Altiansz

This is a hybrid of Ulti, Alsós and Preferansz invented by Zoltán Gerots and contributed by Róbert Kovács on the basis of information supplied by Áron Csathó.

Players and Cards

This trick-taking game is for 3 players or for 4 players with the dealer sitting out. One game session consists of 18 deals if there are 3 players or 24 deals if there are 4 players. The deal and play are counter-clockwise and the turn to deal passes to the right after each hand.

It is played with a standard 32-card Hungarian deck (William Tell cards), the cards of each suit being Ace, King, Over, Under, 10, 9, 8, 7. The ranking of the cards is different in the trump suit from the non-trump suits.

• In the trump suit from high to low: U 9 A 10 K O 8 7
• In each non-trump suit from high to low: A 10 K O U 9 8 7


• The Aces and 10's are worth 10 card points each.
• In the trump suit only, the Under is worth 20 card points and the 9 is worth 10 card points.
• The last trick is worth 10 card points.

Therefore there are a maximum of 120 card points in the game if there is a trump suit, but only 90 if there are no trumps. In some contracts additional card points can be scored for melds (card combinations in a player's hand) - see below.

In one contract, Betli, there are no trumps or card points and the card order is different, from high to low A K O U 10 9 8 7 in each suit.

Deal

Deal in a packet of three cards to each of the three active players, then one card face up to the table, a second packet of three cards to each player, then two (or three) cards face down to the table, then a final packet of three cards to each, and the last card (or last two cards) face down to the table. So each of the three active players has a hand of 9 cards, and there are 4 face down cards and one face up card on the table. The five cards on the table are known as the talon.

Bidding and use of the Talon

Starting with forehand (the player to dealer's right) and continuing counter-clockwise each player can pass or bid. Each bid must be higher than the previous bid. The bidding ends after either all three players pass initially or if someone bid, then there are two consecutive passes after the last bid. The final bidder is the declarer and must play the contract named in the final bid. The other two players form a team, known as the defenders.

Each player is entitled to be declarer at most 6 times during the session. A player who has already been declarer 6 times is not allowed to bid, and must pass.

The first player (if any) who wishes to bid higher than the lowest bid (Solo) begins by drawing any two of the four face down talon cards, without looking at them first and without showing them to the other players. The bidder adds these two cards to their hand, discards any two cards face down and then names their bid. Subsequent bidders draw the two cards discarded by the previous bidder and discard in the same way before naming a higher bid.

The two face down talon cards that were not drawn by the first bidder above Solo are set aside unseen unless one of the defenders has played all 6 of their contracts as declarer (and was therefore barred from bidding).

If the final bid is higher than Solo, and no one has yet played their 6 contracts, the declarer picks up the face up talon card and discards any one card face up before the play begins. The two talon cards that were not used in the bidding are set aside and cannot be looked at by anyone until after the end of the play.

If the final bid is higher than Solo and one or both defenders have already been declarer 6 times, the declarer picks up the face up talon card and also picks up the two talon cards that were not used during the bidding without showing them to the other players. This is known as "síber", after the similar process in Alsós. The declarer then discards any three cards face down so that there are five cards face down on the table whose values are unknown to the defenders.

If there is no bid higher than Solo the five cards on the table - four face down and one face up - remain untouched and everyone plays with their original 9 cards.

When counting card points at the end of the play, the five cards that ended in the talon count for neither the declarer nor the defenders. Therefore the actual number of card points available (excluding meld points) may be less than 120 (or less than 90 if there are no trumps).

Klopitzky

If all three players pass, then klopitzky is played (everyone using their initially dealt 9 cards). This is a no trump game in which the player or players who take the lowest number of card points win. If all three of the players take the same number of card points no one wins.

Contracts

Here is a list and explanation of the contracts that can be bid in ascending order. Each contract has a different set of objectives which the declarer must these in order to win.

