Spotlight on Games > Ludographies
Best Trick-Taking Games Year by Year
Tue Nov 3 23:55:08 UTC 2018
The best game using the trick-taking mechanism, year by year. How many of them have you played?
Note: in some cases the game that I enjoy most is not the best-rated. An asterisk (*) marks these ases.
The First Five Centuries
The forerunners. Many of them still well worth playing.
1425. Tarock
1430. Tarot

1600. Pitch
1663. Whist

1715. Schnapsen
1780. Schafkopf
1796. Jass

1800. Briscola
1802. Preference
1810. Skat
1848. Euchre
1850. Hearts
1864. Pinochle
1885. 42
1895. Doppelkopf

Early Twentieth Century
Many of these are probably familiar to most players.
1904. 500
1906. Rook
1925. Bridge
1930. Belote
Honorable Mention: Barbu*
1930. Oh Hell!
1938. Spades

Efflorescence of the Sixties
After a very long break during World War II and its aftermath, trick takers get going again, before once again petering out.
1966. Coup d'État
1967. Ninety-Nine
1970. Bridgette

Eighties Restart
The Seventies having been a desert, significant efforts returned in the Eighties.
1981. Dragonmaster
Honorable Mention: Armchair Cricket, Black Spy
1983. Rage
Honorable Mention: Guillotine*
1984. Wizard
1988. Career Poker

Nineties Forerunners
From this point there is a game for nearly ever year. As you can tell from some of the titles, modern German designers got interested in the form.
1990. Gang of Four
Honorable Mention: Trumpet, Wer Hat Mehr? (Where's Bob's Hat?)*
1991. Tichu
1992. La Beast
1993. Sticheln
Honorable Mention: Was sticht?
1994. UNO Hearts
Honorable Mention: Hexenstich

The Deluge Begins
As with other types of games, from this point there is at least one title every year and are often five or more per year. It's possible that 1995, with at least four games I am happy to play at any time, was the best year ever for trick-taking games.
1995. Mü
Honorable Mention: Foppen, Hattrick, Flaschenteufel (The Bottle Imp), The Great Dalmuti, Tricks, Wimmüln
1996. Double
1997. Njet! (Nyet!)
Honorable Mention: Atlantic Storm, Blindes Huhn, Canyon, Horse Show, Twilight (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde)
1998. Cosmic Eidex
Honorable Mention: Quacksalbe, Schnäppchen Jagd(Bargain Hunter), David & Goliath*, Instinct, Pepper
1999. Zoff im Zoo (Frank's Zoo)
Honorable Mention: Mit List und Tücke, Mückenstich, Overthrone, Pisa, Renfield, T-Rex Tzuris, Volltreffer, Willi
2000. Four Dragons
Honorable Mention: Port Royal
2001. Auf falscher Fährte

Twenty-First Century Proliferation
From this point there are multiple games every year.
2002. Too Many Cooks
Honorable Mention: Chiamo, Tin Soldiers, Xactika
2003. Fiasco
Honorable Mention: Die Sieben Siegel (Sluff Off!), Spooks
2004. Victory & Honor
Honorable Mention: Farfalia, Hispaniola
2005. Trump, Tricks, Game!
Honorable Mention: Control Nut!
2006. John Silver
Honorable Mention: Cowpoker, Null & Nichtig, The Great Chili Cookoff
2007. Phase 10 Twist
Honorable Mention: Revolte* Ziegen Kriegen
2008. Pacific Typhoon
Honorable Mention: Kraków 1325 AD
2009. Chronicle
Honorable Mention: Arcana, Filipino Fruit Market, Nur die Ziege zählt, Rowboat, Triumvirate
2010. Haggis
Honorable Mention: Die Säulen der Erde: das Kartenspiel, Myth: Pantheons, Papayoo, Stich-Meister*, The Red Dragon Inn: Gambling? I'm In!, Zen Master
2011. Trick of the Rails
Honorable Mention: 12 Days, Godzilla: Stomp!, Old Men of the Forest, The Dwarf King
2012. Pala
Honorable Mention: Little Devils, The Hobbit Card Game
2013. Skull King
Honorable Mention: Clubs, Crazy Lab, ebbes*, Five Cucumbers, HeartSwitch, Patronize, Potato Man, S-Evolution, UGO!, You Suck
2014. Chimera
Honorable Mention: Diamonds, Maskmen, Noble Treachery: The Last Alliance, Scharfe Schoten*
2015. Joraku
Honorable Mention: 12 Days of Christmas, Black Hat, Monster Trick, Renaissance Wars, Sarkophag, Texas Showdown
2016. Pups
Honorable Mention: Aloha Pioha, Eternity, Simon's Cat Card Game, Skull King: Das Würfelspiel, Sponsio, Vampire Queen
2017. The Fox in the Forest
Honorable Mention: Claim, Cobras, Custom Heroes, Druids, Half-Pint Heroes, Indulgence, Ladder 29, Moons, Pot de Vin, Pretending to Grownup, Tournament at Camelot, Trickster: Champions of Time, Voodoo Prince

Latest News
With these games it's really too early to tell.
2018. Barker's Row
Honorable Mention: Achievement Hunter HEIST, Ardor: Bending Time, Argute, Barker's Row, Beutelschneider, Book of Dragons, Cahoots, Camping with Sasquatch, Claim 2, Crime Hotel, Darwinning!, Die Heisse 6, Djinn, Down in Flames: Locked-On, Dubbe, Fool!, Gorus Maximus, Half-Pint Heroes: Happy Hour, Hasp, Holistic: quint sequencing card game, Holmes and Moriarty, Monster Crunch! The Breakfast Battle Game, Monster Dice, Panic!, Pikoko, Pirate Tricks, Radiant, Ramen, Ratfink: Scurry & Scamper, Rebel Nox, Renown: The Game, Robin Wood, Spookre, Spring Rally, Stack3D, The Bark Side, Thrown, TonTon, Tricky Tides, Wizardz Bluff, Yokai Septet

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