How To Play Manni


Manni is a trick-taking game which originated in, and is very popular in the country of Iceland. The name Manni translates to, in English, "Small Man". There are also a number of regional variants of the game, which will be described below in the variations section.

Manni is designed for play by three players using a 48 card deck. This deck can be formed by removing the four twos from a standard deck. The ranking of the cards as found in this deck are as follows (from high to low); Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3. Although not actually used during play, the four twos are normally used to display the trump suit for each hand (which changes from hand to hand).

Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be performed using a variety of methods, with a draw for high cards being common. Using this method, each player draws a card from the shuffled deck. If multiple players draw cards of the same denomination these can be further ranked based on suit (highest hearts, then spades, next diamonds, lowest clubs). The players then seat themselves at the table, taking any remaining seat of their choice, in the order of cards drawn. The player drawing the highest ranked card is designated as the first dealer. Thereafter, the role of dealer rotates around the table in a clockwise direction.

Once the initial dealer has been determined that player should thoroughly shuffle the deck and offer it to the player as his right for the cut. After the cut the dealer begins dealing the cards around the table in a counter-clockwise rotation, starting with the player at his immediate left. He deals the cards in packets of four face-down cards to each player, continuing around the table until each player has a total of 12 cards. This will leave four cards remaining in the deck which the dealer then sets in a face-down pile in the middle of the table to form the "manni".

Trump suit progression in the card game Manni After the cards have been dealt, each player then picks up his hand for examination and each player has the opportunity to trade his entire hand with the manni. The player may not look at the manni, however, before deciding to trade, but simply discards his current hand, to the side and out of play, and replaces it with the manni. If the first player chooses not to trade his hand with the manni, the opportunity passes to the next player in a clockwise direction, and if that player elects not to trade, the dealer has the last opportunity to so trade his hand. If no player elects to trade his hand, the cards from the manni are set aside and not used during the hand.

The trump suit used during the game changes for each hand and follows a specific repeating cycle. For the first hand, the suit of hearts is set as the trump suit, for the second hand spades is trump, for the third hand diamonds is set as the trump suit, and on the fourth hand, clubs is the designated trump suit. After the fourth hand, the cycle continues, starting again with hearts, cycling through the same sequence of trump suit designations until the end of the game. To help players be aware of the trump suit for the current hand, the twos are usually used with the two of the appropriate suit exposed on the table.

The player to the immediate left of the dealer leads the first card to the first trick, and each other player, in a clockwise direction then adds one card to the same trick, until each player has added one card to the trick.

The leader to a trick may play any card of choice from his hand to start that trick. Each other player, in turn must play a card of the same suit as originally played to the trick if he has such a card. If he has no such card he may play any card from his hand, including a card of the trump suit if he wants.

After each player has played to the trick, it is determined who wins the trick. The highest card found in the trick of the designated trump suit for that hand will win the trick. If the trick contains no cards of the trump suit, the player of the highest ranked card of the suit originally played to the trick wins it. The won cards from the trick are set aside, out of play, and the winner of each trick leads the first card to start the next trick.

After each hand, scores are calculated for the hand. If a player wins four tricks or fewer we earns no points for the hand. If a player wins more than four tricks during the hand, that player earns one point for each trick over four he managed to win during the hand. These points are added to a cumulative score retained for that player over the course of the game.

Once, at the completion of a hand, one or more players have managed to score 12 or more such cumulative points, the player with the highest total score is declared the winner. If multiple players tie for this highest score, those players are co-winners.

