Prefa (Πρέφα)
The Greek three-player card game with a 32-card deck, a close relative of Russian preference. On PlayElephant Prefa is played online by the rules every Greek player knows: play passes to the right, "I have" (écho) in the bidding, a widow nobody else sees, "together" and "alone" in defence, the common pot and kapíkia.
At a glance
- 3 playersall three take part in every deal
- 32 cardsfrom 7 up to ace
- 10 + 2ten cards each, two in the widow
- 6♠︎ – 10 no trumps25 steps of bidding
- To the rightcounter-clockwise
- The potthe game ends when it runs dry
How it is played, in short
- Deal. Each player gets 10 cards, two stay face down as the widow (tzógos).
- Bidding. It starts at 6 spades and climbs one step at a time. "I have" holds the same bid. A pass is final.
- Contract. The declarer takes the widow, discards two cards and names the contract. They may also concede it as a "solo" without playing.
- Defence. The two defenders say "play", "pass", "together" or "alone".
- Play. Ten tricks. You must follow suit, and trump if you cannot.
- Settlement. The declarer takes from or pays into the pot, the defenders win or lose kapíkia.
The complete rules, with examples and payment tables, are on the Prefa rules page.
How we play on PlayElephant
Default table settings:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Players | 3 |
| Pot | 50 units (kásses) per player, 150 in total |
| Four aces | Yes: four aces are paid |
| All three pass | The deal is void and the next player deals. No "pollés" (play for fewest tricks) |
| Last contract | Normal: it is paid with whatever is left in the pot |
- Every move is checked. You cannot bid out of turn, skip a step or play a card that does not follow suit. Revokes are impossible.
- Fair shuffle. Every deal is random with all layouts equally likely. Nobody gets "help" with the cards.
- The widow stays hidden. Only the declarer sees it until the deal ends, then everyone does.
- The last trick is always visible. After the deal you can also see everyone's cards.
- Claim. The declarer can claim all remaining tricks. If the defenders accept, the deal ends at once.
- Automatic score sheet. The pot and kapíkia are counted after every deal. When the pot is empty, the game ends and the settlement is shown.
- No undo. A card played stays played.