Agram is a popular

trick-taking game A trick-taking game is a card- or tile-based game in which play of a ''hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of that trick. The object of suc ...

within the last trick group. Agram originates from

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

and is related to card games in other regions of the world, including ''Spar'' or ''Sipa'' in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

and West Africa, and a variant ''Sink-Sink''. In

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

it is called ''Fapfap''. Agram is typically played with two to four people; however, it can be played with up to five (as there are only 35 cards in the deck and each player receives 6 cards, five players is the maximum). Agram is an unusual trick game in that the winner of the last trick in the round, wins the round.

Rules

Setup

Agram uses the Aces, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, and 2 of each suit of the deck. The ace of spades is removed from the deck. The ace of spades is commonly referred to as the "Chief." The remaining 35 cards are shuffled and placed into a deck.

Dealing

Each player is dealt six cards in two sets of three cards by the dealer.

Play

The player to the left of the dealer leads with a card of their choice. The player to their left then follows with their card. If possible they must follow suit; however, if they are unable to, they may play a card of any suit. If the card played does not belong to the original suit, it has no value. After this player plays a card the remaining players each play a card, staying in order. The player who has the highest card of the original suit (suit of the leading card of the round) wins the trick. The player who wins the trick leads with a card for the next trick, and play continues to the left of the leader.

Scoring

The player who wins the sixth/final trick wins the round. There is no convention as to how many rounds are played to decide the winner.

Variations

Sink-Sink

Sink-Sink is commonly played in

. What distinguishes it from Agram is that each player receives five cards instead of six. These cards are dealt in one set of three and another of two.

Agram (Mali)

Agram is played slightly differently in

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. Only 31 cards are used: the Ace (not Ace of Spades), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7. Five cards are dealt (as in Sink-Sink) and the game is played in the same way. However, there is one main difference, the ranking of the cards is very unusual. The ranking is as follows: A, K, 10, Q, 9, 8, J, 7.

Bibliography

References

{{Trick-taking card games Nigerien card games Last trick group