Texas 42 rules
Texas 42 as it is played on PlayElephant: four players in two teams, a double-six set, one round of bidding, a trump chosen by the bid winner and seven tricks. The rules are close to those used at the Texas state championship.
New to the game? Think of it as bridge with dominoes. Each tile belongs to two suits (its two numbers), trump beats everything, and you must follow suit when you can. The one unusual thing is the score: tricks carry points, so you bid points, not a number of tricks.
1. Tiles and counting
- The set is double-six: 28 tiles from 00 to 66. A tile with the same number on both halves is a double. "Blank" means zero.
- We always write the higher number first: 64, never 4-6.
- All 28 tiles are dealt. There is no draw pile.
Counting tiles
Five tiles are worth extra points (the "count"). The other 23 are worth nothing by themselves.
| Tiles | Points each | Nickname |
|---|---|---|
| 55 64 | 10 | "dimes" |
| 50 41 32 | 5 | "nickels" |
The five counters add up to 35. Each of the seven tricks is also worth 1 point. So every hand holds exactly 35 + 7 = 42 points, which gives the game its name. The points of a trick go to the team of the player who takes it.
2. Teams and seats
- Four players sit around the table in two teams. Partners sit across from each other.
- Play goes clockwise: dealing, bidding and tiles.
- The dealer (called the shaker) changes after every hand, moving one seat clockwise. This is also true after a hand that was thrown in.
- The player who wins the bidding is the declarer. Their team is the bidding team, and the other team is the defense.
3. The deal
- The 28 tiles are shuffled and each player gets 7. On the table every shuffle is random, and all deals are equally likely.
- You see only your own tiles. Your hand is shown in a fixed order, so it cannot be used to pass information to your partner.
- The first dealer is chosen at random.
4. Bidding
The bid is a promise about how many of the 42 points your team will take. It has nothing to do with money, and nothing is paid. There is only one round: starting with the player to the dealer's left and going clockwise, each player says either "pass" or a bid, once. The dealer speaks last. No one can speak twice or change what they said.
What you may bid
- Points bids: 30 up to 41. You promise your team will take at least that many points of the 42. The lowest bid is 30.
- 42 (one mark). You promise all seven tricks, which means all 42 points.
- 84 (two marks). You also promise all seven tricks, but the hand is worth two marks if you make it, and two to your opponents if you fail.
- Three marks and more. Each next step is one mark higher: three marks can be bid only over two marks, four marks only over three, and so on.
A bid must always be higher than the one before it. Once someone bids marks, only a higher marks bid is possible. You may bid over your own partner. Everyone may pass.
Who wins the bid
The highest bid wins, and its owner is the declarer. The bid is a number only. The trump is not named yet.
If everyone passes
On PlayElephant, if all four players pass, nobody scores. The hands are thrown in, the tiles are shuffled again and the next player clockwise deals.
Bids carry no secret meaning. A bid of 32 does not tell your partner anything about your hand. Any agreed code between partners is forbidden, and the table is built so that none is possible.
5. Naming the trump
After the bidding, and before the first tile, the declarer names the contract. Everyone sees it. There are three kinds on our tables:
- A number as trump (0 to 6). Every tile with that number on it is a trump. There are seven of them. For example, if sixes are trump, 66, 65, 64 and the rest of the sixes are trumps.
- Doubles as trump. The seven doubles from 66 down to 00 are the trumps, and nothing else is.
- Follow me. No trump at all. Whichever tile wins the trick is simply the highest one in the suit that was led.
The declarer may choose any of these with any bid. Once named, the trump cannot change. Special contracts such as Nello, Plunge, Splash and Sevens are not played at the default table (see Variants).
6. Suits and which tile wins
This is the part that is new if you know cards. Each number from 0 to 6 is a suit, and a tile has two numbers.
Which suit does a tile belong to?
- A tile with the trump number is a trump and belongs only to the trump suit. It does not belong to its other number.
- A double that is not a trump belongs to its one suit.
