Taught to Russell by Denise's ex-ex-brother-in-law Gary.
From the inter-webs: King Pede
Similar to Bronco

Contents

Players

Four players exactly. Two teams of two. Just like Whist or Bridge.

Cards

A standard 52 card deck is used + one Joker. The cards in each suit rank (from high to low) A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2.

Card Values

The following chart shows the pecking order. Ace of trump is the highest and therefore always wins. Joker is the lowest trump and only beats non-trump cards. After each hand, each team counts the points in the tricks they won. The two numbers WILL add to 100.
Trump Rank
Points
Ace of Trump
1
King of Trump (Right King)
25
Other King same color (Left King)
25
Queen of Trump
0
Jack of Trump
1
Ten of Trump
1
9 of Trump (Right 9)
9
Other 9 same color (Left 9)
9
8 of Trump
0
7 of Trump
0
6 of Trump
0
5 of Trump (Right 5)
5
Other 5 same color (Left 5)
5
4 of Trump
0
3 of Trump
0
2 of Trump
1
Joker
18

Deal

To determine the first dealer, draw cards. The player with the highest card deals first. The turn to deal rotates clockwise with each hand. The cards are dealt singly or in triples until everyone has twelve cards and a five card "Kitty" is created. Each player sorts their cards by the Russell, Ian or John methods.
 

Bidding

Each player, beginning left of dealer, either passes or increases the previous bid. Once a player passes, they may not bid again in this hand. Once three people have passed, the high bidder becomes "The Declarer™" and the bid is noted. A player's first bid is usually an attempt to convey strength to their partner. A player's final bid is the number of points they have "contracted" to win.

Object of the Game

To score 500 points.

The Declarer

The highest bidder becomes the Declarer, who then: If any player has seven or more trump, they must offer them to their partner. The partner replies with how many of them they can accept. If the partnership has more than twelve trumps, the smallest, pointless ones are discarded: 3, then 4, then 6, etc.

Each player must now reduce their hands to six cards. None of the eleven cards with a point value may be discarded.

Play

A hand of King Peed consists of six tricks. The Declarer plays first, and almost always plays a trump. Trump may be played at any time, so leading an off-suit will finesse your partner. Trump must be played if a trump was led. Whoever plays the highest trump in a trick wins those cards for later counting and leads on the next trick. If no trumps were played, whoever led this trick leads again.

Scoring

During each hand, 100 points are available. Points are made by winning tricks which contain cards which have a point value (see the card value table above.) The Declarer's team must meet or exceed their bid to get credited with their points, otherwise they get debited. The defending team gets to add any points they win to their score. Here are some scenarios:
Bid
Declarer's Points
Defender's Points
Declarer's Score
Defender's Score
70
80
20
+80
+20
70
69
31
-70
+31

Variations

A team needs 500 points and to WIN a bid to win. They can't just exceed 500 on defense.

  WE  
THEY
Bid
Took
Score
Total
Bid
Took
Score
Total