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SMOKE, the card game

Balloonman

New Member
In 2004 someone posted asking for the rules to the Smoke card game. A link was posted, that is no longer valid. This game was the go to game in the instructor ready room during weather delays at Ellison Field in Pensacola in the late 50's and early 60's. I know it also spread to fleet ops too. Can anyone help in uncovering the rules to the game? Appreciate all efforts
 

ea6bflyr

Working Class Bum
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Super Moderator
Contributor
 

Balloonman

New Member
The solitaire game is not the one. The game we played had up to 8 players and was very competitive. Thanks for your efforts.
 

Balloonman

New Member
8 players get 5 cards each. Dealer turns up his last card and it is trump. Starting to the left of the dealer each player declares if they are in the hand or folding. You can fold two hands in a row and then you must play the next hand. Once all players of that hand have declared, the first "in" player to the dealers left leads a trump card. Hold that thought. Each player starts with 10 points on the score sheet. Each trick you take reduces your score by one, the object is to get to zero. If you opt in to a hand, or are forced in, and take no tricks your score is increased by 5 points. Back to the play of the hand. This where I get hazy on the rules. I believe you had to follow suit. Here is where the fun starts. Everyone is trying to get the players with the lowest scores. After the first card is played people start revealing what high trump cards they have (truthfully or not) to attempt to form alliances against the low score players. Picture this: a player three players to your right, declares having the ace of trump and you declare to hold the king. The player to your immediate right is the one with the current lowest score, You propose to that player with the ace that they not play the ace and you will only play the king to over trump the low score holder to your right. (this is similar to what in Bridge is called a finesse) The ace holder holds off, the low score player plays a low trump. You lied about having the king, you do have the Jack of trump and play it to win the trick, betraying the Ace holder because the Jack was your only possibility of winning a trick that hand. Of course this will bring you retribution in later hands. This open discussion takes place prior to and during every trick. One of the rules was that cards could not be named so each card had a nickname that was used. Example: Ace = Boss, Queen + lady. I cannot remember the others.

A local insurance agent used to supply us pads of score sheets, with his name on them of course. The score sheets were about 2" high and 6" long. when you got to zero each of the other players in the game owed you 10 cents for each point they had left after the final tally. Very few people paid up immediately so after a while you ended up with this wad of "Smoke Chits" Often you could scratch off player on your chits for equal scratch offs on someone else chit when they won. Part of the process of checking out when you left a squadron was to settle up with everyone on the smoke chits.
 

skoshi

New Member
In 2004 someone posted asking for the rules to the Smoke card game. A link was posted, that is no longer valid. This game was the go to game in the instructor ready room during weather delays at Ellison Field in Pensacola in the late 50's and early 60's. I know it also spread to fleet ops too. Can anyone help in uncovering the rules to the game? Appreciate all efforts
Smoke
Rules as I remember it, and from data from the internet, and squadron buddies from the 1960”s
Steve Pollard (aka skosh)

The card game “smoke” was a regular game in Marine Corps squadrons in the 1960’s, and specifically, in VMF 451 in the early 1960’s. Below is the basic rules for this fun and exasperating game involving chicanery, including lying.

The basic rules are simple, with up to 10 people to play the game. At the start of the game, each player is given 10 points. The object of the game is to take tricks, with each trick taken worth one point, which will reduce his score by one point. The first player to reach “0” points wins.
Each player is dealt 5 cards, and the dealers last card dealt is turned face up. This card becomes “smoke”, which is the trump suite. After the deal, the bottom of the remaining un-dealt cards is shown, and it is either a smoke or no smoke roll, depending on the suite of the last card. The remaining cards are set aside. (Failure to show the bottom card and call out smoke or no smoke roll is 3 points to be added to the dealer’s score.)
Play commences with each player in turn, starting with player to the left of the dealer, declaring they are either in our out. (A player can sit out up to two hands in a row, but must play the third hand.)
Players must follow suite, or they may use smoke. High card, or highest smoke card, wins the hand, and that player is awarded one point. The hand winner then leads any cards to start the next round. Players follow suite or use smoke, each player in turn. This continues until one player runs out of cards, and wins the hand.
SCORING
Each trick taken is worth one point removed from your score. If you opted to play, and take no tricks, then your score is increased 5 points.
JUNGLE RULES
One of the fun aspects of smoke is the use of jungle rules. This means that there is a name for each card (cards are papes) other than the real name. For instance, suggested names for the cards are as follow.
Hearts- thumpers
Spades- shovels
Diamond-sparklers
Club-puppy tracks,
Ace-boss
King-kack
Queen-lady or tits
Jack-hook
10-high number
Nine-loop
Eight- double ass-holes
Seven-buggy top
Six-inverted loop
Five and lower- low number
For an example, the 10 of diamonds would be the sparkler high number. If you use the real card name, such as 10 of diamonds, the players take a vote (thumbs down) to bag you 5 points, which is added to your score.
HERE IS WHERE THE FUN STARTS
Everyone tries to increase the points of the player with the lowest score. After the first card is played, players start asking for where the high smoke is. Table talk is fair, and a player can ask each other what they have. They may tell the truth, or may lie, all in an attempt to form an alliance to both insure they will get at least one hand (or point), and to bag the player with the lowest score.
Example: A player three places to your right declares he has the boss of smoke. (ace of trump) and you declare you hold the kack. The player to your immediate right has the lowest score. You propose to that player with the boss and you will only play the kack to over smoke the low score holder to your right. The boss holder holds off, the low score holder plays a low smoke. You lied about having the king, but do have the hook of smoke, and play it to win the trick, betraying the boss holder because the hook was in your hand and it was the only way you could win a trick.
When a player gets down to two points, then he is called “in the box”. When in the box, one or all player gang up on him and may show their cards. Of course, each player wants to get at least one trick, or they will get 5 points added to their score. Makes a very volital game.
 

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
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Super Moderator
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Glad to see the input from folks who have BTDT, and welcome! We usually ask that folks keep it to one post or thread per one topic. Any of the public forums are visible to everyone who visits AWs, so double-posting doesn't get any more visibility than just posting once.

Cool to see the rules from aviator shenanigans earlier in the day, though. :)
 
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