Game: Oh Hell!

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tonguepaste — 2008-10-21T23:23:11+00:00

Game Lay-Out, University Games Edition: Used with Permission of University Games

Thread: Re: Oh Hell review and variants

HankM — 2008-09-10T17:55:59+00:00

I created a scoring variant for OH, which I call "Zilch."
Ideal number of players = 4. With 4, we start with a hand of 8 cards and decrease the number of cards dealt to each player by one until we reach the level of one card per player, then we turn the corner and deal hands out from 1 back to 8. One card is turned up as trump. The eldest player (left of the dealer) begins the bidding, which can be from the most number of cards/tricks possible to a bid of "Zilch" (zero). Eldest hand begins the play of the hand; players must follow suit if able, otherwise they may play any card (cards rank from A [high] to deuce [low]. Highest card of the suit led wins unless someone plays a trump, in which case the highest trump played wins. A player does not have to play a trump if he is out of the suit led and has other choices, nor does he have to "play over" a trump if led (like Pinochle). Revokes score -20.

The scoring, however, is more complex. In each round, a player making their bid exactly scores a number of points equal to his/her bid (i.e. a bid of 4 made successfully receives 4 points, plus any bonus due -- see below) AND a possibility of extra bonus points as follows:
(a) If a player bids for ALL the tricks and is successful, he scores his bid times 4 (example: in round 5, player bids 5 and takes 5, scores 5 X 4 = 20 points)
(b) In those rounds where more than 2 cards are dealt to each player, a player bidding for more than half the number of possible tricks scores points equal his bid times 2. Example: In round 3, a player bids '2' and takes 2 tricks. He scores 2 (bid) X 2 (bonus for more than half the number of available tricks) = 4.
(c) A player bidding "Zilch" and who takes no tricks scores points equal to the round number (i.e. a 'Zilch' in round 6 scores 6, a 'Zilch' in round 2 scores 2 points)

Penalties

A player who misses his/her bid is penalized the number of his bid times the number he missed by, times any other bonus that was applicable. Example: In round 5, a player bids '3' and takes 2 tricks....3 (the bid)-2 (tricks taken) = 1(number missed by) X 2 (bidding for more than half the tricks) equals a score of -2. Had that player taken only 1 trick, then he would have been penalized 3-1 = 2 X 2 = -4. If in round 4 a player bid '4' (all the tricks') and took 3, his score would be 4 (bid)-3(number taken) = 1(number missed by) X 4(bonus/penalty for bidding for all the tricks) for -4. Had he taken 2 tricks, his score would have been 4-2 = 2 X 4 for a -8!!

A player who bids 'Zilch' and takes one or more tricks is penalized points for each trick taken equal to the round number (i.e. a 'Zilch' bid in round 6 and the player takes 1 trick loses 6 points...and would lose 6 for each trick so taken in round 6...in round 2, a player would be -2 for each trick taken).

Emerging with a positive score is no mean feat in this game!

PLayed this way, 'Zilches' are nice but are scored/penalized relative to the number of cards dealt (Zilches are tougher to negotiate in rounds where more cards are dealt). Bonuses for bidding & taking more than half or all the tricks can tempt greedy players, but can also drag one's score backwards frighteningly fast.

Thread: Re: Oh Hell review and variants

landbeaver — 2008-04-22T18:44:20+00:00

We play very similar only we all bid simultaneously via the odds-even-shoot method (even if it matches the number of tricks), and our scoring is 5 for matching your bid, plus the number of your bid (so zero = 5pts) and you lose points for the amount you are off your bid. If you bid 1 and make 3 you get -2 for the round. Fun and easy game!

Thread: Re: My 'Blackout' Version

pHr0sT — 2008-02-07T23:04:15+00:00

Moviebuffs wrote:
Similar, and yet different, to the way I was taught:

Misère: 7 cards each, no trumps, everyone forced to bid 0.

