How to Play Ombre
Description
The three-player game that dominated fashionable European card tables for most of the seventeenth century. One player bids to win against the other two — who briefly become partners against them.
Also known as: L'Hombre
Objective
Be the lone bidder — "the Man" — and win at least five of nine tricks against the other two players teamed against you. Or be one of those two, and stop them.
Setup
Three players, using a 40-card Spanish-style deck.
Deal nine cards to each player, with the remaining cards set aside as a talon.
Rules
The dealer proposes trump; anyone can challenge and become the Ombre by naming a different suit and committing to play against the other two.
Everyone, including the Ombre, may discard cards and draw replacements from the talon before play starts.
Three specific top cards — the matadors — always rank above every other trump, in a fixed order.
Follow suit if you can; if you can't, play anything. Highest trump wins the trick — or highest card of the suit led, if no trump was played. Winner leads next.
Winning
The Ombre needs at least five of the nine tricks to win the hand; the two defenders win together if they hold the Ombre to four or fewer.
Taking all nine tricks is a special result worth extra.
Falling one or two tricks short of five is Codille: the Ombre pays a penalty, and whichever defender took the most tricks collects it. Falling further short is Puesta: the pool simply grows, and the Ombre adds to it for next time.