Cards4Couples
Medium · 3/5Sedma group (trick-taking)Czech Republic / Slovakia

Sedma

Also known as Seven

A Czech trick game with an unusual twist: a card can only be beaten by another of the same rank as the lead, or by a seven (which is wild). You aim to capture aces and tens.

You'll need: A 32-card pack (A, K, Over/Queen, Under/Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7 in each suit). From a standard deck, remove 2s through 6s.

Start the scorekeeper →

Objective

Capture the aces and tens (and the last trick) to score the most points, over a series of hands played for stakes.

Card values

Each ace and each ten = 10 points; the last trick = 10 points; everything else = 0. Total 90 points per hand.

Setup

  1. 1Deal four cards to each player, then stack the rest face down as a draw pile.
  2. 2In later hands the previous loser deals and the winner leads first.

How to play

  • The player to the dealer's left leads any card; each other player then plays any card.
  • After everyone has played, the leader chooses either to END the trick or to CONTINUE it.
  • The trick is won by the LAST player who played either a card matching the rank of the lead card, or a seven.
  • To continue, the leader plays another card equal to the original lead or a seven; the others each add a card too. This can repeat for up to four rounds.
  • The winner collects all cards to a face-down pile, then everyone draws back up to four cards (winner first). The winner leads the next trick.
  • When the draw pile is exhausted, play out the remaining cards normally.

Special rules

  • Sevens are effectively wild — a seven can win any trick.
  • You may keep extending a trick even when already winning it, to pressure opponents into surrendering aces or tens.

Scoring

Scored in stakes (or points to an agreed target)

Each hand

  • Count 10 for each ace and ten captured, plus 10 for the last trick (90 total).
  • Most points wins 1 stake.
  • Taking all 90 points (but not every trick) wins 2 stakes.
  • Winning every trick wins 3 stakes.

Good to know

  • A common option: record stakes as points and play to a target such as 10.

Winning

Win each hand by capturing the most points; win the match by accumulating the most stakes (or reaching an agreed points target).

Game mechanics referenced from pagat.com (John McLeod); rules text is our own wording.