How to Play Commerce
Description
A seventeenth-century trading game where three-card hands, open negotiation, and the willingness to trade with the widow for a better hand determine who walks away with the pot.
Also known as: Commerse; Trade and Barter
Objective
Hold the strongest three-card hand when trading ends, and take the pot.
Setup
Every player antes into the pot and is dealt three cards.
Three cards are turned face up in the centre as the widow.
Rules
On your turn, swap up to three of your cards for cards in the widow — trading a card in means putting your own face up in its place.
Trade all three cards at once and you lock in your hand — no more swapping for you this round.
You can also pass instead of trading, but that also forfeits your chance to trade again.
The strongest hand is three cards of one suit in sequence; other strong hands include three of a kind, three cards of the same suit out of sequence, a pair, or the point total of same-suit cards.
Winning
Trading continues until every player has acted.
Hands are revealed and the best hand wins the pot.
Tied hands carry the pot forward to the next deal.