READING GUIDE

Sorry for the delay, but Happy Belated Birthday to me :D

If you are new to this, please read the game overview and how to play first, play it a few times and then slowly read the professional tips to help you play on. Bear with me if the writing is too lengthy :)

If you have played it and only need expert tips, the next 2 posts are for you. Do share, play more and make sure to comment or let me know if there's something you would like to add.

Keep up playing regularly and cheers to us!

COMPLEX - PROFESSIONAL TIPS

Contrary to what most people might think, Complex isn't about letting every hand go to the opponents to take least points, but more about knowing which hands to take yourself so that you give your opponents more (negative) points ultimately. Some hands must be sacrificed in order to let the game unfold upon your opponents with them taking the hands including the higher valued cards. 

If your team does manage to take only one hand (or none), you're really lucky with the cards. This might be a long read but please bear with me and try to imagine the situations I'm talking about to practice the ways with least chances of taking negative points.


The trick to playing Complex Partner is giving your partner the right signals, like taking the hand, returning a suit, letting a hand go, sacrificing multiple hands to end up giving a doubled card to the opponents, etc. Double cards and take risks to try to give them to your opponents. You might need to take a few hands but by giving the doubled cards you get positive points that make up for the sacrifices, and also leading to an interesting turn of events. When a card is doubled it really adds a lot of fun in the game as priorities shift immediately.


- When you are dealt your cards, check if you have any cards to double. If you have a Queen with at least 3 more cards of its suit (with preferably 2 low cards and 1 high), you're good to double that one. Same goes with the King of Hearts, only that one is more valuable. If you have none or less than three cards of a suit, it's a good hand for Complex and to double something from a different suit. This is because you can finish that suit fast and use it to hit your opponents with cards of value when they are leading that suit.


- When the game begins and the cards are doubled, check what cards you have of the suit your opponents have doubled cards in. If the player on your left has doubled a card, make sure you do not open the suit at all unless your partner takes the game and opens it. This is because they might have a card higher than the doubled card and since they play before your opponent, you might force them to play and take it.


- If the player on your right has doubled a Q and you don't have A or K, it is your utmost priority to open that suit as one that person plays their turn, your partner (if they have) can play the card higher than the doubled card and get rid of it. You can also do this if you have an A or K, but have enough (4 or more) low cards too, to force the doubled card out. You two can then continue in a one-two fashion until you force your opponent to play the doubled card and take it. 

One-Two fashion means you open it with a low card, your partner takes the hand with a high card. Then they return it with a low card of the same suit and you play a high card (lower than the doubled card) and take the hand. This is where the J/10/9 come in handy, they are very useful so try to save them for the second time a suit is played. Once you have taken it, play it back low, forcing the opponents to take the hand. If you're lucky, they will have to play a Q to take the hand to not let your team attack their suit any further. 



- This tactic works the other way round too, if your partner opens a suit and you have the A or K, and the doubled card of the suit is on your left, immediately play it and get rid of it, or try to always play after the player who has doubled has played their turn.


For example: once again me and my (favorite) partner were playing one of the best players of the game I've met; I chose Complex and this guy, the player on my right doubled the Q of Diamonds. Watching that, my partner immediately doubled the King of Hearts, even though it was his one and only Hearts card! If anyone opened Hearts he would take the 150 points directly, but professionalism dictates otherwise. 

He knew I would start the game so I would definitely not play Hearts. He also knew I would open Diamonds as the Q was doubled on my right. He had only two Diamonds: Ace and a low number. I started the game with a low Diamond, the opponents played numbers, he took it with the Ace. He then played the low number and I took it with the J. (Here if the opponent on my right, the player with the doubled Q had the K, he must have played it and taken the hand without thinking twice because) I then returned Diamonds with a smaller number, the opponent played a higher number and my partner immediately slapped the doubled King of Hearts on his Diamond face. 

Numerically, we sacrificed 2 hands of Diamonds i.e. we took 110 negative points but the +75 from the King makes it only negative 35 points but by the third hand we gave them 195 negative points in a single collection! That is the fun of Complex, taking huge risks but making them pay off.


- Remember every suit has 13 cards so try to count how many cards of the suit have been played already, and how many of it are in your hand to determine how many cards of that suit are with the other players (and haven't been played) still. With experience if you focus and watch closely you can remember which cards have (not) been played. 

