Six-Bid Solo

The origins of Six-Bid Solo lie with an old south German game called German Tarok (Deutschtarok)[1] which arose in the desire to play the tarot card game of Grosstarock with German-suited, non-tarot cards. German Tarok appeared in the late 18th century and became very popular in Württemberg, Swabia and Bavaria during the 19th century.[2] One offshoot was the game of Tapp, played in Württemberg and Swabia, which was essentially German Tarok with French-suited cards. It may have been Tapp that was brought to the United States by European emigrants and which became the game of Frog, the name being derived from the lowest contract in Tapp, which was a Frage or Froag.[3] The rules of Frog first appeared in a 1907 Hoyle[4] and, by 1922, a variant called Straight Solo had emerged in which the Frog contract had been dropped.[5] This mirrored a practice in German Tarok where the Frage contract was left out in many places, something that was "regrettable" because there was much skill involved in playing it.[6] Six-Bid was an elaboration of Straight Solo from two to six contracts, very like the modern version of Tapp with its contracts to lose or win every trick and in which hearts is a preference suit. The rules for Six-Bid Solo first appeared in the 1924 edition of Hoyles Standard Games (HSG) and have hardly changed since. It was played in Salt Lake City and is sometimes referred to as Salt Lake Solo.[7] The 1940 Official Rules note it as "A Salt Lake Variation" without further elaboration.[8] It is also known as American Solo.[1]

The following rules are based on HSG supplemented by the other sources cited.[7]

Another variant of Frog that emerged at the same time as Six-Bid was Progressive Solo,[7] later also called Denver Progressive Solo[10] or Denver Solo.[14] The 1940 Official Rules subtitle Progressive Solo as the "Denver Athletic Club Variation" without substantiating the statement.[8] Its rules were last recorded in the 1980s[14] so it may now be extinct. Pennycook describes it as a "simple, yet skilful, game." The rules are as for Six-Bid, except where stated.[14]

Three to five may play.[lower-alpha 2] This time there are five contracts. Frog is retained and there were four suit solos ranking, in ascending order, ♠, ♣, ♦ and ♥. Players bid in rotation and must initially pass or bid any contract. Once a bid is made, subsequent players must pass, double or overcall. A player whose bid is overcalled may double or raise when the bidding comes around again, otherwise must pass. Any doubling is only between the bidder and the doubler and is cancelled if the current contract is overcalled. A player who has been doubled may redouble when the turn comes around again. Once all bar one have passed,[lower-alpha 3] the player left in becomes the 'bidder' and must play the highest contract announced. In a Frog, the bidder picks up and exchanges with the widow before laying away the three discards, face down, to one side. In any solo, the widow is untouched. In either case, the widow cards count towards the bidder's score at the end of play.[14]

To win, the bidder must then take at least 60 card points in tricks and the widow. If successful, the bidder is paid by each opponent for each point above 60; if unsuccessful, the bidder pays them each the same amount.[lower-alpha 4] The tariffs, which are multiplied by any doubling or redoubling, are shown in the summary table below:[14]

Progressive Solo or Denver Solo
Name of contract	Exchange with widow	Suits	Tariff (counters/point)
Frog	Yes	♥ only	1
Spade Solo	No	♠	2
Club Solo	No	♣	3
Diamond Solo	No	♦	4
Heart Solo	No	♥	5

In addition, there may be two pots – one for Frog and one for the Solos – to which players ante an agreed amount each deal. Pennycook specifies the same stake for each pot;[14] HSG states that the solo pot receives a double stake from each player.[7]

• _ (1839). Das Sansprendre-Spiel in Regeln zur richtigen Auffassung und Ausführung desselben nach seinen verschiedenen Nuancen dargestellt (SSR). Bayreuth: Grau 50 pp.
• _ (1881). Ausführliche Anleitung zum Deutschtarokspielen, nebst einem Anhange, enthaltend: ein Verzeichniß über alle technischen oder Kunstausdrücke, Provinzialismen und vulgären Bezeichnungen, welche bei diesem Spiele vorkommen. (AAD) Munich: Cäsar Fritsch. 88 pp.
• _ (1907). Hoyle's Games. NY: McClure.
• _ (1922). Official Rules of Card Games. Cincinnati: USPC.
• _ (1924). Hoyle's Standard Games. Cincinnati: USPC.
• _ (1940). Official Rules of Card Games: Hoyle Up to Date. Cincinnati: USPC.
• Beattie, Rob (2009). The Art of Playing Cards. NY: Quarto. ISBN 9780785836698
• Culbertson, Ely (1957), Phillips, Hubert (ed.), Culbertson’s Card Games Complete, Watford: Argo
• Dummett, Michael (1980). The Game of Tarot. London: Duckworth. ISBN 0715610147
• Gibson, Walter B. (1993) [1974]. Hoyle's Modern Encyclopedia of Card Games. Devizes: Selecta.
• Goren, Charles (1961). Goren's Hoyle - Encyclopedia of Games. NY: Chancellor Hall, Ltd.
• Morehead, Albert H, Richard L. Frey and Geoffrey Mott-Smith (1991). The New Complete Hoyle NY, London: Doubleday.
• Parlett, David (1991), A History of Card Games, Oxford: OUP.
• Parlett, David (2008), The Penguin Book of Card Games, London: Penguin, ISBN 978-0-141-03787-5
• Pennycook, Andrew (1982). The Book of Card Games. London/NY: Grenada. ISBN 0246117567