1000 (also known as Thousand, Tysiacha, Tysiąc, or Russian Schnapsen) is a trick-taking card game of the ace–ten family, popular in Eastern European countries including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, and Kazakhstan. The game's name derives from its winning condition: the first player to reach a cumulative score of 1000 points or more wins.
Overview
1000 is typically played by three active players, though variants exist for two or four players (with one player sitting out each hand). It uses a 24-card deck consisting of cards ranked from ace down to nine in four suits. The game is a point-trick game where the objective is to win tricks containing valuable cards, with additional points awarded for "marriages" (king and queen of the same suit).
Cards and Values
The deck comprises 24 cards (six per suit). Card ranking from high to low and their point values are:
| Rank | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace | 11 |
| Ten | 10 |
| King | 4 |
| Queen | 3 |
| Jack | 2 |
| Nine | 0 |
The total card points in the deck sum to 120 points (30 points per suit).
Marriages
A "marriage" (also called a "meld" or "pair") is a king and queen of the same suit held in one player's hand. When declared during play, a marriage awards bonus points and establishes that suit as the trump suit:
| Marriage Suit | Points |
|---|---|
| Hearts | 100 |
| Diamonds | 80 |
| Clubs | 60 |
| Spades | 40 |
Deal
The dealer is determined by lot, with the turn to deal passing clockwise after each hand. Seven cards are dealt to each of the three active players, and three cards are placed face down in the center as the prikup (talon/stock). Cards are dealt one at a time.
Bidding
Bidding begins with the player to the dealer's left, who must bid at least 100 points. Bids must be multiples of 5 (100, 105, 110, etc.). Each subsequent player must either bid higher or pass. A player who passes cannot re-enter the bidding. The highest bidder becomes the declarer. A player cannot bid more than 120 unless they hold at least one marriage in their hand.
Gameplay
The declarer exposes the three talon cards for all players to see, adds them to their hand, and then discards one card face down to each opponent so that each player ends up with eight cards. The declarer may then increase their bid.
The declarer leads to the first trick. Initially there are no trumps. A player who wins a trick and holds a king and queen of the same suit may announce the marriage and lead one of those cards, which immediately makes that suit the trump suit. The trump suit can change if another player later declares a different marriage.
Players must follow suit if possible. When a trump suit exists, a player unable to follow suit must play a trump if possible. Tricks are won by the highest trump played, or by the highest card of the led suit if no trumps are played.
Scoring
Each player adds up the card points in their own tricks plus the value of any marriages they declared. If the declarer's total meets or exceeds their bid, the bid amount is added to their cumulative score. If not, the bid amount is subtracted. Opponents' scores are rounded to the nearest 5 and added to their cumulative totals.
The Barrel
When a player reaches 880 or more points (but less than 1000), they are said to be "on the barrel" (bochka). Their score is fixed at 880. The player on the barrel has three consecutive hands to win the game by being the declarer and scoring at least 120 points. If they fail after three attempts, they "fall off" the barrel and lose 120 points (reverting to 760). While on the barrel, points earned as a non-declarer do not count toward their score.
Bolts
If a non-declaring player takes no tricks in a hand, they receive a "bolt" (also called a "stick"). Accumulating three bolts results in a 120-point penalty.
Rospisat'
If the declarer determines after seeing the talon that they cannot make their bid, they may declare a Rospisat' (also called a "bomb" in Polish variants). The hand is abandoned, each opponent scores 60 points, and the declarer scores nothing. Repeated use of Rospisat' carries penalties.
Variants
Numerous regional variations exist, including: two-player versions with two talons; four-player versions with a sitting-out dealer; "golden round" opening deals where all scores are doubled; "blind" bidding where the declarer does not look at their hand; and the German variant 1001 (Tausendeins), which uses a 20-card deck without nines and requires more than 1000 points to win.
