The trick-taking game Partout uses a 42-card deck that consists of 36 traditional number cards (1-9 in four suits) along with six special cards: King, Queen, Harlequin, Dungeon, Mathematican, Alchemist. Players compete in two-player teams over six or eight rounds, and whoever ends up with highest score wins. In each round, players are dealt a hand of seven cards (ten cards for a three-player game), then the first and second player of the round announce the trump number and trump color. Players must state how many tricks they expect to win, then teammates add their claims together ; teams have to reach their summed number of tricks to score important bonus points, the value of which depends on the initial claim. The playing and winning of tricks uses mostly standard trick-taking rules, with the exception that you don't have to follow the lead suit. Instead, the highest card wins the trick, which leads to often unpredictable victories because the six special cards have different skills. To win the game, teams have to estimate the risk of stating the expected tricks, use the special cards cleverly, and harmonize as an unit without either of them knowing what the other person holds. -description from designer