Minnesota whist

Minnesota whist, also known as Norwegian whist, is a simplified trick-taking card game descended from classic whist, played with a standard fifty-two card Anglo-American deck. The game is designed for exactly four players, who sit in two partnerships facing each other across the table and play clockwise. Unlike standard whist, Minnesota whist has no trump suit at all, which removes one of the central strategic elements of the parent game and puts more weight on suit-following and card memory. The goal for each partnership is straightforward: take seven or more of the thirteen tricks dealt in a hand. The game takes its common name from the Upper Midwest of the United States, where it was carried by Scandinavian immigrants, particularly settlers from Norway, which is also the source of its alternate name. It remained a popular social card game among Scandinavian-American communities in Minnesota and neighboring states for generations, valued for rules simple enough to teach quickly while still rewarding careful play.