Rules for Nomination Whist

Nomination Whist is a popular trick-taking game that mixes strategy, prediction, and luck. It works well for 2–5 players, though 3–4 is the sweet spot, and a round typically takes 30–45 minutes. You need a standard 52-card deck (no jokers) and something to keep score with.

The goal is to bid exactly how many tricks you think you can win each round, then take precisely that many. The player with the highest total score after all rounds wins.

The game normally has 20 rounds, but there are variants:

• Version 1 (most common): Rounds 1–10: players receive 1–10 cards. Rounds 11–20: players receive 10–1 cards.
• Version 2: The number of rounds is determined by 52 divided by the number of players, rounded down. With 3 players that gives 17 rounds.

The dealer role rotates. Who starts as dealer can be decided by rock-paper-scissors or any similar method.

The trump suit changes throughout the game:

• Version 1: Rounds 1–3 and 18–20 are played with no trump. Rounds 4–17 follow a fixed rotation: ♣️-♦️-♥️-♠️-♣️-♦️-♥️-♠️ and so on.
• Version 2: Before each round, draw a card from the deck. If it is a 2–10, that card's suit becomes trump. A face card means no trump (grand).

You must always follow suit if you can. If you cannot follow suit, you may either play trump or discard.

Bidding is done simultaneously:

1. All players look at their cards
2. Everyone makes a fist and holds it forward
3. One player counts to three
4. On three, everyone shows their bid using their fingers
5. The scorer writes down all bids

Important: the total number of bids must NOT equal the number of cards dealt that round. If it does, the player to the left of the dealer must change their bid.

After bidding, play the round as follows:

• The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick
• Play proceeds clockwise
• You must follow suit if possible
• If you cannot follow suit, you may discard or play trump
• The highest card of the led suit wins the trick, or the highest trump if one is played
• The trick-winner takes it in a visible pile and leads the next trick

This continues until all cards have been played.

You only earn points if you take exactly the number of tricks you bid:

• Standard rule: 10 points plus 1 point per trick (a bid of 4 tricks earns 14 points)
• Alternative rule: 5 points for a successful zero-bid, 10 points for any other successful bid
• Missed bids: Taking more or fewer tricks than you bid gives 0 points

There are several variants of Nomination Whist:

• Blind first or final round: In round 1 (or the final round), each player places their card face-out on their forehead without looking at it, and bids based on what they can see in other players' cards.
• Setesdal variant: Played with an undertrump and an overtrump. Before each bidding round, two cards are drawn: one for undertrump and one for overtrump. You must follow both trump suits if possible, but overtrump beats undertrump in the same trick regardless of card value. For example: undertrump is ♣️7, overtrump is ♠️10. A player winning with ♣️10 beats another player's ♠️9. If the same suit is drawn for both, draw a new overtrump.
• Large player count: With more than 5 players, the lowest-ranked player may be eliminated mid-game and play continues with the remaining players.
• Dice bidding: Some groups use dice for bidding, with everyone revealing at the same time. A six can mean 0, 6, or more than 6 tricks, clarified by the player before the round starts.

The game ends after all rounds (20, or the number set by the variant you are playing):

• The scorer adds up total points for each player
• The player with the highest total wins
• Some groups track their all-time high and all-time low scores
• If played across multiple sessions, cumulative score determines the overall winner

Terms commonly used in Nomination Whist:

• Stand: Successfully match your bid
• Break: Fail your bid and score 0
• Twist: Play to sabotage others rather than hit your own bid
• Flat-out: When all players fail their bids in the same round
• Perfect: Successfully match your bid every round
• Pos: Positional advantage from sitting to the left of a rival
• Saturation: When all players hit their bid exactly
• Overbid/Underbid: When total bids exceed or fall short of the card count

A few things worth keeping in mind when playing Nomination Whist:

• Pay close attention to all bids. Underbidding creates opportunities for twists
• Remember that you must follow suit. Plan your tricks around this
• Sitting to the left of a key rival gives you a positional edge
• When in doubt, bid low. It is easier to end up with too few tricks than too many
• In long rounds, focus on one trick at a time
• In short rounds, keep a close eye on face cards and aces
• Keep in mind that everyone is trying to hit their own bid. Twisting can be a strong move