However, since buying Wizard, we just don't play Oh Hell any more - we play this instead. We went back to Oh Hell a few weeks ago, and we were all disappointed at how dull it was compared to Wizard.

N.

I definitely like the idea of a Misery hand where the forced bet is 0. I might have to try an incorporate it the next time I play the game...

I also had never heard of Wizard (i'm kind of new to the site) but I really like it, I have already ordered it and No Thanks! as well as Rage and Coloretto...four games that I think everyone will enjoy. So thanks for the reply and suggestion!

thatmarkguy wrote:
The main thing I dislike about your versions are that they end with the fewer-trick hands (lastly, a 1-trick hand), which are oftentimes completely random. I prefer how I was taught (high-to-1-to-high) in that the final hands are ones with more options, more control, and proportionally more points at stake.
I also can see the benefit in only playing one 1 card hand as I do not like that round very much either. Perhaps I could incorporate both of your ideas... 7-6-5-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-5-6-7 and depending on the amount of players is where you put the Misery hands. For example if there are 5 players you'd go 7-6-5-M-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-M-5-6-7...hmm I wonder how that would work out...I think that it could definitely work out. Your guys' thoughts?

Thread: Re: My 'Blackout' Version

thatmarkguy — 2008-02-07T20:08:36+00:00

The main thing I dislike about your versions are that they end with the fewer-trick hands (lastly, a 1-trick hand), which are oftentimes completely random. I prefer how I was taught (high-to-1-to-high) in that the final hands are ones with more options, more control, and proportionally more points at stake.

I also like the 'hang the dealer' aspect of blackout (which is how it was named, the way I was taught - someone has to be 'blacked out' every hand - not possible for 'everybody to be happy'). There are other games where you make a secret independent bid (Ninety-Nine and Wimmüln), and there's just a feeling of... letdown, after a hand in which everyone gets what they want. I like the traditional 'blackout' rule that makes sure that doesn't happen, and prefer to play with a similar rule addition in Wizard.

Thread: Re: My 'Blackout' Version

Moviebuffs — 2008-02-07T17:39:04+00:00

Similar, and yet different, to the way I was taught:

We play 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, No Trumps, Misère, Blind, Misère, No Trumps, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

First 7 Hands: Normal hands, clockwise bidding, trumps going H, C, D, S.
No Trumps: 7 cards each. No trumps (obviously)
Misère: 7 cards each, no trumps, everyone forced to bid 0.
Blind: 7 cards each, Spades are trumps, everyone bids 0, hand played blind (just for a laugh) ... obviously following suit becomes impossible.
.. and then back down to 1 each.

Scoring was 10 + bid if correct, minus the amount wrong if incorrect.

....

However, since buying Wizard, we just don't play Oh Hell any more - we play this instead. We went back to Oh Hell a few weeks ago, and we were all disappointed at how dull it was compared to Wizard.

N.

Thread: My 'Blackout' Version

pHr0sT — 2008-02-07T15:01:55+00:00

When I was taught this game many years ago, it was taught to me under the name 'Blackout.' After reading some posts I realized that some of the rules are a bit different. I thought I'd post the way I play and who knows maybe you and your famil will try it out this way and see if you like it any better!

Deal goes as usual, starts at 1 and usually goes up to 7,8, or 9 depending on the amount of players, then all the way back down to 1. For example:
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

Bidding is where I find the main difference in my version. In this version all players close their fists and knock three times onto the table. On the third knock a player sticks out the appropriate number of fingers as to how many tricks they think they'll be able to get in that particular round. By doing it this way, all players can succeed in one round or they can even all fail. But most of the time it works out that more than one person does not 'blackout.'

Scoring is your bid +10. So if you bid 2 tricks and got 2 tricks, you would score 12 points. If you bid 2 but were unsuccessful, you would scratch out your score or 'black it out.' Hence the name. Around our table they have come to be known as 'turds.'

