Rules for Mattis

Objective

Mattis is a Norwegian card game where the goal is to NOT win tricks in Phase 1, and then get rid of all your cards in Phase 2. The player who is 'Mattis' (the loser) has the most cards remaining at the end.

Setup

The game uses a standard 52-card deck. All cards are dealt between players. The last card dealt becomes the trump card and determines the trump suit for the entire game.

Phase 1: Collection

Avoid winning tricks!

1. The player who drew the last card (and received the trump card) starts.
2. Players play one card each in turn.
3. The player who plays the highest card wins the trick.
4. Trump beats all other suits.
5. The winner of the trick draws first from the deck, then the loser draws.
6. This continues until the deck is empty.
7. Fewer tricks is better! The goal is 0 tricks (Blåmattis).

Phase 2: Playing Out

Get rid of all your cards!

1. When the deck is empty, Phase 2 begins.
2. The player who won the last trick in Phase 1 starts.
3. You must play cards in the same suit as the last card on the table.
4. If you don't have cards in the correct suit, you must 'undertrekk' (draw all cards from the table).
5. You can play multiple cards at once if they are consecutive in the same suit (e.g., 5, 6, 7 of hearts).
6. When all 13 cards of a suit are played, they return to the deck (except the trump card).
7. First player to run out of cards wins!

Winning and Losing

Blåmattis (Best!)

You win 0 tricks in Phase 1. This is the best victory!

Normal Victory

You run out of cards first in Phase 2, or your opponent is Mattis (has the most cards remaining).

Tips

• In Phase 1: Play low cards to avoid winning tricks.
• Remember the trump suit - trump always beats other suits.
• In Phase 2: Try to play series of cards to get rid of multiple cards at once.
• Pay attention to which suits you have - if you don't have a suit, you must undertrekk.

Try it yourself