Thousand: play free online

Here you play the 1000 card game online in your browser, free and without signing up, against two computer opponents at a 3D club table with green felt, clear cards and calm music.

One deal takes 3 to 6 minutes, a short game to 500 points about a quarter of an hour, and a full game to 1000 with the barrel fills a quiet evening. The game remembers an unfinished match, so you can come back to it tomorrow on your phone or computer.

How to play the 1000 card game

The deck has 24 cards from nine to ace. Each player gets 7 cards and three cards lie face down in the talon. First comes the bidding: it starts at 100 and goes up by 10, and above 120 you may only bid with a marriage in your hand. Whoever bids highest turns over the talon, takes it into the hand and gives one card to each opponent. They may still raise the contract, and then eight tricks are played. You must follow suit, and without it you must play a trump if you have one.

1000 card game rules and points: marriages

An ace is worth 11, a ten 10, a king 4, a queen 3, a jack 2 and a nine nothing. A marriage is the king and queen of one suit: hearts score 100, diamonds 80, clubs 60 and spades 40. You declare it by leading the king or queen from the second trick on, and from that moment the suit is trumps. In this version you just tap a card from the pair and the marriage is declared for you. The declarer adds the contract when it is made, or loses that much when it fails. The opponents write down their own points rounded to tens.

The barrel and the end of the game

Whoever passes 800 points sits on the barrel. From then on only a made contract counts. You have three deals to make a contract and reach a thousand, otherwise you drop back by 120 points. It is the tensest moment of the match, which is why a barrel stands next to that player's name in the score table.

Thousand against the computer: modes and levels

A short game ends at 500 points, a full game at 1000 with the barrel. The deal of the day gives everyone the same cards and counts how many days in a row you have played it. Learning mode takes you by the hand: a coach tells you when to bid, what to give away from the talon and when to play a marriage. The opponents have three levels. Easy ones pass early and play carefully, hard ones count the points in their hand, guard their marriages and bid higher when they see a chance.

What you see at the table

A plaque above the table shows who plays and for how much, with the trump suit beside it. A speech bubble appears next to every player with their move: a bid, a pass, a marriage or the points for a trick. The talon turns over in the middle of the table and flies to the declarer, the cards given away slide to the opponents, and after every deal a table shows the points of that deal and the total. Gold numbers next to the names tell you who is leading without opening any window.

Bidding tips

Count the points in your hand together with marriages, not just the face cards. An ace and a ten of the same suit are almost a sure 21 points. Bid 120 only with a marriage or very strong aces, because the talon rarely saves a weak hand. When you give cards away from the talon, get rid of lonely nines and jacks, never the king or queen of a pair. When an opponent sits on the barrel, push the bidding up so you do not hand them an easy game.

Play on phone and computer

Thousand works in portrait and landscape on phones, tablets and computers. The cards in your hand are big, you bid with large buttons on the table and play a card with a single tap. Menus, scores, rules and sound settings come in 10 languages, and the dark and light look follows your device. If you like Makao or Hearts, you sit down at the same club table here.