Trump suits are determined at the start of the game by flipping over random cards from the deck until you get all 4 suits, then repeat the 4 suits all the way down the page. C,H,S,D,C,H,S,D....etc....

No Jokers, just the standard 52 deck.

Add up the scores at the end, highest is your winner of 'blackout!'

Thread: Re: Different scoring

harris_family — 2007-11-04T20:21:18+00:00

MrHen wrote:
My family plays a similar game that was originally called Shit On Your Neighbor, censored to Dump On Your Neighbor, and shorted to Dump.

The game is exactly the same except you do not lose points for failing to make your bid. I personally prefer this because it keeps the scoring tighter and provides less frustration. Has anyone else played this way, or is a different game entirely?
Funnily enough, we call it Oh S**t but there you go!
Our 'house rules' (never having seen the 'proper' version) goes like this;

- Cards per hand go 2, 3 ,4, 5, 6, 7, 7(N), 7(W), 7(N), 6, 5, 4 ,3 ,2
- The last person to bid cannot add up to the 'correct' total, which forces someone to get it wrong each time!
- Scoring goes 2 for each trick bid and made. Only 1 for a successful zero bid.
- When you fail to make your bid, you *lose* 1 point each trick you 'missed'. So bid 2, win 3, scores -1. Bid 4, win 2, scores -2.
- Trumps are chosen with a 'cut' except the 3 middle 7's. The 'N' represents no-trumps, the 'W' stands for 'wally' (or any other insulting word that starts with a 'w'!). Basically it means everyone loses 2 points for each trick won (played at no-trumps).

Other fun variants include;
- You can't make the same bid 3 hands on the trot.
- If *nobody* get their bid right, re-deal the hand but the bids remain the same (!)
- On the 'way up' i.e. on the first 6 hands, trumps are cut *after* bids are made (more luck!). On the way down, trumps are chosen *before* bids are made (more skill!).

Have fun,

Simon

Thread: Re: Different scoring

boltongeordie — 2007-11-04T19:53:39+00:00

qzhdad wrote:
We always play that you get one point for each trick you take plus ten if you match your bid. We also forced the dealer to bid so that at least one player couldn't make their bid.

We went 1-10 with up to five, otherwise as high as would come out even.

Making 200 was possible, but tough.
We score the same, including preventing the total bids equalling the total tricks (and we call it Nomination Whist), though we always play with 4 players and run from 13 cards down to 1, rotating through trumps C, D, H, S, NT.

We are all experienced players and it is usually tight, with the winner gettng 120-130 and the bottom placed getting around 80.

Thread: Re: Different scoring

MrHen — 2007-11-03T17:52:35+00:00

mark_biggar wrote:
And there's a lot of fun to try to intentionally give extra tricks to the leader.

Ah, that would be fun. Your family's version sounds interesting... I wonder if I can try and convince people to play it instead of the version we have.

Thread: Re: Different scoring

mark_biggar — 2007-11-03T17:04:58+00:00

MrHen wrote:

mark_biggar wrote:
My family rules are:

Scoring bid+10 it you make -bid otherwise.

Play with the joker, it's smallest trump.

Flip top card after deal for trump suit, no-trump if joker.

And here's the kicker, on the way back down you must make the same bid as on the way up.

Does bidding 0 and failing mean no change in score? I like the use of the Joker. Especially no trump... I may bring that up the next time we play.

Going up and down seems like a lot of fun if you have to keep your bid, but I can see how it would be extremely frustrating. We usually get fairly competitive, and the luck factor of this game is just enough to balance out the real card players and those just learning without skewing everything.

Planning ahead, however, would probably mean lower bids overall. Is this correct?

Yes, failing a bid of 0 means no score change.

Having to make the same bid on the way down does result in lower bids, most hands are under-subscribed. But, this doesn't lessen competition as it takes skill to play hands where you're trying to take less tricks then you think the hand is worth. And there's a lot of fun to try to intentionally give extra tricks to the leader.

