If you’re not in the mood for a traditional trick taking session, don’t worry: card and board games have evolved greatly since seventeenth century Whist. After both Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan—two board game pioneers that helped reinvigorate interest in tabletop gaming—the industry slowly but surely exploded, with over seven thousand yearly new releases in 2024, making it almost impossible to play them all.
Trick taking morphed from a set of rules played with a standard deck of cards into a gaming mechanic incorporated by sprawling board games. It might not be as often employed as worker placement or set collection but there’s more than enough stuff waiting to be played for us trick taking enthusiasts. I’ve only begun to dip a toe into these modern variants myself. The wanted list keeps on growing. In this post, I’d like to categorize and highlight a few standouts.
Pick a category below and explore the recommendations to get a sense of what modern trick taking games can do:
Solo trick taking—as mentioned in the article on patience card games, For Northwood! is a popular trick taker that’s designed to be played only by yourself. Although Park Life: People can be played with more people, according to the community reviews, on Board Game Geek, its solo mode is better. And then there are trick takers such as the Lord of the Rings trick taking games that do include a solo and two-player variant but are still best played with three or more.
Two-player only—Sail is another refreshing take on the genre. In the pirate-themed game, you’re navigating the boat together, avoiding obstacles as you try to race to the finish. The diagonal direction of the boat is dictated by the person winning the trick. The upcoming Legacy variant is of course pre-ordered here. Claim is another two-player focused trick taking game that has at least one edition for sale in a store near you.
Cooperative trick taking—this category was ruled by The Crew before The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game rushed for the crown (or ring?). In The Fellowship, each participant plays as a character trying to fulfil specific goals: Frodo has to win at least four of the five ring cards with The One Ring card being the only trump in the game, Sam has to win the least amount of tricks, and so forth. It feels like a small campaign game and the artwork is immaculate. Perhaps unsurprisingly, The Two Towers is due to release soon.
Asymmetric gameplay–TRICKTAKERs takes the genre for a unique spin. Characters have unique abilities that can turn a typical trick taking session on its head pretty quickly. This is probably the most involved trick taker that I wouldn’t recommend to newcomers of the genre; coming in at a weight of 2.81 out of 5 on BGG.
Trumps that trump the trump suit—Skull King can technically be played with two to eight players but as always it’s best enjoyed with four (or five). The pirate-themed game introduced bidding as well as trick taking: each round, you’re dealt one, two, three, … cards, and you’ll have to predict how many tricks you’ll win. The black flag suit is your usual trump here but then there are pirates that mess up this formula, trumping the trump unless it’s the Skull King himself—who himself can’t be beaten except with a mermaid? It’s a fun and chaotic take on the classic formula without completely altering it.
Dice tricks—Nosoku Dice proves dice and cards can be combined to provide a challenging trick-taking experience where just enough drafting and bidding is sprinkled on top to keep things interesting. This is one of those games that’s still on my wish list.
Polynomial puzzling—In case you’ve ever wondered what would happen if Uwe Rosenberg would create a trick taker, there’s The Kakapo that combines Patchwork-like polynomial puzzling with classic trick taking action. On top of that, The Kakapo is a cooperative puzzle. If only it wouldn’t be so damn difficult to acquire.
Heavier board gaming—Arcs is a tactical space area control board game that manages to incorporate some light trick taking as a cool way to win action spaces. Partially thanks to that aspect, Arcs has managed to stay in BGG’s The Hotness list ever since it was released in 2024. If you’re a heavy board gamer that wants to dip just a tiny toe into trick taking, this is the one for you.
Hearts but different—Rebel Princess is a fun alteration on the classic Hearts in which you’re avoiding marriage proposals instead. Special rules in each of the five rounds keep you on your toes. On top of that, each player representing another princess wields unique abilities that can be triggered once per round. For instance, Mulan’s card reads “After the last card has been played in a trick, swap the card you played for another of the same suit, except the Frog”. The rules should guarantee freshness and enough differentiation from its progenitor.
Treacherousness and fun—Power Vacuum cannot be won without a minimum of manipulation, deceit, and treacherousness. Everyone is trying to raise to power as the “Supreme Appliance” is dead (yes, the vacuuming machine, really) with any means necessary, including backstabbing. It reminds me a bit of our frantic Bohnanza sessions were cheating allowed as long as nobody sees it was a much-loved house rule. I have yet to get my hands on this one but it looks very promising.
This article is part six in a series on trick taking and card games. Stay tuned for the next part!