Kansas City: The Trick-Taking Game

In this must-follow and trump trick-taking game, players try to win tricks, but only to a certain point. Along the way, if they lose tricks, they can upgrade their cards to the trump suit. In many trick-taking games, players get dealt a hand of cards, assess the strength of their hand, and then make their bid. This game is the reverse: players are aiming for a fixed number of tricks, and they can adjust the strength of their hand by upgrading their cards. This game is set up so that each hand at least one player will go over the ideal number of tricks. You can make your hand stronger, but it might cause you to have too strong of a hand! —description from the designer