Vytrix
A trick-taking card game in which players wager (or vie) to become declarer, rather than bidding a number of tricks
Beginning
Vytrix is for 3 or 4 players using a standard 52-card deck.
Three Players
The three players players play for themselves and maintain individual scores.
Deal 16 cards to each player and 4 cards to a kitty in the center of the table.
Four Players
The four players form two partnerships with partners sitting across from each other. One score is kept for each partnership—players do not maintain individual scores.
Deal 13 cards to each player. There is no kitty.
Bidding
The player to the dealer's left begins bidding and must make an opening bid. A bid consists of three parts: a number of points (minimum of 1), a suit or no trump, and "high" or "low." Sample bids: 4 low spades or 15 no-trump high.
Each player in turn either bids or passes. Each new bid must be of a higher point value than the last. If you pass, you may still bid later. Bidding ends when all players but one pass consecutively.
The player who made the last bid becomes the declarer. The value of the bid is immediately deducted from the declarer's score. The bid suit becomes trump or, if the declared bid was no trump, there is no trump. If the declared bid is low, low cards are best. If the declared bid is high, the high cards are best. Aces are always best—low in a low bid and high in a high bid.
The declarer now has the option to take the kitty or leave it untouched. If you decide to leave the kitty untouched, set the kitty next to you without looking at the cards and count it as a trick won by you. Otherwise, take the cards from the kitty and place them in your hand. Then discard any four cards (these can include cards that were in the kitty). If you look at the kitty, the discarded cards do not count as a trick and do not earn you any points. In either case, the kitty cards are kept hidden from the other players.
Play
Play begins with the player to the declarer's left. You may lead any card, including trumps. You must follow suit if you can but may play any card if you cannot. The trick is won by the best trump card played or, if no trumps are played, by the best card of the suit lead. In a low hand, the lowest cards are best; in a high hand, the highest cards are best. The player who won the trick leads the next trick.
Scoring
Players earn points for each trick they won during the hand. For the declarer, suit bids are worth 3 points per trick and no-trump bids are worth 4 points per trick. Defenders earn 1 point per trick, regardless of the bid.
At the end of each hand, deal passes to the left. The game continues until one player reaches a pre-determined score, such as 50 points.
Variants
Breaking Trump
You may lead trump until someone has played trumps to a trick, unless you have nothing but trumps in your hand and must lead.
Last Trick
The last trick is worth 5 points to the player or partnership that wins it, whether declarer or defender, for both suit and no trump bids.
Defensive Partnerships
In a three-player game, the defending players form a partnership. Each gets the same score, based on the number of tricks they took in total. The bonus (if any) for taking the last trick is not shared.
Partial Bidding
When bidding in a four-player game, state either a suit/no-trump or high/low, but not both. The value of the bid is always stated. Once the declarer is determined, the declarer's partner fills in the missing part of the bid. For example, if you bid 17 high and become declarer, your partner might declare spades as the suit, making the declared bid "17 high spades."