Tag Archives: Rook Game

Taking a Rook Hiatus: Why Some Players Think Rook Has No Strategy

It has been almost six months since we played our last competitive match of rook. Wow, since I learned to play 5 years ago, I never thought it would occur. There are simply so many people that play rook and consistently great fun each time we play. However, sometimes all it takes is one or two people getting tired of the rook game to cause a real stir in the game’s consistency.

One of our good friends that we play a lot of games with (board games, card games, etc.) has decided that the rook game lacks in strategic playing. This is a real surprise to me as I have found that there enough strategy involved in the game that I needed to write about it. And so I did. I also find myself discussing strategies with other players during and after games, just to get their opinion on different decisions made.

Let’s take a look at the non-strategic game of rook

So what might make the game of rook more about luck than strategy? Well, there are a number of elements about rook that can really cause a person to simply not find a lot of skill involved in the game.

The 5 card kitty – It is definitely true that the rook game’s kitty is an extremely lucky portion of the game. Every player at the table is gambling on whether or not those 5 cards are going to make or break your hand. Bidders can sometimes simply bid higher and “hope” that the kitty is strong enough to make their hand worthy of the high bid.
Your partners hand matching yours – Even the most “skilled” of rook players cannot stop a team when their opponents hands match perfectly. One player has the 1 of trump. The partner has the 14 of trump. And each of them have 6 trump cards in their hand. Then the off suit colors match as well. Yes, there simply are those times when you cannot stop opponents with matching hands.

What makes Rook about Skill?

If these matters above weight heavily on your rook game playing, you may be missing out on some finer points of the game which send it to a level of strategy.

Playing with weak hands – Anyone can win when they are dealt monster hands, but being able to correctly predict your bid and make a bid when you do not have a lot of power is what really can separate those that think the game is just luck, and those that see the finer points in the game. With 200 points, there is a lot of room to make mistakes, but when you are bidding higher and higher for the scale of your hand, it takes making as few mistakes as possible to make sure that you are going to retrieve every possible point card you can. Strategy kicks in when you can maximize the amount of points you and your opponent are able to take each round and correctly bid (or allow opponent to win bidding) accordingly.
Knowing when to try and set your opponent – Because rook is a game of rounds, you do not need to have exactly the same aggression in each round. Some rounds you may find that you can take some extra risks in your bidding, while other times you may have a strong hand but try to sink your opponent with the hand to get your team a better chance to win. When you play an entire game to 500, you have a bit of room to strategies in each game. Try to mix it up to throw your opponents off and play around with your bidding strategies.
Know your opponent – Just like any card game, you don’t really have to see a person’s cards to gain insight into what cards they have in their hand. If you know what cards they have in their hand, would that change the card you play? If you know your opponent only is holing the 14 of a color in their hand, you would certainly play the 1 right then if you had it. There are many cases where you can make educated guesses as to what your opponenet might be holding based on their playing history. Some people like to play all their power cards right at the beginning. Others you can expect they may save their power cards to the very end. You may even catch different player’s strategies on what they leave in the Kitty (point cards, voiding a color, or dropping all low cards). All of these different tendencies can lead you to some great insight on what your opponents are holding throughout the game.

No the game of rook is not like playing chess. The game of chess is highly involved and simply has a vast amount strategy due to the possibility of moves involved in every play. However, we have found that the players that believe that there is no strategy in rook are the same players that look at games by simply a matter of numbers and percentages. They see that there is a high percentage of cards in both the kitty and teammate and they then say that therefore there is too much luck involved to allow for skill to play a significant role in the game playing. It is these same players that find themselves over bidding their hands and getting sunk on what should be an easy win. It is also these same players that miss opportunities to play point cards to your teammate by not being aware of bidding strategies or player styles.

We instead see so much potential for strategic playing. You can get to know your teammate really well and that will help your overall playing ability. You can get to know our opponents and make better decisions accordingly. Rook strategies are all around and if you are not thinking strategically when playing, you simply are missing a large portion of the game.

