66 Card Game Rules: How to Play Sixty-Six for 2 Players

These 66 card game rules cover Sixty-six, a fast two-player trick-taking game from Central Europe that is popular wherever card players want a sharp game for two. It uses only 24 cards, a hand lasts a few minutes, and every decision counts: when to win a trick, when to declare a marriage, and when to close the stock and race to 66. Below you will find the standard rules for 2 players, a points table, how game points work and some simple strategy.

Quick rules

• Use 24 cards: 9, 10, jack, queen, king and ace in each suit. Card points total 120.
• Deal six cards each and turn up the next card to set the trump suit. The rest form the stock.
• Play tricks. While the stock lasts you may play any card. After each trick, both players draw, winner first.
• A king and queen of the same suit, shown when leading, is a marriage worth 20 points (40 in trumps).
• Once the stock is gone or closed, you must follow suit and win the trick if you can.
• The first player to reach 66 card points declares and wins the hand, scoring 1 to 3 game points.
• The first to 7 game points wins the game.

What you need

• A standard deck with the 2s to 8s and jokers removed, leaving 24 cards.
• Paper and pen to track card points during the hand (or a good memory) and game points across hands. The scorekeeper works well.

Card points

Within a suit the cards rank in the same order: ace highest, then 10, king, queen, jack and 9. Note that the 10 ranks above the king.

Setup

Choose the first dealer by cutting; after that the deal alternates. The dealer gives six cards to each player in two lots of three, non-dealer first. The next card is turned face up to show trumps, and the rest of the pack is placed face down across it as the stock, so the trump card stays visible.

How to play

While the stock lasts

1. The non-dealer leads to the first trick. The other player may play any card: there is no need to follow suit or to trump.
2. The higher card of the suit led wins, unless a trump is played, in which case the trump wins.
3. The winner of the trick takes both cards face down and draws the top card of the stock. The loser draws the next card. The winner leads next.
4. When only the face up trump card remains, the trick winner takes the last face down card and the loser takes the trump card.

Exchanging the trump 9

If you hold the 9 of trumps, you may swap it for the face up trump card. You can do this only when it is your lead, after you have won at least one trick, and while the stock is still open.

Marriages

1. A marriage is the king and queen of the same suit in your hand.
2. To declare it, lead one of the two cards and show the other. A plain marriage scores 20 points and a trump marriage scores 40.
3. Marriage points count only once you have won at least one trick. If you declare before that, the points are added when you win your first trick.
4. Marriages can be declared only when you are leading. Most rule books still allow them after the stock is closed or used up; some groups allow them only while the stock is open, so agree first.

Closing the stock

When it is your lead and you think you can reach 66 with the cards in your hand, you may close the stock by turning the trump card face down. No more cards are drawn, and the strict rules below apply at once. If you close and then fail to reach 66 before your opponent, your opponent scores 2 game points, or 3 if they had taken no tricks when you closed.

After the stock is gone or closed

1. You must follow suit if you can, and you must play a higher card to win the trick if you can.
2. If you cannot follow suit, you must play a trump if you have one.
3. If the stock ran out naturally (not closed), the winner of the last trick gets 10 extra card points.

Declaring 66 and scoring

As soon as you believe your tricks and marriages add up to 66 or more, you may declare it on your turn. Play stops and both players count. Game points are awarded like this:

If all cards are played and nobody declares, rule books differ. In the classic American rules nobody scores and 1 extra game point goes to the winner of the next hand; other groups give 1 game point to the winner of the last trick. Agree this in advance.

How to win

Keep playing hands until one player reaches 7 game points. That player wins the game.

Variations

• Twenty-card version: remove the 9s and play to 66 with 20 cards and five-card hands. This is the closely related game known as Schnapsen in parts of Europe.
• Three players: the dealer sits out each hand and the other two play.
• Four players: partners sit opposite, all 24 cards are dealt (six each), there is no stock, and players must follow suit from the first trick.
• Marriage points without a trick: some families count marriages immediately.

Tips and strategy

• Keep count. Track your card points as you go so you can declare at the right moment. Declaring early wins the hand before your opponent can catch up.
• Aces and 10s are worth 21 points between them. Try to win your opponent's 10s with your aces, and protect your own 10s.
• Throw 9s and jacks on tricks you do not want to win while the stock is open.
• Hold kings and queens a while; a marriage can give you 20 or 40 points in one go.
• Close the stock when you hold strong trumps and only need a few more points. Closing early can also win 2 or 3 game points against an opponent with no tricks.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting that the 10 ranks above the king.
• Declaring a marriage when not on lead.
• Not following suit after the stock is closed. This is a foul, and many players award the hand to the opponent.

Enjoy trick-taking games? Try 29, another popular game in India, or Pinochle and 500, or browse more card games for two.