Objective of the Game
Spoil Five is a traditional card game popular in Ireland. The main objective is to win the most tricks and accumulate points needed to reach a predefined score (usually 25).
Materials
- A standard 52-card deck is used, and jokers are excluded.
- Player count: Ideally played with 3 to 5 players but can accommodate 2 to 10 players.
Setup
- Randomly choose a dealer or decide by agreement.
- The dealer shuffles the deck and deals out five cards to each player, one at a time in clockwise order.
- The next card is turned up to determine the trump suit for that round. This card remains visible on the table.
Card Rankings
- Ace is the highest card, followed by King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 in the trump suit.
- In non-trump suits, the Ace has no special value and ranks below a two.
Game Play
- The player to the left of the dealer starts the game. They can play any card.
- The remaining players must follow suit, playing a card of the same suit if possible.
- If unable to follow suit, a player may play a trump card to win the trick or discard any other card.
- The winner of a trick is the player who played the highest trump card. If no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led wins.
- The winner of a trick leads the next trick.
Scoring
- Points are earned for winning tricks.
- A player earns one point per trick won.
- If a player wins all five tricks in a round, they get a bonus, allowing them to score five points and possibly additional bonuses.
Winning the Game
The game ends when a player reaches or exceeds the set score, usually 25 points.
Strategic Tips
- Keep track of the trump suit to know when to effectively play a trump card.
- Try to play Aces of other suits early, as they are only strong when that suit is led.
