Objective of the Game "41"
The card game 41 involves trying to accumulate as few points as possible over several rounds by cleverly collecting and trading cards. Each player aims to quickly collect four cards of the same suit.
Game Materials
- A standard 52-card deck (no jokers, consisting of four suits: hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs).
- A score pad or paper to note points.
Setup
- Shuffle: The deck of cards is shuffled well.
- Deal: Each player is dealt five cards. The remaining cards are placed face down as a draw pile in the center.
- The top card of the draw pile is turned face up to start an discard pile next to it.
Gameplay
- Player turn: The player to the left of the dealer starts, and play proceeds clockwise. Each player has two options:
- Draw a card: The player can draw either the top card from the draw pile or the top card from the discard pile.
- Discard a card: After drawing, the player must discard one card from their hand onto the discard pile to maintain five cards in their hand.
- Goal Achievement: Once a player collects four cards of the same suit and ends their turn, they indicate this. Then, every other player gets one final turn before the game ends.
Scoring
- After a player collects four cards of the same suit, all players count the face values of their remaining cards.
- Suits have no additional scoring value.
- The face values represent the points a player earns (penalty points):
- Face cards (Jack, Queen, King) count as 10 points.
- Cards 2 through 10 count as their numeric value.
- The Ace counts as 11 points.
- The goal is to avoid accumulating a total of 41 points or more over multiple rounds. The first player to reach 41 or more points loses. All other players are winners.
Strategic Tips
- Focus on collecting suits that seem to be forming most easily from your initial cards.
- Try to hold low value cards if the game ends without having collected four of the same suit.
- Keep an eye on the discard pile to enhance your chances of obtaining the fourth card of your suit.
