Knock-out whist

Knock-out whist, also written knockout whist, is a member of the whist family of trick-taking card games. It is known by many other names, including trumps in Britain, reduction whist, diminishing whist and rat, and players unfamiliar with formal whist often just call it whist. It is played by two to seven people with a standard 52-card pack, and the aim is to be the last player left in the game. The first hand deals seven cards each, and every following hand deals one card fewer until the final hand of a single card. The player who took the most tricks chooses trumps next. Anyone who wins no tricks in a hand is knocked out. Because it is a basic trick-taking game, it is a good way to teach children the idea of tricks.