"KQJ" refers to 3 cards: King, Queen and Jack.

Adapted from "Belote" and "Coinche", this french card game is born from the desire to play up to 6 people, other folds games often stopping to 4.

The KQJ can be played:

- 6, with 2 or 3 teams, 5, 4 or 3,

- With or without "Random Partners"

- With or without "All-Trumps/No-Trump"

- With or without "Combinations"

- With or without "Auctions".

Beyond the number of players, it is possible to combine all variants according to your preferences.

On Board Game Arena, the KQJ can be played currently:

- 6, with 2 or 3 teams,

- With or without "Random Partners"

- With "All-Trumps/No-Trump" only,

- Without "Combinations" only,

- With or without "Auctions".

If you need clarification, if you want to develop the missing variants, if you want to buy the game, or else, you can contact us directly by email: kaquji@gmail.com.

The KQJ Rules on Board Game Arena

The rules that follow are for 6 players with 2 teams, without random partners and without auctions.

The rules of the other playable variants on Board Game Arena are described in the Variants.

Principles

The KQJ is a game of folds in several rounds.

- A Round is the deal of cards to each player and all folds up to the exhaustion of the cards.

- A Fold is a batch of cards made of one card from each player, it is won by the one who plays the "Master" card.

- The "Master" card of a fold is the highest card of the requested series or the highest Trump card if any.

- Each card of the fold has a value: added to the others, it allows to determine the winner of the Round.

Before the start of the game, players must agree on certain points of the rules. For example, they can choose the variants to play or the endgame conditions.

Goal of the game to choose

The team that exceeds the score to achieve wins: 500 pts or 1000 pts or 2000 pts!

Game preparation

When launching the game, players place around the table randomly.

2 teams are formed. Everyone is placed between two players of the other team. The players of the same team are "partners".

You always play clockwise.

Beginning of a Round

On Board Game Arena, a "Dealer" token is used.

Whoever arbitrarily received the token "Dealer" at the formation of the teams is the first Dealer.

His left is the Opener.

Deal Beginning

The cards are mixed.

Each player is dealt 5 cards and can watch them in his/her hand.

Then another card is dealed and revealed in the middle of the table: the Return.

The Contract

Each team must make more points than the opposing team.

His/her turn, each player can "take": choose the Trump according to his/her cards in hand!

During the first lap each player can, starting with the Opener:

- Say "Pass" and defer to the next player,

- Or Take choosing the suit of the Return as the Trump. For example, "Spade" if the Return is a spade.

If all players have passed, then there is a 2nd lap and each player can:

- Say "Pass" again,

- Or Take choosing Trump in the suit of his/her choice (even the suit of the Return).

The KQJ is played on Board Game Arena with All-Trumps/No-Trump.

Normally the Trump is one of the 4 suits.

Here each player can also decide that:

- All suits are Trumps: "ALL-TRUMPS".

- No suit is Trump: "NO-TRUMP".

If everyone pass 2 times, the round is closed. The Opener becomes the Dealer...

On the other hand, if a player Takes, he/she becomes the Sender, his/her team becomes the contracting team, the other team becomes the defending team.

Deal Ending

Once a player Takes, he/she collects the Return in his/her hand.

Then each player receives 3 cards, unless the Sender who receives only 2 cards (he/she took the Return).

At the end of the Deal, each player has 8 cards in his/her hand.

Folds Forming

Rules and Principles

The Opener starts the 1rst Fold and put at the table center a card from his/her hand face up. Then, his/her turn, each player must play one of his/her cards face up.

The one who starts may play any card from his/her hand, the suit of this card is the "requested" suit.

The other players follow the rules below:

- When you possess the requested suit

--- You must play a card of the suit and if the Trump is requested, if possible, you must play a Trump card that beats all previous ones.

- When you don't possess the requested suit and if a partner is "Master"

--- You can play any card of your choice,

--- Or, in order to become "Master", you can Trump (play a Trump card) or Over-trump if someone has already played a Trump card.

- When you don't possess the required series and if the opposing team is "Master"

--- If you can become "Master" you must Trump or Over-trump,

--- If you can't become "Master", we can play any card of your choice.

3 principles to determine the "Master" card:

- The Trump prevails against normal suits.

- Among the suits of the same rank, the requested suit wins.

- In the same suit, the card of higher rank wins.

The sum of the points is (3 x 44 pts) + 104 pts = 236 pts.

When round is played with "All-Trumps" or "No-Trump" all suits are of same rank and the cards values are changed.

With "All-Trumps" or "No-Trump", the sum of the points is 4 x 59 pts = 236 pts.

When a Fold is finished, the one who played the "Master" card wins, puts the fold with hidden face in front of him/her and begins the next fold.

When players have no card in hand anymore, it is the end of the round (see below).

Folds Examples

Alicia, Cindy and Elena play against Billy, Dylan and Frank.

Frank deals. Billy takes with Heart as Trump.

Alicia opens with her Ace of Club.

In the same suit, Billy has the 4 of Club. He has to play it.

Others each plays a card of the requested suit: Alicia wins the 1st fold.

Alicia begins the 2nd fold with her 10 of Club.

Billy has no more Club card, he trumps: 6 of Heart.

Cindy must trump. She over-trumps: Hero of Heart.

Dylan should trump too. But he has the 5 of Heart, so he can not play a Trump card that beats the Hero of Cindy. He plays any card of his choice: 4 of Spade.

Elena has no more Club card, she could over-trump with her 7 of Heart, but her partner Cindy is the Master. She plays any card of her choice: 10 of Spade.

Frank has the Hero of Club, he must play a card of the requested suit.

So Cindy wins the 2nd Fold with the Hero of Heart.

She begins the 3rd Fold.

