Play 29 (Twenty Nine) online
Twenty-Nine. Bid for points, hide the trump, and hunt the jacks and nines with your partner.
Also known as Twenty Nine, Twenty-Nine, 29 card game, Twenty-Eight, 28 card game. Create a room, share the link, and play in the browser with voice and video chat. Bots fill empty seats. Free, no sign-up, no real money.
How to play 29
4 players in two teams. Partners sit opposite each other. 29 uses a 32-card pack: 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K and A of every suit.
Cards and points
Within a suit the order is unusual: J, 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8, 7 (jack highest). Only four ranks carry points:
- Jack 3, Nine 2, Ace 1, Ten 1. Everything else is worth 0, so the pack holds 28 points.
- The name comes from tables that add 1 point for winning the last trick, making 29. Taash plays the 28-point version (also called Twenty-Eight): there's no last-trick point.
Bidding
- Everyone gets 4 cards. Starting after the dealer, each player bids how many points their team will take, or passes.
- Bids run from 16 to 28 and each must beat the last. A pass is final. Bidding ends when three players have passed.
- If the first three pass, the dealer must bid at least 16.
Hidden trump
The highest bidder picks trump in secret by laying one of their 4 cards face down. Then everyone gets 4 more cards (8 each).
Play
- The player after the dealer leads. Follow suit if you can; the winner of each trick leads the next.
- If you can't follow suit you may ask for trump. The face-down card is shown and goes back to the bidder's hand, and you must then play a trump if you have one. You can also just play any card without asking.
- Until trump is shown, trump-suit cards are ordinary off-suit cards and can't win a trick (trumps played earlier in the trick it's shown in don't count either). After that, the highest trump wins; otherwise the highest card of the suit led.
The pair (marriage)
Hold the K and Q of trump? Once trump is shown and your team has won a trick, you may show the pair on your turn (once per hand). If you're on the bidding team, its target drops by 4 (not below 16); if you're against it, the target rises by 4 (not above 28).
Scoring
- The bidding team needs card points at least equal to its (adjusted) bid: made = +1 game point, missed = −1.
- The first team to +6 wins the match, and a team that falls to −6 loses it (the host can play to 4 or 8 instead).
- The deal moves one seat along every hand.
Questions
How many players play 29?
Four, in two teams of two. Partners sit opposite each other. Bots fill any empty seats.
Which cards are used in 29?
A 32-card pack: 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K and A of each suit. Within a suit the order is J (highest), 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8, 7.
How many points is each card worth in 29?
Jack 3, nine 2, ace 1 and ten 1. Kings, queens, eights and sevens are worth nothing, so there are 28 points in the pack.
How does bidding work in 29?
After 4 cards each, players bid in turn from 16 up to 28 (how many points their team will take) or pass for good. The highest bidder secretly chooses trump. If the first three pass, the dealer must bid 16.
What is the hidden trump?
The highest bidder lays one card face down; its suit is trump. Nobody else knows it until a player who can’t follow suit asks for it to be shown. That player must then play a trump if they have one.
What is the pair (marriage) in 29?
The king and queen of trump in one hand. Once trump is shown and your team has won a trick, you can show it: the bid target drops by 4 if you’re on the bidding team, or rises by 4 if you’re against them.
Why is it called 29 if there are 28 points?
Many tables add 1 point for the last trick, making 29. Taash plays the 28-point version, also called Twenty-Eight, so bids run from 16 to 28.
Is Taash free? Is real money involved?
Taash is free and there is no real money, betting or prizes. You play for points and bragging rights.