Trix Complex rules

The game has 4 Kingdoms with only two contracts each, Complex and Trix, so 8 deals. Everyone plays for himself and the player with the highest cumulative score after the 8 deals wins. The Complex contract stacks all penalties together (tricks, diamonds, Queens and the K♥), and the Trix contract awards +200/+150/+100/+50.

If two or more players share the exact highest score the result is a draw among them; there is no ninth deal.

4 players, each playing for himself. Play runs counter-clockwise. A player sees only his own hand, and spectators never see hands (only the public contract and score state).

The game uses a standard 52-card deck with no Jokers. There is no trump in any contract.

Card strength in the trick-taking contracts, highest to lowest: A > K > Q > J > 10 > 9 > 8 > 7 > 6 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 2 (the Ace is highest).

Two cards have a special role in the rules: the 7♥ (it decides who owns the first Kingdom) and the K♥ (the King of Hearts).

A match has 4 Kingdoms. The owner of the first Kingdom is the holder of the 7♥ in the first deal. Ownership passes to the player on the right (the next seat counter-clockwise) only after both contracts of the Kingdom have been played.

Each Kingdom has only two contracts: Complex (COMPLEX) and Trix (TRIX), each once. Each contract is one deal with a fresh shuffle, so 4 × 2 = 8 deals. Every player receives 13 cards in each deal.

In ERAM CARDS the cards are reshuffled for every deal and dealt one at a time from seat 0 (there is no dealer); a reconnect never causes a redeal.

The Kingdom owner chooses which of the two contracts is played first (Complex or Trix). After he chooses, the second contract is mandatory and starts by itself with no choice. If the choosing time runs out, Complex is chosen automatically.

The Kingdom owner leads the first trick. Following suit is compulsory: if you hold a card of the suit that was led you must play one. If you have none of that suit you may play any card. There is no trump. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick and its owner leads the next trick. A deal has 13 tricks. An off-suit card never wins.

In Complex all penalties stack in the same trick on the player who takes it; none replaces another:

A single trick can carry four kinds of penalty. The Queen of Diamonds (Q♦) pays both the diamond penalty and the Queen penalty (−10 and −25).

Example: a trick led in hearts containing the K♥, the Q♦ and two other hearts costs its taker −15 (trick) −75 (K♥) −10 (♦) −25 (Queen) = −125.

Complex always plays all 13 tricks (no early end). The undoubled total of a full Complex deal is 13 × (−15) + 13 × (−10) + 4 × (−25) + (−75) = −500.

The Trix contract is not a trick-taking contract: it is a card-laying contract. Each suit forms a row (a chain) that starts with its Jack and grows in two directions:

• Upward: J → Q → K → A
• Downward: J → 10 → 9 → 8 → 7 → 6 → 5 → 4 → 3 → 2

A card is legal if it is either (1) the Jack of a suit that has not started yet, or (2) a card of a suit whose row has started and it sits directly next to one end of that suit's chain (the upper end or the lower end).

If you have a legal card you MUST play one. You may PASS only when you have no legal card. A pass while holding a legal card is rejected.

The Kingdom owner plays first, then play continues counter-clockwise; a player whose hand is empty is skipped. In ERAM CARDS the game automatically plays your only legal card, or your forced pass, after a short delay (the operator sets it and it can be turned off); you can still act before the delay ends.

The order in which players empty their hands is the finishing order: 1st +200, 2nd +150, 3rd +100, 4th +50. When three players have emptied their hands the remaining player is automatically 4th (+50) and the deal ends at once.

Doubling is decided by the holder of the card alone, before the first trick, and the doubled card is revealed (a ×2 mark) before play starts.

In the Complex contract only the K♥ and any of the four Queens can be doubled. The Trix contract has no doubling, and the Complex as a whole cannot be doubled. Doubling does not cancel the trick penalty (−15) or the diamond penalty (−10) of the same trick, and it does not multiply the whole Complex.

The doubled penalty replaces the plain penalty of that card (a doubled Queen costs its taker −50, not −25 plus −50). Doubling never changes the sum of the four players' scores in the deal (−150 + 75 = −75, −50 + 25 = −25).

In ERAM CARDS the doubling window is simultaneous and hidden for everyone holding a doublable card: each such holder answers once (double or not); answers stay hidden until all have answered or the window time (set by the operator) runs out, then all doubles are revealed at once and play starts. A holder who does not answer in time does not double. A player with no doublable card is never asked.

The three cases when a doubled card is taken (D = the doubler, T = the player who wins the trick containing the card):

If the doubled card is in the trick but is not the card that decides it (a higher card of the led suit wins), the first case applies.

No special redeal (for example for four 2s) and no revealing of 2s is used. Hands are played as dealt.

Points of the two contracts (recorded for the individual player who took the trick/card or who finished his hand):

Deal totals, undoubled: Complex −500, Trix +500. A complete Kingdom sums to zero.

With doubling (in Complex only):

The doubled penalty replaces that card's plain penalty and is added to the trick and diamond penalties of the same trick; a doubled Queen of Diamonds therefore costs its taker −10 (diamond) and −50 (doubled Queen), plus −15 for the trick.

Trix finishing places:

After the 8th deal the player with the highest cumulative individual score wins. If two or more players share the exact highest score the result is a draw among them and no ninth deal is played. Scores may be negative.

• In Complex every trick costs −15 and every ♦, Queen and the K♥ adds its penalty; avoid taking penalty-rich tricks.
• Remember that the Queen of Diamonds pays two penalties (−10 and −25) in the trick.
• Following suit is compulsory; when you are void, dump a penalty card on someone else.
• Doubling does not cancel the trick or diamond penalty, so weigh that before you double.
• In Trix you cannot pass while you hold a legal card; start with the Jacks.
• The Kingdom owner decides the order of the two contracts: pick what suits your hand.

• Kingdom — A cycle of two deals (Complex and Trix) owned by one player; a match has 4 Kingdoms.
• Kingdom owner — Chooses which contract is first and leads the first trick in Complex.
• Complex — The trick contract where trick, diamond, Queen and K♥ penalties stack.
• Trix (layout) — The card-laying contract with rows that start at the Jack.
• Deal — One distribution in which one contract is played.
• Trick — One card from each player; the highest card of the led suit wins it.
• Taker — The player who wins the trick.
• Doubling — Doubling the penalty of the K♥ or a Queen before the first trick in Complex.
• PASS — Skipping a turn; in Trix only when you have no legal card.
• Legal card — In Trix: a Jack of an unstarted suit, or a card next to an end of its suit's chain.
• No trump — There is no winning suit.