It's inspired by the classic game of Spades.
The Goodge Rules is one of the newest card games from tabletop game company Regal Games. It challenges 3-4 players aged 8+ to earn points by winning tricks and collecting cards.
The Goodge Rules is inspired by the classic card game of Spades. The deck contains 51 cards, with 10 cards numbered 1-10 in five suits (Spades, Diamonds, Stars, Hearts, and Clubs) and a single Crown card that doesn’t have a suit.
Different cards are worth different numbers of points. For instance, cards numbered 2-4 and 6-9 aren’t worth any points, while “1” cards are worth 20 points, “5” cards are worth 15 points, and so on.
Gameplay in The Goodge Rules is split into rounds. At the beginning of each round, three cards are dealt face-down from the deck into a pile called the “Stash.” The rest of the cards are dealt evenly to all players until they’re gone. This means each player will have 16 cards in a 3-player game and 12 cards in a 4-player game.
Players will look at the cards in their hands and place a “bid” based on how many points they think they can earn in that round. The player who bids the highest amount for the round becomes the “Goodge,” and can choose any of the five suits to be the “Trump Suit” for that round. The Goodge can also look at the cards in the Stash, and they have the option to exchange cards from their own hand with cards in the Stash.
After the Goodge declares the Trump Suit for the round, they’ll start the round by playing any card from their hand face up on the center of the table. The suit of this card becomes the “Lead Suit” for this particular trick. (A “trick” is the group of cards – one from each player — that’s played on each turn.)
Other players are required to play a card from the Lead Suit, if they have one available in their hand. If not, they can play a card from any suit, including the Trump Suit.
If no Trump Cards or the Crown were played in a trick, the player who placed the most valuable card from the Lead Suit wins the trick and collects the stack of cards. If one or more players used a card from the Trump Suit, the highest Trump Suit card wins the trick instead and that player collects the cards. Finally, the Crown Card wins any trick.
This gameplay continues until all of the cards have been played. At that point, players add up the points they earned for the round and add them to their overall total. If the Goodge earned at least as many points as their original bid, they add those points to their total and the game continues normally. However, if they didn’t earn as many points as their original bid, they lose points from their overall score, while everyone else earns points.
The first player to reach 500 points wins the game, though families can change this number to anything they’d like to create a longer or shorter game.
Players can keep track of each person’s score, as well as the Goodge and Trump Suit for each round, on the game’s included score papers. The game comes with enough papers for four games, but you can always create your own using regular paper, or even print more from the Regal Games website.
The Goodge Rules is available for $9.99 on the Regal Games website and at specialty stores around the U.S. Check out the video above for a closer look at how the game is played.
Disclosure: SuperParent received The Goodge Rules for coverage purposes.
Brandy Berthelson has been writing about video games and technology since 2006, with her work appearing on sites including AOL Games, Digital Spy, and Adweek. When she’s not gaming, Brandy enjoys crafting, baking, and traveling with her husband.
