Whist

Quick Rules

Whist is the grandparent of many trick games, and one of the simplest to learn. You and North (a computer partner sitting across from you) play against West and East. All 52 cards are dealt, so everyone holds 13, and there is no bidding at all.

  • Trump. The dealer's last card is turned face up. Its suit is trump for the whole hand. The dealer keeps the card.
  • Play. The player on the dealer's left leads any card. Everyone must follow suit if they can; if they can't, they may play any card, including a trump.
  • Winning a trick. The highest trump wins. If no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led wins. Aces are high. The winner leads the next trick.
  • Scoring. Your side's first six tricks (your "book") score nothing. Each trick after that is an odd trick worth 1 point. Take 9 of the 13 tricks and you score 3.
  • Winning the game. The first side to 7 points wins. The deal passes to the left after each hand.

Play differently at home? Open Settings to play to 5 (short whist) or 10 (long whist), to count honours, or to rotate trump through the suits. See Whist rule variations for what each one changes.

Read the full Whist rules with worked examples and a scoring table

Tips for Winning at Whist

  • Lead your longest suit. Once the others run out of it, even your small cards in that suit win tricks.
  • Second hand low. When you play second to a trick, play low and let your partner, who plays last, do the work.
  • Third hand high. When your partner leads, play your best card to win or to make the last player spend a high one.
  • Return your partner's lead. The suit North leads is usually North's best suit.
  • Count the trumps. Thirteen trumps are in play. Once the other side has none left, your aces and kings are safe.

Read our Whist strategy guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this Whist game free?

Yes. You can play as many games of Whist as you like for free, with no account, no email and no download.

Does the computer cheat?

No. The computer players, including your partner, can't see anyone else's cards. They know their own 13 cards, the turned-up card and every card played so far, the same as you. At the end of every hand, tap Show All Hands to see what everyone was dealt. Every game has a deal number; tap Replay This Deal, or type the number in Settings, to play the same cards again.

What is an odd trick?

There are 13 tricks in a hand. The first six tricks a side takes are called its book and score nothing. Every trick after that is an odd trick and scores 1 point. If you and North take 9 tricks, you score 3 points. The bar above the table shows each side's odd tricks so far.

How is trump chosen in Whist?

There is no bidding. The dealer turns up the last card of the deal, and its suit is trump for the whole hand. The dealer keeps that card and plays it like any other. If you turn on the trump rotation house rule, trump goes hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades and then a hand with no trump, in turn.

What are honours?

The honours are the ace, king, queen and jack of trump. In the old English game, a side dealt all four of them between the two partners scores 4 extra points, and three of them score 2. American whist leaves honours out, so they are off here unless you turn them on in Settings.

Does the game save my progress?

Yes. Your game is saved in your browser after every card. Close the page and come back later, and you can pick up where you left off on the same device.

Enjoy partnership card games? Try Euchre, a quick game of five-card hands with bowers, or Spades, where you bid the number of tricks you will take.

