Ambition

last updated March 18, 2024

© 2003-2024 Michael O. Church

email: [Link]@[Link]

1. Introduction

Ambition is a 4-player trick-taking card game using the standard 52-card deck.

I invented it in Budapest in September 2003 and published it online at [Link] in

November. In March 2004, it was published in print in the Japanese magazine Nikoli.

Ambition is featured in my 2024 novel, Farisa's Crossing, under the name "ehrgeiz."

2. Objective

The game ends when at least one player scores 100 points ("target score"). The winner is
the player who has scored the most points at that time. If there is a tie, it is not broken.

3. Equipment

You'll need:
●​ a standard deck of 52 cards,
●​ pen and paper to keep score.
●​ poker chips sufficient to count 80 points. A standard setup would be:
○​ 20 white 1-point chips,
○​ 12 red 5-point chips.

4. Terminology

The standard ranking (A-K-Q-J-10-...-2) applies, with special handling of the 2. We call the
top four ranks (A-K-Q-J) honors and the next four (10-9-8-7) high spots; the remainder
(6-5-4-3-2) are low spots.

Each card has a chip value that represents its value when taken in tricks.
5. Starting a Round

Shuffle the deck and deal until the deck is exhausted. Each player will have 13 cards.

Before playing tricks, players pass 3 cards to each other. The passing cycle is: Left, Right,
Across, Scatter, Left....

That is, in the first (and fifth, ninth, if needed) round, each player passes three cards to the
left (and receives three from the right-hand opponent); in the second, three cards to the
right. In "Scatter" rounds, each passes one card each to all 3 opponents.

6. Tricks

Ambition follows typical trick-taking game conventions:

●​ each player puts one card, face up, from her hand into the trick,
●​ in a consistent (e.g., clockwise) order,
●​ and the winner of each trick leads (plays first) to the next.
●​ A player able to play in the led suit ("follow suit") must do so.
●​ The trick is won by the highest-ranking card in the suit led.
●​ After a trick is finished, the cards are put away face down, and points (see later) are
scored.

Each round consists of 13 tricks.

Three rules are specific to Ambition:

●​ kickoff: the first trick is led by the person holding the 3♦; however, they can lead
any diamond.
●​ the 2 in the led suit becomes high, and wins, if an honor in the led suit is played to
the trick.
●​ points taken in tricks are public; the poker chips are used to this end. For example, a
player taking a 7-point trick puts 7 points' worth of chips in front of her.
7. Point values

Each trick has an associated point value, based on the cards played to it.

●​ ♦ and ♥: 3 points for honors (J–A) and 1 point for high spots (7–10).
●​ Spades: 5 points for honors (J–A) and 3 points for high spots (7–10).
●​ The K♣: 13 points.
●​ Low spots and other clubs: 0 points.
●​ An additional 3 points for the first trick.

For example, a first trick of 5♦-7♦-Q♦-A♠ is worth: 3 + 0 + 1 + 3 + 5 = 12 points.

8. Scoring

Points taken in tricks are not the same as points scored, which are the objective of Ambition.
The conversion occurs at the end of the round.

If any player takes 51 or more points (Slam) then she scores 40 points and the other players
score zero. This is fairly rare (about 10% of rounds).

If no player achieves Slam, then:

●​ a single player taking no points (Nil) gets 20 points, but if two players achieve Nil,
they split it (each scoring 10).
●​ a player taking tricks but fewer than 10 points ("understrike") gets 0 points.
●​ a player with 10 or more points, but not the most of the four players, scores points
taken.
●​ a player taking the most (possibly more than one, if tied) scores 0 points
("overstrike").

9. Game-ending condition

At the end of the round, the game ends if any player has a total of at least 100 points.
 Ambition Cheat Sheet
I. Point Values.

A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

♦ 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

♠ 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 3 0 0 0 0 0

♥ 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

♣ 0 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

3 points are added to the first trick, making a total of 80 in a round.

II. Resolving tricks. You must always follow suit if able.

There is no trump, so the highest in the led suit wins, and the Two (2) becomes high (and wins) if
there’s an honor (A, K, Q, J) of the led suit in the trick.

Trick # Lead Follow Winner Points Explanation

1 8♦ Q♦ 5♦ A♦ A♦ 10 3 (first trick) + 1 + 3 + 0 + 3.

2 7♣ 2♣ 10♣ 5♣ 10♣ 0 2 low by default.

3 3♥ 8♥ 2♥ J♥ 2♥ 4 2 high in presence of honor (J♥).

4 9♠ K♣ 2♠ A♥ 9♠ 19 off-suit honors don’t trigger 2.

III. Scoring. 3 ways to do well: take 0 points (Nil), take a lot (Slam), or be in the middle (default).

No tricks: Nil. Score 20 points if singular, 10 each if two players get Nil (but see Slam).
0 to 9 points: Understrike. Score 0 points.
10+ points, not most: Score points taken.
Most of all 4 players; under 51: Overstrike. Score 0 points.
51+ points: Slam. Score 40 points.
 What Is a Trick-Taking Game?
This appendix is for players who've never heard of a trick-taking card game, or who don't
know what it is. The rules explained here apply specifically to Ambition. Other games have
different rules.

A trick is when each player puts one card from his hand into play in a predetermined
(usually clockwise) order. These cards are usually played face up. (In Ambition, the first
trick is played face down, and "led in" Diamonds.)

All players are required, if able, to play in the suit led. This is the most important rule to
remember, because it's one where a mistake won't immediately be caught.

For example, if you hold the hand, 3♦ 5♦ A♦ K♠ 9♥ 2♥:

●​ if the led suit is Diamonds (e.g., the first card played to the trick was 7♦) you have 3
options (3♦, 5♦, A♦).
●​ if the led suit is Spades, you have only one option– the K♠.
●​ if the led suit is Clubs, you don't have any, so you can play any of your cards.

After each player has put one card into the trick, one determines the winner. In Ambition,
that's always the person who played the highest card of the suit led. (There's no trump
suit.) An Ambition-specific rule is that the 2 becomes high when an honor (J, Q, K, or A) in
the led suit is played.

Once the trick is complete and the winner determined, points are allocated to that player,
and the cards are effectively out of play. Since each trick uses 1 card from each player, there
are exactly 13 tricks. The first trick is "led in" Diamonds although there is no leader. The
second and subsequent tricks are led by the player who won the last one.