Thread: Re: Different scoring

MrHen — 2007-11-03T14:32:51+00:00

klide wrote:
But for rounds of 13 and 8 cards, high bidder got to choose trump. If there was a tie, first to bid highest chose trump. This would sometimes lead to wacky situations where one player would bid 8, then another bid 9 to get control of trump suit. (High bidder also led for the first trick.)

Wow, that would completely change the game. Bidding would have to be completely different, since you are stuck with what you bid. Since you score without negative points, that would not be too bad... interesting.

mark_biggar wrote:
My family rules are:

Scoring bid+10 it you make -bid otherwise.

Play with the joker, it's smallest trump.

Flip top card after deal for trump suit, no-trump if joker.

And here's the kicker, on the way back down you must make the same bid as on the way up.

Does bidding 0 and failing mean no change in score? I like the use of the Joker. Especially no trump... I may bring that up the next time we play.

Going up and down seems like a lot of fun if you have to keep your bid, but I can see how it would be extremely frustrating. We usually get fairly competitive, and the luck factor of this game is just enough to balance out the real card players and those just learning without skewing everything.

Planning ahead, however, would probably mean lower bids overall. Is this correct?

Thread: Re: Different scoring: no loss for failing a bid

mark_biggar — 2007-11-02T23:19:37+00:00

My family rules are:

Start with one card each, work up to as many cards a divided the deck evenly, then back down to one.

Scoring bid+10 it you make -bid otherwise.

Dealer must bid to make trick total different then number of cards in hand.

Play with the joker, it's smallest trump.

Flip top card after deal for trump suit, no-trump if joker.

And here's the kicker, on the way back down you must make the same bid as on the way up.

We call it "To Hell and Back", or in polite company
"To the Moon and Back" shortened to Loony. Often played with a Rook deck.

Thread: Re: Different scoring: no loss for failing a bid

klide — 2007-11-02T23:02:51+00:00

MrHen wrote:
Hmm... interesting. Do you remember what the scoring was like?
You mean typical final scores? It's been a while (I mostly played during college), but I think for this variant that I played, scores were usually in the 250-300 range.

Besides the scoring rules I mentioned, another rule that impacted score was how trump was determined. (I'm assuming a 4 player game.) For most rounds, the top card from the undealt deck was turned over to determine trump before bidding.

But for rounds of 13 and 8 cards, high bidder got to choose trump. If there was a tie, first to bid highest chose trump. This would sometimes lead to wacky situations where one player would bid 8, then another bid 9 to get control of trump suit. (High bidder also led for the first trick.)

Edit: first guess at scoring range was too low.

Thread: Re: Different scoring: no loss for failing a bid

qzhdad — 2007-11-02T22:53:01+00:00

We always play that you get one point for each trick you take plus ten if you match your bid. We also forced the dealer to bid so that at least one player couldn't make their bid.

We went 1-10 with up to five, otherwise as high as would come out even.

Making 200 was possible, but tough.

Thread: Re: Different scoring: no loss for failing a bid

MrHen — 2007-11-02T22:48:17+00:00

Hmm... interesting. Do you remember what the scoring was like?

Thread: Re: Different scoring: no loss for failing a bid

klide — 2007-11-02T22:42:20+00:00

I've seen a number of ways to score. One version I've played had the following scoring rules:

* If you make your bid, you get 10 times your bid. Bid and make 1, get 10. Bid and make 3, get 30. Bid and make 0, get 10, too.

* If you miss your bid, you get points equal to the number of tricks you made. Bid 3 and make 4, get 4 points. Bid 0 and make 1, get 1 point. And so on.

I liked this system because it encourages players to be aggresive. This variant also started at 13 cards, went down to 1, then back up to 13, so luck of the deal would even out some.

Thread: Different scoring

MrHen — 2007-11-02T22:32:47+00:00

My family plays a similar game that was originally called Shit On Your Neighbor, censored to Dump On Your Neighbor, and shorted to Dump.