Game Variations and Optional Rules



Hornafjarðarmanni: Hornafjarðarmanni is a variant of Manni which is played in the south-east of Iceland, and is often played in a tournament setting. This version is also played by three players, however, in this version the twos are not removed from the pack and thus the entire 52 card deck is used. The ranking of the cards in this deck are as follows (from high to low); Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

Determination of the first dealer and seating positions can be performed in the same manner as for standard Manni. Before the deal, however, the cards must be cut by the player at the dealer's right. The cutter must show the bottom card of the upper packet from the cut to all players, as this card will be used to determine the trump suit for the hand. Designation of trump suit

During the deal, the dealer deals out four hands, one to the manni in the center of the table and one to each of the players. He deals them in packets, four to the manni and packets of three to each player. The manni gets the first packet of cards, and then dealer deals out the packets to the remaining players. This continues until the manni has 16 cards and each player has a total of 12 cards. As mentioned previously, in this game the trump suit is solely determined by the card cut by the cutter during the deal. Thus, the specific trump suit to be used for the game is directly dependent on the card exposed, as follows: After the deal, the players, starting with the player at the dealer's immediate left, have an opportunity to trade cards with the manni. The first player may exchange up to seven card with the manni, but is not required to discard any if he does not prefer to. The next player may exchange up to five cards with the manni, and is also under no compulsion to trade any if he prefers not. Lastly, the dealer may trade up to as many cards as are remaining in the manni from his hand. A player may not look at the cards in the manni, and the cards are drawn from the top of the manni. Cards discarded from the hand for replacement are set aside, face-down and out of play.

After the round of card trading, play of the hand begins, with the player to the immediate left of the dealer leading the first card to the first trick, and each other player contributing one card remaining in his hand to the trick, in a clockwise rotation around the table.

The leader to a trick may play any card of choice from his hand. Each additional player then plays to the trick in turn. If a player has a card of the suit originally led to the trick he must play it. If he has no such card, he may play any card from his hand, including one from the trump suit (if the hand is played using a trump suit).

The trick is then examine to determine the winner of that trick. The player of the highest card in the trump suit wins that trick. If the trick contains no cards from the trump suit, the player of the highest card of the suit originally led to the trick wins the trick. Cards won in tricks should be set-aide and out of play. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick. It should also be remembered that if the hand is being played nóló, the Ace is considered the lowest card in each suit.

After all tricks have been played and won, scoring for the hand occurs. If the hand is not played at nóló, each player wins one positive point for each trick he managed to win over four. If the player wins fewer than four tricks, he earns one negative point for each trick won under four. In the event that hand is played at nóló, the goal of the players is to win as few tricks as possible, and thus a player earns one negative point for each trick won in excess of four and earns one positive point for each trick fewer than four he won during that hand. The positive and negative points earned by a player should be recorded for each player independently on the score sheet.

Once any player has managed, over the course of multiple hands to score 10 or more positive points, the game ends. Each player then subtracts his total negative points from his total positive points to result in his final, total score for the game. The player with the highest score (above zero) is declared the winner of the game. If multiple players tie for the highest score, those players are co-winners of the game.

Trjámann: Trjámann is another Manni variant which is played somewhat differently from the standard game, and is also quite popular in many areas of Iceland. As in the other variants of Manni, this game is designed for three players, each playing independently.

The same method for determining seating positions and first dealer can be used as is in the basic game of Manni. The game uses the full 52 card deck which are ranked in the following order (from high to low); Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

In this version, exactly 16 hands are played, with each player being the dealer exactly four times. Thus during each deal, the player to the immediate left of the dealer must declare one of four allowable declarations for the hand. He may only declare each type one time, thus each declaration type will be declared exactly four times.

In this variant, the dealer deals out 16 total cards (in packets of four cards each) to each player, leaving four cards remaining to form the face-down manni at the center of the table.

After the cards are dealt, the player to the immediate left of the dealer then declares the contract to be used for this hand. As mentioned previously, he may not select a contract which he has already chosen during the current game. After declaring his contract he may (but is not required to) exchange up to four cards from his hand (discarding them aside and out of play) in exchange for an equal number of cards from the top of the face-down manni. He may not look at the cards exchanged for until he adds them to his hand. Any cards he elects to not exchange, are set aside and not used for the remainder of this hand.

The declarer leads the first card to each trick, and in so doing may lead any card remaining in his hand. Each other player, in a clockwise rotation then adds one card from his own hand to the same trick. If he has a card of the same suit as originally led to the trick, he must play such a card. If he does not have a card of that suit, he may play a card of any suit, including one from the trump suit.