Rook Turned 105 in 2011

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Yeah, it’s not the big century mark, but this rook game website was not quite around in 2006, so we thought we would give a happy birthday shout out to rook this year. 105 years ago the greatest card game known to man was born. The card game rook born to give non-gamblers a way to battle it out on the card table for many years was created 105 years ago. And to this day, the variations of rook keep pouring in.

Playing Rook 6 to 8 Hours a Day: Too Much?

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So, I happened to be speaking to a friend of mine about playing rook. We were talking simply about things like who they play with and where they play, you know, small talk in the rook game world. No strategy talk or anything. Then, I asked them about how often they play. I was amazed to find out that this person said they play about 6 to 8 hours every day!

Now seriously, I love rook, but to play it 6 – 8 hours every day? That is like a full time job! There have got to be other games out there, or other things to do out there that have got to make your enjoy your day a little bit other than just playing rook all day.

Yes, you guessed it, this was an older gentleman. Granted, he did not have much else in terms of day-to-day activities to keep him preoccupied, but 6 – 8 hours a day? Everyday?

My question for you is, how often do you get to play in a day? OK, I mean how often do you get to play in a week? Month? How much rook playing is too much?

Rook Strategy: Playing Against Different Opponents

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It seems as though the rook game keeps growing and growing. People I would never have expected to play the game I find out randomly play. Not only do they play, but they play well! The more and more people I find that play the game, the more I realize, I there are a number of different strategies and methods to go about tackling a win in the game of rook. For this reason, we have come to the realization that getting away from playing only with your one or two typical opponents can help expand your game into new and great places.

We are like the typical rook playing couple. We have two friends that we have played against over and over again. Not only do we play together a lot, but we keep a running tally of our total scores. Last I recall we are somewhere around 83 – 84 wins each team. While we love this, it is rare when we actually get together with other players or actually make a rook tournament to play with more than 8 players.

The last rook tournament we played was great! I have expressed how I felt we got unlucky with the cards we were dealt, however, there is for sure a portion of our loss which was attributed to this being the first time we played against some of these opponents.

There were two aspects that I noticed threw our typical play off a bit.

The Bidding: I found that bidding with different players is the hardest to handle the change with in a short period. Some people start the bidding at their maximum bid, leaving no room or manipulating. Some stop bidding really early rather than risking losing. Others can be very tricky and focus more on setting their opponent rather than taking the bid themselves. So they may fake the strength of their hands by passing early.
The way trumps are played. With my close opponents, we are very used to controlling the trumps. This usually means that we will play trumps until they are all gone. On the rare occasion trumps may last in an opponents hand until the end. It creates a very different style of play when trumps are not led hardly at all. Instead, a significant amount of trumping and overtrumping occurs. I don’t know if I recommend this strategy all that often, but I will say that it is extremely unpredictable. Sometimes it works, some times it doesn’t.

All of this being said, it is great to see the different strategies take place. They have brought to light a couple of different things. One, I am glad to incorporate a variety of new strategies in my style of play. Two, it allows you to be able to pick up on a person’s strategy at the table more quickly. So if you realize a person is trying to set you, play accordingly. As with anything you are trying to improve on, the more you play, the more experience you gain. The more experience you gain, this will ultimately lead to a larger wealth of game history. The trick is making sure you learn from your game history to lead your game play.

Playing Rook on Your iPhone

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If you do a quick search for a rook app on your iPhone, you will find that there is really only one application that comes up. It is a rook application which allows you to keep track of your rook game scores on the phone. Including who’s deal it is, and what the bid was taken for.

Not quite a rook game app. It is helpful, however, some may find it unnecessary to pay the $.99 fee to purchase.

Back to the matter at hand, there is currently no way to play rook on the iPhone! This post serves as a request to all those iPhone programmers out there looking for something to do. Create an iPhone app that you can connect with friends to play in your network. The closest thing right now would be the PC version of the rook application.

Settlers of Catan: Perfect for Rook Players

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The rook game staff has recently ventured out into the best selling game in the world right now, Settlers of Catan. For you rook enthusiasts, it is a blast to have a more traditional board game alternative to play either for mixing things up a bit, or simply to allow for 2 or 3 players to play a game that works extremely well without a 4th player.

About the game

Settlers of Catan has many different version and expansions. The basic box game is played with 2 to 4 players and is primarily a dice rolling game mixed with some fun strategy.

