I was thinking, besides just the rules it might be nice to have a "beginners best practices" note somewhere? I feel like I've seen them in other games, but I don't know where to add them here?
If it has to be added by the dev, this is what I wrote. It's mostly a draft and I welcome any other suggestions. Tried to keep it simple in a way where each tip is hopefully so basic that they just have to do it and not think about the situation and it'll generally be the right decision until they learn more from experience. It also assumes they've read the rules and generally know the mechanics of the game.
If it has to be added by the dev, this is what I wrote. It's mostly a draft and I welcome any other suggestions. Tried to keep it simple in a way where each tip is hopefully so basic that they just have to do it and not think about the situation and it'll generally be the right decision until they learn more from experience. It also assumes they've read the rules and generally know the mechanics of the game.
These are just best practices for beginners for a 4-Player non-bid game. If you follow these rules, your partner will not get mad at you, but you won't win a lot if you only follow these rules. The more you play, the more exceptions you will find, the more you'll understand the flow of the game. There is a lot more nuance, but these are good general guidelines.
Choosing Trump:
Only call trump with at least 3 trump and one being a bower, or QKA. Or LR and an off suit ace. (If you're dealer this means what your hand will be after you pick it up.)
If trying to call no trump, if you don't have 3 As, you need at least one A, another face card, and a third card in the same suit, or 2 As and a face card in one of those suits.
Never call no-trump unless you get to open the first trick. (Or have 4 As)
Going alone:
If you are GUARANTEED 3 tricks and fairly confident you'll get a 4th.
In-game tips:
Never lead trump unless, you're playing the R, or you have L and A.
Play your highest non-trump unless you have 3+ of that suit.
When throwing away cards (either because off suit or because you're dealer), it is more important to ower the number of suits in your hand, then keep the highest cards. Unless it's an ace.
If you are defending and have the L and another trump, do not play either of them unless you are the last person playing and guaranteed to win the trick.
