This article selects the contributor-documented Niger version at Pagat. Play is anticlockwise; Bicycle describes a clockwise version.

← On a small screen, scroll the diagram horizontally. →

Each player begins with six cards; the undealt remainder is set aside unused. Play one trick in the centre, without drawing. Fans and piles are schematic; the rules specify card counts.
Each player begins with six cards; the undealt remainder is set aside unused. Play one trick in the centre, without drawing. Fans and piles are schematic; the rules specify card counts.

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Prepare the deal

Two to five people play. Remove kings, queens, jacks, twos and A♠ from a standard pack, leaving 35 cards. Rank: A, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3. There are no trumps; the highest spade is the ten.

Agree on the first dealer. The player on their right cuts. Give everybody six cards in two batches of three, and set unused cards aside face down.

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Playing and winning

The player on the dealer’s right leads; continue anticlockwise. Follow the led suit if possible. Otherwise play anything. There is no duty to beat the current highest card. The highest card of the led suit wins, and its player leads next.

Play six tricks. Whoever takes the sixth wins the deal, regardless of earlier tricks. A single deal cannot tie. Its winner deals next.

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An original final-trick example

Three players have 7♣, A♣ and 10♣ left. The seven leads, followed by the ace and ten. The ace wins the deal, even if its owner took no earlier tricks.

Now replace the ten with A♥. The club ace still wins: the heart cannot beat the led suit. If the player holding A♥ also had 3♣, they would have to play that three instead. The weakness of a card does not remove the obligation to follow suit.

Try replaying this ending with the three hands visible. Identify the winner before touching the cards, then change just one suit. This separates card rank from suit eligibility without requiring a long explanation.

← On a small screen, scroll the diagram horizontally. →

The final, sixth trick; no trumps. A: 7♣; B: A♣; C: 10♣. A leads 7♣, B follows A♣ and C follows 10♣. B captures the final trick and wins the deal.
A leads 7♣, B follows A♣ and C follows 10♣. B captures the final trick and wins the deal.

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Background and nearby versions

Agram is documented in Niger, with related games in Mali and Cameroon. Keep regional rules separate. Sink-Sink uses five cards and makes the fifth trick decisive.

For a first practice deal, lay all hands face up. Before each response, name the cards that may legally be played. In the next deal, hide the hands and consider whether an early winning card helps create a useful lead for the ending.

Common questions

Can an off-suit ace win?+

No. There are no trumps.

Does taking the most tricks win?+

No. Only the sixth decides this version.

How long is a match?+

The selected rules treat each deal as a game. Agree separately on any series length.