Bonuses

A Bonus is an event, announced or not, which matches with a number of points that a team will add to its folds points: The Bonuses help to fulfill the Contract.

- The Ten additional: 10 pts which are always awarded to the team that wins the last fold.

- The Capot: 154 pts awarded to a team if it wins all the folds.

- The KQ: 20 pts for the team of the player who has anounced "KQ" during the round. The bonus is validated if:

--- A player had the Trump cards King (K) and Queen (Q) in his/her hand,

--- These cards have been played in this order: the King then the Queen,

--- This player has said "K" playing the King and "KQ" playing the Queen.

- The KQJ: 50 pts for the team of the player who has announced "KQJ" during the round. The bonus is validated if:

--- A player had the 3 Trump cards King (K), Queen (Q) and Jack (J) in his/her hand,

--- These cards have been played in this order: the King then the Queen then the Jack,

--- This player has said "K" playing the King, "KQ" playing the Queen and finally "KQJ" playing the Jack.

KQ provides no point when there is a KQJ.

When the round is played with "All-Trumps," there are 4 feasible KQ or KQJ.

On Board Game Arena, the "K", "KQ" and "KQJ" announcements are done automatically.

End of a Round

The Points Account

When the last fold is picked up, the values of the cards in the folds of each team are totaled.

Then bonuses are added to the scores of the teams that have won some. At least, one of the teams wins the Ten additional.

The team with the most points at that time, fulfills the contract and wins the round!

The Scoring

Only the team that fulfills the contract scores its points rounded to the nearest ten:

- The totals which end between 1 and 4 are rounded to the under nearest ten (154 becomes 150).

- The totals which end between 5 and 9 are rounded to the upper nearest ten (155 becomes 160).

Finally, scores are added to previous scores.

New Deal

In the next round, Opener (left of the Dealer) becomes the new Dealer.

He/she collects the "Dealer" token.

Gratuities

A gratuity is a number of points that are obtained under certain conditions and that are added to scores.

Gratuities are not taken into account to win the contract.

The Litigation

In case of a tie (123 pts, 133 pts if KQ or 148 pts if KQJ), there is Litigation and no team scores.

Litigation generates a "Litigation Gratuity" for the next round with a value which is equal to the rounding of the score (120 pts, 130 pts if KQ or 150 pts if KQJ).

It will be added to the score of the team that will win the next round.

If there is again a Litigation, the first gratuity is lost.

End of the Game

In general, a game of KQJ is played in 1000 pts.

Once a team reaches or exceeds 1000 pts at the end of a round, the game is over: this team wins!

However, when creating the game on Board Game Arena, players can choose a different score to reach: 500 points or 2000 pts.

Variants on Board Game Arena

6 players with 3 teams

Game Preparation

The three teams are now composed of two partners.

Partners of the same team are facing each other, with neighbor players from each of two other teams.

The Contract

The team from the Sender must get more points than the best two other teams (defending team).

The Points Account

You have to count the points in the folds of each of the three teams.

The Scoring

- If the contractor team has a higher score than each of the other 2 teams: the Contract is "Successful", the contractor team scores the rounding of its points.

- If at least one defending team has a higher score than the contractor team: the Contract is "Failed", each defending team scores the rounding of its own points.

- In case of tie between the contracting team and the best defending team, there is "Litigation" and no team scores (see "Gratuities" section above).

The Account Gratuities

These special gratuities depend on the teams folds number and value before bonuses.

- If a team gets 20 points or less with one fold or more, then the 2 other teams get a gratuity of 20 points.

- If one team wins no fold, then the 2 other teams get a gratuity of 60 pts.

Random Partners

This variant enables new strategies to succeed at the game.

Game Preparation

A KQJ' Game with "Random Partners" is played each for oneself.

Before starting, each player place is randomly determined and will remain the same for the entire game.

Beginning of a Round

At the beginning of each round, the partners are determined in random manner.

The Scoring

For each player you score the points his/her team has won.

Auctions

More tension in the game.'

To play with auctions, retain all the specificities related to the chosen variants and to the number of teams.

The Deal

All the cards are dealed, without the intermediary Return card.

The Contract

Starting with the Opener and in turn, each player can:

- Say "Pass" and defer to the next player,

- Or Bid (or Outbid if there was a first bid) by declaring a contract that he/she agrees to do. He announces a points "Amount" (pack of 10) and the Trump he would choose. He/she may also announce "Capot" (optional). For example, "150 spade" or "400 Capot diamond".

If no Contract is announced during the first auctions lap, the round is closed.

The first auction is at least equal to 120 points (except to 6 players with 3 teams: minimum 80 pts).

In case of higher auction, the new announced amount must be greater than the previous one. A player can outbid when his/her turn returns, even if he/she has "passed" before.

"Capot" is an optional declaration: the player who announces it undertakes to win all the Folds (with the help of his/her partners). When "Capot" is announced, Auctions are closed.

If after a player auction all others have passed, this player becomes the Sender and auctions are closed.

When a contract is announced, if an opponent thinks it will not be realized, he/she can "Counter". On Board Game Arena, automatically, this player says "Counter" and gets the One-sword token.

In response, if desired, any player of the contracting team can "Overcounter". On Board Game Arena, automatically, this player says "Overcounter" and gets the Two-swords token.

Auctions are closed in case of Counter or Overcounter.

The Sender's team must fulfill his/her contract. It must reach at least the announced amount. Futhermore it must win all the folds if "Capot" has been announced.

The Scoring

- If the Contract is "Successful", the contractor team scores the Contract Amount (even if it achieved more points than this amount).

- If the Contract is "Failed", the defending teams score the Contract Amount.

In case of Counter, score is doubled.

In case of Overcounter, it is quadrupled.