How to Play

Pandoeren is a Dutch bidding and trick-taking game for 4 players using a 33-card deck. Win the auction, name the trump, call a secret partner, and fulfil your contract before the defenders foil it.

Pandoeren (also Pandoer) is a Dutch bidding and trick-taking game for 4 players using a 33-card deck (a standard Piquet deck plus the 6 of Hearts). Each deal begins with an auction: the highest bidder becomes the proclaimer, names the trump and optionally calls a partner, and their team must score enough to satisfy their contract. A dozen distinct contracts ranging from winning every trick to winning exactly zero or exactly one make Pandoeren much richer than its simple-sounding core, and the Jack-9-Ace trump ranking (shared with Jass and Klaverjas) rewards suit management and card memory. It is a game of inferences and bold contracts, prized in the south of the Netherlands where Pandoeren clubs still play weekly.

Players

Pandoeren is played by 4 players, each playing for themselves during the auction phase and in partnerships announced by the proclaimer during play. The 'partner' in a partnership contract may be another player identified by holding a specific card; the partner is unknown to everyone until that card is played.

Card Deck

Use 33 cards: the standard 32-card Piquet deck (7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace in each suit) PLUS the 6 of Hearts. Many Dutch households sell 33-card Pandoeren packs but any standard deck plus one selected 6 works. In trump suits, the rank order high to low is: Jack (20 pts), 9 (14), Ace (11), 10 (10), King (4), Queen (3), 8 (0), 7 (0). In non-trump suits: Ace (11), 10 (10), King (4), Queen (3), Jack (2), 9 (0), 8 (0), 7 (0). The 6 of Hearts is ranked below the 7 of Hearts and worth 0 points; it is used only as a makeweight card to produce the 33-card total needed for even dealing.

Objective

Win the highest bid in the auction, then with any partner fulfill the contract (achieve the trick/point goal named by the bid). A successful contract pays the proclaimer and partner from the pot; a failed contract pays the defenders. Over an evening, the player with the most chips wins.

Setup and Deal

1. Each player antes one chip into a central pot before each deal. A good starting stake is 10 chips per player.
2. Choose first dealer by cutting for low card. The deal rotates clockwise.
3. Shuffle the 33-card deck. Deal 4 cards to each player, one at a time clockwise, then set the remaining 1 card face-down (the kaart in the pot or buffer).
4. Deal 4 more cards to each player (every player now has 8 cards). That buffered 33rd card is untouched during play unless a specific contract requires it.
5. The player to the dealer's left (forehand) speaks first in the auction.

Gameplay

1. Auction phase: Each player in clockwise order may bid a contract or pass. Bids rise through a fixed hierarchy. Once passed, a player may not re-enter the auction. The highest bid wins; its bidder becomes the proclaimer.
2. Contract hierarchy (low to high, typical order): (1) Regular game with partner needing 100 points; (2) Higher point-target games at 120, 140, 150, 170 points; (3) Piccolo: win exactly 1 trick alone; (4) Zwabber: no-trump game with partner; (5) Misery: win 0 tricks alone; (6) Kereltje: a specific partnership built around whoever holds a named Jack; (7) Pandoer: win all 8 tricks. Specific tables may add or reorder variants.
3. Trump and partner declaration: After winning the auction, the proclaimer announces the trump suit (if any; Zwabber and point-target games have no trump for certain contract types) and, for partnership contracts, calls a specific card (for example 'King of Spades'); the holder of that card is secretly the partner. The partner does not reveal themselves until the called card is actually played.K♠
4. Trick play: Forehand leads the first trick (unless the contract dictates otherwise). Players must follow suit. If unable to follow suit, they must trump if they can (and must overtrump if a trump has been played and a higher trump is in hand). If they can do neither, they play any card.
5. Winning the trick: Highest trump wins, or highest card of the led suit if no trump played. Winner leads the next trick.
6. Melds (honours): Before playing your first card of the first trick, you may declare any held combination of 3 or more consecutive cards in the same suit (sequence) or 3 or 4 of a kind (Kings, Queens, Jacks, 10s, 9s). Sequences score 20 points (for 3 cards) or 50 (for 4+); sets of the same rank score 80 (4 Jacks = 160, 4 9s = 180, four Aces = 100, four Kings = 100, four Queens = 100, four Tens = 100). Only the highest-scoring meld across the table is actually counted, and its points go to the team that made it.
7. Partner revelation: The called partner plays as a defender until their called card is actually played; once played, they become an open partner with the proclaimer. All captured card points from that point on count toward the team totals.
8. Endgame: After all 8 tricks are played, count card points plus the last-trick bonus (10 points).