This is quite important because if you have a Queen or the King of Hearts and are sure the opponents only have a card higher than it and nothing else, you can take the game and play the Queen/King, forcing them to play the higher card and taking it. That's the power of counting and focusing.


As good as this may be for you, you can also be on the receiving end of this tactic. Therefore try to get rid of the high cards (A or K) early on. Getting rid of high cards can be done in two ways:

1. Playing it as a waste when a suit is being played that you don't have: If you have an A or K of a suit and you know the Q is not with you (or maybe even doubled by your opponents), try to finish off another suit deliberately (letting your partner know so they can open it again for you with a low card) as you can then throw away your A or K here. In cases like this where your partner opens a suit, the next player plays a high card of that suit, and you don't have that suit anymore, you are free to play a doubled card/Queen/Diamond/high card to cause your opponents damage. 

But professionally, it's better to wait and think before you do this in a hurry. Check if you have an A or K of a suit which your opponents have doubled the Q of, and you have less cards of this suit (which makes it even more dangerous for you to keep such cards in your hand); also if you have enough cards supporting your doubled card (more cards of that suit), you don't need to hurry and hit them. Play defensive instead, and throw away a potential dangerous (for you) card in that round so you don't need to worry about their doubled card down there.


2. Playing it and sacrificing that hand (taking it) to play the next one: It's best if you're the 4th person playing the suit in that hand (the person on your right opens it so you play last). This is because if the Q or K hasn't been played you can play your high card and take it immediately in relief. 

If sometimes you have a bad hand with this suit (A and one more card), play the A even if you're the 3rd one to play. It's a risk as the next player might have the Q or K and you may take it but sooner rather than later is better. If your hand is even worse (with only A or K of a suit and nothing else), you can even open the suit with that card, ensuring you take the hand with the Q or K (from opponents) but at least you'll be getting rid of the suit in your hand which lets you hit/waste other dangerous cards when this suit is opened later on.



- Always save the 2 and 3 until the end if you can, and focus on whether the 2 or 3 of a suit have already been played (so you know if the 3 or 4 in your hand is the lowest of that suit currently and you can play it confidently). If you are opening a suit for your partner to hit the opponents, always play the lowest possible card for their convenience. 

For example: if you have the 2 and 3 of a suit, you can play the 3 and the player on your right plays a different suit (as they don't have it), and neither does your partner so they will be confused to play a random waste card or hit them with a strong (doubled) card because they won't know if the last person to play (opponent) has a lower card (the 2) or a higher one. You will know they have a higher card because you have the 2, but your partner won't know it, so you must always play the lowest for them to notice.


- When it's your turn to open a hand and you don't know what to do, look for a suit in which you have multiple cards below Q, and keep playing it in descending order until someone takes the game (hand) from you. Getting rid of a hand is crucial in Complex, so if you have two cards of a suit, play the higher one first (always, unless you are definitely taking a doubled card), take the hand, then play the lower card and get out of that suit. 

Sometimes don't worry even if the higher card is a Q or even the King of Hearts, play it if you're sure sooner or later you'll be taking it as you have no backup for this card in this suit, make the sacrifice by taking it, then play the next low card of the suit and your partner must notice that you're out of it. So if they have a low enough card they can take the game sometime later and play it for you, where you can get rid of something or hit them with a dangerous card.

If your partner is doing this as mentioned above; they open a suit with a Queen and you have the A or K, do not play it there. Save it for the next round. If they play back the same suit it means they are out of it so you can play this high card and take it to return it back with a low card for your partner. Even if this Q (or even a King) was their only card of the suit, after taking the game they'll play a different suit so you'll know that they are out of that suit. You can then proceed to playing the low card of the null suit for them.



- While someone else is leading the game and taking hands as you keep playing lower cards towards the end, keep in mind the cards that are still out (not played yet) of the suits that are in your hand to prevent them from opening it and you taking the hand. In other words, if someone opens a suit you don't have, don't always focus on trying to give point cards.

For example: if someone opens Clubs and you don't have any, and your opponents are leading the hand you have the option to play a Diamond card and cause them damage. But note that you also have only one or two high cards left of another suit, say Spades Ace and King. Instead of using this Clubs hand to give them Diamonds, do the wiser thing and throw away your high Spades here so that in case someone opens Spades, the game doesn't come to you (as you'll be taking everything). You can always hit Diamonds or even take one and return a low one to get out of it later. Avoid keeping (high) cards that make you take the game in your hands towards the end.



