Overview
Declaration is the Frontier and Void adaptation of the Core game Precedence. While the structure remains familiar, Declaration embraces volatility, aggressive wagering, and public bravado.
Where Precedence values restraint, Declaration rewards audacity.
Players
- 4 players (partners sit opposite)
- Game continues until one team reaches target score (default: 250)
Frontier tables may use higher or lower target scores (200 and 150 are common) by agreement.
Objective
To accumulate the agreed target score before the opposing team and, more importantly, to dominate the Hand Pots.
The Deck
Suits
- Void
- Frontier
- Border
- Core
Ranks (Low → High)
2–10 · Officer · Commander · Voidpilot · Emperor
Note: Use of the term Voidpilot is considered politically disloyal in Core and Border space.
Total cards: 52.
Game Structure
Each hand consists of:
- Antes
- Deal
- Declaration Phase (meld)
- Bidding
- Trick Play
- Settlement
1. Antes and Meld Dare
Contributions from antes/blinds (e.g. per-player blind at hand start) go to the Hand Pot as the Pot Ante (see Pots).
Pots and wagering (Declaration)
The Hand Pot is tracked as two components:
- Pot Ante: Contributions from antes and blinds (e.g. per-player blind at hand start).
- Pot Action: Contributions from bids, meld dares, meld declaration costs, and any other action stakes. Pot Total is Pot Ante plus Pot Action.
Meld Dare
Before cards are dealt each hand, each team sets a Meld Dare wager for the opposing team. If the opposing team makes an accepted meld declaration during the hand, the declaring team adds that dare amount to Pot Action (once per team per hand). Dares are set before the deal and cannot be changed after the first card is dealt. A Meld Dare cannot exceed 5 times the ante.
2. Deal
- 13 cards dealt to each player.
Trump
Default: Same per-hand rotation as Precedence: Core → Border → Frontier → Void → repeat. Trump is announced at the start of each hand and does not change mid-hand.
Optional house rule — Void Lock: The table may declare that trump is locked to Void every hand. When Void Lock is on, trump remains Void for all hands. The table must declare which mode it uses (rotation or Void Lock). Void Lock is common on Void and Frontier tables.
3. Declaration Phase
Graduated meld declaration cost
On each accepted meld declaration, the declaring side pays into Pot Action a cost in multiples of the ante:
- Run (3): 1 times the ante
- Run (4 or more): 2 times the ante
- Triad: 3 times the ante
- Quad: 4 times the ante
Only one meld declaration per player per hand. Dare and cost apply only to accepted meld declarations; rejected or invalid attempts do not trigger the dare or incur the cost.
Just as in Precedence, declared meld cards are face-up and must be played before non-meld cards.
Meld Rules
Meld Scoring (base values)
| Meld | Points |
|---|---|
| Run (3) | 10 |
| Run (4+) | 20 |
| Triad | 30 |
| Quad | 40 |
Contract SUCCESS: team gains full meld points.
Contract FAILURE: team gains half of their meld points (rounded down).
4. Bidding
Players bid expected tricks (0–13). Team contract = sum of partner bids. Bids and meld declarations contribute to Pot Action as agreed (see Pots).
5. Trick Play
Standard trick-taking: follow suit if able; highest card of lead suit wins unless trump is played; Emperor highest in suit. When Void Lock is used, Void is trump every hand.
6. Settlement
Scoring — Book threshold
The Book is 6 tricks. Only tricks above 6 score; each scoring trick is worth 10 points.
On SUCCESS (your team takes at least as many tricks as it bid): team gains 10 points per scoring trick, full meld points; excess/bags accrue (see below).
On FAILURE (your team takes fewer tricks than it bid): team loses 10 points per trick short of the bid; gains half of their meld points (rounded down); no bags.
Excess / Bags
Same as Precedence: you take one bag for each trick taken in excess of the bid, on success only. When a team’s bags reach 10, that team loses 120 points and their bag count is reduced by 10.
Failure penalty (match Pot Action, not Pot Total)
On contract FAILURE:
- The failing team adds an amount equal to Pot Action (not Pot Total) into the pot as the penalty.
- After this contribution, the new Pot Total is the previous total plus that penalty amount.
- The winning team receives the Pot Total (after the penalty contribution).
- The penalty is applied once per hand.
If both teams fail, the penalty applies for each failing team; payout goes to the team that did not fail (or as house rules specify).
Worked example: dare, meld cost, and failure
Setup: Ante is $2 per player. Team A dares $6 (against Team B). A Team B player declares a triad and it is accepted.
- Dare triggered: Team B adds $6 to Pot Action (the opponent’s dare).
- Meld cost: triad is 3 times the ante, so $6 to Pot Action.
- Pot Action gains $6 + $6 = $12 from this hand (plus any prior Pot Action).
Before settlement: Pot Ante = $8 (four players times $2), Pot Action = $12. Pot Total = $20.
Team B fails contract. Failure penalty: Team B adds Pot Action ($12) to the pot. New Pot Total = $20 + $12 = $32. The winning team (Team A) receives $32.
Cultural Notes — Frontier Regions
- Declarations frequent.
- High-variance bidding common.
- Reputation tied to bold contracts.
Cultural Notes — Void Regions
- Void often permanent trump.
- Refusal to declare seen as weakness.