How to play Armenian Blot

Armenian Blot, or Bazar Blot, is the Armenian member of the Belote family and one of the best-loved card games in Armenia and the Armenian diaspora. It is a trick-taking game in which the jack and nine of trumps are the strongest cards. Its heart is the bazar, an auction in which each side promises how many points it will take; the side that wins it must keep its promise or lose the whole deal. Judging your hand, counting trumps and remembering the high cards make it a true game of skill.

How to play on skill.games

When you open the game, the settings appear. Choose a difficulty (Easy, Normal, Hard or Crazy), the number of players (2 players, the default, or 4 players) and the length of the match (151 or 301 points), then press PLAY.

• The table: you sit at the bottom. With four players your partner Ani sits across from you, against Aram and Gor; in the duel Aram sits across. A "D" marks the dealer. At the top, the status line says whose turn it is, and two chips show the match score and the contract (trump, bid, any contra and who bid it).
• Bidding: on your turn a panel opens above your hand. With four players, pick a suit or NT (no trump), set the number with minus and plus, and press BID, or PASS, or CONTRA when your opponents hold the bid. In the duel, press TAKE to accept the turned card's suit or PASS; in the second round tap a suit to name it. Each player's last call shows in a bubble by their name.
• Playing: tap a card or drag it onto the table. Playable cards are lifted and glow; a card that isn't allowed shakes and the status line explains why, such as "Play a higher trump". Combinations are announced automatically with each player's first card. After the first trick the cards of the side that scores them are shown face up in the middle of the table for a few seconds, so everyone can see them.

After each deal a sheet shows the card points, last trick, combinations, blot, bid, whether the contract was made, and both totals; press NEXT HAND to continue. The menu button in the top-left corner pauses, starts a new match or turns the sound off. The match is saved as you play, so you can press CONTINUE later. At the end, the results screen shows the score, the contracts each side made and your statistics.

Rules

The cards. 32 cards, seven to ace. Trumps rank jack, nine, ace, ten, king, queen, eight, seven, worth 20, 14, 11, 10, 4, 3, 0 and 0. The other suits rank ace, ten, king, queen, jack, nine, eight, seven, worth 11, 10, 4, 3, 2 and nothing. In no trump the ace is worth 19. The last trick adds 10, so a deal holds 162 points.

The deal. Each of the four players gets eight cards. The player on the dealer's left bids first and leads; play goes clockwise, and the deal passes to the left.

The bazar. A bid is a number of tens and a trump suit or no trump: 8 promises 80 points. Bidding starts at 8 and each bid must be at least one higher, whatever its suit. Only the number counts, so you may also bid over your partner, in any suit or no trump, and a player who passed may bid again. When the other three pass a bid, its bidder has the last word: raise it, even in another suit, and the bidding goes on, or press KEEP to play it; if all four pass at the start, the cards are dealt again. Capot, a promise to take all eight tricks, is the highest bid.

Contra and recontra. When the other side holds the bid you may say contra: the auction ends and the bid is doubled. The bidders may answer with recontra, four times the bid. In no trump the bid counts double, three times after a contra and five times after a recontra.

The play. Follow the suit led. On a trump lead you must beat the highest trump in the trick if you can, even your partner's. If you can't follow suit you must trump, unless your partner is winning the trick; if an opponent has trumped, you must overtrump if you can, and if you can't you may play anything. In no trump you only follow suit. The highest trump wins, otherwise the highest card of the suit led.

Combinations. Three in a row in one suit (a terz) is worth 20, four in a row 50, five or more 100. Four jacks are worth 200, four nines 140, four aces 110, four tens, kings or queens 100 (in no trump four aces 190, four nines nothing). Four of a kind beats any sequence; a longer sequence beats a shorter one, then the higher top card, then a trump sequence, then the player first in the trick order. Only the side with the best combination scores, and then all of its combinations count. The king and queen of trumps in one hand are the blot, worth 20.

Scoring. The bidders must reach their bid with card points, the last trick, their combinations and blot. If they do, each side scores its own points divided by ten and the bidders add the bid; after a contra or recontra the bidders take the whole deal. If they fall short they are "inside" and the defenders take everything, including the bid. Taking all eight tricks adds 90 points. Two deals end the match whatever the score: bidders who take no trick at all lose it, and a capot made under contra wins it. A remainder above a half rounds up and a half or less rounds down: 86 counts 9, 85 counts 8.

The duel. Two players use 24 cards, nine to ace. Each gets five and the next card is turned up. The non-dealer, then the dealer, may take its suit as trump or pass; if both pass, each may name another suit, and the dealer must. The taker gets the turned card and two more, the other player three, and eight cards stay undealt. The taker must score strictly more than the other player, counting sequences and blot but not four of a kind. If so, both score their own points and the undealt cards go to the taker; if not, the other player takes everything.

Winning. The first side to reach the target (151 or 301) wins; if both pass it in the same deal, the higher total wins, and a tie plays another deal.

Strategy tips

• Count your trumps. The jack and nine of trumps win tricks on their own and carry 34 points between them.
• Count your combinations before you bid. A fifty or four of a kind can carry a contract by itself.
• Draw the trumps. With the contract and the top trump, lead trumps before cashing your aces.
• Feed your partner. When your partner is sure to win the trick, give it your ten or ace.
• Don't lead a ten into an ace that is still out.
• Remember the voids. A player who didn't follow suit has none left.
• Contra with care. It doubles the stakes both ways, and the bidders may recontra.

Difficulty levels

The difficulty you choose sets how well your opponents play. In the team game your partner always plays at least at Hard, and at Crazy it plays Crazy:

• Easy: bids by rough feel and often plays a careless card.
• Normal: bids by testing its hand in many imagined deals, and plays solid cards: it counts what is out, draws trumps, feeds its partner and ducks when it can't win.
• Hard: also reads the auction, imagining only deals that fit what the others bid, weighs several possible deals before each card, and uses contra.
• Crazy: the strongest: far more imagined deals for every decision, and it remembers who couldn't overtrump and what everyone bid.

Modes

• Players: 2 players is the Armenian duel with a turned card and 24 cards; 4 players is the full Bazar Blot in two teams, with the auction, contra, recontra and capot.
• Game to: 151 points for a shorter match or 301 for a long one. Statistics are kept for each difficulty and number of players.