Keeping all these in mind over time and prioritising your gameplay options for causing maximum damage to your opponents you might need to break these rules too sometimes. All I've written must work vice-versa with your partner and applies to everyone playing. These are general practices but you can avert from them when more critical situations are faced. Highest priority goes to the doubled (or normal) King of Hearts, always do whatever to not take it. Then comes doubled Queens, then normal Queens and lastly, Diamonds.


Always try to keep count of how many cards have been played of the suits, especially the suits in which there are doubled cards. More importantly, notice who is repeatedly opening which suit and who is avoiding which suit. This is how you'll know who wants to get rid of which suit and who might be holding potentially dangerous cards of another suit. 

It's all a partner game where you develop chemistry and work together to try and hit your opponents hard with the power of mathematics and memory. Very commonly a team can get positive points in a Complex round, by giving the opponents doubled cards and taking less enough hands to keep the positive points (from the doubled cards) more than the normal negative points.

TRIX - PROFESSIONAL TIPS

People usually say this is the easier game of the two, as it's "just arranging cards in order", but while playing Trix Complex Partner, it's way more than that. You've gotta watch each move, remember crucial cards played by your partner, and have a great estimate of probabilities in order to finish before your opponents. Even though the chances are low, this is where you have to battle it if you want to play like a professional. I'll keep updating if I can think of more rules but for now I think these are the usual lines I keep barking at my friends :D


- If you have multiple J's, always open the suit of the 2 which belongs to your team first, then the suit whose 3 or 4 is in your hand, then the suit whose A is in your hand, and then the other suit of which you do not have any extreme end cards. 

This is because when you have extreme end cards of a suit, you should not be blocking it as you need it to reach there for yourself too. Always try to put yourself in such a position where you are able to keep playing your own suits, or even Passing, but not playing on your opponents suits while they're blocking yours.


- If you have multiple J's or have to choose between playing high cards of multiple suits, always play the suit of which you have a lower number. This is to let your partner know that you played this first (for a reason) even though you could have played another. 

Towards the end, it's likely that your partner will have the choice between playing this suit and another, and they must here remember that you played this so you might need this suit to advance more and play it for you. This little move can also win you games, so make sure you also read your partner's priority choices when they face them.


- If you are blocking suits and are forced to play something for the opponents, play the card that is closest to the end of the line. This reduces the chances of the next player (opponent) having the next card  and them playing for your suit(s). 

For example, if you have the options to play between a K or another Q, play the K first. Or if there are numbers, play the lower number first as you'll still be blocking a higher number of opponents suit's cards.


- If you have two or more consecutive cards of a suit, it's an advantage as you will be holding that suit for at least 2 rounds. If the 2 of this suit is with your team, play on. But if it's the opponents', you can play another card for your team, or even play one of the consecutive cards instead of another suit you're holding from your opponents. This is handy when you are blocking another suit but don't want to play it for them, and yet not Pass.


- If your opponents have three 2's (one with one person and two with the other), block the suit that's with one person for as long as you can. For the one with 2 suits, you can be flexible and play on and even finish one, as long as both have at least one suit still blocked by your team to make them play your suit until the end. 

It's actually unlucky to have just one 2 amongst your team because the team with three 2's can control the game as they have to block only one suit. It's not impossible tho, as with the right cards you can still win 350. For example, once me and my (favourite) partner, while playing Trix, had three 2's with him and none with me. He finished his cards first and I got second. 


- If you have all the 2's amongst your team it's also possible to come first and second (even though this is the rarest), by blocking the other team from the top. This means keep playing downwards for every suit, taking care of playing the right suit when you have multiple options. 

This means if you have, say, a 7 of a suit and the 8 and 3 of another, you must play the 8 first as you need it to reach the lower card in your hand, and then play the 7 on the next round, and so on until partnership, chemistry and luck get your team till the end of the line. And once I even came first and second with me and my partner both having two 2's each. That obviously means after my partner finished as first, my last card was a Q, and my opponents (unfortunately) had the K and A. Rarest ending but possible, so take care.


- If you have low cards towards the end and the opponents on both sides have 2's with them, always play the suit of the 2 on your left first, as this forces the player on your right to Pass, giving your partner a chance to finish his hand 1st, and then you could be 2nd or 3rd depending on who has the last 3. This is rare, but a simple choice of suit can result in an extra 50 positive point which may be crucial to your win.


