Barbu
Barbu (or Barbuda) is a four-player trick-taking card game of French origin.
You have to win fewer points than your opponents by avoiding tricks, hearts, queens and of course, the Barbu (the King of Hearts).
You might also be interested in a similar card game: Hearts.
Fun fact, 'Le barbu' literally means 'the bearded' (man), and phonetically 'the barb' – a reference to the king of hearts' common depiction as a bearded monarch nonchalantly stabbing himself in the head.
Number of players: 3 - 5
Game duration: 38 mn
Complexity: 3 / 5
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Play Barbu and 974 other games online.
No download necessary - play directly from your web browser.
With your friends and thousands of players from the whole world.
Free.
Rules summary
Goal
Lose the fewest points.
Game play
- 4 players recommended.
- Dealer leads 1st trick.
- Must follow suit if possible.
- Trick taker leads the next trick.
Trick: play of one card from each player.
Taker: player who wins the trick.
Contract: rule for scoring the deal.
Declarer: dealer who selects a contract.
Double: contract value ×2.
Redouble: doubled contract value ×2 (total ×4).
Business: two players with a double.
Maximum: redouble all doubles and double any remaining players.Contracts
- Dealer selects the contract for the deal.
- Only the trumps contract is played with a trump suit.
- Contract scoring depends on the options selected:
| Default option | Negative contracts | Positive contracts | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Always played | No tricks | No ♥ | No Q | No K♥ | Last two | Domino | Trumps | |||||
| Scoring | Deal | Salade | 2nd last | last | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th+ | ||||
| Basic | 32 | -1 /trick | -1 /♥ | -2 /Q | -8 K♥ | -3 | -5 | +20 | +10 | 0 | 0 | +2 /trick |
| 36 | ||||||||||||
| 52 | -1 /trick | -1 /♥ | -3 /Q | -12 K♥ | -4 | -8 | +25 | +15 | +5 | 0 | +3 /trick | |
| Wikipedia | -2 /trick | -2 /♥
-6 A♥ |
-6 /Q | -20 K♥ | -10 | -20 | +45 | +20 | +5 | -5 | +5 /trick | |
- Last two tricks score negative points.
- Extra hand where plays must be either:
- same rank as a played card, or
- same suit and one rank above or below a played card.
- A ⇨ play again.
- Must play, else pass.
- Extra hand with multiple contracts: no tricks, no ♥, no Q, no K♥.
- Q♥ ⇨ -2(Q) -1(♥) ⇨ -3 points (32 cards).
- K♥ ⇨ -8(K♥) -1(♥) ⇨ -9 points (32 cards).
- Salade with positive score.
- Each dealer deals once for every contract.
- After the dealer selects a contract, non-dealers may optionally choose to double any player(s).
- In positive games, non-dealers can only double the dealer.
- Non-dealers must double the dealer at least twice during the game for each dealer.
- Any doubled player may redouble.
- Between each pair of players (P₁ & P₂), where P₁ has a higher score than P₂:
- P₁ gains the difference between their scores ⇨ + (P₁ − P₂).
- P₂ loses the difference between their scores ⇨ − (P₁ − P₂).
- Redoubled:
- P₁ gains twice the difference between their scores ⇨ + 2×(P₁ − P₂).
- P₂ loses twice the difference between their scores ⇨ − 2×(P₁ − P₂).
- Dealer selects trump color.
- Must follow suit, else
- must play a trump, else
- must discard.
- Whenever a trump is played, each player must play a higher trump than those played before if possible.
- Must play a trump instead of discard if possible.
- No ♥ or No K♥: cannot lead ♥ until a ♥ is discarded.
- Anyone can lead ♥ whenever they want.
- Every trick counts negatively.
- No tricks and Salade: positive scoring.
- Anti-Salade: negative scoring.
- No tricks, No ♥ and Salade: positive scoring.
- Anti-Salade: negative scoring.
- No tricks, No ♥, No Q and Salade: positive scoring.
- Anti-Salade: negative scoring.
- Will count scores with simple count (tricks score -1 each)
- Will count scores as described in the English Wikipedia page of Barbu (tricks score -2 each, hearts -2, ace of hearts -6...)
| players | 32 cards | 52 cards |
|---|---|---|
| 3players | 7♦ 7♣ | 2♦ |
| 5players | 7♦ 7♣ | 2♦ 2♣ |
