How to Play Lockup
Win tricks, dodge the clubs, and don't get locked up.
Learn Lockup for 4 players: no club leads, the face-card exception, the lockup a trick with clubs costs its winner and the race to 20. Work through one trick, then play in your browser.
A king leads and the clubs come out
You lead the K♥. The next player follows with the 9♥. The third has hearts but, with a king in the trick, drops the 5♣ instead; the fourth has no hearts and throws the J♣. Your K♥ is the highest heart, so you win the trick for 1 point, but it holds 2 clubs: you are locked up for 2 tricks, the player to your left draws 2 random cards from your hand, and the lead passes to them.
| Cards played | Result |
|---|---|
| K♥ led, 9♥, 5♣, J♣ | K♥ wins 1 point; 2 clubs, so its winner is locked up for 2 tricks |
| 8♠ led, 10♠, A♠, 4♣ (no spades) | A♠ wins 1 point; 1 club, so its winner sits out 1 trick and loses 1 card |
| 7♦ led, Q♦, 2♦, 6♦ | Q♦ wins 1 point and leads the next trick: no clubs, no lockup |
| Q♠ led, 3♣, 9♣, 2♠ (face card in the trick) | Q♠ wins 1 point and is locked up for 2 tricks; a club never wins unless clubs were led |
A club can never be led, except from a hand of nothing but clubs. Every trick is 1 point whatever it holds; the first player at or past the target, 20 by default, and alone at the top after a hand wins.
Practise this game in your browser🎯 Objective
Be the first player at or past the target score, 20 by default, alone at the top. Every trick you win is 1 point; a hand is 13 tricks, so it takes more than one hand.
🃏 Lockup Setup & Rules
- Exactly 4 players, everyone for themselves. In the app you take one seat and app opponents fill the other 3; the only setup option is the target score, 20 by default, from 10 to 50 in steps of 5.
- A standard 52-card deck ranked 2 (low) to ace (high) with no trump suit. Everyone gets 13 cards, dealt from the dealer's left; the deal moves one seat left each hand.
- The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick. Tap a card to play it; the app refuses a card the rules do not allow and says why.
▶ How to Play Lockup
- The leader may play any card except a club. Only a hand that is nothing but clubs leads a club; clubs are then the suit led and the highest club wins.
- Everyone else must follow the suit led if they can. A player with none of that suit may play any card, a club included.
- Once a jack, queen or king is in the trick, a player may play a club instead of following suit.
- The highest card of the suit led wins the trick and scores 1 point. A club played onto another suit never wins.
- If the trick holds no clubs, its winner leads the next. If it holds clubs, the winner is locked up: they sit out one trick for each club, and the player to their left draws that many cards at random from their hand, discarded unseen. The lead passes to the next player clockwise who is not locked up.
- A locked-up player does not play in the tricks they sit out, and each trick played counts one off their lock. Because the lockup removed that many cards, every hand is still exactly 13 tricks and all hands run out together.
🎬 Watch: How to Play Lockup
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📖 Detailed Guide
Setting up your table
- From the game menu choose Lockup. It seats exactly 4 players, everyone for themselves, so app opponents fill the 3 seats you do not.
- Set the target score: 20 by default, from 10 to 50 in steps of 5. A lower target is a shorter game; at 13 tricks a hand, 20 always takes at least 2 hands.
- The app shuffles one 52-card deck and deals 13 cards to each seat from the dealer's left. Cards rank 2 (low) to ace (high); there is no trump suit.
- The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick, and the deal moves one seat to the left each hand.
Leading and following
- The leader may play any card except a club. The app refuses a club lead and says so; only a hand with nothing but clubs leads a club.
- The other players must follow the suit led if they can. A player with none of that suit may play any card, a club included.
- Once a jack, queen or king is in the trick, a player may play a club instead of following suit: the face-card exception.
- A trick is played only by the seats that are not locked up, clockwise from the leader, so a trick can hold 4 cards, 3, 2 or even 1.
Getting locked up
- The highest card of the suit led wins the trick for 1 point. A club thrown onto another suit never wins; a club wins only when clubs were led.
- If the trick holds no clubs, its winner leads the next trick.
- If it holds clubs, the winner is locked up for one trick per club, never for more tricks than they have cards. The player to their left draws that many cards at random from their hand, and those cards are discarded unseen.
- The lead passes to the next player clockwise who is not locked up. A locked-up player sits out the next tricks and counts one off their lock for each trick played without them.
Winning
- Every trick you capture is worth 1 point, whether or not it contains clubs, and points carry over from hand to hand.
- A hand is always 13 tricks: a lockup removes as many cards as tricks sat out, so every hand runs out together. The hand summary shows each player's points and how many times they were locked up.
- After a hand, the player at or past the target, 20 by default, and alone at the top wins the game.
- If 2 or more players are tied at the top at or past the target, another hand is dealt until one is ahead.
📊 Lockup Scoring
Every trick you win is 1 point, clubs or not, and the scores carry over from hand to hand. A hand ends after 13 tricks; the game ends after a hand in which a player is at or past the target, 20 by default, and alone at the top. Players tied at the top play another hand. A lockup is capped at the cards left in the hand: a 3-club trick won with 2 cards in hand locks you up for 2.
❓ Lockup — Frequently Asked Questions
How many players do you need for Lockup?
Lockup is played with 4 players. On Vanikar, empty seats can be filled with AI opponents so you can always start a game.
Can you lead a club in Lockup?
No. The leader may play any card except a club, and the app refuses a club lead. There is 1 exception: a hand that is nothing but clubs leads a club; clubs are then the suit led, and the highest club wins the trick and is locked up for every club in it.
What happens when you are locked up in Lockup?
You sit out 1 trick for each club in the trick you won, and the player to your left draws that many cards at random from your hand, which are discarded unseen. The lockup never exceeds the cards you hold: with 2 cards left, a 3-club trick locks you up for 2. Each trick played without you counts 1 off the lock, and the lead passes to the next player who is not locked up.
How many points do you need to win Lockup?
20 by default; the setup screen lets you pick 10 to 50 in steps of 5. Every trick is 1 point and a hand is 13 tricks, so the game runs over several hands. After a hand, a player at or past the target and alone at the top wins; players tied at the top play another hand.
Can you play a club when you cannot follow suit in Lockup?
Yes. A player with none of the suit led may play any card, a club included, and a club can also be played instead of following suit once a jack, queen or king is in the trick. A club played onto another suit never wins the trick, but it locks up whoever does win it.
