The Meeple Guild: Deck Deals #9 - Canadian Salad a tasty tricker taker to try

YORKTON - When we first came across Canadian Salad the name was all we needed to be interested because we have a great interest in things Canadian – games included.

But, this one was probably not created in this country.

Boardgamegeek.com has the game designed by American Randy Green in 1993 – so it’s a pretty recent game, although there are many new card games created yearly.

The game is one of those versatile gems which plays three-to-eight – with four likely the sweet spot. Suggested variants include using two decks for 6-8 players.

In a four player game all the cards are dealt out to the players, 13 to each.

For a game with more or fewer players, some cards are removed from the deck so that it can be dealt evenly.

*For three players remove the 2 of clubs and deal 17 cards each.

*For five players remove the 2 of clubs and the 2 of diamonds and deal 10 cards each.

*For six players remove the 2 and 3 of clubs and 2 and 3 of diamonds and deal 8 cards each.

The game is a nice straight trick-taker, so there is nothing new to learn in terms of tricky mechanics. You can teach the basics in short order.

Where this game gets its charm is on what players are trying to accomplish – or avoid each deal.

Pagat.com lists the hands for ease of players looking for this one. In each avoid what is listed. The basic game consists of six hands, played in order, resulting in penalty points as follows:

* 1st hand. No tricks. Each trick won counts 10 points. Total 130 points.

* 2nd hand. No hearts. Each hearts taken counts 10 points. Total 130 points.

* 3rd hand. No queens. Each queen taken counts 25 points. Total 100 points.

* 4th hand. No king of spades. The player who takes the king of spades in a trick scores 100 points.

* 5th hand. No last trick. The winner of the last trick scores 100 points.

* 6th hand. Combination of all the above. All scores from hands 1-5 count. Total 560 points.

After six hands the low score wins.

If you want more wackiness there are variant hands listed at pagat.com ending up with 12 different things to avoid over 12 deals. That sounds difficult to grasp but ultimately you have one rule per deal to remember so it’s actually really straight forward.

This might be a bit too random for some, but in terms of just fun card gaming Canadian Salad is indeed a tasty treat.