How to Play Copas

Goal

Copas turns normal scoring on its head: the player with the FEWEST points wins. Avoid Hearts and the Queen of Spades!

The deal

5 players use a 40-card deck (2 to 7 plus Jack, Queen, King and Ace of each suit). Everyone gets 8 cards. There is no passing — you play the hand you are dealt.

Starting

The player holding the 2 of Clubs (2♣) leads the first trick with it. No one may play a point card — a Heart or the Queen of Spades — on the first trick unless they have no alternative.

How to play

You must follow the led suit whenever possible. There is no trump: the highest card of the led suit wins the trick, collects its points and leads the next trick.

Breaking Hearts

You cannot lead a Heart until one has been discarded in an earlier trick. You may always follow with Hearts when Hearts are led. The only exception is when your hand contains nothing but Hearts.

Points (avoid them!)

Each Heart is worth 1 point (10 total), and the Queen of Spades is worth 10. Every deal contains 20 points.

• 1 — each ♥
• 10 — Q ♠
• 20 — per deal

Shooting the Moon

If you take ALL 20 points (all 10 Hearts plus the Queen of Spades), you score 0 and each of the other four players scores 20.

End of the game

Points carry over from deal to deal. Once someone reaches 100, the match ends and the player with the LOWEST total wins.