# Krook Rules

This file covers the rules this game uses, where they come from, and where published versions disagree.
The default ("Kentucky Discard", the tournament partnership game) is what most clubs and tournaments play.
Every variant listed below can be picked in the lobby's **House rules** panel.

## Sources

| Source | What it covers |
|---|---|
| [Pagat.com — Rook](https://www.pagat.com/kt5/rook.html) (John McLeod) | Partnership Rook, Kentucky Rook (1s high, worth 15), "Rook may be played to any trick", Kentucky Discard differences |
| Hasbro / Parker Brothers rule book, "Official Rook Tournament Rules — Kentucky Discard" (packed with Rook decks; [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rook_(card_game)) links the PDF) | Tournament game: 41 cards, 9 each, 5-card nest |
| [Intramural Rook — Official Rook Tournament Rules (PDF)](https://s3.amazonaws.com/file.imleagues/Images/Schools/Uploaded/201503/201531892727.pdf) | 41 cards, nine per player, five in the nest |
| [rookgame.com — Official Rules](https://rookgame.com/official-rules/), [Variations](https://rookgame.com/variations/), [FAQ](https://rookgame.com/rook-faq/) | Bids 70–120 in steps of 5; made bid scores what you took, a set bid loses the bid; defenders score their counters |
| [Kentucky Discard](https://kentuckydiscard.com/play-kentucky-discard/) | Tournament version; nest goes to the last-trick winner |
| [Official Game Rules — Rook](https://officialgamerules.org/game-rules/rook/), [Geeky Hobbies](https://www.geekyhobbies.com/rook-card-game-rules-for-how-to-play/), [gamerules.com — Kentucky Rook](https://gamerules.com/rules/rook-card-game/), [Card Game Database](https://cardgamedatabase.fandom.com/wiki/Rook_(card_game)) | Cross-checks: Rook Bird is 20 points and can be played any time; game to 300 (tournament) or 500 (Kentucky Rook); 1s worth 15 in the 45-card game |

I couldn't open these pages directly while building this (network restrictions), so the rules were confirmed from
search-engine summaries of the pages above. Where sources disagreed, the disagreement is noted below and turned into a setting.

## The deck

The Krook deck has 57 cards: four colors — **Red, Yellow, Green, Black** — numbered **1 to 14**, plus the **Krook** (bird) card.
Colors behave like suits; there is no ranking between colors.

| Version | Cards used | Deck | Per player | Nest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Kentucky Discard / tournament (default)** | 5–14 in each color + Krook (1s–4s removed) | 41 | 9 | 5 |
| Kentucky Rook | 1 and 5–14 + Krook (2s–4s removed) | 45 | 10 | 5 |
| Full deck | 1–14 + Krook | 57 | 13 | 5 |

Setting: **Deck**.

## Card ranking

- Within a color, higher numbers win: 14 high, then 13 … down to 5.
- **1s:** in the versions that keep the 1s, the 1 ranks **above** the 14 (Pagat: 1-14-13-…-5). Setting: **1s rank above 14** (turn it off to play 1s low).
- **The Krook card** always counts as a trump card. Where it ranks varies:
  - **Highest trump (default).** The tournament rules and the current Hasbro rules make the Krook the top trump; it wins any trick it is played to.
  - **Between the 10 and 11 of trump ("10½").** An older house rule many players know. None of the sources above confirm it, so it's offered as a variant only.
  - **Lowest trump.** Used in some regional games (Kentucky West(ish), Western New York Rook). It still beats every non-trump card.

  Setting: **Krook card ranks**.

## Players and dealing

- Four players in **two fixed partnerships**; partners sit **across** from each other (seats 1 & 3 vs 2 & 4).
- The dealer deals one card at a time clockwise, starting on their left. Five cards go face down to the middle as the **nest**.
- The deal passes to the left after each hand.

## Bidding

- Bidding starts with the player to the dealer's left and goes clockwise.
- Each player either bids or **passes**. **Once you pass you are out** of the bidding for that hand.
- Bids must beat the current high bid and go up in **steps of 5**.
- **Minimum bid: 70** in the tournament game (rookgame.com gives bids from 70 to 120). Kentucky Rook (180-point deck) is usually played with a higher minimum; the preset uses 100. Setting: **Minimum bid**, **Bid increment**.
- **Maximum bid** is the total points available in a hand (120 by default, plus any bonuses that are switched on).
- Bidding ends when everyone but the high bidder has passed.
- **If all four pass:** the cards are thrown in and the deal passes left (default). Some groups make the dealer take the
  minimum bid instead. Setting: **If everyone passes**.

