How to play Somerset

Somerset looks strange the first time you see the deck and then makes sense almost immediately. If you have played Euchre, Five Hundred, Spades or Bridge, you already know most of it. Here is a whole hand, start to finish.

The one thing that trips people up: the two numbers on a card are not a fraction. The bottom number is the suit. The top number is how high the card ranks inside that suit.

1. 1

   Learn the deck

   Somerset uses 50 cards in seven suits of unequal length, not a standard pack. Each card shows two numbers stacked like a fraction: the lower number is the suit, the upper number is its rank in that suit. The /0 suit has one card, /2 has three, /4 five, /6 seven, /8 nine, /10 eleven and /12 thirteen, plus the S/S card.

2. 2

   Spot the count cards

   Seven cards are printed in red and carry a value in a circle. The 1/2, 2/4 and 3/6 score one point each; the 4/8, 5/10 and 6/12 score two each; the S/S scores three. That is 12 points. Add one point for each of the twelve tricks and every deal is worth exactly 24.

3. 3

   Deal and bid

   Each of the four players gets twelve cards. Starting at the dealer's left, each player bids how many of the 24 points they think they and their partner can take, or passes. The auction ends when one bid stands and everyone else has passed. You do not say which suit you want while bidding.

4. 4

   Name the trump

   Whoever wins the auction names any one of the seven suits as trump, or bids No Trump. Usually you name your longest and strongest suit. Naming the 0/0 makes it the highest card in the pack, but it also stops doubles from being promoted.

5. 5

   Play twelve tricks

   The high bidder leads first, and whoever wins a trick leads the next. You must follow the suit that was led if you hold it. If you cannot, play anything: a trump to take the trick, or a card you do not want. The highest card of the suit led wins unless someone plays a trump, in which case the highest trump wins.

6. 6

   Remember the two odd cards

   The S/S joins whatever suit is trump as its lowest card, so it must be played if trump is led and it is your only one. The 0/0 Rover can be played at any time, and when no trump lands on its trick it turns every double on that trick into a trump, with the highest double taking it.

7. 7

   Score the hand

   Count one point per trick plus the value of the count cards you captured. If the bidding side made its bid, it scores everything it took and the other side scores nothing. If it fell short it is set: it loses double the shortfall and the opponents bank double what they took. First side to 66 points wins the game.

Want the exact wording rather than a walkthrough? Read the full rules.