Pinochle

About the game

What is Pinochle?

Classic trick taking card game in which players bid how many points they will score for the right to set trump, then have to make their bid to get their points. Pinochle is played with a modified standard deck. It consists of a 48 card deck with all 2-8's removed and two of each other card (a Pinochle deck can be made by combining two 52 card decks and removing all 2-8's). Pinochle has several unique elements not found in other trick taking games: - Before playing the hands, players form melds (runs, marriages, pinochle, sets) which are added to their score. - Played with a double (and sometimes quadruple) deck of cards: A 10 K Q J 9 - Players are required to trump when void and over trump if they can. The original version of Pinochle is a two-handed version which is derived from the virtually identical Bezique. The game was modified for more players with several popular variants including Partnership Pinochle, Partnership Auction Pinochle, and Double Pack Pinochle (Partnership). (The origin date listed for this game is approximate.)

How it plays

Mechanics

On the shelf

Categories

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

• How do setup and the first turn work in Pinochle?
• When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
• How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?