Ulti

Ulti or Ultimó, is Hungary's national trick-taking card game for three players. It is virtually unknown outside its home borders.

History

Its name derives from the winning of the last trick with the lowest trump, a feature derived from several games like Trappola and Tapp Tarock played in Central Europe and in the former Austro-Hungarian empire, though the game as a whole must have grown naturally out of the Czech Mariaš, first mentioned in Hungary in 1787 and first described in 1883, as suggested by its alternative title Talonmariaš, described as "ultimáriás" by G. J. Potter in 1930. All games ultimately deriving from the old French game Marriage.

Different sets of rules

It is important to note that the rules of the game are not universal, and typically every group of players will have their own set of rules that they agree upon. When people play together for the first time, it often takes considerable amount of time until they can agree on rule set they play. Some rules can significantly alter the strategy (See reference for a different set of rules from what is described below).