Preference

About this board game

Preference is a 3–4 player card game with an approximately 120-minute play time, played with a 32-card Bavarian deck. First released in 1802, it is played throughout central Europe and Russia, with major Croatian, Austrian, and Russian varieties.

This description follows the Croatian version. Each suit has a predetermined value: Leaves are worth 2, Bells 3, Hearts 4, and Acorns 5. The dealer deals ten cards to each player and places two cards in the talon, or crib.

Players bid in turn, naming a suit as trump or choosing the 6 game, in which the declarer attempts to take no tricks, or the 7 game, which has no trump suit. The highest bidder becomes the declarer, takes the two talon cards, discards two cards, and must then take six tricks to fulfill the bid or a higher contract.

• Opposition: Other players may enter the hand and must try to take two tricks.
• 援助: If only one player opposes the declarer, that player may request help from the other non-declaring player while taking all resulting bonuses or penalties.
• Doubling: A player may offer “kontra” to double the stakes, with “rekontra” and “sukontra” allowing further doubling.

Non-bid hands create a double-scoring round in the next hand. Players usually begin with 100 points each, and play continues until the combined total of all three players reaches zero. Tricks taken while opposing a contract affect the final tally, scoring points for the opposing player and against the relevant players.

With its contract choices, changing trump possibilities, and escalating stakes, Preference turns every deal into a contest of judgment and trick-taking pressure.