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Classic trick taking card game in which players bid how many points they will score for the right to set trump, then have to make their bid to get their points. Pinochle is played with a modified standard deck. It consists of a 48 card deck with all 2-8's removed and two of each other card (a Pinochle deck can be made by combining two 52 card decks and removing all 2-8's).
Pinochle has several unique elements not found in other trick taking games:
- Before playing the hands, players form melds (runs, marriages, pinochle, sets) which are added to their score.
- Played with a double (and sometimes quadruple) deck of cards: A 10 K Q J 9
- Players are required to trump when void and over trump if they can.
The original version of Pinochle is a two-handed version which is derived from the virtually identical Bezique.
The game was modified for more players with several popular variants including Partnership Pinochle, Partnership Auction Pinochle, and Double Pack Pinochle (Partnership).
(The origin date listed for this game is approximate.)
- lightweight and accessible
- fun bluffing and deduction
- thematic heist vibe with elegant mechanics
- burglary and bluffing, hidden movement in a villa
- a large villa used as the stage for a heist
- lightweight bluffing with set-collection payoff
- Mighty Boards prior titles
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Deck building — players use cards to misdirect and plan thefts
- deck-building — players use cards to misdirect and plan thefts
- hidden movement / bluffing — opponents guess where thieves plan to burgle; deception is key
- location-based play — locations provide opportunities and require strategic timing
- set collection — players collect loot sets to score points
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- a 3D tile placement environment. Very lovely.
- cozy Japanese style
- each turn, you're going to be meditating
- it's a deck building cooperative game.
- we love a deck builder and deck builder doing like cooperative sounds super cool.
- Let's jack in.
- this is a deck building dice allocation rally game like racing game
- the action cards and the dice allocation is going to tell you how good your pilot is going to be
References (from this video)
- Light, fast, and fun for cruise-style play
- Engaging social deduction without heavy downtime
- May rely on player social dynamics; not ideal for solo play
- master burglar vs. multiple houses; deduction play
- Urban burglary with social deduction
- light, social deduction with a playful tone
- No explicit comparison mentioned
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Bluffing and deduction — Players guess which house the master burglar will visit; success based on matching guess
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- If we get enough votes, maybe we'll get a chance.
- Our bottom five, numbers 10 through six of our top 10 games we want to play on the Dice Tower cruise this year.
- No Thanks is referenced as a benchmark in the bidding/auction space.