- Any other tile belongs to both of its numbers. So 65 can follow sixes and it can follow fives.
What is the suit led?
- If the first tile of the trick is a trump, trump is the suit led.
- A non-trump double leads its own suit: 55 leads fives.
- Any other tile leads the suit of its higher number. 65 leads sixes, not fives. 50 leads fives.
- The only way to lead blanks is with 00.
Which tile is stronger?
- The double is the highest tile of its suit. After it, tiles rank by their other number, from high to low.
- Example: with threes as trump, the trumps rank 33 > 63 > 53 > 43 > 32 > 31 > 30.
- Fives with threes as trump: 55 > 65 > 54 > 52 > 51 > 50. The tile 53 is missing because it is a trump.
- With doubles as trump, the trumps rank 66 > 55 > 44 > 33 > 22 > 11 > 00. Doubles do not belong to their numbers, so in the sixes suit the order is 65 > 64 > … > 60.
- With follow me, doubles are high in their own suit, and there is no trump.
7. Playing the tricks
- The declarer leads the first trick with any tile. They do not have to lead a trump.
- In turn, clockwise, each of the four players puts one tile on the table. A trick has four tiles.
- You must follow suit. If you hold any tile that belongs to the suit led, you must play one of them. It does not have to be your highest.
- If you cannot follow suit, you may play any tile you like. You can trump in with a trump tile, or you can discard a tile you want to get rid of. You are not forced to trump.
- Who takes the trick? The highest trump if there is one. Otherwise the highest tile of the suit led. A tile that is neither a trump nor in the suit led can never take the trick.
- The winner of a trick leads the next one. There are seven tricks in a hand.
- On a points bid you can look back at the tricks already played. On a marks bid only the latest tricks stay in view, as at a live table.
The server offers you only legal tiles, so a play that breaks the rules cannot happen.
8. Scoring a hand
Scores are kept in marks. The game is played to 7.
| Bid | Bidding team must | Marks at stake |
|---|---|---|
| 30 to 41 | take at least that many points | 1 |
| 42 | take all 7 tricks | 1 |
| 84 | take all 7 tricks | 2 |
| 3 marks, 4 marks… | take all 7 tricks | 3, 4… |
- The bid is made: the bidding team scores the marks of the bid.
- The bid fails (it is "set"): the other team scores the same number of marks.
- That is all. There are no doubles, no bonuses and no penalty for going down by more.
When is a bid made or lost?
- A points bid of b points is made when the bidding team has taken b points. It is lost when the defense has taken 43 − b points, because the bidding team can no longer reach b. For a bid of 34 the defense needs 9 points; for 38 only 5.
- An all-tricks bid (42 and higher) is made if the bidding team takes all seven tricks. It is lost the moment the defense takes one trick.
9. End of the hand and the game
- The hand ends early as soon as the result is settled. The tiles still in hand are then turned face up for everyone.
- Claiming. The player who is on lead may claim the rest of the hand. The server tries every possible way the tricks could be played. If the result is certain, the hand ends with it. If it is not, the claim is refused without penalty and play goes on, with no hands shown.
- The game ends when a team reaches 7 marks. One team scores in each hand, so the two teams cannot reach 7 at the same time.
- A match in a tournament is usually the best of three games.
- After a hand that was thrown in because everyone passed, nothing is scored and the next player deals.
10. Fair play and breaks
- At a live table the main offences are failing to follow suit ("reneging") and passing signals to your partner. Online, the first cannot happen, because you can only play legal tiles, and the second is shut out by the design of the table.
- Secret signals are forbidden: gestures, comments, a long pause before a trump, an agreed meaning for a bid. At a tournament table this means disqualification. On our tables the other players never see which tile you are looking at.
- A player who steps away or loses connection can be replaced by a marked bot, so the other three can keep playing. Bots only ever take the seat of a player who has left.