PRIORITY LIST (Check this order to decide what to play on each turn):

1. Downwards for a suit of your team player with only one 2
2. Downwards for a suit of your team player with two or three 2's
3. Upwards for a suit of which you have the Ace
4. Downwards for the suit of the opponent's 2 of which you have a low card (3 or 4)
5. Upwards for any suit
6. Downwards for the opponent's suit who has two or more 2's
7. Downwards for the opponent's suit who has only one 2

HOW TO PLAY

This is where the fun begins. Relax, wear comfortable clothes, play nice background music, get a nice deck of cards, and three other people. You're all welcome.

Remember, this is a partnership game. Two teams of two players each sit with partners facing each other. Game starts with the one who has the kingdom and moves counter-clockwise. No talking not sign-language-signalling to anyone anything at all should be allowed. Communicate only by watching and focusing on each card played.


Shuffle the deck well, make the person on your left cut the deck (replace a portion of the deck from top to bottom), and deal them counter-clockwise starting with the person on your right (and ending with you). Whoever gets the 7 of Hearts rules this kingdom. This person has the choice to play either one of the 2 games, or a reshuffle of the deck on their own (only this very first time) and continue normally till the end. While any player is choosing the kingdom, their partner must not pick up the cards until the game is chosen, to avoid cheating via team communication. 

You continue with whichever game this person chooses, note the scores, then this person again shuffles, cuts and deals the same way to play the other round. Once again, count the scores and the kingdom is over. The person on their right has the next kingdom and it's their turn to shuffle, cut, deal, and play their kingdom the same way.


TRIX:

The objective here is to finish the cards in your hand fastest, while playing one card down at each turn. The person who has the kingdom starts the game with a J, and if they don't have one they 'Pass', and the next person (on the right) has to play. You're trying to arrange all 4 suits in order, starting with the Jack. 

If a J is down, the next person has the option to play an immediate next/previous card, another Jack, or to Pass. You cannot Pass if there is any card in your hand that can be played. If you do, we usually wrap up the round and give your team minimum points and play the next round, so make sure you focus.

For example, if there is a J-10-9 down, you can play a Q or an 8, and continue like that till all the suits have been arranged fully.

If you have three 2's and the 3 of the last (other) suit, you can choose to reshuffle and repeat the round of Trix. You could do it with four 2's too, but you must have a 3.


When the person chooses to play Trix, or the round after a Complex is chosen, if you have any 2's you ask your opponents if they have any 2's as well. If both teams have 2's, you all put the four 2's face down in front of you, though it is still a part of your hand that you have to play normally. After the first player (kingdom owner) has completed two turns, you all flip the 2's in order to selectively play suits to help your team to finish before the opponents (as you'll block/not play their suit or the 2's that they have).

The 2 is most likely the last card of that suit (unless you're blocked from the top and you cannot play the Ace or King). It usually determines who will finish later so you must try to play your own suits before the opponents. If all the 2's are amongst one team, you don't need display it (as only your teammate will automatically know which 2's you have and try to help you).

The round ends when all the 4 suits are completely arranged down and the points are given in finishing order.


COMPLEX:

The objective here is to collect minimum negative points as a team. This is a trick-taking game, i.e. when a person plays down a card, the others must follow the same suit, and only if they don't have this suit they can play anything else. When the 4 cards are played, the one who played the highest card of the suit that was played first, collects that hand and plays the next card. This is done 13 times and then the points are counted for the team. Some cards have extra points, so try to avoid taking them.


When the person chooses to play Complex, or the round after a Trix is chosen, you get a chance to "double" cards before starting. The only five cards that are allowed to be doubled are the 4 Queens, and the King of Hearts. 

Everyone who has a card to double must put their doubled card(s) face down in front of them, without looking at anyone else's. This is done to avoid situations where a player looks at the doubled card (suit) of another player, and depending on that move, double a card from their own hand. This is deemed unfair therefore once everyone has doubled, you have to flip it so everyone can see, and it's still a part of your hand (if someone else opens this suit you cannot play anything else unless this one is played too). Whoever takes it will get double the negative value of the card and the opponents will get positive of the normal value in their round score.


For example, if you double the King (only of Hearts allowed) and Queen of Clubs and give both to the opponents team, you get a +75 and +25 = +100 bonus with the negative points that you take in this round. And the opponents don't get any positive, just doubled negative points, i.e. -150 for the King and -50 for the Queen.

