Call Bridge - Card Game 1.6

Call Bridge, also recognized as Call Break, is a trick-taking card game involving bidding and trumping, predominantly popular in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. Its mechanics show similarities to the North American game Spades, though specific rules and scoring criteria differ.

The game is typically played by four participants using a standard 52-card deck. The cards are ranked from high to low within each suit: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, down to 2. Spades serve as a permanent trump suit throughout the game.

During bidding, starting with the player to the dealer's right and proceeding in a counter-clockwise direction ending with the dealer, each player announces a bid expressed as a number of tricks they aim to win, with a minimum of 2 and generally up to 12 as the maximum practical bid. These bids are referred to as "calls."

In terms of gameplay, the player to the dealer's right leads to the first trick; thereafter, the winner of each trick leads the subsequent one. Any card may be led initially. All other players must follow suit if possible; if not able to do so, they must play a spade if it can beat any spades already played in that trick. If unable to follow suit and lacking sufficient spades to beat existing ones or no spades at all, players may play any card.

A trick is claimed by the highest spade played in it, or if no spades are present, by the highest card of the suit led. Importantly, players who can follow suit are not obliged to play the highest card to win the trick but may choose any valid card within their hand. When spades are led, players may play higher or lower spades at their discretion. When a player has no cards of the suit led ("off" that suit), and no spades have yet been played in that trick, they are required to play a spade if possible; if spades are already in play, they must play a higher spade if available or risk discarding a lower spade or another suit strategically.

Scoring is based on achieving or exceeding the bid—winning at least the number of tricks called or at least two more. Success yields points calculated as (call * 10) plus an additional 10 points for each of up to two extra tricks beyond the bid. Failure results in losing points equal to (call * 10). For example, a bid of 4 calls for winning between 4 and 6 tricks; securing 4-6 yields 40 to 60 points. Falling short (3 or fewer) or exceeding by more than two tricks (7 or more) results in a penalty of -40 points.

The game proceeds through twelve rounds; at completion, the player with the highest total score is declared the winner.