Movable Parts

Right off the bat, the first thing that you will notice about the game is that is a completely different game every time you play. This is due to the fact that the board can be created in so many different manners.

Role the dice for fun

Similar to Yatzee, Settlers of Catan has a highly chance driven factor to it in that the roling of the dice plays a major role in who will win the game. There is a significant amount strategic playing available, but all the strategy will go out the window if you don’t have a little bit of luck.

If you were a fan of the computer game civilization, either the new versions or even the old version from like 1990s, then you are sure to love Settlers of Catan!

Not a Camping game

While Settlers of Catan makes for a great home game, the fact that there are so many interchangeable parts and pieces makes it a poor choice for a camping game. Rook still takes the cake for being a simple game to pack and play on a camping trip.

You ask, Why is Settlers of Catan getting highlighted in an all Rook website? Well, the fact is, rook players enjoy playing other games as well. We have found that for our situation, if we are unable to get at least 4 players to play rook, then our favorite alternative is to play a 2 or 3 player game of Settlers of Catan. While we will still prefer to play a four player game of set partner rook, the Settlers game is a great second option!

Play Settlers of Catan Online
Purchase the game!

For even more fun, order the 5 to 6 player expansion set

We Keep Playing Rook: How Come?

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What is it about rook that allows us to play for hours day after day, after day. I know some groups of rook players that have been playing together for more than 20 years. Is there really that much going on in the rook game that keeps people coming back to play more and more?

There are a group of four of us that get together to play rook about 2 times a week, and we have been playing against each other with the same four and same partners for about 2 years now. We actually keep a running tally of wins and losses – currently our opponents are up on us by 1 game with 20 games left to go in the race to 100. The winning team buys the other a tasty Olive Garden meal.

What is it about rook that keeps us wanting to play more? Is it the Olive Garden? For me, rook satisfies two very important things in my life.

1: Camaraderie – Getting together with friends is an extremely important part of my life. If I wasn’t able to get together and spend time with my friends, I would be extremely devastated! I cherish all my friends and rook is just one simple way to get a group together and have some good old fashioned fun together.

2: Competitive gaming – Growing up in a family that always played cards or some sort of games together has placed a fire inside me that only seems to be put out with strategically playing some sort of card game. The rook card game can be an extremely competitive game, and for me this is just what the doctor ordered to keep me from wanting to challenge everyone to a duel!

What is your reason for playing rook? Why do you keep coming back to it week after week?

Bidding Your Opponent Up in Set Partner Rook

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I was recently asked if it was smart to bid up your opponent in a 4 player, set partner, rook game when your partner has passed and you clearly do not have a good enough hand to bid on. Notice, if your partner has already passed and you are the last one from your team in the bidding, you do not want to let your opponents off cheaply. Do not just pass to their early bids without giving a fight. It does not make any sense to give your opponents and easy chance at scoring some decent points without at least having to work for it, or having the possibility of getting set.

Personally, we have a standard bid we will typically go to with almost any hand. In our game of 200 pts per round including the 2s 3s and 4s, this bid is typically 145. Although this has fluctuated from night to night. Some nights the average bid is 155. Some nights it is 135. But most of the time, we are right around 145 on a base bid with marginal hands.

One thing to always keep in mind is your opponents could possibly be baiting you into bidding with powerhouse hands. On a number of occasions, to gain the advantage of a set, one of your opponents may puposefully pass early in the bidding wars to indicate they have a weak hand when in fact they have a strong hand and are likely to set you and your partner.

This all being said, bidding when you do not have a great hand is usually best when your opponents are about to win the game and you need to stop them from going out. You may sacrifice getting set for the opportunity that next round you will get dealt a monster hand that you could possibly shoot the moon with!

Is the Rook Game similar to the Bridge Card Game?

