Official game guide
How to play Sitaratas
Sitaratas is an Estonian exact-bidding trick-taking game for 3–6 players. Before every round, you predict how many tricks you will take; matching that bid exactly earns the most points. The player with the lowest score at the end becomes the Sitaratas.
These are the rules automatically enforced in games played on Sitaratas.eu.
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At a glance
- Players
- 3–6
- Deck
- 36 or 38 cards
- Rounds
- 25–29
- Exact bid
- tricks + 5 points
The game in one minute
Every round has four simple parts.
Deal
Each player receives the number of cards shown in the round schedule, and trump is revealed.
Bid
Predict exactly how many tricks you intend to take during the round.
Play tricks
Play one card in turn, following the led suit and using trump or a joker when needed.
Score
An exact bid earns your tricks plus 5 bonus points; a missed bid earns only your tricks.
Game settings
The core rules always stay the same. Before starting, the host chooses the player count, deck variant and round order.
Deck variant
Classic · 36 cards
Four suits with 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king and ace in each suit. Ace is the highest standard card.
With jokers · 38 cards
A red and a black joker are added to the classic deck. Jokers do not increase the maximum hand size in the schedule.
Round order
1 → max → 1
The game starts with one-card rounds, climbs to the largest hand and eventually returns to one card.
max → 1 → max
The game starts with the largest hand, falls to one-card rounds and finishes at the largest hand again.
Before starting: An online game can start when every selected seat is filled and every player except the host is ready. Gameplay settings are locked after the game begins.
How a round works
Every round begins with a fresh, reshuffled deck. The dealer moves forward by one table seat after each round.
Cards are dealt
Cards are dealt randomly without replacement, and every player receives the same number of cards.
Trump is selected
If cards remain, a random undealt indicator is shown. A standard indicator sets trump with its suit; the joker-indicator exception is explained below. The indicator is not in any player’s hand.
Players bid
The player after the dealer starts. Bidding follows table order and the dealer bids last.
Tricks are played
The first bidder also leads the first trick. The winner of each trick leads the next one.
The round is scored
When every card from the players’ hands has been played, round points are added to the game totals.
Bidding
Each player bids once, choosing a whole number from zero through the number of cards in their hand. Bidding zero is allowed.
Your bid is the number of tricks you intend to take exactly during that round. Earlier bids are visible to everyone.
Playing cards and winning a trick
The led suit is established by the first standard card played into a trick. If a joker leads, the led suit is not known until the first later standard card is played.
Which card may you play?
- If no led suit has been established, you may play any card.
- If you hold a standard card of the led suit, you must play that suit or a joker.
- If you cannot follow suit but hold trump, you must play trump or a joker.
- If you hold neither the led suit nor trump, you may play any card.
Overtaking is not required: You never have to beat the card that is currently winning the trick. You only need to satisfy the follow-suit and trump requirements.
Who wins the trick?
The winner is determined in this order:
- the latest HIGH joker;
- the highest trump card;
- the highest card of the suit established by the first standard card.
Jokers and trump
The joker variant adds a red and a black joker. Their colours do not create a rank, and a joker may be played at any time—even when you could follow suit or play trump.
HIGH joker
Beats every standard card. If both jokers are played HIGH in the same trick, the joker played later wins.
LOW joker
Yields to a qualifying standard card. Whenever you play a joker, you must declare it HIGH or LOW for that trick.
How is trump chosen?
If cards remain after the deal, one is selected randomly as the trump indicator. A standard indicator sets trump with its suit.
If the entire classic deck has been dealt, a trump suit is selected randomly from the four standard suits.
If the trump indicator is a joker, that round has no standard trump suit. The HIGH and LOW joker rules still apply.
Rare edge case
If a trick contains no standard card and every played joker is LOW, the latest card wins. This cannot arise in a normal 3–6 player game because the deck contains only two jokers.
Scoring
Points are added to the running game total after every round. There are no negative points.
