Call-ace Whist

Call-ace whist is a four-player trick-taking card game with variable partnerships, and is the most popular form of whist played in Denmark, where it is often simply called whist. It is played with a standard fifty-two card deck plus three jokers; cards rank in their natural order with aces high, though some negative contracts treat aces as low. Each of the four players receives thirteen cards, with three further cards set aside as a discard pile known as the cat. The game's distinctive feature is that partnerships form by calling an ace: the player who holds the ace called by the declarer becomes that declarer's hidden partner, and the partnership is not revealed until the called ace is actually played during a trick. Bidding is elaborate, offering normal contracts, several specialized attachments named Tournee, Good, Half, Strong and Sans, and negative contracts called Solo and Nolo along with their open variants. During play, players must follow suit when able, jokers cannot lead the first trick, and final scoring depends on local rules, tricks won, and multipliers tied to the contract type and to playing alone.