More Free Games

  • Hearts Avoid hearts and the queen of spades, or shoot the moon and stick everyone else with the points.
  • Spades Bid your tricks with your partner, then make your bid. Spades are always trump.
  • Hand and Foot The family canasta game: play your hand, then your foot, and build clean and dirty books with your partner.
  • Canasta Meld sets of a kind, freeze the pile, and build canastas with your partner. Classic American scoring.
  • Cribbage Count fifteens, pairs and runs, and peg your way around the board to 121.
  • Gin Rummy Make sets and runs, knock when your leftover cards are low, and go for gin.
  • Euchre The fast trick-taking game of the Midwest: call trump, use your bowers and take three tricks.
  • Rummy Draw, meld sets and runs, lay off on the table and be first to go out.
  • Rummy 500 Score points for every card you meld, take from deep in the discard pile and race to 500.
  • Oh Hell! Say exactly how many tricks you will take, then take that many: no more, no fewer.
  • Pinochle Bid, meld and take tricks with a 48-card deck. Partnership auction pinochle.
  • Bridge Contract bridge with a computer partner: bid your contract, then make it.
  • Crazy Eights Match the suit or the number, change the suit with an eight, and be first to play all your cards.
  • Switch The British cousin of Crazy Eights, with cards that skip, reverse and make the next player draw.
  • Go Fish Ask for the cards you need, collect sets of four and make the most books.
  • Old Maid Pair up your cards and don't be the one left holding the odd queen.
  • War Turn a card each; the higher card wins both. The simplest card game there is.
  • Spit A race to play your cards up or down on two piles, with a slow pace option so nobody is rushed.
  • Idiot Play equal or higher cards, pick up the pile when you can't, and don't be the last one holding cards.
  • Thirteen Shed your cards in singles, pairs, triples and runs. Twos are high. Also called Tien Len.
  • Escoba The Spanish fishing game: capture cards that add up to 15 and sweep the table.
  • Briscola Italy's favorite trick game with a 40-card deck. Win the valuable cards and reach 61 points.
  • Skat Germany's three-player classic: bid for the right to play alone against the other two.
  • Manni A three-player trick-taking game from Iceland, played to ten points.
  • Kings in the Corners Build down in alternating colors around the deck, put Kings in the corners, and be first to empty your hand.
  • Chicken Foot Match numbers, build a chicken foot from every double, and finish 10 rounds with the lowest score.
  • Mexican Train Build your own train, ride the shared Mexican train, and keep your score low over 13 rounds.
  • Dominoes The classic draw game with double-six tiles. Match the ends, draw when you are stuck, first to 100 wins.
  • All Fives Dominoes Score whenever the open ends add up to a multiple of five. Also known as Muggins.
  • Texas 42 The trick-taking domino game from Texas: bid, name trumps and win tricks with your partner.
  • Klondike Solitaire The classic solitaire. Draw one or three, with big cards, hints and unlimited undo.
  • FreeCell Every card is face up and almost every deal can be won. Use the four free cells wisely.
  • Spider Solitaire Build runs from King down to Ace. Play with one, two or four suits.
  • Pyramid Solitaire Clear the pyramid by pairing cards that add up to 13. Kings go on their own.
  • Tri Peaks Solitaire Clear three peaks by playing cards one higher or one lower than the last. Quick and relaxing.
  • Golf Solitaire Play cards one up or one down from the pile and try to clear all seven columns.
  • Yukon Solitaire Like Klondike with no stock: move any face-up group, even out of order, and dig out the hidden cards.
  • Scorpion Solitaire Build four same-suit runs from King down to Ace by moving whole groups of cards.
  • Canfield Solitaire A classic with a 13-card reserve. Build up by suit from whatever card starts the foundations.
  • Clock Solitaire Deal the cards around a clock face and turn them up one by one. Finish before the fourth King appears.
  • Crescent Solitaire Two decks in a crescent of sixteen piles. Build up from Aces and down from Kings.
  • Addiction Solitaire Line up each suit from 2 to King in four rows by moving cards into the gaps. Three shuffles to help.
  • Mahjong Solitaire Match pairs of free tiles to clear the board. Large, high-contrast tiles and every deal can be solved.
  • Jigsaw Puzzles Relaxing picture puzzles from 12 to 100 pieces, with big pieces that snap into place.
  • Sudoku Fill the grid so every row, column and box has 1 to 9. Big numbers, notes and three levels.
  • Word Search Find the hidden words in a grid of large letters. New puzzles by theme, as many as you like.
  • Minesweeper Use the numbers to work out where the mines are. Big squares and a clear flag button.
  • Triangles Take turns drawing lines between dots and claim every triangle you close.
  • Checkers American checkers on a big board. Jump, get kinged and clear the other side.
  • Backgammon Race your checkers home and bear them off before the computer does. Fair dice you can check.
  • Reversi Trap the other color between your discs to flip them. Most discs at the end wins.
  • Chess A friendly game of chess with large pieces, hints and computer levels from beginner up.
  • Sea Battle Hide your fleet, call your shots and sink every ship before yours go down.
  • Yacht Dice Roll five dice up to three times a turn and fill your score sheet. The classic dice game.
  • Farkle Roll six dice, set aside the scoring ones and decide when to stop before you lose it all.

See all games