Napoleon Card Game Rules

Introduction

Napoleon is a fun, casual trick-based 5-player game with a hint of deception and considerable more depth than the similar and very-popular Euchre. I was taught this game by a college friend from the West Coast (Arthur!), and I only recently learned that Napoleon isn't an established game and may have actually been invented by him(or a friend). Because I had previously forgotten the rules when I wanted to teach it to some friends and couldn't find any documentation of Napoleon anywhere on the internet (other than the Euchre-like game that shares its name), I've decided to create the first ever official manual for Napoleon.

Overview

Napoleon is a 5-player trick-based alliance card game, with similar game play to Bridge, where teams change each round and are partially hidden for a portion of each round. Each round, players bid to be Napoleon, who declares the trump suit and a card to determine his temporarily secret teammate, the Secretary. All players that are not Napoleon and his Secretary are members of the 3-pronged Allies, fighting to prevent Napoleon and his Secretary from winning the previously bid number of tricks.

Setup

Napoleon is played with a standard 52-card deck and five players.

Each player is dealt 10 cards, and the remaining 2 cards, known as "the warchest", are dealt face-down in the center. Dealing responsibility is rotated clockwise.

Bidding Phase

In this phase, players bid on the number of tricks to win as Napoleon. Unlike bridge, bids do not include a trump suit, which is declared after the auction phase.

The previous round's Secretary begins bidding. For the first round of the game, the player to the left of the dealer begins bidding. Bidding can begin at any number of tricks but cannot exceed 10, which is the total number of tricks in a round. Bidding continues clockwise, where players can either make a higher bid or pass, until all players have passed or the bid has reached 10. Once a player has passed bidding, he cannot bid again that round.

The player with the winning bid is Napoleon for the round.

Napoleon's Declaration Phase

1) Napoleon picks up the two cards in the warchest into his hand, keeps his desired 10-card hand, and returns two cards to the warchest. Note that Napoleon does not need to keep either of the cards from the warchest and can choose to return one or both of the cards back to the warchest. The warchest is to remain face down for the remainder of the round.

2) Napoleon declares the trump suit or makes a "no trump" declaration.

Example: "Spades are trump."

3) Napoleon chooses a secret Secretary by declaring a card that is not in his hand as the "coup (as in coup d'état) card", and the player holding the coup card becomes Napoleon's Secretary. The coup card is often the highest trump that Napoleon does not hold. At this point in the round, only the Secretary knows the identity of all the players in the game. As in all other phases of the game, table talk is not permitted, and no lobbying for the position of Secretary is allowed.

Example: "The player with the King of Spades is my Secretary."

Tricks Phase

Napoleon leads (plays the first card) for the first trick. Following game play is identical to standard trick-based games (such as bridge), with the following exceptions.

Napoleon and Secretary vs. The Allies

Rounds are played 2 players against 3 players, where Napoleon and his Secretary are on one team and the three remaining players are on the opposing team, known as "The Allies". Napoleon and the Secretary win the round if their combined number of tricks won is greater than or equal to the number of tricks previously bid by Napoleon. Otherwise, the Allies win the round. In the beginning of the round, alliances are hidden, with only the Secretary having full knowledge of each player's identity.

Secretary Reveal and the Coup Card

At any one point in the round, if the coup card has not yet been played by the Secretary, Napoleon may say "Secretary, reveal yourself". By asking the Secretary to reveal himself, Napoleon is asking the Secretary to do the two following things:

1. Win this trick.
2. Use the coup card if necessary.

For the current trick, the Secretary has the additional advantage of the ability to play the coup card without following suit. In other words, the coup card can be played regardless of the previous cards played in the trick. If the coup card is the highest trump that Napoleon doesn't hold, playing the coup card guarantees the trick for Napoleon and the Secretary.

However, the Secretary is not required to play the coup card. If the Secretary believes he can win the trick without using the coup card, he can choose not to use it and save the card for future use. After the trick, the coup card returns to it's normal function, and Napoleon may not ask the Secretary to reveal himself again. The Secretary of the round will not be made obvious until the coup card appears in normal game play.

Note that when playing with no trump, the power of the coup card is greatly reduced. Also, it is possible for Napoleon to say "Secretary, reveal yourself" in a trick where the Secretary has already played a card. In this situation, there is nothing the Secretary can do, and the opportunity for special use of the coup card is lost.

Scoring

If Napoleon and the Secretary win the round, each player receives 2 points. If the Allies win, each of the three winning players receive 1 point.

The first of the five players to reach 10 points wins.

Continue playing rounds until a player reaches 10 points, starting with the bidding phase at the beginning of each round.