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The card game Rook was introduced by Parker Brothers in 1906. Though I wouldn't say it is a highly popular game, it can be a very fun game to play. The card game Rook is intended for ages teen and older in that it may be too complicated for a young child to learn.

The Rook playing card deck is similar to a traditional card deck in that it has cards in four different suits. These suits are black, red, yellow and green, and each suit has 14 cards. There is also a special card called the rook bird that acts much like a joker. This rook bird cards has a picture of a rook bird on it.

Objective and Points:
The object of the game is to win tricks with the highest point value, and the first team to reach 300 wins. Not all cards have a point value. The only cards that have point values are the 5's, 10's, 14's and the rook bird card. Each 5 card is worth 5 points, 10's and 14's are worth 10 points, and the rook bird card is worth 20 points.

Getting Started:
Like many card games, 4 people split into 2 groups of partners, and sit opposite of each other. You must not show your cards to anyone. The dealer takes all 1's, 2's, 3's and 4's out of the deck and adds the rook bird card to the deck for a total of 41 cards in the deck. After the dealer shuffles the deck, the dealer deals one card to every person and then one card into what is called the nest(in Euchre it is called a kitty). The dealer continues doing this until there are 5 cards in the nest and the rest of the cards can be dealt out to the players normally.

Bidding:
After the cards have been dealt the person to the left of the dealer starts off bidding on how many points he may be able to get, by looking at his cards. Bids are to be made in 5 point increments starting at 70 points, and continue around the table until you have a highest bidder with a maximum of 120 points. A player is allowed to pass if they do not wish to make a bid. The highest bidder gets to pick up the nest and add it to his hand and then decide which 5 cards to discard to the side(which is generally something other than trump), and then the highest bidder gets to call trump.

Playing The Game:
The person left of the dealer lays a card in the middle of the table, and players (clockwise)each play a card trying to win the trick. The player with the highest card wins the trick. The Rook Bird card is the highest trump card and will beat anything an opponent lays down. All players must follow suit, and can only play a trump card if a trump card was lead, or if they have no more cards of the suit led in their hand. The person who wins the tricks, leads in the next round. The player who take the last trick in the round, gets to take the nest and receives any points that may be in it. When all the cards are played, you count up the points.

As with any game, there are many different variations to the Rook game. This game is a great alternative to Euchre or any other card game you and your guests may usually play.

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