How to Play Albastini
Albastini is a trick-taking game from Tanzania. Albastini can be played by varying numbers of players, with the four player partnership version being the most common. Thus, this variant will be described first, and the versions designed for 2, 3, 5, or 6 players described in the variants section below. There is also a variation of the game using a special 72 card deck which contains cards in eight different suits. However, since that is a proprietary version of the game, requiring a special deck, that version is not described on this page. The four player game is played using one standard 52 card deck in which all cards of rank 2, 8, 9, and 10 have been removed, leaving a 36 card deck for play. The ranking of the cards in this deck are as follows (from highest to lowest): Ace, 7, King, Jack, Queen, 6, 5, 4, 3.

Bidding in the game Albastini It is customary for the player who is hosting the game to be set as the first dealer. Thereafter, a player from the winning team will be set as the dealer for the next game. As this is a partnership game, determination of partnerships can be performed using a variety of methods, with draw for high cards commonly used. In that method, each player would draw a card from the shuffled deck, and the players drawing the two highest cards would play as partners, opposed by the players drawing the two lowest cards. Each player should sit at the table directly across from his partner.

Once the players have been seated, the designated dealer for that hand would then thoroughly shuffle the deck and offer it to the player at his right to cut. After the cut, the dealer would then begin distributing the cards. He deals the cards, one-by-one and face-down, with the player at his immediate left getting the first card and continuing around the table in a clockwise direction until each player has a total of five cards. The dealer then places the remainder of the deck in a face-down pile near the center of the table.

The players then pick up the hands for examination. Each of the two opponents of the dealer, starting with the opponent at the left of the dealer, has the opportunity to attempt to guess what the trump suit for the hand might be (called "bidding" in this game). He does this by taking any card from his hand and placing it face-up in front of himself on the table. Each player from the opposing team, in a clockwise direction around the table (starting with the player to the left of the dealer) thus places such a card. Each such bid must be of a different suit than that of any other previous bid on that hand. In the four player game, both opponents will thus place a card of a different suit on the table. These players are not obligated to make this bid and may also opt to decline or pass.

After this bidding, the dealer then turns over the top card from the face-down, unused deck. The suit of this card sets the trump suit to be used for this hand. If any player's bid card is of the same suit as this exposed trump card, he must immediately take the trump card into his hand, and leave his bid card face-up on the table. Players whose bid card were of a different suit simply take their bid card back into their hands. If any player was able to exchange his card for the exposed trump card, that player's bid card is placed partially under the unused remainder of the deck, or if no opponent had made a bid of that suit, the original exposed trump card is instead placed partially under the unused remainder of the deck.

The player to the immediate left of the dealer leads the first card to the first trick. Each other player, in a clockwise direction then plays one card to that same trick. When playing a card to a trick, each player can play any card in the hand to that trick, with no obligation to play a card of the same suit as originally led to the trick. Each card is played face-up on the table, to the trick.

After each player has played one card to the trick, it is determined who managed to win the trick. The highest card in the trump suit (if the trick contains any such cards) is considered the winner of the trick. If the trick contains no cards from the designated trump suit for the hand, the trick is won by the player of the highest card in the suit originally led to that trick. The winner of the trick is said to "eat" the trick. He places the cards from the trick in a face-down pile in front of himself. The winner of each trick then leads the first card to start the next trick. Before leading to the next trick, however, each player, starting with the winner of that last trick draws the top card from the undealt pack. The draw continues in a clockwise direction around the table. The last card to be drawn will be the exposed trump indicator card. Once there are no more cards to be drawn, play will continue with just the cards remaining in the hands. In Albastini, the play of all players to one trick is called a round.

After all the tricks in the game have been played and won, the game is scored. Each team combines all the cards won by both partners in that team. The teams then sort through these cards and earn a total number of points for the game based on cards captured. Each card in the deck has a relative point value, as per the following chart:
Card scoring values in Albastini           
CardPoint Value
Ace11 Each
710 Each
King4 Each
Jack3 Each
Queen2 Each
6, 5, 4, 30
Whichever team manages to earn a higher total number of captured points during the game is declared the winner. If each team captures exactly 60 points, the hand is a tie.

Depending on the scores of the players the winning team will win a number of Victory Points. If the opposing team has scored 20 or more points during the game, the winning team earns one Victory Point. However, if the opposing team has scored less than 20 total points during the game, the winning team scores two Victory Points. These Victory Points should be added to an accumulated score for each team, and at the end of the game session, the team with the higher number of Victory Points is declared the overall session winner.

After each game, one member of the winning team is set as the dealer for the next game. Amongst players on the same team, the role of dealer should alternate amongst these players. If the game ends in a tie, the same dealer should deal again.
Variations and Optional Rules

Two Player Albastini: Albastini can also be played by two participants. Obviously, there are no partners in the two player version, with each player playing for himself. In addition, the following changes are the only differences in the two player variant: Other than these few differences, the two player variant is played identically to the four player version as described above.

Three Player Albastini: Albastini can (and often is) played by three individual players. The following are the differences of the three player version than the four player version as described previously: In all other aspects, the three player variant is played exactly the same as the four player variant described at the top of this page.

Five Player Albastini: Albastini is also available as a five player card game. Again, this five player version is played very similarly to the four player version, with the following exceptions: Beyond these differences, the five player version is played the same as the four player game.

Alabastini for Six Players Six Player Albastini: Albastini is sometimes played by as many as six players. This version is always played as a partnership version. However, the game is either played using three teams consisting of two players each, or two teams consisting of three players each. The following outlines the differences of this game from the standard four player variant described above: In all other aspects, the six player variations of Albastini is played identically to the four player variant.

                     
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