How to Play Goofspiel

How to Play Goofpsiel Goofspiel is a strategic game created by Merrill Flood in the 1930's. This game is also commonly known as GOPS which is an acronym for Game of Pure Strategy. Although the rules and play for Goofspiel appear to be quite simple, there are an almost endless number of possibilities for strategy during play of each hand. For this reason, there have been quite a few thesis papers and detailed analysis reports written about this game, particularly in the realms of game theory and artificial intelligence.

Goofspiel is designed for two or three players, but can easily be adapted for more with the addition of another deck (see variations section below). The basic game uses the standard 52 card deck which is divided in a specific manner. First, the entire suit of spades is removed, shuffled and placed face down as the Prize pile. Then, both players each receive a complete set of cards (Ace through King) in a separate different suit, which forms their hand. For the two player version, one suit is set aside and not used in the game. The object of this game is to capture the most prize points at the end of the hand. Players earn these points by capturing prize cards through a silent and hidden bid for each prize card. Each card has a certain point value the player will earn if they successfully capture that particular card. The value and ranking of the cards in the Prize pile are detailed on the following chart:

  
CardPoint Value and Card Rank
Ace1
22
33
44
55
66
77
88
99
1010
Jack11
Queen12
King13

Each hand consists of 13 rounds, coinciding with the 13 prize cards. Thus, to begin, the dealer exposes the top card of the Prize pile. Each player then selects a card from their hand and places it face down in front of himself, to represent his bid for the exposed prize card. After all players have had the opportunity to place their bid card, they all simultaneously expose their card. The player with the highest value card bid wins that Prize card. All the players bid cards are removed from the table and further play in the hand. The Prize card is then placed face-up near the player who won it in their Trophy pile. In the event that two or more players tie for the top bid on the card, no player wins that Prize card and it is discarded along with the bid cards.

The dealer then exposes the next card of the Prize pile and the players again place a card face-down in front of themselves from their hand representing their bid for the Prize card. The hand continues in this way until all 13 Prize cards have been bid on and the players have played their last card from their hand.

At the end of the hand, the player who has captured the most points from Prize cards is declared the winner. If multiple players tie for the top score, the game is considered a tie.
Variations and Optional Rules

Alternate Rules on Tied Bids: There are numerous methods on dealing with multiple players tying for the high bid on a card from the Prize pile. In the base game described above, when there is a tie, the card is discarded, however there has not been universally acceptance of any specific rule regarding ties. The following are some additional rules that might be used in the case of a tie in the high bid for a card from the Prize pile: Tied bids are common in Goofspiel
Goofspiel for 4 or More: This game can also be played by more than 3 players. In this case an additional deck should be added. Each player would still receive a full set of cards (Ace to King) in one suit. Since multiple players may be using cards of the same suit, players should be careful to keep their cards in front of them self when bidding. Since each additional player increases the odds for tied bids, seven should be the maximum number of players in one game.

No Shuffle Prize Pile: In some variations, the Prize pile is not shuffled before the bidding, thus each player will know the exact order in which the Prize cards will appear. It should be decided upon before the game if the Prize pile cards should be arranged in descending (King to Ace) or Ascending (Ace to King) order.

Trophy Piles Face down: In the standard variation of the game, the Prize cards won are placed face up in a players Trophy Stack. In this version, the cards are placed face down and no player is allowed to look at any Trophy stack until the end of the hand.

Blind Goofspiel: This version of Goofspiel adds a large element of the unknown. The card from the Prize pile to be bid upon is placed face down before the bidding. Thus, the players do not necessarily know the denomination of the card they are bidding on. Only after the bids are made is the card revealed and the winner adds the card to his own Trophy pile. The cats originally thought they had solely invented this game, but while doing further research this version of the game was found in an analysis of Goofspiel from 1970 from the University of Berkeley.

Defeat the Dealer: This version of the base game which was created by the cats, takes the Blind concept even further. This version is similar to Blind Goofspiel, however before bidding on each card begins, the dealer has the privilege to view the card, but no other player may see the cards denomination. After the dealer views the card, he must then be the first to bid, also playing his bid card exposed. After the dealer places his exposed bid on the table, the remaining players all place their bid card face down. After all remaining players have placed their card all these cards are exposed simultaneously by the players. As before the highest bid wins that card. The game ends after each player has had the opportunity to be the dealer for one hand. After this time, the player with the highest cumulative total score is considered the winner.

92 Makes Game: In some variations, instead of each deal being a separate game, players may play to a certain total, with the first player obtaining or exceeding that total at the end of a hand considered the overall game winner. As there is 91 total prize points in each hand which the players vie for, a possible total for winning the game might be 92 points. If more than one player reach or exceed this total at the end of a hand, the player with the highest total is the game winner.

Winning tricks in Divide and Conquer Divide and Conquer: Although it does not appear this game is directly related to Goofspiel, this game plays very similarly and is played with each player having full knowledge of the cards in each other's hand. The game was designed by invented by Canadian Claude Soucie and later published in Sid Sackson's groundbreaking book A Gamut of Games.

The game uses only 10 cards in play, which consists of one Queen, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. The suit is irrelevant so the cards could be all of one suit or mixed suits. The game is designed to be played by two participants.

Once the special 10 card deck has been created, these cards should then be thoroughly shuffled and five cards dealt to each player. Each player will then pick up his hand for examination. Since all cards from the deck are used in play, once viewing his own hand, the player will also know exactly what cards his opponents has as well.

To begin each round, both players then select any card remaining in his hand and plays it to the center of the table, face down. Once both players have placed such a card on the table, both cards are then exposed. The following rules determines which card wins this trick: Note that the Queen is considered to have a numerical value of 12.

After the winner is determined, the cards are set aside, each card on the table near the player who won them. These cards should be face-up and exposed so they are clearly visible during the remainder of the hand by both players. After all 5 tricks have been played and won, the cards are then returned to the original hand they were dealt. The hands are then swapped with the players now having the opposite hand as in the previous round.

After two rounds are played (with each player having each of the hands one time), the game is concluded. The player who captured the most of the tricks is declared the winner. If both players captured the same number of tricks the game is considered a tie.
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