Quadrille is played by four players all playing independently. The deck will be created by removing the 8's, 9's, and 10's from a standard 52-card deck. This leaves a total of 40 playing cards. The ranking of the cards in this deck are directly dependent on the trump suit used for the hand. Before the start of the game, each player should be provided an equal number of chips or counters (such as 40).
Before each hand, each player must place one chip in the center pile. The dealer then shuffles the deck and offers it for the cut. After the cut, they then begin the deal. They first deal a packet of three face down cards to each player, then a packet of four, and lastly a second packet of three (totaling 10 cards each). After each player has their cards, the bidding phase of the game begins, starting with the player to the dealer's immediate right. A player may pass or make a bid. If a player passes they may no longer participate in the bidding for the current hand. There are three possible bids a player can make during this bidding phase (shown in the following chart from lower to higher):
- Alliance --- This is the lowest bid which can be made during a hand. It is a bid to win a minimum of six tricks during the hand and have the opportunity to play with a partner. He does this by calling out a specific King or Queen he does not have in his hand. Whichever player has this card becomes his partner but does not announce this, with it only becoming apparent once the called card is played to a trick. The bidder also may select any suit of his choice as trump for the hand.
- Solo --- This is also a bid to win a minimum of six tricks but playing solo with no partner. The bidder may select any trump suit to be used during the hand. The first player, on his turn, to make this bid immediately becomes the bidder and names the trump suit to be used for the hand.
- Vole --- This is a contract to win all 10 tricks during the hand. This bid is rarely used during the actual bidding phase, as most players will bid the Solo, and then during the hand opt to continue for the Vole (see below*).
*If all four players pass, the player who has the Ace of Spades in hand must make an Alliance bid (called Forced Spadille). The difference, however is that before calling trump, the bidder calls for the missing King or Queen from his hand. The player who has this card in his hand then becomes the partner of the bidder but that player does not yet announce himself. However, if the bidder does not opt to declare trump he may ask his partner to do so, thus making it obvious which of the other players is his partner. This player is then obliged to declare the trump suit for the hand.
*The one exception to playing a card of the suit led is in the case of the Matadors. If a non-Matador trump card has been led to a trick a player is not obliged to play it, and if having no other trump cards but Matadors, may play a card from a side suit instead. Similarly, if a lower Matador is led to a trick the holder of a higher Matador is not required to play it. However if a higher matador is played to a trick and the only cards of the trump suit another player has are lower Matadors, he must play it to the trick on his turn.
After the last bid has been made (all others electing to pass), play of the hand begins. If the high call was an Alliance call, the player who made that call will name the suit to be used for trump during the hand. After doing so, he then names a specific non-trump high card (usually a King, sometimes a Queen) he lacks in his hand. The player who has this card in his hand becomes the partner of the player but does not announce this, it only becoming apparent after the called card is played to a trick. If the call was Solo or Vole, the high bidder simply names the trump suit to be used for the hand.
The three highest trump cards are called Matadors and the fourth highest card of the trump suit is called Ponto.
As mentioned previously, the ranking of the cards is dependent on the suit that the Soloist declares as the trump suit for the hand. The following shows the ranking of the cards based on the trump suit declared:
If Hearts or Diamonds is the trump suit, the trump suit is as follows (ranked high to low):
- Ace of Spades
- 7 (of Trump suit)
- Ace of Clubs
- Ace (of Trump suit)
- King (of Trump suit)
- Queen (of Trump suit)
- Jack (of Trump suit)
- 2 (of Trump suit)
- 3 (of Trump suit)
- 4 (of Trump suit)
- 5 (of Trump suit)
- 6 (of Trump suit)
If Clubs or Spades is the trump suit for the hand, the trump suit is as follows (high to low):
- Ace of Spades
- 2 (of Trump suit)
- Ace of Clubs
- King (of Trump suit)
- Queen (of Trump suit)
- Jack (of Trump suit)
- 7 (of Trump suit)
- 6 (of Trump suit)
- 5 (of Trump suit)
- 4 (of Trump suit)
- 3 (of Trump suit)
In the non-trump suits, the normal ranking is as follows:
In the suits of Hearts and Diamonds, the ranking from high to low is: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
In the suits of Clubs and Spades, this ranking, from high to low, is: King, Queen, Jack, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
PLAY:
After the trump suit has been determine for the hand, the player to the immediate right of the dealer plays the first card to the first trick. He may play any card from his hand. Each subsequent player, in a counter-clockwise direction, then plays one card to the trick. If a player has a card of the same suit as that played to the trick he must play it (with one exception, see below). If he does not have such a card he may play any card of his choice to the trick, including a card of the trump suit. The highest card of the trump suit played to the trick wins it. If the trick contains no cards of the trump suit, the highest card of the suit led to the trick wins it. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.
The one exception to playing a card of the suit led is in the case of the Matadors. If a non-Matador trump card has been led to a trick a player is not obliged to play it, and if having no other trump cards but Matadors, may play a card from a side suit instead. Similarly, if a lower Matador is led to a trick the holder of a higher Matador is not required to play it. However if a higher matador is played to a trick and the only cards of the trump suit another player has are lower Matadors, he must play it to the trick on his turn.
If the high bidder made a Solo bid or an Alliance bid, and he himself wins the first 6 tricks, he can immediately claim the game. If however, he elects to continue playing he then attempts to win all 10 tricks (called going for the Vole). Both of these events will affect the scoring, as discussed below. Similarly, in an Alliance bid, if the high bidder and his Alliance partner win the first six tricks, they must discuss amongst themselves if they want to continue playing in an attempt to earn the Vole. Of course, if the Alliance partner has not yet played the called for card he must at this time announce that he is the Alliance partner by showing the called for card.
SCORING:
After play of the hand has been completed, the hand is then scored. The scoring is dependent on whether the high bidder (and his Alliance Partner if applicable) has won the hand. If he does manage to win the hand (capture six tricks):, he scores as follows:
- The high bidder wins all the chips in the center of the table. He may also win bonus points as follows:
- If the High Bidder bid a solo or Vole and had all three Matadors in hand, each other player must give him one chip.
- If the High Bidder had all three Matadors as well as the fourth highest trump card, each other player must give him two chips.
- If the High Bidder wins the first six tricks in a row, each other player must give him one chip.
A predetermined number of hands should be played (such as 40), after which the players count the total number of chips he possesses. The player with the most chips is declared the game winner.
