Ambition (game)
| Origin | Hungary and United States |
|---|---|
| Type | Trick-taking |
| Players | 4 |
| Skill(s) required | Card counting, Tactics |
| Age range | 12 and up |
| Cards | 52 |
| Deck | French |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Card rank (highest to lowest) | 2 (sometimes) A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 |
| Playing time | 90 min. |
| Random chance | Low |
| Related games | |
| Contract Bridge, Spades, Hearts | |
Ambition is a four-player trick-taking card game developed in 2003, in which the usual object is to take a middling number of points, but with bonuses for taking no points (Nil) or a large number of them (Slam) enabling additional strategies. Played mainly in the United States, Hungary, and Japan, Ambition is designed to be a trick-taking card game in which the luck factor inherent in drawn hands is minimized, allowing reliably skill-driven results in the game without the need of duplication.
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[edit] History
Ambition was published by its inventor on Pagat.com in November 2003 and the Japanese puzzle magazine Nikoli in March 2004. It has been continuously updated since then, with the most recent major update being posted to Pagat.com and BoardGameGeek in 2006.
[edit] General overview
Ambition is a point-trick game, always played at no-trump, in which the cards are assigned point values between 0 and 17, with a total of 112 for the pack. A passing mechanic similar to that used in Hearts enables players to improve their hands, and then play at tricks begins. The normal objective is to take 14 points without taking the most among the four players, making it most desirable to take the second-highest total and least desirable to take the highest total; but a player who takes 0 points ('Nil') gets a moderate bonus and one who takes 72 or more ('Slam') gets a major bonus: a 50-point (sometimes played as 40, as per 2006 rules) round.
[edit] Specific mechanics
Ambition uses a few mechanics that are considered unusual in trick-taking games, but essential to the game. One of these is that the two of each suit may be high or low depending on what else is played to the trick, making it rare for a player to hold a card that can surely win or surely lose a trick. Another is that the game's ending condition is triggered by the losing player. When a player receives four of a penalty called a strike, that player loses and the one among the others with the highest score wins. The purpose of this trigger, as stated by designer, is to end the game automatically if a player falls far behind, preventing the king-maker scenario in which a player cannot win but remains in the game and may have the ability to select one of the other players as the winner.