- Bid matched
- tricks won + 5 points
- Bid missed
- tricks won
Scoring examples
| Bid | Tricks won | Round points |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | 7 |
|---|
| 0 | 0 | 5 |
|---|
| 2 | 3 | 3 |
|---|
The bonus rewards accuracy. Taking more tricks is not always better if the extra trick makes you miss your bid.
Round schedules
The player count determines the largest hand and the total number of rounds. Jokers do not change either value.
Game length
| Players | Largest hand | Total rounds |
|---|
| 3 | 12 | 29 |
|---|
| 4 | 9 | 26 |
|---|
| 5 | 7 | 25 |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | 26 |
|---|
All exact schedules
Open the complete schedule for a player count: 3 players · 29 rounds
1 → max → 1
Card counts in round order: 1 · 1 · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 12 · 12 · 11 · 10 · 9 · 8 · 7 · 6 · 5 · 4 · 3 · 2 · 1 · 1 · 1
max → 1 → max
Card counts in round order: 12 · 12 · 12 · 11 · 10 · 9 · 8 · 7 · 6 · 5 · 4 · 3 · 2 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 12 · 12
Open the complete schedule for a player count: 4 players · 26 rounds
1 → max → 1
Card counts in round order: 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 9 · 9 · 9 · 8 · 7 · 6 · 5 · 4 · 3 · 2 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1
max → 1 → max
Card counts in round order: 9 · 9 · 9 · 9 · 8 · 7 · 6 · 5 · 4 · 3 · 2 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 9 · 9 · 9
Open the complete schedule for a player count: 5 players · 25 rounds
1 → max → 1
Card counts in round order: 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 7 · 7 · 7 · 7 · 6 · 5 · 4 · 3 · 2 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1
max → 1 → max
Card counts in round order: 7 · 7 · 7 · 7 · 7 · 6 · 5 · 4 · 3 · 2 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 7 · 7 · 7 · 7
Open the complete schedule for a player count: 6 players · 26 rounds
1 → max → 1
Card counts in round order: 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 6 · 6 · 6 · 6 · 6 · 5 · 4 · 3 · 2 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1
max → 1 → max
Card counts in round order: 6 · 6 · 6 · 6 · 6 · 6 · 5 · 4 · 3 · 2 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 6 · 6 · 6 · 6 · 6
Game end and tied scores
After the final round, players are ranked from highest score to lowest. The player with the lowest total becomes the Sitaratas and may add their signature to the result.
When total scores are tied, the player who came earlier in the game’s original table order ranks ahead. If the tie is for the lowest score, the earlier of those players also becomes the Sitaratas.
Interrupting and reconnecting to an online game
A lost connection does not remove a player or skip their turn. They can reconnect to the same game.
- During the first full dealer rotation—the first N rounds—one participant may start a dismissal vote.
- Each game attempt allows one proposal. Play pauses for up to 60 seconds, and the proposer’s YES vote is counted automatically.
- Approval requires a strict majority: 2 votes with 3 players, 3 with 4, 3 with 5, and 4 with 6.
- Approval returns the players to the same lobby and covers one restart. Rejection or expiry resumes play.
- A disconnected player remains part of the eligible voting group.
The full game-pass reservation, use and release rules are in the Terms of Service.
Common questions
Short answers to situations that most often cause questions during a game.
Can I bid zero tricks?
Yes. Zero is always in the bidding range, except for the rare case where zero is the dealer’s single forbidden final bid.
Why is one bid unavailable to the dealer?
The total of all bids cannot equal the number of tricks in the round. This guarantees that at least one bid must miss.
May I play a joker when I could follow suit?
Yes. A joker is always legal, but you must declare it HIGH or LOW when playing it.
Does a leading joker establish the suit?
No. The first standard card played later establishes the led suit.
Must I beat the card currently winning the trick?
No. Sitaratas has no mandatory overtaking rule.
Do jokers increase the largest hand?
No. Both deck variants use the same round schedules.
What happens when the trump indicator is a joker?
That round has no standard trump suit. The HIGH and LOW joker rules continue to apply.
How are tied final scores resolved?
The earlier player in the original table order ranks ahead. In a tie for the lowest score, that earlier player also becomes the Sitaratas.