The game is exactly the same except you do not lose points for failing to make your bid. I personally prefer this because it keeps the scoring tighter and provides less frustration. Has anyone else played this way, or is a different game entirely?

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cdefrisco — 2007-10-24T15:32:56+00:00

The "Bidding Wheel" from the 2002 University Games edition.

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Terry Egan — 2007-08-18T05:51:16+00:00

Oh Hell! - Back of box from the University Games edition.

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Terry Egan — 2007-08-18T05:49:51+00:00

Oh Hell! - Front of the University Games edition box, published in 2002.

Thread: Re: Oh Hell review and variants

JonahFalcon — 2007-05-22T14:20:02+00:00

Oh Hell! sounds a lot like Wizard.

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jamesdavis — 2007-04-11T05:12:16+00:00

Thread: knokke bridge(a variant)

pertm — 2007-03-14T09:16:28+00:00

We have played this and I know find that it is a variant. We do the bidding at the same time with each player using a hand in a fist or two if needed and at the same time peole indicate how many tricks to take with how many fingers they point out. I have never tried this with fewer than five players so it has not been anybody who can take more than 10 tricks.

This way number of tricks may add up, but then more likley it will not add up.

Thread: Re: Quick Comments

iamspoo — 2007-01-03T11:36:27+00:00

Rules I always play with:

~ 7 or 8 up then down depending on how many players. e.g. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
~ 10 + 1 point per bid if you bid one or more.
~ If you bid zero it is 5 + how many cards are played. e.g. On one card hand and bid zero and make bid you get 6 points, on a 8 card hand and bid zero and you get your bid you will get 13 points.
~ 0 points if you don't make your bid.
~ Left of dealer bids first.
~ Dealer (last bidder) can bid and make tricks equal.
~ Always follow suit and if caught cheating -30 points.

This is the card game of choice for my group and by far my favorite card game. Every once in a blue moon we will play with different rules (dealer can't make it even, 1 card hand indian poker style, and a few others) but we always go back to these rules. Played with as many as 9 people but prefer not to play with more then 7.

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fuzzyfife — 2006-12-23T18:49:25+00:00

This is another name for OH HELL game.

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2006-10-03T13:34:03+00:00

Illustration from Hoyle's Rules of Games, 1983 ed.

Thread: Re: Oh Hell review and variants

jcurtis55 — 2006-08-28T00:32:08+00:00

We have not tried this with another deck that has more suits. That's an intriguing idea though. Usually, if we end up with 10 players we split into two groups of 5. A deck with more suits and cards would be good even for 7 or 8 players though.

Thread: Re: Oh Hell review and variants

yazpah — 2006-08-27T20:04:46+00:00

Nice rule with the bids taking turns and not hitting the no of tricks, we normally bid with matches all at the same time. Another variant we use, is when down to one card, we place the card on the head, so all the other players can see your card, and you can see the other's cards, but not your own. We usually end up playing a lot of one carders.

Thread: Re: Oh Hell review and variants

ooogene — 2006-08-27T13:56:28+00:00

Jeff, I really like the varient you play of not letting someone bid zero more than twice in a row. Like I told you at GenCon, we play this game quite often with family. I will be suggesting that varient the next time we play.

Thread: Re: Oh Hell review and variants

Dark_Piranha — 2006-08-27T13:18:20+00:00

Have you tried using alternate decks of cards with more suits, such as Wizard, or Uno?

But great review. I have a group of friends I play cards with every Saturday night, and our game of choice is always Canasta. I've tried in vain over the years to get them to sample some other games, like Rage or Wizard or Mu, but they are creatures of habit. That reminds me. I have a version of Canasta I've created using UNO cards and mechanics that I call Unasta. I need to upload it one day.

Anyway, from your description, this sounds like a game my group of friends could probably get into.

Thanks.

