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Review: Rook

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The mass-market games in the background are appropriate for this easy-to-acquire gem of a card game.

It’s not often that I admire marketing copy. In fact, I often consider myself immune to tricks and gimmicks (though for some reason I want a ShamWow…) and doubt the effectiveness of most advertisements. But even though I already owned a copy of Parker Brothers’ Rook game, I bought the newer version because of the marketing copy, mostly so I could read it aloud before each game. In order to get the full effect, or at least to understand why I love it so much, try reading it in a deep, gravelly voice, emphasizing each time “rook” appears in all capitals:

A blaze of lightning. A wind turned cold. Beware the power of the Rook. The eerie black bird can make all the difference. Four players (options for two, three, five, or six). Partners or not. You bid. You name trump. You take tricks (when you’re lucky and smart). But beware the wild ROOK! When he lands, everything can change. A classic game. (A favorite since 1906. Oh, my!) Easier than bridge. More challenging than Hearts. Custom-designed cards. Gorgeous. Perfect for a dark, stormy night. Bring home the ROOK card game and find out.

Then, after reading this, it’s necessary to read the front of the box in a shrill, scared-sounding voice: “It’s only a card game, but I’m feeling an odd chill in the air!”

Does the game live up to its marketing copy? Well, judging by my admission that I already own two copies of this game, you can guess that yes, it does. But humor me.

How It Works

Rook is a partnership tricks-and-trump game. Before each hand, players bid to name trump. Whoever names trump gets the “nest,” a collection of cards set aside while dealing that can be integrated into the bidding player’s hand. (It is also a place to bury trump or short-suit yourself—if you dare!) There are certain cards that have point values attached to them, with 200 points available in each round. There are four colored suits, each ranging from 1-14 (1 being the highest card in each suit, followed by 14, 13, and so on).

In addition to these four suits, there is a special Rook card, which is what sets this game apart. The Rook card is worth the most points of any card in the game—20 points (that’s 10 percent of a round’s points!). It is also a trump card. The question is, how should the Rook be played?

There are some variations and disagreements on how to use the Rook card. My family prefers to play with Rook being the lowest trump card. The Rook, then, is a fragile vase that must be protected by larger trumps and is completely up for grabs—anyone can get the points. Others play (wrongly, in my opinion—sorry, college friends!) with the Rook card being the highest trump, meaning that whoever is dealt the Rook card is dealt a boon, a card that cannot be captured (essentially an easy 20 points). And I’ve heard of Rook in the middle, with the Rook card being higher higher than a 10 but lower than an 11. But this just seems silly.

Starting with the player who names trump, players lead tricks with cards from their hand. The other players must follow suit if they can; they may play any card in their hands if they are out of the suit led. The trump suit always beats any other suit, so naming trump is a huge advantage…which is also why bidding for it is important.

The game is over when one team (or player) hits 500 points. That team (or player) wins!

@FarmerLenny’s take:

If my family has a family game, it is probably either PinochleDutch Blitz, or Rook. What’s special about Rook is that it could be called my family’s game on both sides of the family. Pinochle and Dutch Blitz are games that my immediate family adopted after playing them with my dad’s side of the family; Rook spans the full family tree.

I wasn’t kidding about that marketing copy…

Rook is a great card game. Unlike, say, Pinochle, the rules of which dictate exactly which card you must play (within suit and higher, if possible), the rules of Rook are wide open—you follow suit when you can, and if you can’t, you can play whatever you want. There is also no pre-round melding: what you bid is what you have to take (harder than it sounds). And then there’s the nest. Is what you need to complete your hand buried in the nest? Or does your partner have it? Or is it in an opponent’s hand? The excitement of gambling (though without the “house-always-wins” loss of cash) is present in the pre-round bidding, and what you think you’ll name trump can change when you see what’s in the nest.

I like all of the game’s variations and how easy they are to incorporate. You can play Rook high, low, or in the middle. You can have set partnerships or play “Pick Your Partner,” where the bid-winner names a card he or she does not have, and the player who has that card is the partner. Called partnerships can be open or blind, honorable or dishonorable (though don’t expect my sister to play with you again if you stab her in the back).

What you get in the box.

But why I really like Rook is all the memories that surround it. Like I said, I played Rook with both sides of my family, with my high school friends, with my college friends, with my suburban friends, and on and on. On high school trips we played late into the night, so slaphappy and tired that we were bidding outrageous amounts, 160+, every round—and sometimes making it. After I learned the Pick-Your-Partner Rook variation, there was a resurgence of interest in my family, and it didn’t matter how short or long a time we had together—Rook was hitting the table. We played with my grandma in the nursing home and tried to encourage her to start a league. She never did, but we played with her at every visit, and while in all other circumstances she was the sweetest woman, she was a ruthless card shark when she played Rook. (She even called me a louse once in the midst of a fierce bidding war, something I never let her forget.) Toward the end of her life, when she seemed so weary, Rook was one of the few things guaranteed to lift her spirits. In fact, laughter and high spirits never seem far away when Rook is out, despite the gloomy text on the box. Rook is a great game for conversation: the rules aren’t difficult, and the game almost disappears in the talking that happens over cards.

It’s hard to divorce Rook from all my memories of it, so my opinion of the game is likely skewed. But that’s okay. The reason I play games in the first place is the interaction with others, and Rook, in that respect, pays off in spades.

This review originally appeared in modified form on Tongue Fried Goat.

Summary

  • Rating 7.5
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Summary

Pros

  • Wide open options
  • Fast playing
  • Interactive
  • Lots of satisfying risk/reward
  • Many variations easy to include
  • Allows for conversation

Cons:

  • Watch out for sharks!
7.5 Good

I'll try anything once, but my favorite games are generally middleweight Euros.

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