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Rentz Rules & How to Play

Rentz is a four-player card game made up of seven different rounds. In the CardsGames version, each player chooses each round type once, so a complete match lasts 28 rounds.

Objective

Each Rentz round has its own goal. Some rounds reward you for winning tricks; others ask you to avoid tricks or particular cards. In the Rentz round, players build card sequences and try to empty their hands. Your round scores accumulate, and the player with the highest total wins the match.

Players, cards and turn order

Rentz uses four players and a 32-card deck: 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace in each suit. Each player receives eight cards. The player choosing a round leads the first trick, except in the Rentz round, which begins with the Jack of Clubs.

In trick-taking rounds, players act clockwise. Follow the suit led when you can. If you cannot follow it, you may play any card. The highest card in the lead suit wins the trick, and that player leads the next one. There is no trump suit in these Rentz rounds.

The first round is chosen by the human player. The chooser rotates clockwise after every round. Each of the four players chooses each of the seven round types once.

The seven rounds and scoring

  1. Totals: Avoid tricks and penalty cards. Each trick is −25 points; each Queen captured in a won trick is −50; the King of Hearts is −200; and each Diamond captured in a won trick is −25. Penalties in the same trick are added together.
  2. Whist: Win tricks. Each trick is worth +25 points.
  3. Diamonds: Avoid capturing Diamonds. Each Diamond is −25 points. The round ends when all Diamonds have been captured.
  4. 10 of Clubs: Capture the 10 of Clubs to score +200 points. The round ends when it is captured.
  5. King of Hearts: Avoid capturing the King of Hearts; taking it costs −200 points. The round ends when it is captured.
  6. Rentz: Empty your hand before the other players. Finishing first scores +400, second +300, third +100, and last 0 points.
  7. Queens: Avoid Queens. Each Queen captured in a trick costs −50 points. The round ends when no Queens remain to be captured.

How the Rentz round works

The player holding the Jack of Clubs places it first. After a Jack is down, the adjacent card above or below it in that suit can be played, building a sequence outward from the Jack. Any other Jack can start its own suit sequence when played.

  • An Ace gives the same player another turn if they still have cards. Consecutive Aces can grant consecutive extra turns.
  • A 7 skips the next player who still has cards.
  • If you have no legal card, your turn passes.

The round ends when three players have emptied their hands. The remaining player receives 0 points.

How to play Rentz on CardsGames

Start or resume a match against three computer opponents. When you are the round chooser, select an unused round type. In trick-taking rounds, follow suit when possible and consider which cards the round rewards or penalizes. In Rentz, play a legal card in one of the open suit sequences.

Ready to play? Play Rentz online.