Thread: Re: Oh Hell review and variants

jcurtis55 — 2006-08-27T12:50:48+00:00

The only penalty for not making your bid is you do not get the 10-point bonus. Trust me, that is penalty enough. Making your bids is what separates the winner from the others, more than the number of tricks taken. In some regards the poor hands you can bid zero or one on are the easier hands to bid and play.

Thread: Re: Oh Hell review and variants

Stormy Waters — 2006-08-27T11:05:41+00:00

Thanks for the review. This sounds like a good game if one is in the mood for some mindless fun.

What is the penalty if a player does not make his bid or goes over his bid?

Thread: Oh Hell review and variants

jcurtis55 — 2006-08-27T01:39:35+00:00

While you can actually purchase a boxed set for Oh Hell, you really need nothing more than a deck of cards to play.

This game is also known as Up and Down the River. There are even board games that use some of the mechanics introduced in Oh Hell. Canyon is one of those games.

Basically this is a trick taking game, but is there ever an evil twist to it. The BGG entry states this game can be played by 3-7 players. The group I play with plays with any number from 5-8.

The number of cards dealt will vary. With 5 players, for example, the first hand will contain 10 cards, the 2nd hand will have 9 cards, and so on until you play a hand with a single card. Then you play another hand with one card and work your way back up to 10. A card is turned up each hand establishing a trump suit. Ace is high and duece is low.

For every hand each player bids how many tricks he or she feels they will take. A zero bid is legal. There are no partnerships. At the conclusion of the hand each player receives 1 point for each trick they take. If a bid was hit exactly, then there is a 10-point bonus. So obviously it is far more important to hit your bid than it is to maximize the number of tricks you can take.

In fact, experienced players quickly learn that it is easier to bid low and duck tricks than it is to count on your high cards to take tricks. For example, if you have an ace but it is backed up with a couple of lower cards from the same suit, you would be advised to not bid a trick for the ace, unless it is trump of course.

I mentioned the game can be evil earlier. Here is why:

1. The sum of the bids cannot be equal to the total of the tricks. Someone is getting set. Bidding starts with the player to the left of the dealer, so by the time it is the dealer's bid, there may be a number he cannot bid. The dealer only gets off the hook if the total bids is more than the number of tricks when it is time for the dealer to bid.
2. Since people tend to try to duck tricks, it is not unusual for someone to get stuck with some lame card going through. On the inverse, with the higher number of players, aces are frequently get trumped.
3. Things are utter chaos when you get to the hands with one or two cards in them. So many cards are buried it is blind luck what might take a trick. Usually, someone has a trump, but not always. If you are dealt a low trump it is anybody's guess if it will be big enough. Even with hands with more than one or two cards, its a pain to know what to bid when you find yourself holding a singleton king or queen.
4. As if that is not enough, the group I play with during lunch hours plays with a house rule that says a player cannot bid zero more the twice consecutively. This forces people to play a bit more agressively. There are times people could bid zero several times in a row if they are not drawing trumps. Another side affect of this rule is a dealer who has bid zero on the two previous bids may get the double screw. It is entirely possible, for example, to be in a position where you cannot bid zero or two.

Other house rules we play at work include adding extra hands since we try to make one game fill up 45-60 minutes for our lunch hour. So for example, if we are playing with 8 players we may play hands of 6,6,5,5,4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4,5,5,6,6. When we were in a really evil mood we even did four consecutive 1 hands in the middle. Combinbe that with the no zero three times in a row rule and rarely does anyone escape unscathed.

This became our game of choice at lunch because it can be adapted for the varying number of players. We all accept the chaos of the game and that the outcome is as much luck as skill. There is some skill to play the play, but those one and two hands can just be brutal. More importantly, we just have a good time and there are many an uproar when someone gets completed hosed. The scores of the players in or near last place are tracked just as much as who's in first. I've seen players make a non-optimal bid just to force the dealer into the position where they cannot bid zero or one. Everyone but the dealer gets a great kick out of this.

