The Koltsina (or Kontsina) card game is a fun to play game. It is extremely easy to play, but you will never get bored of it. It is played with 2 or 4 players and with one deck of cards. If there is an odd number of player(s), a “Robot” player will join the game.
How to Start a Koltsina Game
From the main menu we click on the “Join Table” button of the card with the name “Koltsina”
In the list of tables, you can join which ever table you like.
Here there are two tables available: Four players can sit in the the first table, and two players can sit in the second one. In the second table, a player has already sat. If you join that table, you will play against that player.
When you join a table, you are asked if you want to sit in the table, and play a game.
If you answer “Yes” to this question then the following two things may happen:
- If one of the players is a Robot player, the current game will end immediately and a new one will start
- If all players are human beings, then when the current game ends, you may play the next game. Whether you play the next game or not depends on how many players have already joined this table. Of course, the selection is based on “first come, first served”.
If instead you answer “No” to the question, then you join this table as an observer. This means that you can not play a game, but you can watch other players playing a game. You can still chat with all players.
How are Players Positioned on the Table
Up to four players can play a Koltsina game. Thus, we have one player at the bottom of the table, one at the left end of table, one at the top of the table, and one at the right end of the table. If only two players can play a Koltsina game, then the bottom and left area are occupied.
If you can play a game, then you are always positioned at the bottom area. There you see your cards, and the stack of collecting cards (more about this in the next section).
How to Play a Koltsina Game
The Koltsina game is played in turns. Initially four cards are dealt to each player, and 4 cards are laid on the table. The cards on the table are opened, so that all players can see them.
Make a Move
A player makes a move by either:
- Dropping a card on the table
- Picking a card from the table
You pick a card according to the following rules:
- If the card on the table is a face (or court), you pick it only if you have the same face. So, you pick a Jack with a Jack, a Queen with a Queen and a King with a King.
- If the card is a number (e.g. Ace, 2, 3 … 10), you pick it either if you have the same number, or if you can combine two or more cards on the table so that the sum of their values is equal to the value of your card. For example, if you have a 3 card, and on the table you have an Ace, a 2 and a 3 cards, you can either pick the 3 card or the Ace and 2 cards.
In a nutshell, you pick the same card or the sum of cards whose value is equal to the value of your card. It does not matter the type of card (Clubs, Spades, Diamonds or Hearts).
You select a card by clicking on it. That card is slightly elevated. You first select your card and then the card(s) on the table. If you want to select a different card, simply click on that card. If you want to select a different card on the table, firstly click on the card that is already selected to deselect it.
You drop a card by clicking on the empty card on the table.
Stack of Collecting Cards
The card that you used is removed from your hand, and it is moved to the stack of collecting cards. This is used to count the number of points that you win in a game.
Under your name, you see the stack of collecting cards. There you see the total cards that you have collected, the total cards of type Spades that you have collected, and if you have collected the 2 of Spades card and the 10 of Diamonds cards.
End of Turn, End of Game
After you make a move, it is your opponent(s) turn to make a move, and the process is repeated until all players play their cards. Then, the turn is over, and each player gets 4 new cards, and you start all over again, until all cards are consumed.
At the end of the game, if there are cards on the table, the player who was last to pick a card, collects those cards too.
Note that each player has a certain time to make a move. If that time has elapsed and the player has not made his/her move, the system assumes that that player has abandoned the table. In that case, the player is removed from the table, and the game is restarted.
Compute Score
At the end of the Koltsina game, the computer computes the score for each players. The total points that a player can earn are 5, and are distributed as follows:
- 2 points gets the player who has collected the most cards
- 1 point gets the player who has collected the most cards of type Spades
- 1 point gets the player who has collected the 2 of Spades card
- 1 point gets the player who has collected the 10 of Diamonds card
If two (or more) players have collected the same number of cards then no point is awarded to any player. This rule is applied when we sum the total cards that are collected and the cards of Spades that are collected by each player. Thus, it is possible (but unlikely) to award only 2 points in a game.