1 · The cards
29 uses 32 cards — the 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king and ace of every suit. The jack, not the ace, is the strongest card, and only four ranks carry points:
Seven points in each suit, 28 in the deck — the game is named for the variant that adds one more. Card order, highest first: J · 9 · A · 10 · K · Q · 8 · 7.
2 · Seats & teams
Four players, two teams, partners facing each other: you and North are Peacock, East and West are Clay. Play moves anti-clockwise — the seat on your right goes next, exactly like the physical table.
Four cards each, then bidding, then four more cards. Up to eight tricks per round; a settled result ends the round early.
3 · The auction
Holding your first four cards, you bid the points your team promises to win — from 16 up to 28. Bidding starts on the dealer’s right and runs anti-clockwise; each bid must beat the last, and passing is always allowed. If all four players pass, the cards are thrown in and redealt.
The winner of the auction is the bidder. They choose the trump suit — and keep it secret.
4 · The hidden trump
The bidder slides one card of the trump suit face-down under their hand. Nobody else knows the suit. Until it is revealed, a trump played is just a plain card — the hiding matters.
A player who cannot follow the led suit can ask to reveal the trump and must then play a trump if they hold one. Playing a trump never reveals it automatically, even when the bidder plays it.
5 · Marriage — the king and queen
After the trump is revealed and their team has taken a trick, a player holding its king and queen can declare a pair. For the bidding team, a contract of 19 or more falls by 4, with a floor of 16. A defending pair raises the target by 4, capped at 28. Online, a qualifying pair is declared automatically; computer play keeps the confirmation.
6 · Play a trick — slowly
You sit South, partnered with North — team Peacock. East and West are Clay. You won the auction at 17 and tucked away hearts as the hidden trump. Step through the first two tricks.
7 · Scoring a round
A round ends after at most eight tricks, or earlier when its result cannot change. Count the points your team took. The bidding team must reach the adjusted target:
One oddity worth knowing: if any player is dealt all four jacks, the hand is thrown in and redealt.
8 · The six counter
The score is kept the way real tables keep it: a red six stands upright for a plus score, a black six for minus, and a face-down card slants 22° across it, hiding pips. The pips still showing are the score.
The app draws exactly this on the table. First sight of it and any 29 player knows the score.
9 · Winning the match
Rounds repeat, the counters move. The first team to reach +6 wins the match — and a team dragged to −6 loses it on the spot.
−6 loses on the spot ← start at 0 → +6 wins the match
10 · Variants the app honours
- Seventh-card Trump
- The bidder’s seventh dealt card becomes the trump, sight unseen.
- Last-trick Point
- The final trick carries one extra point — 29 in all, the game’s name.
- No Trump
- The bidder may declare the round has no trump at all.
- Double & Redouble
- Opponents may double the stakes; the bidding side may answer back.
- Single Hand
- A confident bidder plays the round alone, partner’s cards face down.
Every table picks its variants before the first deal, and the app states them plainly in the room — nobody discovers a house rule mid-hand.