Scoring

• Card points per trick: Trump Jack 20, Trump 9 14, Ace 11, 10 10, King 4, Queen 3, non-trump Jack 2, 9s/8s/7s/6 are 0.A♠K♠Q♠J♠
• Last trick bonus: 10 points to whoever wins the final (8th) trick.
• Meld bonus: Only the single best meld across all four players scores, for its owning team.
• Contract success: If the proclaimer's team reaches or exceeds their contract target (e.g. 100, 120, 140 points depending on the named bid), they each collect a payment from the pot proportional to the bid level. The winner also collects the buffer chip if used.
• Contract failure: If the contract fails, the proclaimer and partner each pay the defenders a fixed amount (typically 1 chip for low contracts, up to 10 chips for the Pandoer grand slam).
• Special contract wins: Pandoer (winning all 8 tricks) pays 10 chips from each opponent. Misery (0 tricks) pays 5 chips. Piccolo (exactly 1 trick) pays 3 chips. Payouts scale by contract.
• Match target (optional): Play until one player has accumulated a chip count (typically 3 times the starting stake) or for a set evening; the chip leader wins.

Winning

A single deal is won by the team whose outcome matches the contract (the proclaimer's team if they meet their target, the defenders otherwise). The overall evening is won by whoever has the most chips when play ends.

Common Variations

• Pandoer Mini: A shortened 4-hand version used as an introductory game. Drop the highest and lowest contract tiers.
• No-partner Pandoeren: The proclaimer always plays alone regardless of the bid; simplifies partnership confusion.
• Chip-free Pandoeren: Use a running point total across many hands instead of chip payments per hand; first to 500 wins.
• Limburgse Pandoer: Regional variant from the southern province of Limburg with more generous meld scoring and an added 'Troela' contract (three Aces in hand).
• Pandoeren with rotating dealer call: After each hand, the dealer may require all players to expose their lowest card before the auction, changing the information available to bidders.

Tips and Strategy

• Bid high only with a long trump suit that includes the Jack or 9 of trumps, or with a point-rich hand (multiple Aces and 10s). The Jack of trumps alone is worth 20 card points and a half-failed contract is a disaster.
• In partner contracts, call for the card that you most need. Calling for a specific King or Ace that you lack lets you gather the missing point card and builds a hidden team.
• Misery and Piccolo contracts require specific hand shapes. Misery needs all low cards across multiple suits; Piccolo needs exactly one guaranteed trick-winner and otherwise mediocre cards.
• Track the called partner's card carefully. Once that card is played, the partnership is revealed and defenders must switch from attacking unknown teammates to coordinated defense against a known pair.
• Save a high trump for the final trick to steal the 10-point bonus; it is often worth 10 of the decision margin in tight contracts.
• When defending, lead the suit that the proclaimer called for in their partner request; this often forces the partner to reveal themselves quickly and disorganises their cooperation.

Glossary

• Proclaimer (pandoer): The player who won the auction and must fulfill the named contract.
• Called partner: The player holding the card named by the proclaimer; becomes a public team member once that card is played.
• Pandoer (contract): The highest-value contract, requiring the proclaimer's team to win all 8 tricks.
• Misery: A solo contract where the proclaimer must win exactly 0 tricks.
• Piccolo: A solo contract where the proclaimer must win exactly 1 trick.
• Zwabber: A no-trump partnership contract with point totals as the goal.
• Kereltje: A Jack-based partnership contract with specific callable-Jack rules.
• Meld: A declared sequence or set of cards held at the start of play, scoring bonus points if it is the highest on the table.
• Forehand: The player to the dealer's left; first to bid and first to lead in most contracts.
• Buffer card: The 33rd card set aside face-down at the deal; used only by specific contracts.