YORKTON - Trick-taking games are pretty standard in terms of card games, and Vidrasso is a relative new one coming from prolific Canadian card game designer Sean Ross in 2021.
So among the many trick-takers why try Vidrasso?
Well there are some really cool twists in this one to get your head around – yet not so complicated you glaze over – the rules are on a couple of 8x11 sheets and can be found via boardgamegeek.com
The basics are that Vidrasso is played with a 36-card pack that consists of Aces through 9’s in each suit.
Not only does each player hold a hand of cards, but they also have a row of strawmen. Strawmen are piles of cards on the table with a hidden bottom card and an exposed top card that both players can see.
Each player is dealt five cards face down. The cards should form a row in front of each player. Next, five cards are dealt face up with one card on top of each face-down card. These are the strawmen. Finally, each player is dealt a hand of 8 cards. These cards are not to be seen by the opposite player.
After looking at their hand, one player will decide on the trump suit, and the opposite player will decide on the trump rank.
Playing for tricks is pretty standard. A card is led – from the hand or a face-up strawman -- and the other player must follow suit if able, and if not may trump or simply throw away. High card wins – but in Vidrasso the weakest card in a suit is the nine, the strongest the ace.
Winning with that ace or deuce is neat, but not necessarily good news in Vidrasso.
When the tricks are finished you do the scoring. Players earn points for the cards in their capture pile. Each card has a point value equal to the number on the card. For example, 5’s are worth 5 points, 6’s are worth 6 points and so on. Aces are worth 1 point. There are a total of 180 points possible.
So those tricks you won with an ace or deuce score you few points in the end.
And there is the delightful challenge of Vidrasso, balancing winning tricks with lower cards, but having enough high cards in those tricks to score big points.
A must-try trick-taker for two.