The trick is won by the highest card of the trump suit (if applicable) played to the trick. If the trick contains no cards of the trump suit (or the hand does not have a trump suit), the trick is won by the highest card of the suit originally led to that trick. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.

As in Hornafjarðarmanni, each player has a positive point total and an independent negative point total, and the appropriate points are added to these totals at the end of each hand, as appropriate. The following chart shows the possible scoring opportunities in each hand:

Game TypeDeclarer's ScoringOpponent's Scoring
Grand1 positive point for each trick won above eight
1 negative point for each trick less than eight won		1 positive point for each trick won above four
1 negative point for each trick won fewer than four
Spades (♠)1 positive point for each trick won above eight
1 negative point for each trick less than eight won		1 positive point for each trick won above four
1 negative point for each trick won fewer than four
Other (♥ ♦ ♣)1 positive point for each trick won above eight
1 negative point for each trick less than eight won		1 positive point for each trick won above four
1 negative point for each trick won fewer than four
Nullo1 positive point for each trick won fewer than four
1 negative point for each trick won more than four		1 positive point for each trick won fewer than six
1 negative point for each trick won more than six
            Scoring in the game Trjamann

After 12 hands have been played (with each player dealing exactly four times and having declared each hand type once), the game ends. Each player than subtracts his cumulative negative points from his cumulative positive points to determine his final game score (which may be above or below zero). The player with the highest score above zero is declared the game winner.

Laugavatnsmanni: Laugavatnsmanni is a variant of Manni which is played rather similarly to Trjámann.

Determination of first dealer and seating positions can all be done as in Trjámann, with the player drawing the highest card set as the first dealer.

This variant also uses the full 52 card deck which are ranked in the following order (from highest to lowest); Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

In Laugavatnsmanni, exactly 18 deals are played, with each player dealing exactly six times. In addition each dealer must declare and play each of the six different deal types one time during the game. The following are the deal types which can be declared during the game:

To start each hand, the dealer deals out 16 total cards (in four card packets) to each player, leaving four remaining cards in the deck to form the face-down manni which is placed at the center of the table.

Exchanging cards from the manni in Laugavatnsmanni After the deal, the player at the dealer's immediate left must then announce the contract he will play, which can be any of the contract types he has not yet announced and played on a prior hand during the current game. After the announcement, however, one of the other two remaining players may "overcall" his announcement by declaring he intends to play a "Great" contract. This is similar to the standard contract types, however the player making this declaration will have an obligation to win more tricks during the hand. A "Great" contract can be in Grand, Spades, Hearts, Clubs, or Diamonds. A player may not attempt to overcall and call a Great contract for a contract he has already contracted for previously during this same game. After a player other than the original announcer declares a "Great" contract, the original announcer may overcall this announcement by declaring he will play a Great contract of his own (which can be of any contract type he has not yet previously played during the current game). In addition, if the player to the left of the declarer announced a "Great" contract, and the original declarer did not also call a Great contract, the dealer can overcall that second player by also announcing a Great contract. However, the contract type he announces must be of a higher rank than that of that second player. For this purpose, the ranking of the contract announcements are as follows (from highest to lowest): Grand, Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, Clubs. In addition, the announcement cannot be of a contract type that player has already declared during the current game.

After the specific contract (or "Great" version of a contract) has been determined for the hand, the contractor for the hand has the option to discard up to four cards from his hand (off to the side and out of play), and take an equal number of cards from the top of the manni. He is not obligated to make such a card exchange, however. Any cards not exchanged from the manni are also set aside, out of play.

To begin play of the hand, the contractor for the hand leads the first card to the first trick. Each additional player, in a clockwise rotation then plays one card from those remaining in his hand to that same trick, with each player contributing one card to each trick.

The leader to a trick may play any card of choice that still remains in his hand. Each other player must play a card of the suit originally led to the trick if the player has such a card. If they do not, they may play any card from the hand, including a card of the trump suit.

