Arm's Length 2022

Cards 52, ranking AKQJ1098765432 in each suit.

Deal Deal each player 13 cards, one at a time and face down.

Object In each round one member of each partnership aims to win as many tricks as possible and the other as few as possible. The difference between the numbers of tricks they win is their 'arm's length'.

Play After examining their cards two partners agree which of them will take the high road and which the low. The player at dealer's left leads to the first trick. There is no trump suit until someone can't follow suit to the card led. Whatever they then discard to that trick establishes trumps for the rest of the round.

Any card may be led to a trick, but the rules of following are 'forcing'. This means that you must seek to win the trick if you can (even if, as the low player, you don’t want to).

The trick is taken by the highest card of the suit led or by the highest trump if any are played, and the winner of each trick leads to the next.

Score At end of play each partnership scores 10 times their arm's length plus the number taken by the high player.