How to play
Altmışaltı (“sixty-six”) is a fast two-player card game, popular in Turkey and across Central Europe. It uses 24 cards: the 9, jack, queen, king, 10 and ace of each suit. You play against the computer; the first to collect 66 points in a hand wins it.
Card values
| Card | A | 10 | K | Q | J | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 11 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
The cards rank in the same order: ace highest, then 10, king, queen, jack and 9. There are 120 points in the deck.
The deal. Each player gets six cards. The next card is turned face up: its suit is trumps, and it lies under the stock. The deal alternates; the player who didn’t deal leads first.
Playing. The leader plays a card and the other player answers. The higher card of the suit led wins, unless a trump was played. The winner of a trick draws the top card of the stock, then the other player draws; the face-up trump is the last card drawn. The winner leads next.
- While the stock lasts, you don’t have to follow suit: play any card.
- Once the stock is used up or closed, you must follow suit, and if you can’t, you must play a trump.
Marriages. If you hold the king and queen of one suit, you can show them when you lead one of them: 20 points, or 40 in trumps. You must already have won a trick, and marriages can’t be declared after the stock is gone or closed. In the game, the king and queen glow when a marriage is possible; playing one declares it.
Swapping the trump 9. When you’re about to lead, have won a trick, and the stock is still open, you can swap the 9 of trumps for the face-up trump card.
Closing. When you’re about to lead and the stock is still open, you can close it: no more cards are drawn and the strict rules (follow suit, or trump) apply. If you close and don’t reach 66, your opponent scores 2 game points.
Scoring
As soon as a player reaches 66 (cards won plus marriages, after winning at least one trick), the hand ends. If nobody gets there, the winner of the last trick adds 10 and the higher total wins; 65 each is a tie.
| The loser has | Winner scores |
|---|---|
| 33 points or more | 1 game point |
| Fewer than 33, but at least one trick | 2 game points |
| No tricks at all | 3 game points |
The first player to 7 game points wins the match.
Tips
- Lead low while the stock lasts. You don’t have to follow suit, so throw away 9s and jacks and keep aces and 10s for when they count.
- Save your king and queen. A marriage is worth as much as two aces; win one trick early so you can declare it.
- Close when you’re strong. With 50 points or more and a few sure tricks, closing stops the computer from drawing better cards. Count carefully: if you fall short, it scores 2.
- Count the 10s. The 10 is the second-best card and worth 10: lead an ace to draw out the 10 of that suit.
If you enjoy Altmışaltı, try Baker’s Dozen Solitaire or Batak next.
