Stick ‘Em
Designed by: Klaus Palesch
Stick ‘Em – originally published as Sticheln – is a trick-taking game that takes the basic premise of Whist and adds… pain.
The deck is made up of several suits and in a given round each player is dealt a hand of cards. They look at their hand, and choose one card to represent their pain suit – this is the suit that they really do not want to win any cards of.
Play then progresses in standard trick-taking mode (i.e. one card per player, going clockwise around the table) but unlike standard Whist you do not have to follow suit. However! – any card that doesn’t follow suit is considered a trump – a stronger card – and higher trumps will win the trick.
At the end of the round cards are worth points and your pain suit is negative points, so naturally you’re trying to get rid of your pain suit and hopefully pass some pain onto your opponents too!
Sam says
You need a game or two to get your head around it, but I really think Stick ‘Em is a mini-classic – where you can swing from last to first in one round (and of course, vice versa…). If you like trick-takers, especially ones that add some kind of demented twist, this is a great game.
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Take That!
Moderate to high - play is interactive and you're trying to increase everyone else's pain!
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Fidget Factor!
Very low
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Brain Burn!
Low to moderate - sometimes you need to consider whether to take a trick or forego it in the hope an opponent will pick up negative points.
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Again Again!
A whole game takes a little while but it moves fast. Cards ensure randomness and tactics can vary.
