hand among only the tied players; highest chip total at the end of that extra hand wins.
• Bust: A player whose chips run out is eliminated (or may ante another round to re-enter, by group agreement).

Common Variations

• Seven-Card Nap: Deal 7 cards each; bids range from 3 to 7. Wellington and Blücher are usually dropped. Bid-7 pays 24 stakes per opponent.
• Purchase Nap: Before bidding, each player may pay one stake to exchange some cards with the unseen remainder of the deck.
• Peep Nap: An extra card is dealt face-down; players pay to peek before bidding, and the bid winner may swap one of their cards with it.
• Écarté Nap: Players pay per card to exchange unwanted cards for fresh ones from the deck before bidding.
• Misère-only: Drop Wellington and Blücher; allow only Three, Misère, Four, Nap. Simpler auctions.4♠3♠
• No Misère: Drop Misère entirely for very simple play; bids are only Three, Four, Nap.4♠3♠

Tips and Strategy

• Bid on certain tricks only: Aces, Kings in short suits, long-suit top cards. Count guaranteed winners before getting excited about merely plausible ones.
• Your opening lead sets trump, so lead from your strongest suit, ideally one with two or three high cards plus a lower card to force the issue.
• Lead your strongest trumps early as the bidder to strip opponents of their trumps, then use side-suit winners to mop up.
• Defenders should avoid wasting high cards; give tricks to each other (sluff low) rather than compete, so the bidder has to fight multiple players for each trick.
• Misère works with hands full of low cards (no Ace or King anywhere) and a void or singleton in one or more suits, so you can dump high cards when forced.
• Wellington and Blücher are over-bids used to escalate against an opponent's Nap; only bid them when you hold five near-certain tricks, since a failed bid costs triple.

Glossary

• Trick: One round of play in which every player lays one card; the highest trump (or highest card of the led suit, if no trump) wins.
• Follow suit: Play a card of the led suit if you hold any; mandatory.
• Trump: The special suit set each hand by the bidder's opening lead (or absent in Misère).
• Bid: A pre-play declaration of how many tricks the bidder will win (or zero in Misère).
• Nap (Napoleon): A bid to win all 5 tricks; also the game's nickname.
• Misère: A bid to win zero tricks; played with no trump.
• Wellington: An over-bid on Nap at double stakes.
• Blücher: An over-bid on Wellington at triple stakes.
• Eldest hand: The player to the dealer's left; first to bid and default first leader if they win the bid.
• Renege / revoke: Failure to follow suit when able; heavily penalised.
• Stake / ante: A chip (cash or token) used for settlement; pre-paid equally into a pool.