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Rook Game,Bridge

I have been asked a number of times if the rook game is similar to the game bridge. And if they are similar, how so? Well, the truth is, I grew up playing bridge and didn’t even touch rook cards until later on in life. But when I was first tought about the rook card game, I immediately stated, oh, this is very similar to playing bridge. Here’s why:

Similarities Between Rook and Bridge

Set Partners – There are a number of games that involve set partner. But rook and bridge are both primarily a two person team.
Bidding to control trump – As with bridge, there is a lot of power when taking a bid. You have the power to decide what color to go as trump. Even though you are not at the advantage of knowing what color your partner was bidding, you do have the option to choose the best color based on what you see in your hand.
Value in Voids – As with bridge, there is power in not having any of a certain color. If this color is not trump, you are quickly at liberty to jump in and trump a powerful point hand causing some real headaches to your opponents.
Many of One Suit/Color = Good – As expected, a lot of one color/suit, even if they are low can mean a lot for winning a hand. By simply having more trump cards than your opponents, you are guarunteeing a significant amount of power in the round.
A powerful hand often consists of high cards – Even though there is no need to add up the total amount of high cards for point value reference in rook, merely having a lot of high cards is always good. Played correctly, you can often be in conrol of a round to either make a bid, or set your opponent.
Works well for Tournaments – Due to the team nature of both bridge and rook, making a night for playing out a tournament is a blast. So call your friends and break out the music, cause these tournaments can last all night.
Stopping a team from making their bids – Both rook and bridge encourage teams to be defensive. So even when they have not taken a bid, they are paying attention to the entire hand to do their best to stop the opponent from doing what they are trying to do.

Differences Between Rook and Bridge

While there are many similarities between rook and bridge, there are some important differences which call for very different strategies.

Points, not tricks – Bridge is one of the ultimate in strategic team games. Every card is important because you never know when you are throwing away a winner. Yes, there are times in rook where each card laid is important, but when there are no point cards on the board, your strategy as the final player to act is not to try and take the trick, rather your strategy is likely to get rid of a worthless card. Remembering that acting last on any trick is a strong advantage in rook can sometimes help to make close bids.
The Kitty – The kitty is why I sometimes love, and sometimes hate rook. In bridge, you can see your entire hand. There is never a possibility that you will improve or ruin your hand by picking up an unknown set of 5 cards and adding them to your hand. This is what makes getting the kitty more of a gamble rather than a skillful understanding of what is going on during the bidding phases. The kitty makes the game exciting as a hand that players will expect to win can turn into a dud, while a hand that a player expects to lose can turn into a monster. The only downfall to the kitty is that it takes away from some of the strategic play and can often lead to a significant amount of luck.
52 cards compared to 57 cards – Typcial bridge games are played with a regular deck of cards. The rook game does vary depending on who you play with. Some people take out the 2s, 3s, and 4s, making a 45 card deck while the normal rook deck is composed of 57 cards. Do remember this when you are playing the hands because it means there are a lot more trumps to take into account.
Bidding with Colors – In bridge, there is some significant knowledge you gain from your partner’s bid. You can often tell how powerful their hand is but in addtion, you know what suit they are most powerful in. This is very important to gauge how similar your partner’s hand is to yours.
The Bird – Having the bird as an automatic trump and worth added value to a round is ultimately why rook keeps so popular. The bird is constantly on everyone’s mind. Has it been played? Does the person who bid on the round have it in his hand? Does my partner have it? Will we be able to set our partner by just this one bird card? Playing with the extra rook card is a special game. If you are a bridge player and have not yet given rook a try, you must just for the possibility of setting your opponents on a sneaky rook steal.

Best Places to Play Rook: On a Camping Trip

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While nothing beats the comfort of playing in your own home, around a card table set up with perfect lighting, smooth countertops, and endless fresh reverse osmosis water, playing rook with a group of friends on a camping trip can make for some of the best times possible. Sitting next to a campfire, s’mores in your hand, and sitting around a picnic table with your favorite card game.

The rook game is easy for camping because there are a number of games that can be played anywhere from 2 to 8 players. Its also semi-competitive in nature so you can play it for fun, or challenge yourself to some real strategic plays. Being that anyone with a little bit of understanding of card games can pick the concept up really quickly, it makes for including the entire group in a camping trip extremely easy.

So next time you are planning a camping trip out somewhere, make sure you remember to pack your deck of rook cards and let the games begin!

We Want to Hear from You

What are some of your favorite places to play rook?