Kozel♠

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Pack, partners and deal

Seat 4 players in 2 fixed partnerships opposite one another. Use 36 cards, 6 through ace. Ordinary rank is A, 10, K, Q, J, 9, 8, 7, 6, worth 11, 10, 4, 3, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0. The 6♠, shokha, overrides every ordinary card, including the trump ace, but is worth 0. The pack totals 120 card points.

Our procedural agreement chooses the first dealer randomly and rotates left after every deal. Shuffle, let the right neighbour cut, deal 4 singly to each clockwise, then expose the next card as trump. Put the remaining stock face down across it; the indicator is drawn last. Dealer’s left leads first. Do not make Bura’s early point claim or instant-win declarations.

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Single and multiple leads

Lead from 1 to 4 cards, all of the same suit; shokha may join any single-suit group as a wildcard. Everybody responds with exactly the same number. There is no duty to follow suit, trump or overtake, even after stock ends. A higher card of the same suit beats an ordinary card; trump beats any non-trump and shokha beats any other card.

To take over the trick, match every card of the current winning group with a distinct beating card of your own. A response need not itself be one suit. If no complete matching exists, the group cannot win, however strong some of its cards are. Lead face up and expose a response only when taking over; all losing responses go face down. You may voluntarily play a potentially winning response face down, forfeiting its winning power. The last successful takeover, or the original lead if none, collects all cards.

Do not inspect the hidden cards before final counting. Refill to 4, singly in clockwise rotation starting with the winner, using the indicator last. Winner leads next unless displaced by a valid special declaration. When stock ends, keep playing without drawing until all hands are empty. Here complete drawing circuits leave equal-sized hands, so the lead never exceeds another player’s remaining cards.

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Moskva and Molodka

After drawing, a player may show a qualifying whole hand before the next lead and take the lead. Moskva contains 4 aces/tens, with at least a genuine ace; shokha may replace a ten. Four tens alone do not qualify. Molodka contains 4 cards of one suit, or 3 of a suit plus shokha. Moskva has priority; between equal declaration types, priority follows clockwise from the player normally due to lead. The claimant makes a legal lead; the declaration itself neither wins the deal nor scores points.

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Penalties and elimination

After all cards are played, partners combine captures and reveal them: totals must sum to 120. The higher card-point total scores 0 penalties. Losers score 2 penalties with at least 31 card points; 4 with 30 or fewer but at least a trick; 6 with no trick. A 60–60 tie gives both partnerships 2.

Accumulate penalties across deals. A partnership reaching 12 loses, leaving the other as winner. If both reach or exceed 12 in the same deal, eliminate only the side with more penalties. If their penalty totals remain equal, continue until a deal separates them; the lower total then survives. This is the source’s simultaneous-elimination rule, not a fresh zero-score match.

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Beat every card separately

Hearts are trumps. A player leads J♥ and 8♥. Q♥ with 6♠ can beat the group: queen beats jack, shokha beats eight. Q♥ with 7♥ cannot: after queen beats jack, seven cannot beat eight. In a separate deal, losing with 30 card points and a trick means 4 penalties; with 31 it means 2.

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

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Context and other games with this name

Pagat records this profile from Alexander Tvaladze alongside the related multi-card Bura tradition. That contribution documents rules rather than an exact inventor or place of origin. The name means “goat”, but does not identify a universal rulebook. A monetary Kozel on the same page allows different leads and instant wins; ordinary partnership variants without shokha are also not this profile. Keep the named version beside the score sheet.

Common questions