Another tactic people use is to get their tricks early and then dump cards and dodge any further tricks. In a hand where the number of tricks is more than the bids, it never pays to have the lead on the last hand. If all the suits have been led a time or two, its possible for even a 5 or 6 to go through and take the trick; resulting in many laughs of course. We've all cussed the game, and the name is quite appropriate, but we're all drawn to the next lunch gathering to play again. I've tried to introduce other card games at lunch, games that would be less chaotic and more skillful. Yet, I've had no luck at all. So we just continue to play Oh Hell and accept the high screwage factor as a fun factor. No one gets upset and fun is had by all.

I was amused to discover there is an Oh Hell Club of America. I cannot imagine this game being played in a serious manner considering the amout of randomness to it, even without our house rule. However, a web search of Oh Hell Club of America will get you to a site with a really nice score sheet done as a Microsoft Word document. I am attempting to get permission to upload the file to BGG.

We did try a 10-handed game once with a double deck. That was too chaotic even for my work group.

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diehard4life — 2006-03-18T23:38:08+00:00

The vintage box setup with MINT components

Thread: Re: Quick Comments

rdunlap1125 — 2006-01-15T18:33:07+00:00

One more variation (I was taught the game as "Swing 13"):

1) A game is 26 rounds -- starting with 13 card hands, marching downwards to 1 card hands, and then from 1 back to 13. (We experimented exactly once with "Swing 17" when we only had three players available... *way* too long a game.)

2) Play with both jokers in the deck. The jokers are the highest trumps -- if both are played to the same trick, the second joker takes the trick. If the joker is turned up as the trump indicator, dealer calls trump.

3) Scoring -- if you make your bid exactly, you score the number of tricks you bid. If you miss your bid high or low, you lose a number of points equal to the number of tricks your bid was off by. (e.g. If you bid 4 and make 4, that's +4. 3 or 5 is -1. 2 or 6 is -2.)

4) The dealer is not required to make the total uneven -- that is left as a tactical decision (just as in other trick-taking games).

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chaosbreaker — 2005-04-19T16:33:34+00:00

A free computer version of Oh Hell Thaos Card Games. http://www.geocities.com/thanoscardgames/

Thread: Re:Quick Comments

mark_biggar — 2005-03-12T00:02:08+00:00

dalestephenson (#451048),
We play by similar rules with the following additions:

1) subtract your bid if you don't make.
2) dealer must make total of bids uneven.
3) throw in the joker, it's smallest trump and if drawn as
trump determiner you play no-trump.
4) we call the game "To hell and back" because you must make the same bids on the way back down as you made on the corresponding hand up. The trip back should be harder then the trip there.

Thread: Oh Shoot (Variation on Oh Heck)

dalestephenson — 2005-03-11T19:53:44+00:00

I love Oh Heck, my favorite card game and also easily my most played card game. But my friends and I had fun playing a variation we called Oh Shoot.

We used the same scoring system -- 10 points + 1 per trick if you took exactly the number of tricks you predicted, 0 points if you took more or less. But instead of turning over the top card on the deck to reveal trump, the high bidder was allowed to pick trump. If there was a tie, we turned over the top card to reveal trump.

This made making your bid a good deal more difficult, since you didn't know what trump was until after your bid. Playing with 3, we had a fair number of bids massively underbid (where no one wanted to pick trump), and also some massively overbid (where 2 or 3 tried to pick trump). It was a much lower scoring game, but a lot of fun.

Thread: Re:Quick Comments

dalestephenson — 2005-03-11T19:25:52+00:00

jcurtis55 (#74408),

I play with the following rules:

Start at 1 card each, ascend to the max # of cards, then descend to 1.

For 3 players, go to 17 cards each.
For 4 players, go to 13 cards each (no trump on 13-card hand).
For 5 players, go to 10 cards each.

I've not played with 6 players, but I think it'd be too easy to sluff (don't take tricks).

Scoring:
10+1 per trick bid, if the correct number of tricks are taken.
0 points if more or less tricks are taken.

