How to Play

Three Five Eight (Sergeant Major) is a 3-player trick-taking game with asymmetric trick targets (dealer 8, eldest 5, third 3) and a card-payment system between hands. The match ends when any player takes 12+ tricks in a single hand.

Three Five Eight (also called Sergeant Major or 3-5-8) is a 3-player trick-taking game with asymmetric trick targets: the dealer must take 8 tricks, the eldest hand 5, and the third player 3 (16 tricks per hand total, with 4 cards set aside as a kitty). The dealer names trump after looking at the 4-card kitty and discarding any 4 cards. After each hand, players who exceeded their target ('up') receive their best cards from players who fell short ('down'), creating an escalating advantage. The match ends when any player wins 12+ tricks in a single hand.

Players

Exactly 3 players, each playing for themselves (no partnerships). Choose the first dealer at random; the deal rotates clockwise after each hand. Seat positions are referred to as dealer, eldest (the player to the dealer's left), and third (the player to the dealer's right). Each seat carries a fixed trick target for that hand: dealer 8, eldest 5, third 3 (which together total 16, leaving the 4-card kitty unallocated).

Card Deck

One standard 52-card pack, no jokers. Standard ranks high to low in every suit: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The dealer chooses one suit as trump for each hand after looking at the kitty; trump beats all non-trump cards regardless of rank.

Objective

On each hand, meet or beat your trick target (8, 5, or 3 depending on seat). Tricks taken above target are overtricks (you are 'up'); tricks fallen short are 'down' and must be paid in cards next hand. The match is won when any player takes 12 or more tricks in a single hand, regardless of cumulative score.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the 52-card deck and cut.
2. Deal cards clockwise: each player gets 16 cards, dealt in batches (typically 5-5-6 or 4-4-4-4) for ease of pickup.
3. Place the remaining 4 cards face-down in front of the dealer as the kitty (also called widow or skat).
4. Dealer's privilege: The dealer picks up the kitty (now holding 20 cards), looks at all 20, chooses any suit as trump, and discards any 4 cards face-down into a private pile (these 4 cards are out of play but count toward the dealer's tricks at end of hand: see Scoring).
5. The dealer announces the trump suit so all three players know it before the first lead.
6. Misdeal: if any player has the wrong number of cards, or a card is exposed during the deal, reshuffle and redeal.

Gameplay

1. Lead: The eldest hand (player to the dealer's left) 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.
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 three cards into their personal trick pile and leads next.
5. Hand exhaustion: Continue until all 16 tricks are taken (each player will have played 16 cards: 16 from hand for eldest and third; 20 minus 4 discarded = 16 for the dealer).
6. Scoring the hand: Compare each player's tricks taken against their target. The dealer's 4-card discard counts as 0 tricks (they are out of play), so the dealer's 8-trick target must be hit through actual trick play.
7. Card payment between hands: Players who are 'down' (took fewer tricks than their target) hand their best card in each suit named by an 'up' player. For each overtrick, the up player chooses a suit; the down player must surrender their highest card of that suit, and the up player gives any card in exchange.

Scoring

• Targets: Dealer 8 tricks, eldest 5 tricks, third 3 tricks (sum = 16).
• Up: A player who took more than their target is 'up' by the difference. Example: dealer takes 10 tricks = up 2.
• Down: A player who took fewer than their target is 'down' by the difference. Example: third takes 1 trick = down 2.
• Card payment: Each up player, in turn (highest 'up' first; ties broken to dealer's left), picks one suit per overtrick. The down player(s) surrender their highest card of that suit; the up player gives any card from their hand back. This happens after the next deal, before play, so cards move between hands.
• Running totals (optional): Some groups also track a cumulative score (1 point per overtrick, -1 per undertrick) to play a fixed number of hands instead of waiting for a 12-trick win.

Winning

• Match win: The first player to take 12 or more tricks in a single hand wins the match.
• Cumulative variant: If using running totals, the first player to reach +10 (or any agreed target) wins.
• Stalemate option: If 12 tricks proves elusive after many hands, agree a hand limit (often 10 hands) and crown the highest cumulative scorer.
• Ties at hand limit: Play one further tiebreaker hand among tied players (rotate targets to keep things fair).

Common Variations

• Nine Five Two (9-5-2): Canadian variant with targets 9, 5, 2. The dealer's job is harder, and a 12-trick match win is more common.
• Six Three Eight (6-3-8): Targets 6, 3, 8 with 51 cards (one card removed) and cumulative scoring to ±10.
• Rotating Targets: After each hand, the seat's targets rotate so every player plays each role equally; reduces snowballing.
• No-Trumps option: Dealer may declare 'no trumps' (highest card of led suit wins, no suit beats any other) for a tougher hand.
• Misère / 'Miz': Dealer may call miz, reversing the goal (lowest tricks wins). Useful for very weak hands.
• Double Card Payment: Each overtrick demands two cards instead of one, accelerating the snowball.

Tips and Strategy

• Dealer: name trump in your longest suit. With 20 cards and the right to pick, choose the suit where you hold the most pips and the highest cards (Ace and King). Aim to keep at least 5 trumps after the discard.
• Dealer: discard losers from short suits. Throw away your low cards in suits you only have 1 or 2 of; this creates voids you can later trump.
• Eldest (target 5): play the long game. You lead first; lead a low card in a suit you don't need (force trumps out of opponents), then attack with your high cards once trumps are gone.
• Third (target 3): play defence. Three tricks is a low bar; conserve high cards and dump low losers on tricks you want to lose. Avoid winning tricks you don't need; surplus tricks above 3 only give your opponents card-payment ammunition.
• The card-payment snowball is real. Once you fall behind, the up players strip your Aces and Kings each hand, making it harder to recover. Defend your trick target ferociously the moment you fall a single trick short.
• Use the Ace of Trumps in the down players' suits. When you are 'up', name the suits where the down player is most likely to hold an Ace; those Aces become yours.

Glossary

• Trick: One round of three cards (one per player); won by highest trump or highest of the led suit.
• Trump: The suit named by the dealer that beats all other suits.
• Kitty: The 4 cards set aside before play; picked up by the dealer who discards 4 after.
• Eldest hand: The player to the dealer's left; leads the first trick.
• Up: Player who exceeded their trick target on the last hand.
• Down: Player who fell short of their trick target.
• Overtrick / Undertrick: The number of tricks above or below a player's target.
• Card payment: The exchange of cards between hands: each overtrick lets an 'up' player demand the highest card in a chosen suit from a 'down' player, in exchange for any card.
• Miz / Misère: Optional dealer call that reverses the goal (lowest tricks wins).