Estimation Rules

Estimation is a game for 4 players in which the standard international 52-card pack is used. The game is normally played counter-clockwise. The objective of the game is for players to try to estimate the number of tricks they can get in each round. The game ends after round 18.

Cards and Dealing

13 cards are dealt to each player, the cards in each suit ranking from low to high: 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - J - Q - K - A.

Bidding

The bidding is split into 2 types: normal bidding and fast bidding. Normal bidding is used in the first 13 rounds of the game, and fast bidding is used in the last 5 rounds.

Normal Bidding:

Bidding starts with the game creator and moves counter-clockwise. If a player lacks one suit (or more), they have to either choose to re-deal the cards or declare an "Avoid".
Players bid in turn according to the estimated number of tricks they think they can get, or declare a "Dash Call", which means that the estimated number of tricks is zero. Players have to declare their trump suit along with their bid.
The winner of the bidding round is the player who estimates the highest number of tricks. In case of a tie, the trump suit is used to determine the winner. The suits are ranked from high to low: No Trump (NT), Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs. After the winner is determined, players are given a chance to estimate the number of tricks they will get based on the trump suit that was selected. The maximum number of tricks a player can estimate is the number estimated by the winner of the bidding round.

Fast Bidding

Rounds 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 are accelerated rounds during which players are only asked to declare "Avoid" (if applicable) then sent straight to estimation (i.e. no bidding). Trump suits are predetermined in these rounds:

Round 14: No Trump (AKA: Sans)
Round 15: Spades
Round 16: Hearts
Round 17: Diamonds
Round 18: Clubs

Notes

If a player estimates 0 tricks in the estimation round, it's called a "Dash".
No more than 3 players can declare a "Dash Call" in any given round.
The total number of estimated tricks CANNOT equal 13. This means that the last person to estimate (called the "Risk") is not shown the number that would make the total estimated tricks equal to 13.
If a player estimates the same number as the winning bid, they are marked as "With".
If 2 or more players are marked "With" the round scores are multiplied by 2.
In the 13th round all scores are multiplied by 2.
If the round is Folded during the Bidding phase the round is cancelled and the next is multiplied by 2.
In the last 5 rounds, the highest "Estimator" is treated as the bidder.
In the last 5 rounds Trump can only be changed if a player calls 8 or more tricks.

Play

The winner of the bidding round leads the first trick and players must follow suit. Each trick is won by the highest card and the winner of each trick leads the next.
Players unable to follow it have the option to use "trump" cards, which are considered the highest among other cards. The winner of the trick is the player who uses a trump, unless a higher trump is used.
The round ends when players are out of cards.
If no players win (i.e. no one gets their estimated number of tricks) then no scores are added and players move to the next round in which the score is doubled (A "No Win" round).

Scoring

There are different ways of scoring an Estimation game, written are the ones used by this application.
Future updates will allow the user to modify how the game is calculated.

Winning

A "win" is when a player gets EXACTLY the number of tricks he estimated or bid

If the bidder (or the "with") wins, he earns points = Tricks + 20.
If any other player wins, they earn points = Tricks + 10.
If the player that wins is the "Only" player, he earns a bonus of 10 points.
If the "Risk" wins, he earns a bonus of 10xR points based on how far his estimate is from the estimate that would have made the total estimates 13.
    If 1 or 2 then R = 1
    If 3 or 4 then R = 2
    If 5 or 6 then R = 3
    If 6 or 7 then R = 4
If a player wins with a "Dash Call" in an overbid round, he earns points = 23 and points = 33 in an underbid round.
If a player wins with a "Dash" he earns points = 10.
If a player wins with 8 tricks or more he earns points = Number of Tricks squared.

Losing

A "loss" is when a player does not get EXACTLY the number of tricks he estimated or bid.

If the bidder loses, he loses points equal to the difference between his call and the number of tricks collected + 10.
If any other player loses, they lose points equal to the difference between his call and the number of tricks collected.
If the player that loses is the "Only" player, he loses an additional 10 points.
If the "risk" loses, he loses an additional 10xR points.
If a player wins with a "Dash Call" he loses points = 23.
If a player loses with a "Dash" he loses points = 10.
If a player wins with 8 tricks or more he loses points = Half the number of Tricks squared.