1. Solo - the declarer doesn’t exchange any cards with the talon, chooses a trump suit or no trumps and has to win at least 5 tricks out of 9.
2. Ultimo - the declarer chooses trumps and has to win the last trick with the trump 7.
3. Golden Aces (Arany Ászok) - the declarer chooses a trump suit and has to win all four aces in tricks.
4. Game - the declarer chooses a trump suit or a no trump game and has to win more card points in tricks and meld than the two defenders combined.
5. Game Trull - the declarer chooses trumps and has to win more card points in tricks and meld than the two defenders combined, and the declarer must win the trump Under, 9 and 7 in tricks. Both undertakings must succeed, otherwise the declarer loses.
6. Game Ultimo - the declarer chooses a trump suit and has to win more card points in tricks and meld than the two defenders combined, and the declarer must win the last trick with the trump 7. Both undertakings must succeed, otherwise the declarer loses.
7. Game Sneak (Gém Surranó) - the declarer chooses a trump suit and has to win more card points in tricks and meld than the two defenders combined, and the declarer must win the penultimate trick with the trump 8 and win the last trick with the trump 7. All three undertakings have to succeed for the declarer to win.
8. 150 - the declarer chooses a trump suit or no trumps game and has to win at least 150 card points from tricks and melds
9. Absolute - the declarer chooses a trump suit or no trumps game and has to win at least 90 card points from tricks alone. Meld points do not count. Note that this contract is much harder without trumps, since then there are only 90 points available and the declarer needs all of them.
10. 200 - the declarer chooses a trump or no trumps game and has to win at least 200 points from tricks and melds.
11. Betli - there are no trumps and the declarer has to lose all tricks. Note the changed ranking order of cards in this contract.
12. Volát - the declarer chooses a trump suit or no trumps and has to win all the tricks.

Melds

In contracts 4-7 above, the ones with "game" in their name, all players can declare card combinations in their hand for extra card points. These are loosely based on card combinations used in Alsós and other Jass games, but Altiansz is unlike those games in that all players can score for all their combinations - there is no competition for whose combination ranks highest.

Also, in Altiansz, unlike all other Jass games, the order of cards for the purpose of sequences is the same as the ranking order for taking tricks, so differs depending on whether the suit is trumps or not. For example 9-A-10 of trumps is a terc, but would not be a terc in a non-trump suit. O-U-9 is a terc in a non-trump suit but would not be a terc in trumps.

In contracts 8 and 10 (150 and 200) only the declarer may declare and score for melds. In these contracts it does not matter how many card points the defenders take, only whether the declarer's card points reach the total required for the contract.

The possible melds and their card point values are:

• 20 (King and Over of a non-trump suit): 20
• Béla (King and Over of trumps): 40
• Vannak (four of a kind: 4 Aces, 4 Tens, 4 Kings, 4 Overs, 4 Unders or 4 Nines, but 7s or 8s are not valid): 40
• Terc (3 consecutive cards in a suit): 30
• Kvart (4 consecutive cards in a suit): 50
• Kvint (5 consecutive cards in a suit): 100
• Szext (6 consecutive cards in a suit): 100
• Szeptim (7 consecutive cards in a suit): 100
• Oktáv (8 consecutive cards in a suit): 100

A single card can be used simultaneously in a sequence, a vannak and a 20 or béla. For example with the 10-K-O-8 of trumps plus the other three Overs a player can declare a béla, a vannak and a kvart for a total of 130.

It is possible to declare more than one 20, vannak or sequence, but if two or more sequences are declared they must be in different suits, or if in the same suit separated by at least one missing card. When declaring a sequence the full length of the sequence must be stated: it is not permitted to misinform the other players by declaring only part of a sequence, for example to declare three cards of a kvart as a terc, or five cards of a szext as a kvint (even though both score the same). A player who holds an oktáv declares the whole 8-card sequence - it is not allowed to declare it as a kvint plus a terc.

When declaring meld, a player only specifies the type of combination: "vannak", "two 20's", "a kvart and a terc". The actual cards are not specified.

Play

The declarer announces the trump suit or no trumps, and if it is not a Solo may then take the face up card from the table and discard one card face up in its place.

The declarer than leads any card to the first trick. At this point if the contract is one in which meld can be scored the declarer, followed by the other players in turn if it is a 'game' contract, declare any meld they wish to score.

The play then continues. Players must follow suit and if they cannot follow suit they must play a trump if they have any.

There is no obligation to overtake except in Betli. When Betli is played, all players must follow suit and must beat the highest card of the suit led so far played to the trick if able to. Therefore lead a moderately high card to the first trick knowing that the opponents will be forced to beat it.

The play of the cards continues until the current contract is defeated or succeeds. As in any game, the play can be terminated early by a player just showing their remaining cards if the result of the hand is already certain irrespective any subsequent play.

Scoring

If a declarer succeeds in a contract they score +1 point, if they fail they score -1. In either case that player has used up one of their total of 6 contract chances. As explained above, each player can be the declarer only a maximum of 6 times in a full game, and is forced to pass after exhausting these.

In a klopitzky hand the winners (if any) score +1 point each. In a klopitzky there is no declarer so no one's allowance of remaining contracts is affected. Therefore in a session with one or more klopitzkies, there will be one or more players who only get to play 5 or fewer contracts as declarer.

At the end of the session (18 or 24 hands) the scores are added up, and usually are added to a cumulative total that is carried forward to the end of the gaming season (e.g. a year).