The rules are quickly explained: depending on the number of players, the cards for the game are gathered, shuffled and dealt out in full to all players. Then, one after the other, each player places a card in the centre of the table, into the current trick. The colour doesn’t matter at first, so you don’t have to match the suit played – but more on that later. However, cards should be played in such a way that all cards remain visible and it is clear who has played which card, unlike in a classic trick-taking game where cards are often played on top of one another.

The numerical value of all cards played is added up continuously. As soon as the total reaches 15, the trick ends immediately. The winner of the trick is the player with the highest card of the suit that has contributed the most points overall. So, once a trick ends, it is determined which suit has contributed the highest total value – this suit wins the trick and the player with the highest card receives 2 victory points for it. All other players whose last cards played were of the same suit – that is, the suit that won the trick – also gain a victory point; the others come away empty-handed.

The game moves along quite quickly, but you still have to make a few decisions: do I play high cards quickly to force an early scoring, do I create new momentum by playing a new suit, or do I wait and play low cards first to see what my opponents are up to? As a trick can end at any time, the game remains dynamic and constantly takes surprising turns. In any case, it’s always advisable to try to guess which suit will win the trick, because if you play a card of that suit into the trick just before scoring, you’ll at least get one victory point.

The very straightforward rules are particularly worth highlighting. The principle of ‘counting together to 15’ is so intuitive that even children can get into the game quickly. Despite this simplicity, the game offers a few tactical options for more experienced players; however, the focus here is clearly on the fast-paced gameplay and the fun – including the element of frustration. The game has a relatively high element of luck, but this does not detract from it; you always have enough opportunities to squeeze a few points out of even a supposedly poor hand. After all, the game is played for as many rounds as there are players, and leading players will quickly realise in later rounds that the other players can also cooperate effectively to prevent a runaway victory.