After each player has played one card to the trick, it is determined which player has won the trick. The player of the highest card in the trump suit wins the trick. If the trick contains no cards of the trump suit, the highest card of the suit originally led to the trick wins it. The leader of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.

After each hand, each play may win or lose a number of points based on the contract type and the number of tricks won. The following chart shows the requirements for each contract type and the score earned or lost by the players in that type:

Game TypeDeclarer's ScoringOpponent's Scoring
Grand1 positive point for each trick won above eight
1 negative point for each trick less than eight won		1 positive point for each trick won above four
1 negative point for each trick won fewer than four
Spades (♠)1 positive point for each trick won above eight
1 negative point for each trick less than eight won		1 positive point for each trick won above four
1 negative point for each trick won fewer than four
Hearts (♥)1 positive point for each trick won above eight
1 negative point for each trick less than eight won		1 positive point for each trick won above four
1 negative point for each trick won fewer than four
Diamonds (♦)1 positive point for each trick won above eight
1 negative point for each trick less than eight won		1 positive point for each trick won above four
1 negative point for each trick won fewer than four
Clubs (♣)1 positive point for each trick won above eight
1 negative point for each trick less than eight won		1 positive point for each trick won above four
1 negative point for each trick won fewer than four
Great GrandIf declarer wins all 15 tricks, 4 positive points are earned by declarer
If declarer wins all 16 tricks, 8 positive points are earned by declarer
If declarer wins fewer than 15 tricks, he earns 1 negative point for each trick less than 15 won		If declarer managed to win fourteen tricks, each opponent earns two negative points
If declarer wins all 16 tricks, each opponent wins 4 negative points.
If declarer wins fewer than 15 points, each opponent earns one point for each trick won above 1
Great Spades (♠)If declarer wins all 15 tricks, 4 positive points are earned by declarer
If declarer wins all 16 tricks, 8 positive points are earned by declarer
If declarer wins fewer than 15 tricks, he earns 1 negative point for each trick less than 15 won		If declarer managed to win fourteen tricks, each opponent earns two negative points
If declarer wins all 16 tricks, each opponent wins 4 negative points.
If declarer wins fewer than 15 points, each opponent earns one point for each trick won above 1
Great Hearts (♥)If declarer wins all 15 tricks, 4 positive points are earned by declarer
If declarer wins all 16 tricks, 8 positive points are earned by declarer
If declarer wins fewer than 15 tricks, he earns 1 negative point for each trick less than 15 won		If declarer managed to win fourteen tricks, each opponent earns two negative points
If declarer wins all 16 tricks, each opponent wins 4 negative points.
If declarer wins fewer than 15 points, each opponent earns one point for each trick won above 1
Great Diamonds (♦)If declarer wins all 15 tricks, 4 positive points are earned by declarer
If declarer wins all 16 tricks, 8 positive points are earned by declarer
If declarer wins fewer than 15 tricks, he earns 1 negative point for each trick less than 15 won		If declarer managed to win fourteen tricks, each opponent earns two negative points
If declarer wins all 16 tricks, each opponent wins 4 negative points.
If declarer wins fewer than 15 points, each opponent earns one point for each trick won above 1
Great Clubs (♣)If declarer wins all 15 tricks, 4 positive points are earned by declarer
If declarer wins all 16 tricks, 8 positive points are earned by declarer
If declarer wins fewer than 15 tricks, he earns 1 negative point for each trick less than 15 won		If declarer managed to win fourteen tricks, each opponent earns two negative points
If declarer wins all 16 tricks, each opponent wins 4 negative points.
If declarer wins fewer than 15 points, each opponent earns one point for each trick won above 1
Nullo1 positive point for each trick won fewer than four
1 negative point for each trick won more than four		1 positive point for each trick won fewer than six
1 negative point for each trick won more than six

After all 18 hands have been played, and each player having declared and played each contract type once, the game concludes. Each player then subtracts his total of negative points from his total of positive points to calculate his grand total for the game. Whichever player has the highest grand total (above zero) is declared the overall game winner. If multiple players tie for this highest total, these players are co-winners of the game.

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