Thunee
| Origin | South Africa |
|---|---|
| Alternative name(s) | Thuni |
| Type | Trick-taking |
| Players | 2×2 |
| Skill(s) required | Tactics |
| Cards | 24 |
| Deck | Anglo-American |
| Play | Counter-clockwise |
| Card rank (highest to lowest) | J 9 A 10 K Q |
| Playing time | 10 min. |
| Random chance | Moderate |
Thunee, after the Tamil word for water, is a popular trick-taking card game that originated in Durban, South Africa. It was invented by Indian indentured-labourers who arrived in South Africa to work in the sugarcane fields.[1] It is believed that there are variations of the game found in India and Mauritius.[citation needed] The game is mostly confined to the former Indian townships, where it is very popular as a family game and in fund-raising tournaments, but to some extent it has spread to other South Africans and to Indians in other countries. The first thunee world championship was held in Pietermaritzburg in 2003.[2]
Contents |
[edit] History
Ramsamy Naidoo, the sardar at the sugar cane estate of De Charmoy and Angel at La Mercy on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, and his friends are credited with inventing the exciting six-card game during 1872. It is said that Naidoo was such a popular man that the barracks in which the indentured labourers lived was so named after him.[1]
[edit] Gameplay
| Rank | J | 9 | A | 10 | K | Q |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | 30 | 20 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 2 |
Thunee is best for four players in fixed partnerships, sitting crosswise, but can also be played by 2 or 6 (2 teams of 3 players). It is played with 24 cards only. The Sixes, referred to as the "ball cards", are used to keep the scores. The highly original ranking of cards and the card-point values are as shown in the table. The first and foremost rule of the game is to always follow suit, if a player does not have that suit he may play any other card in his deck.
[edit] Dealing
A nominated person from one team called out first, will shuffle the cards , he will then deal the cards face up, one card to each player at a time starting from his right - a process known as "black Jack deals". The first person receiving a black Jack, i.e. either the Jack of clubs or the Jack of spades, will start dealing and the opposite side will trump.
The Dealer must always offer the opposition to his left the opportunity to cut the deck. One cannot center cut or count the number of cards prior to cutting. The opposition may decline to cut with no recourse. Each player receives six cards in total but first each player is dealt 4 cards and then the dealer deals the remaining 2 cards each.
[edit] Bidding
Bidding, or "calling", as it is commonly known, is done when an opposition player wishes to set trump although it is not technically his turn to trump. Players usually choose to call for trump due to them being dealt favorable cards. A player may not call against his partners call for trump. Should both players from the team call out a bid at the same time, the bid is escalated to the next multiple of 10 and the dealer will allocate who from the opposing team will call trump which must be placed on the table by the player in concern. The maximum bid is a 100 and the player with the highest bid will keep trump. The opposing team may call 104. Should the team counting win the game, then they will be allowed to open 2 points on their scorecard (a process known as "call and loss"). The bidding process can be halted if a player calls "thunee". The trumpman has the first right to call thunee. During any form of the game, the team counting must always have trump, if they do not, the game becomes trumpless, a trumpless game requires a re-shuffle or re-deal, it is the duty of the counting team to realise that they are trumpless, failure to do so may result in the loss of a point or ball.
[edit] Calls
- Thunee - The player who calls thunee must win all hands with the first card played in that game becoming the trump. The player calling "thunee", must win all hands and must not be caught by the opposition or their partner, in which case they may open 4 points. Should the player who called "thunee" be caught by the opposing team, then the opposing team is allowed to open 4 points. Should the player who called "thunee" be caught by his partner, then the winning team is allowed to open 4 points (this is known as a "Partner Catch", where certain individuals penalize by opening as much as 8 ball). It is important to note that a player may not call thunee when they acquire all 6 of the same suite, this creates a trumpless situation and the player can be "4 balled"
- Jodhi - A "Jodhi" can also be called by a player after his team has won their first or third hand prior to the third card of the next hand being played. The opposition team, if counting, will thus have to meet 105 points plus the value of Jodhi that was called. If the team which is counting calls a "Jodhi", then the points which they have to achieve are 105 less the value of Jodhi that was called. The team which claims last hand is given an additional 10 points.
Jodhi calls are effective with the possession/combination of the following cards: K and Q (non-trump suit)-20 Jodhi, K and Q (trump suit)-40 Jodhi, J, K and Q (non-trump suit)-30 Jodhi, J, K and Q (trump suit)-50 Jodhi.
- Double - A "double" can be called by a player on the last hand if his team has taken all hands and he is sure he will take the last one. The call is made by the player playing the first card on the last hand, or by his partner should he have the winning card. If it is a correct call then the team's ball score increases by 2. If it is an incorrect call then the opposition team's ball score increases by 4 (see "Four-Ball" below)
- Khanuck - A "khanuck" is also called on the last hand if a team is going to win the last hand and the Jodhis called by that team are higher than the final point tally less 10 of the opposition team. A correct khanuck call adds 3 ball points onto the winning team and an incorrect one gives four points (4 ball) to the opposition team. The Khanuck count is reduced by any Jodhi that may be called by the opposition, but not include calls to set trump.
Example: 50 Jodhi Khanuck - The counting team fails to reach a count of 60. (10 is added for the taking of the last hand)
[edit] Scoring
Balling, or scoring, in a thunee game is won by the player or team who has won 12 rounds, or ball points. 13 rounds or ball points must be reached to win if a khanuck was called during the game. A common variant requires 13 rounds to win a game regardless if khanuck was called or not. A thunee or kanuck game may be played during any stage of the game, however a double game may not be played when a teams ball score is on cornerhouse (last remaining point to win). If a team calls a cornerhouse double, the opposition is awarded a penalty, gaining 4 balls. Certain variants of the game require a team to win by a minimum of 2 points, a process known as "2 to clear", however other variants maintain that this play is only applicable when a kanuck is called during the game.
Jodhi is the player who either calls Jack, King and Queen of one suite. This call adds 30 points, or 50 points if it is of the trump suite. If a King and Queen of one suite, this call adds 20 points, or 40 points if it is of the trump suite.
[edit] Penalties
If a team during the game is caught committing an offence, e.g. using sign language, not following suit, changing trump card etc, then the team is automatically disqualified, losing the round, incurring a 4 point penalty called "Four-ball".
[edit] See also
[edit] References
|
|||||
- ^ a b Khan, Farook (2003-02-05). "Anyone for Thunee?". Daily News.
- ^ Devchand, Tharuna (2010-10-11). "Work hard, play hard". The Witness. http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global%5B_id%5D=48844.
[edit] External links
- Authentic Indian Entertainement at Thunee.com
