Nilly

In Nilly, every partnership carries a nil every hand.

The rule

The first partner on each team bids freely. Then:

• If they bid a number, their partner’s only legal bid is nil.
• If they bid nil, their partner may bid anything, including nil.

The app enforces it: when you are the one who must carry the nil, nil is the only bid offered.

Strategy

Whoever bids first for the team is really deciding who carries the nil. A weak first hand often takes the nil itself rather than forcing it onto a partner who might be holding the aces. The partner of a nil bidder spends the hand protecting them, taking tricks the nil player would otherwise win.

Scoring

Scoring is standard: a nil is +100 if the bidder takes no tricks and -100 if they take any, and the other partner’s bid is the team’s contract. The nil bidder’s tricks still count toward that contract.

Losing at -500

Forced nils fail often, so a Nilly game can sink below zero and keep sinking. To make sure every game ends, a team that falls to -500 or lower loses, and the other team wins on the spot. Reaching 500 still wins as usual.

Example: your team is on -430. Your partner bids 4, so you must bid nil. You take 2 tricks and your partner takes 1.

• The team took 3 tricks against a contract of 4, so the contract is set: -40.
• Your nil failed: -100.
• The hand is worth -140, and the team falls from -430 to -570. That is at or below -500, so your team loses.

If both teams finish the same hand past an ending line (one reaching 500 while the other falls to -500, or both falling to -500), the higher score wins. An exact tie plays another hand.

Combinations

Combines with Blind Nil (a blind nil satisfies the rule). Cannot be combined with Blind 10 or Mirror.

Rated or casual?

Casual. Games under Nilly never change anyone’s rating.