Setup
Use a 32-card deck (7 to Ace in each suit). Your partner sits opposite you. Each player gets 8 cards, so a deal has 8 tricks.
Inside each suit the order, high to low, is J 9 A 10 K Q 8 7. The Jack beats every other card of its suit.
Card points
Only four ranks are worth points: Jack 3, Nine 2, Ace 1, Ten 1. Everything else is 0, so the deck holds 28 points. The team that wins a trick collects the points in it.
Playing a trick
- Follow the suit led if you can.
- If you can't, you may play any card, or ask to see trump. Once trump is shown, you must play a trump if you have one.
- After trump is revealed, any trump beats every other suit. Otherwise the highest card of the led suit wins.
Pair (Marriage)
Holding the King and Queen of trump in one hand is a pair. After trump is shown and your team wins a trick, the pair moves the bid by 4 points in your team's favour.
Scoring and winning
If the bidding team collects at least its bid, it gains a game point (+1); otherwise it loses one (−1). The first team to +6 wins the match.
The app also offers optional house rules, such as a last-trick bonus point or making the first player open at 16. All are off by default.
Tips to win
- Jacks and nines decide most deals. A suit with J-9 is strong enough to bid on.
- Feed points to your partner's winning tricks: drop an Ace or Ten when they are sure to win.
- Don't ask for trump too early if you hold no trumps. Sometimes a discard is better.
FAQ
Why is it called 29?
The four point cards add up to 28, and classic rules give 1 extra point for the last trick, making 29. Our app offers that as an optional rule.
Can I play 29 on iPhone?
29 is on Google Play now, and the iPhone version is coming soon.
Ready to play 29?
Free, offline, no signup. Learn the rest at the table with built-in hints.
Play 29 nowFree in your browser · no download
