Cuatrola

How to play

• Five cards each. The LAST card dealt sets the trump suit and stays in the dealer's hand.
• Card order, highest first: ace (11), three (10), king (4), knight (3), jack (2).
• Before play there is a bidding round: pass, solo, cuatrola or quintola. Bids can only go up, and on 17 points or more you cannot bid something that would take you past 21.
• If everyone passes, all four play and the hand is decided on points, with declarations and the last-trick bonus.
• Strict following: you must follow suit, beat the current best if you can, and trump it if you cannot follow.
• After winning the first trick you may declare: 40 with the king and knight of trumps, 20 with another suit. Two declarations per pair at most, and 40 before 20.
• The pair taking the last trick scores 10 extra points.
• The pair with most points wins the hand: 1 point, or 2 above 100 points. Ties are broken by the last trick.
• If someone bids, their PARTNER sits out: their cards stay face down and the hand is played one against two. It is won on tricks, not points, and there are no declarations: solo needs 3 tricks (2 points), cuatrola 4 (4 points) and quintola all 5 (5 points). The hand ends as soon as that becomes impossible, and the points go to the opposing pair.

By number of players

• Always 4 players in pairs: your partner sits opposite you. There is no 2 or 3 player mode, because the short 20 card deck is built for four hands of five.

Modes and prizes

• Against the computer: you play bots, offline and as often as you like. It pays no coins and no experience, so it is there to practise and try out settings without risking anything.
• Against friends: you open a room and invite them by username. Here only the winner is paid, and at half rate, because you pick who you sit with.
• Online: we sit you with people from all over the world. Every place is paid, most to least, and it is the only mode that counts towards the weekly League. If the room is slow to fill, simulated players complete it; in that case the League counts half.
• Buy-in tables: online you can sit at a 100, 250, 500 or 1000 coin table. Every player puts in that amount on sitting down and the whole pot goes to the winners, with no commission. These tables only fill with real people: if they do not fill in time the table is cancelled and your buy-in is returned. Neither the gold booster nor the VIP pass multiplies the pot.