GAME OVERVIEW

Trix itself is a very wide game, being able to be played in various different ways depending on how you want to. You can read up about it in any search result that comes up when you hit Trix Complex on Google. I'm only going to discuss about the Trix - Complex - Partner version, easily the most widely played and best. The other boring versions are for people who chose not think, count, and use their mind a little bit more to make it more interesting. And that is actually not a very bold statement to be making here, it really is that amazing!

"The best of card games are played by 4 players." - Me

I say 4 players because there are 4 suits, and here each player gets 13 shuffled cards so that uses the entire deck and gives you the most out of it. For those who are really new to this, let me brief you up. We use a standard 52 card deck (without extra Joker cards) which comprises of four suits, namely Spades, Hearts, Clubs, and Diamonds (as seen on your background). Each suit has 13 cards: A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2 (descending order).

The objective is to have total positive points at the end of the game (4th kingdom). Trix is played in kingdoms, each player gets one kingdom comprising of 2 rounds in it, namely Trix (yes, the in-game round is also called Trix which gives you positive points), and Complex (negative points). 

In the first round of the kingdom, the player gets to look at only their own hand and choose the game they want to play (Trix or Complex), and next they play the other and complete their kingdom. Repeat four times, or three, if the score of one team is too low to come back from in one kingdom.

POINTS - Each round contains an exact total of 500 points. Positive in Trix, and negative in Complex.

In Trix, the cards do not have individual points. It's just a matter of who finishes their hands first while following the rules of the game.
1st - 200 points
2nd - 150 points
3rd - 100 points
4th - 50 points

Breakdown: 200+150+100+50 = 500 no matter who gets which rank. You share 500 points between the 2 teams.

In Complex, the cards themselves have points as you collect them. They are as follows:
King of Hearts: -75 points
All the Queens: -25 points each
Every Diamond card: -10 points each
Every hand that you collect: -15 points each
In the end you count the total of all the hands collected by the team.

Breakdown: 
13 Collections x 15 points = 195
13 Diamonds x 10 points = 130
4 Queens x 25 points = 100
1 King of Hearts x 75 points = 75
195+130+100+75 = 500 Points in total


While counting, always count all the cards one team has taken (including the doubled values) and then only give positive points if the opponents have taken doubled cards in that round. 25 for each Q and 75 for the King of Hearts. It's important to not mess it up with the positive and negative points. Do not give yourself +50 for giving them a doubled Queen, or +150 for giving them the doubled King.

For example, if you took a doubled Q and a normal Q but gave them the other 2 Queens and a doubled King, you count for yourself the negatives first. Count -25 for the normal one and -50 for the doubled Q you took. Finally add a +75 only to your score because they took the doubled King. No other additions as counting both teams scores might get confusing.


I call it mathematically brilliant because of how it was designed to be always pivoted around 500 points. In each round you either get 500 positive or 500 negative points, making the total score sum of (both teams) each kingdom as Zero. Try to count the score of one team in a round, and the other team will automatically be the remaining amount from 500. Positive or negative, depending on Trix or Complex respectively.

INTRODUCTION

Hi! I'm a fanatic of mind games or anything that involves competitive skills in counting or logical deduction and it's a huge part of my being. I've been playing numerous card games, stepping up the type and complexity level of the game in the last few years.

Having started from the ordinary Bluff and Classic Hearts, I've moved on to more advanced games like Spades and Poker to Trix, Estimation, Hand, etc. None of these games ever caught my interest like the Complex/Partner version of Trix. I can safely say I had been addicted to it so much that people gave me a permanent nickname "Trix".

I have searched online for a long amount of time to learn more about this game, and playing tips and tricks, and also to play it on sites, apps, etc. and till date I've only found one proper place you can get the real experience to learn and enjoy this brilliant invention. 

You can visit Jawaker (click link) to play it and other interesting card games to satisfy you for a lifetime. Nowhere on the internet have I found a website or a video that explains this game in full, and teaches how to play it like an expert so it's about time I step up and share this with you.

I call it brilliant because in no other game will you see the mathematics align and make sense so perfectly, it makes one feel magical (if you actually count all the little details to compare the numbers). There was a phase where I played it daily for more than half of the time I was awake. There's big reason this game is the most popular smart card game of tricks.

I've mastered this game (arrogance aside) including its counting methods and all the little tips to follow during play, and adding your power of short-term memory to it, you can also play it like a professional and share my love for it. This is a written guide with complete introduction, tutorial and tips to playing one of the most popular card games in the world - Trix Complex (Partner).