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Pilotta (in Greek ) is a
trick-taking A trick-taking game is a card game, card- or tile-based game in which play of a ''Hand (card games), 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 ...
32-
card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...
derived from
Belote Belote () is a 32-card, trick-taking, ace–ten game played primarily in France and certain European countries, namely Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia (country), Georgia (mainly Guria), Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, North Mac ...
.''Pilotta''
at
pagat.com Pagat.com is a website containing rules to hundreds of card games from all over the world. Maintained by John McLeod, it contains information for traditional, commercial, and newly invented card games from all over the world. It has been describ ...
. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
It is played primarily in
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
, being very popular among the Cypriot population, especially the youngsters, who usually arrange “pilotta meetings” in places such as cafés and cafeterias. Its counterpart played in Greece is named Vida (in Greek ).


Rules


Declaring the dealer

First, the 32-card
Piquet pack A Piquet pack or, less commonly, a Piquet deck, is a pack of 32 French suited cards that is used for a wide range of card games. The name derives from the game of Piquet which was commonly played in Britain and Europe until the 20th century and is ...
is
shuffled Shuffling is a technique used to randomize a deck of playing cards, introducing an element of chance into card games. Various shuffling methods exist, each with its own characteristics and potential for manipulation. One of the simplest shuff ...
by the
dealer Dealer may refer to: Film and TV * ''Dealers'' (film), a 1989 British film * ''Dealers'' (TV series), a reality television series where five art and antique dealers bid on items * ''The Dealer'' (film), filmed in 2008 and released in 2010 * ...
and then
cut Cut or CUT may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** ...
by the player to the left. The cutter is assigned hearts and moving on anticlockwise the players are assigned a suit in the order: > > > ♠. If the suit which made the cut is hearts, for example, then the player who shuffled and cut the deck will be the dealer. If it was spades, then the person on the left of the shuffler is the dealer. At the end of each turn, the player on dealer's left becomes the new dealer.


Deal

The cards are dealt anticlockwise; first, 3 cards are given to each player, starting with
eldest hand Card players are those participating in a Card game#Hands, rounds and games, card game. Various names are given to card players based on their role or position. Position Games of Anglo-American origin In games of Anglo-American origin pla ...
(on the dealer's right) and ending with the dealer himself. Then, another 2 cards are dealt, and then another 3.


Bidding

Starting with eldest hand, players bid on the score they expect to gain. The player with the highest bid is eligible to decide the trumps for the game. Bidding is typically performed in increments of 10, with the lowest opening bid being 80. There is a more recent variation to the game known as Pilotta Palaristi, which reintroduces a point-based bidding system.


Playing

The player who bids first in the bidding round is the one who leads. The leader may play any card. The next player has to
follow suit 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 ...
if possible. If the player cannot follow suit, a trump card must be played. If s/he hasn't any trump card, any other card can be played. If a trump card is played the other 3 players are required to play a higher trump if they have any. Each player plays a card and the one with the highest rank wins them all. Every trump wins any non-trump. The rank of trumps from highest to lowest is given by J 9 A 10 K Q 8 7 while the rank of non-trumps is given by A 10 K Q J 9 8 7.


Scoring

Usually the score ends when the first team reaches 351 points. In some cases, the limit can go up to 400 points if the players want to pursue a "lengthy" game, or correspondingly lowered to 251 and even 151 points if they are in a hurry, or just want to finish quickly. Usually one of the four players is responsible to keep the score for the whole game for the two teams.


Bonus declarations

In Pilotta there are some specific rules of play when it comes to scoring bonuses, called 'declarations' (Greek: δηλώσεις). Below are all of the possible bonus-earning declarations (from lowest to highest): *''Three in a row'' (20 points): this can be either 7,8,9 (of diamonds for example) and it gives 20 points. *''Belote'' (20 points): If the players holds the King and the Queen of the suit which has been declared as the leading suit, i.e. trumps, then he immediately score 20 extra points (When a player holds the Belote, nobody can deny him those extra 20 points, even if the opponent holds four Jacks, and even if the opponent makes a Capot©. Also, the player can declare the Belote whenever he melds it, not at the start of the first round as all of the others.) *''Four in a row'' (50 points): the same as having 7,8,9 with the only difference that the player need to also hold the 10 to complete four in a row, which scores 50 points. *''Five in a row'' (100 points): Holding 5 cards of the same suit in a row scores 100 points. *''Four of a kind'' (100 points): If the player is holding four Aces (A), four Kings (K), four Queens (Q) or four Tens (10), he immediately scores 100 points. *''Four nines'' (150 points): This is a special case; Nines give 150 points if the players holds all four nines. *''Four jacks'' (200 points): This is a special case; Jacks give 200 points if the player holds all four of them. Holding three cards in a row scores the same points (20) as if one had an Ace, a King and the Queen of the same suit, with the only difference that the sequence with the Ace is stronger than the one holding the 9 and would 'beat' the opponents' hand, therefore cancelling their 20 points and making the Ace's sequence the only valid one between the two. Declarations must be spoken on the first turn (the game has 8 turns, or tricks) and shown on the second trick, just before the player plays his card. If he decides to show the cards (for example four Aces) just after he has played his card, then immediately the points are not counted.


See also

*
Klaverjas Klaverjas () or Klaverjassen () is a Dutch four-player trick-taking card game that uses a Piquet pack of 32 playing cards. It is closely related to the game of Klaberjass (also known as Bela) and is one of the most popular card games in the Net ...
*
Whist Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play. History In 1674, '' The Complete Gamester'' described the game Ru ...
* Prefa *
Coinche Coinche (), also called belote coinchée (), is a variant of the French belote. The rules of the game are the same, but there are differences in how cards are dealt and how trumps are chosen. Like most popular games, coinche rules may differ ...
(the closest version of Pilotta)


References

{{Reflist


External links


''Pilotta''
at islandofcyprus.net.

at
pagat.com Pagat.com is a website containing rules to hundreds of card games from all over the world. Maintained by John McLeod, it contains information for traditional, commercial, and newly invented card games from all over the world. It has been describ ...

''Rules of Pilotta''
at agrino.org. Lebanese card games Jass group