The Fox in the Forest

The Fox in the Forest is a two-player-only trick-taking card game. It's a clever little card game and works well when you have only two. You will play multiple rounds and whoever gets to 21 points first wins the game. The most important thing to keep in mind when playing the game is this table below. 

Every round you will play 13 tricks. There are 33 cards in the deck, in three suits, and the cards are numbered 1 to 11. So every round 26 of those cards are dealt to the two players. One card is revealed to determine the trump suit, and you have 6 more cards in a draw deck. Based on the table above, the best case is you win 3 or fewer tricks, or you win 7 to 9 tricks. You have to be careful not to win too many because you will score nothing. The way points are scored creates a bit of dilemma. If you win very few tricks early in the round, you will try very hard to win no more than three. However that is not easy to do. Once you get to four tricks, you will try very hard to score more.

Most of the basic tactics in trick-taking games still apply here. The trump suit concept is standard. Cards in the trump suit beats other suits. Also you must follow suit if possible. One thing special about the game is that odd numbered cards have special powers. The 7's are worth 1 point each. The 5's let you draw then discard a card. The 3's let you change the trump suit. You need a draw deck because sometimes you will draw a card. When doing this, you get more information about what may be in your opponent's hand.

At the start of a round, you see 13 out of 33 cards. There are 6 cards still in the deck. You can't be exactly sure what cards your opponent has, but chances are if you don't have it, he probably has it, and that's what you have to be prepared for. As the round progresses, you will get a better and better idea what he may have in hand. So the game is quite strategic. You can make educated guesses about your opponent's hand. You can plan somewhat well how to play out the rest of your hand. You are constantly thinking about how the current round will end. Your aim may change during the round. Maybe you're originally planning to win 3 or fewer tricks, but you may find yourself aiming to win 7 instead halfway through. 

If you like trick-taking games and need one that works well for two players, this is a good choice. This is also a convenient travel game.