Optional: 5 points for a 0 bid. (Punish those who sluff.)
Optional: last bidder must make the bids uneven. (That's pretty harsh for the 1 or 2 card rounds, though. Having it all work out may be non-confrontational, but it favors current leaders and those who bid high.)

Thread: Re:Quick Comments

jcurtis55 — 2005-01-03T03:59:13+00:00

Alistair Hutton (#6300),

We use the same scoring system you do. However, we frequently play this game at lunch with up to 8 players. I actually think the game plays best with 6 players, going 8 up and down. If we play with 8 players we play two 6-card hands at the beginning and end of the game so it doesn't end to quickly.

We also added another house rule that causes much anquish. No players can bid zero more that twice consecutively. If you have bid zero twice in a row, you must bid greater than zero on the next hand. If you have bid zero two times in a row and then have to deal, you can end up with two different numbers you cannont bid. If the sum of all bids forces the dealer to bid zero then that overrides the no zero bid three times in a row.

Thread: User Review

Shade_Jon — 2004-12-06T17:15:30+00:00

Oh hell, or Oh heck, or a number of other names, is a reasonably good trick taking game. One of its interesting features, while not unique, is that you are aiming for an exact number of tricks to match your bid, no more or less.

The rules vary according to taste, but essentially:

Ten rounds, from three to five players. Each player receives ten cards the first round, nine cards the second round, and so on down to one card the last round. Alternate: start with one card and go to ten. One card from the deck is then flipped up to indicate trump.

Cards are from two low up to ace high. Any trump beats any other card (higher trump beat lower trump).

The player to the left of the dealer starts the bidding, naming the exact number of tricks he will take. Then the player to his left, and so on back to the dealer. The total bids do not have to equal the number of cards (Alternate: they may not equal the number of cards, which gives the dealer a disadvantage).

The player to the right of the dealer leads the first card, and all players must follow suit if they can, otherwise play any card. Winner of the last trick leads the next trick.

Scoring (again, one of many variations): if you make your bid exactly, you gain the bid amount plus five points. If you go over, you gain only your bid amount. If you go under, you lose 5 points per trick under.

Toward the last round or two, it is possible that one player has a comfortable lead and can afford to bid zero, even if he expects to make a trick. Your job is to make that impossible.

Thread: Quick Comments

Alistair Hutton — 2003-02-21T19:06:03+00:00

My base set of rules.

Bid in turn starting from dealer's left.
10 points +1 point for each trick in your bid if you make it
0 points if you fail to make your bid

Person who bids last (the dealer) may not make a bid that makes the total number of tricks bid equal to the total number of tricks avalable, so will always be over or under bid. [I consider this rule to be the most important, without this it's just another trick taking game, with it it's a source of mental anguish :-) ]

Deal from 10 to 1 (although I think I'm going to experiment with 1 to 10 after thinking about it)

Image

themore5@earthlink — 2002-08-21T17:35:05+00:00

Thread: Session Report

cwmassey — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Again, two session reports for the price of one - must be those economies of scale kicking in or maybe I'm gaming too much. Anyway, here are reports from this weekend's festivities

Friday 1/19 - Malden gaming: I normally don't post SRs for this group as it is usually wargames or 18xx games and the interest around those isn't as high on this list. I also haven't been attending as regularly, but this was a non WAGG week and the promise of German games there lured me.

While waiting for our 4th player, a little 3 handed Oh Hell was played with Rich G., Buzz and myself. No need to go into the details of the game, I took a nose dive in the last four hands or so and Rich ended up victorious. Buzz who normally plays this game with the skill of a dog driving a car (So much so that the game is often called Oh Buzz in deference to his consistency finishing in last) ended in solid second after a slow start.

Thread: Session Report

cwmassey — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

We finished with Oh Hell again. This time Buzz stayed true to his role and finished at almost -100 while Jeff lead until the last hand when I made a 7 bid to overtake for the win.