Make-A-Million

The game was first released in Salem, Massachusetts, and then to New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and Atlanta.

The original game was designed for four players, with a three-player option with a dummy hand.

In 2004, Packard Technologies purchased the trademark for the Make-a-Million card game.

The company printed over 17,000 decks of the original 1934 design and called it the "70 Year Anniversary Edition".

The objective of each side is to capture tricks in which Money cards have been played.

The privilege of naming trump color and getting the "widow" goes to the highest bidder.

The other partnership gets the amount equal to the sum of the Money cards they captured.

The cards consist of the Tiger (highest trump), the Bull (which doubles the value of the trick on which it is played), the Bear (which cancels the trick it is played on), and four suits of colors-red, yellow, black, and green, which rank in the following order of capturing power: $40,000, $30,000, $15,000, 11, $10,000, 9, 8, 7, $5,000, 4, 3, 2, 1.

The dealer distributes the entire pack, randomly placing three cards aside to form the "widow".

The highest possible score for one hand is $400,000 plus what the Bull may double, and minus what the Bear may cancel.

Generally, no one but the highest bidder sees the widow cards, though a unanimous vote of the players can change this.

Y, being the highest bidder, now picks up the widow, and after discarding names trump color.

If Y and Z make at least $220,000, they get the amount equal to the sum of the Money cards they captured (taking into account the added or subtracted value the Bull and Bear may have given them).

After the trump color is announced (and the widow removed or set aside), the highest bidder starts the game by playing to the center of the table any card of any color.

B, A's partner, unable to capture, plays a low red.

If a player is forced to lead a trick with the Bull or Bear then the player who first follows with a number, Money card, or Tiger establishes the color of that suit.

If the highest bidder's side has captured cards that total or exceed its bid, it scores all it has earned.

In other words, having had the privilege of naming trump color, if the highest bidder's side fails to earn its bid, it not only can't score what it earned, but has the bid amount recorded as a negative score (deducted from its current or future earnings).

The opposing side, which did not name trump color, retains the total amount it made.

Suppose Z is the highest bidder at $240,000, and Y-Z (partners) capture a total of $200,000 beside a bull trick that contains $30,000 that is doubled to $60,000.

If both sides reach or exceed one million dollars at the end of the same hand, the highest score wins.

X, not wanting the opposing team to score and being out of Black, plays Bear.

The same rules apply as in six or eight-player Make-a-Million, but partners are not necessarily every other Player.

After trump color is chosen and the Widow discarded, The Highest Bidder selects two (six players) or three (eight players) cards from his own hand and lays them face up on the table.

This happens when they lay one of the cards that the Highest Bidder selected as a partner on a trick.

The Highest Bidder must be careful not to select a partner card that he already holds the duplicate for in his hand.

After the last trick is played the Highest Bidder counts the total amount captured by him and his partners.

For any number of players, the object is to capture tricks in exactly the amount that you bid.

If the Tiger, Bull, or Bear is on top, turn the next card.

After the deal, all players must simultaneously state their bid for the number of tricks they think they will capture.