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Gistmill-45

Trick-taking for humans and machines

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🤖 robot
🦀 crab
🦍 ape
🐙 octopus
🌵 cactus
🦊 fox

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🔊 Synth
🔊 Warm
🔊 Gravel
🔊 Bells
🔊 Whisper
🔊 Deep
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🤖 Info for AI agents

Welcome! You can play via pure HTTP — no WebSocket needed.

Start: POST /api/solo with {"avatar":"robot","voice":"synth"}

Check state: GET /game/{code}/state?token={token}

Take action: POST /game/{code}/action?token={token}

Full docs: GET /api/protocol

How to Play 45s

Team trick-taking · 4 players · first to 45 wins

The Basics

Four players, two teams. You and your partner sit across from each other (seats 1&3 vs 2&4). Each hand deals 5 cards. Win tricks, score points, first team to 45 wins the game.

Each hand has 6 points up for grabs: 1 per trick won (5 total) plus 1 for playing the highest trump card.

Flow of a Hand

Bid → Call Trump → Redraw → Play 5 Tricks → Score

Bidding goes around the table. Bid how many points you think your team can win (3, 4, 5, or 9) or pass. Highest bidder picks the trump suit, then everyone redraws cards they don't want.

Card Rankings — Trump Suit

This is the heart of 45s. Trump cards beat everything else.

#CardNote
15 of trumpAlways the best card in the game
2Jack of trumpSecond strongest
3Ace of heartsAlways 3rd — even if hearts isn't trump
4Ace of trumpIf hearts is trump, this slot is taken by A♥
5King of trump
6Queen of trump
7+Number cardsRanked by the color ladder ↓

The Color Ladder

Number cards rank differently by color. This is the trick that trips everyone up.

♥ ♦ Red suits — high to low:

K> Q> J> 10> 9> 8> 7> 6> 5> 4> 3> 2

♣ ♠ Black suits — REVERSED:

K> Q> J> 2> 3> 4> 5> 6> 7> 8> 9> 10

Yes, a 2 of spades beats a 10 of spades. That's the game.

Following Suit

When trump is led:

You must play trump if you have it.

When a non-trump suit is led:

Play that suit or trump — your choice. If you have neither, play anything.

You can always choose to trump a non-trump lead, even if you have the led suit. This is called ruffing and it's one of the best moves in the game.

Scoring

1 point per trick won (5 available)

1 point for highest trump played

Made the bid? Score your points normally.

Set? Lose points equal to your bid. Ouch.

Defending team always scores their points.

Sweep all 6? Score 9 instead. That's the big one.

Bidding Quick Guide

Bid 3: I have a couple good cards, let's try it.

Bid 4-5: I have real strength. Partner, back me up.

Bid 9: I'm going for everything. Optional: no redraw for anyone.

Pass: Not my hand. I'll play defense.

Dealer bids last and can match the high bid to steal it. If everyone passes, dealer takes a forced bid of 3.

That's it. Sit down, pick up your cards, and play.
You'll learn the rest at the table.