11. Variants
The default table follows the "straight 42" rules of the state championship. Home and club tables around Texas often add things. This is how they differ:
| Variant | What changes | Our default |
|---|---|---|
| Forced bid | If the first three players pass, the dealer must bid at least 30 | Off: the hand is thrown in |
| Nello | The declarer tries to take no tricks. Their partner sits out | Not played |
| Plunge, Splash | A hand with several doubles allows a high bid, and the partner picks the trump | Not played |
| Sevens | The tile whose total is nearest 7 takes the trick | Not played |
| Doubles low | Doubles are the lowest tile of their suit in follow me | Doubles high |
| Points game | Points count straight into a total, played to 250 | Marks, to 7 |
Which variants appear at a given table depends on the table.
12. Worked examples
Example 1. One trick, threes are trump. North leads 65, a lead in the sixes suit (the higher number). East plays 63, a trump, so East has trumped in. South plays 66 and West plays 55.
- 63 is a trump and belongs only to the trump suit, so it is the only trump on the table.
- East takes the trick. 66 is the highest six, but a trump beats it.
- Points: 1 for the trick plus 10 for 55 = 11. They go to East's team.
Example 2. Do I have to follow? Threes are trump and North leads 65. East holds 63, 54 and 11.
- The suit led is sixes.
- 63 is a trump, so it does not count as a six. 54 has no six on it.
- East has no tile of the sixes suit, so East may play any of the three.
Example 3. A bid of 34 is made. Sixes are trump, and North, the declarer, bid 34. The first four tricks:
- North 66, East 61, South 60, West 00. North takes it, 1 point. Total 1.
- North 65, East 63, South 50, West 21. North takes it: 1 + 5 (for 50) = 6. Total 7.
- North 64, East 20, South 41, West 40. North takes it: 1 + 10 (64) + 5 (41) = 16. Total 23.
- North 55, East 54, South 53, West 52. North's 55 is the highest five: 1 + 10 = 11. Total 34.
Example 4. A bid of 38 is set. Fives are trump, and North bid 38. The defense can fail the bid with 43 − 38 = 5 points.
- First trick: North 55, East 51, South 32, West 52. North takes it with the top trump: 1 + 10 + 5 (32) = 16.
- Second trick: North 54, East 65, South 10, West 50. 65 is a trump and beats 54, so East takes it: 1 + 5 (50) = 6.
Example 5. A bid of 84. East bids 84 (two marks) with doubles as trump. East's team has to take every trick.
- Six tricks go to East's team. The hand continues.
- On the seventh trick, the defense takes the trick with 11. The bid is lost at that moment.
- The defense scores 2 marks, as many as the bid was worth.
Example 6. Bidding. West deals, so North speaks first. North says 30. East says 31. South passes. West, last to speak, says 34.
- West's 34 is the highest bid. West is the declarer, and their team (West and East) must take 34 points.
- West names the trump. North and South, the defense, need 9 points to set the bid.
13. Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Bid | A promise to take at least a number of points, or all the tricks. It has nothing to do with money |
| Pass | You decline to bid. There is one turn per hand |
| Shaker | The dealer, who speaks last in the bidding |
| Declarer | The player who made the highest bid and names the trump |
| Trump | The suit that beats all others: a number 0 to 6, or the doubles |
| Doubles | Tiles with the same number on both halves. They can be a trump suit of their own |
| Follow me | A contract with no trump |
| Follow suit | You must play a tile of the suit led if you have one |
| Count, counters | The five tiles worth points: 55, 64, 50, 41, 32 |
| Dime, nickel | A counter worth 10, a counter worth 5 |
| Trick | Four tiles, one from each player. It is worth 1 point plus the count in it |
| Trump in | To play a trump when you cannot follow suit |
| Discard (sluff) | To play a tile that is neither in the suit nor a trump |
| Mark | The unit of score. First to 7 marks wins the game |
| Make the bid | To reach what you promised |
| Set | To make the other team fail its bid |
| Shooter | A player who bids 42 or 84, all the tricks |