29 Card Game — Rules Variants
Last-trick points, doubles, and the wider 28/29 family — and what this table plays.
Play 29 freeTwenty-Nine belongs to the great South Asian Jack-Nine family, alongside 28, 56 and their many cousins. From Kolkata to Dhaka to Kathmandu, the deck and the ranking are constant; the seasoning varies. Here is the map.
The family and its edges
| Rule | How tables differ |
|---|---|
| The 29th point | Many tables give the last trick +1 — turning 28 points into the 29 of the name. Others play a flat 28. |
| Marriage (King+Queen of trump) | Widely worth 4 — usually moving the bidder's TARGET rather than paying points directly. |
| Doubling | Opponents may double a bid, the bidders may redouble — multiplying the game points at stake. |
| Game points | Rounds are scored in game points (±1, doubled as above); matches run to ±6 or a fixed round count by house taste. |
| 28 (the cousin) | Same points in the cards, simpler bidding, trump placed face down as a single card, no marriages. |
| Sixth-card bids | Some regions re-open bidding after more cards arrive; most, like ours, bid once on four. |
What this table plays
- Four players, two partnerships, 32 cards (7 up to Ace), eight each — bidding on the first four.
- Card points: J 3, 9 2, A 1, 10 1 — 28 in the deck; the last-trick point is a table option.
- Bids 16–28; the winner sets a concealed trump, revealed only when asked.
- Marriage after the reveal moves the bidder's target by 4 — down for the bidding side, up for the defenders' pair.
- Rounds pay ±1 game point, doubled or redoubled if challenged; the match runs to ±6.
Small glossary
- Jack-Nine game
- The family name — from the two cards that carry 5 of every 7 points.
- Concealed trump
- The suit the bidder sets face down; powerless until revealed.
- Marriage
- King and Queen of trumps in one hand — 4 off (or onto) the bidder's target.
- Double / redouble
- Raising the game-point stakes on a bid you intend to break — or make.
- Game point
- What a round is worth: ±1, multiplied by doubles. ±6 ends the match.
Keep reading
- How to Play 29 — the complete rules.
- 29 Strategy — bidding, the hidden trump and marriages.