## The nest and trump

- The high bidder picks up the nest (giving them 14 cards in the tournament game), then **puts back any five cards face down**.
- The high bidder then **names the trump color**.
- **Burying point cards:** under the standard rules the bidder may discard point cards into the nest. Whoever **wins the last
  trick** captures the nest and scores its points (Kentucky Discard), so burying points is a gamble. Some groups ban
  burying counters, or give the nest's points to the bidding team. Settings: **Bidder may bury point cards**, **Nest points go to**.
  (When burying is banned, the bidder may still bury point cards if they don't hold five non-point cards.)
- The nest stays hidden from everyone except the bidder until the hand is scored.

## Playing tricks

- **The high bidder leads** the first trick (some groups have the player left of the dealer lead; setting: **First lead**).
- Players must **follow the color led** if they can. A player who can't follow may play any card, including trump.
  Some families (including Keith rules) require a player who can't follow to **play trump if they have any**;
  only a player out of both the led color and trump may play anything. Setting: **Must play trump when you can't follow**.
- **The Krook belongs to the trump color**: if trump is led and your only trump is the Krook, you must play it; if the Krook
  is led, trump was led.
- **The Krook may be played to any trick**, even when you could follow the led color (Pagat, Official Game Rules,
  Bargames101). Keith rules and the classic Adventist rules don't allow this, so it's a setting: **Krook may be played any time**.
  In Keith rules, you must follow the led color; the Krook may be played when you are out of that color or when trump is led.
  If trump is led and the Krook is your only trump, you must play it.
- The **highest trump** wins the trick. If no trump was played, the **highest card of the color led** wins.
- The winner of each trick leads the next one.

## Point cards ("counters")

| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Each 5 | 5 |
| Each 10 | 10 |
| Each 14 | 10 |
| The Krook | 20 |
| Each 1 (only when 1s are in the deck) | 15 |

- Tournament deck total: 4 × (5 + 10 + 10) + 20 = **120 points** per hand.
- Kentucky Rook (with 1s): 120 + 4 × 15 = **180 points**.
- Settings: **Krook card points**, **1s point value**.

## Scoring a hand

1. Each team adds up the counters in the tricks it won.
2. The **nest's points** go to the team that won the **last trick** (default), or always to the bidding team (variant).
3. Optional bonuses (all off in the tournament preset):
   - **Most-tricks bonus** (often 20) for the team that takes more tricks. Setting: **Most-tricks bonus**.
   - **Sweep bonus** for taking every trick. Setting: **Bonus for taking every trick**.
   - **All-points bonus:** Keith rules award **20 extra points** to a team that captures **all 180 card points**, including any nest points, for **200 total**. Winning every trick is not required; the other team may win point-free tricks. No bonus is awarded merely for winning the most tricks. Setting: **Bonus for capturing all card points (including nest)**.
4. **Bidding team:** if its total is **at least the bid**, it scores everything it captured. If not, it is **set** and
   **loses the amount it bid**. Scores can go negative.
5. **Defending team:** scores whatever it captured (default). Some groups give defenders nothing; setting: **Defenders score**.

## Winning

- **Tournament target: 300 points.** Kentucky Rook and many home games play to **500**. Setting: **Play to**.
- The game ends when a team reaches the target at the end of a hand. If **both** teams cross it on the same hand, the
  **bidding team wins if it made its bid**; otherwise the higher score wins. On an exact tie, another hand is played.

## Presets in the lobby

| Preset | Deck | Krook | Min bid | Target | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith rules (family house rules) | 45 cards, 1s high (15 pts) | lowest trump, 20 pts | 90 | 500 | 180 card points + 20 only for capturing all points (200 total); no burying point cards; must follow color, including Krook as trump; must trump when void in the led color; nest to last trick |
| **Kentucky Discard (default)** | 41 cards | highest trump, 20 pts | 70 | 300 | Nest to last trick, burying allowed, Krook any time |
| Kentucky Rook | 45 cards, 1s high (15 pts) | highest trump | 100 | 500 | 180 points per hand |
| Classic full deck | 57 cards, 1s high (15 pts) | lowest trump | 100 | 500 | 20-point most-tricks bonus |

## Variant choices made for the default game (and why)

| Question | Default | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Which cards are stripped? | 1s–4s (41 cards) | Official tournament rules (Kentucky Discard) |
| Are 1s high? | Yes (when used) | Pagat; universal in games that keep the 1s |
| Krook rank | Highest trump | Tournament rules and the current Hasbro rule book; 10½ and low offered as variants |
| Krook may be played any time | Yes | Pagat and most rule summaries; switch off for the Adventist/"strict" rule |
| Minimum bid | 70, steps of 5 | rookgame.com official rules |
| Can point cards be buried? | Yes | Standard; the last-trick nest capture makes it a real decision |
| Who gets the nest? | Last-trick winner | Kentucky Discard |
| Most-tricks bonus | Off | Not confirmed for the tournament game |
| Target score | 300 | Tournament rules (500 offered; it's the Kentucky Rook norm) |
| All four pass | Redeal | Most common; "dealer stuck" offered |