Ombre
O
PLAYERS
3
DIFFICULTY
SETTING
Indoor
MATERIALS
- A 40-card Spanish deck (no 8s, 9s, or 10s)
- Counters or chips for scoring
HOW TO PLAY
1
Deal nine cards to each of the three players from the forty-card deck.
2
Players bid for the right to become the "ombre," the player who will name the trump suit and play against the other two combined.
3
Before play, each player, including the ombre, may discard unwanted cards and draw replacements from the remaining stock.
4
The ombre leads or responds to tricks against the shifting alliance of the other two players, following suit when possible and using trumps otherwise.
5
If the ombre wins the most tricks of anyone at the table, they collect from both opponents; otherwise, the opponents split the ombre's stake between them.