rookgame

From the table

Strategy, tournament stories, and family game nights — articles from the rookgame.com archive, going back to 2010.

  • Thanks to Rook, I’m Married!

    For all you single guys and girls out there, looking for “the one” to walk into your life, you probably would not have guessed that playing rook would be ultimate in strategies for meeting that special someone.  Well, guess what, neither did my wife and I, but thanks to a mean little bird game called…

  • Playing Rook on Your PC

    Growing up, Rook was the game we played the most in my house.  I had three older brothers (8, 10, and 12 years older), and when they would come home for the holidays, we would always play Rook.  Rook was also played by my cousins.  One summer, my cousin, Danny, and my brother, J.B., were…

  • Aggressive Bidding Scenario

    Here’s a real game scenario.  We were playing set partner rook the other day as we usually do and my partner and I found ourselves relatively close in score with our competition at 240 pts to 210 pts in the middle of a heated rook game to 500.   During this next had, the bidding was…

  • The Joy of Setting

    OKay, so setting is not the kindest of things to enjoy, but there is a very satisfying feeling when your opponent calls trump as black, and you look down at your hand to see 5 black including the 1 and 13, and you know this is going to be a tough day for your partners.…

  • Table Talk

    Table talk is a term used to refer to partners giving clues about their hands through comments they say across the card table. For the most part, these are passing comments that are not necessarily meant to give away their hand, but by deduction, a partner can gain information. This might be something like asking…

  • Using the Kitty or Nest

    One of the major uncertainties with playing rook is dealing with the kitty.  These 5 cards can sometimes make or break your hand.   There is no real way to know whether or not the kitty is going to help or hurt your hand when bidding, this is what makes rook so fun.  There is some…

  • Bidding Strategies

    It is wise to remember that the more information you have from your partner, the more you can expect help or not having any help at all.   For example, if you are the first person to bid, you can often give your partner a bit of information about the strength of your hand by your…

  • Pulling Trump

    It is highly recommended that if you are the bid taker, you should attempt to pull all trump from your opponents and ensure you get the bird in the process. Pulling trump can be done simply by leading high trump early in the round. The strategy behind pulling trump is that you as the bid…

  • Playing Rook Online

    Rook is currently available to be played online in one main place. Here at rook game, we do not actually participate in this online community for one main reason. This online rook game does not play the style of rook we like. The main difference is they play with rook being the highest trump. Also,…

  • Counting Points

    Counting points can sometimes be the key to winning or loosing. When you are looking to set an opponent or simply make your bid, being aware of how many points you have, how many points are still out there, and how many you are wiling to loose is what will make you win or lose…