Pitch: Setback Card Game

Pitch with opponents worth beating.

Pitch is a bidding game, and an opponent that peeks at the deal is no opponent at all. These see only their own hand and the cards on the table, the same as you. They bid on what they hold and where they sit, pitch the suit that earns it, lead trump to strip the defenders, hold back high trump to catch the Jack, smear tens onto a partner's winning trick, and keep count of what has been played to fight for Game at the end. Tuned by making them play each other for hundreds of thousands of hands and keeping only the changes that measurably won more games.

Classic American Pitch - also called Setback or High-Low-Jack: 52 cards, six-card hands, one round of bidding, and the bid winner pitches - the first card led is trump. Four points are on the table every hand - High, Low, Jack and Game - and a side that bids and comes up short is set back the bid. Yes, scores go negative. First to 11 wins.

THREE DIFFICULTIES, GENUINELY DIFFERENT

- Casual: plays a clean, straightforward game
- Aggressive: bids sharper and plays the odds
- Ruthless: counts cards and picks its moments

EVERY TABLE'S RULES

- Partnership Pitch: you and a partner against two opponents
- Cutthroat for three, four or five players, everyone for themselves
- Call your partner at five: name a card, and whoever holds it is secretly on your side
- Joker Pitch, with a fifth point for capturing the joker
- Ten-Point Pitch: two jokers, the jick, the three of trump worth three points, bids up to ten
- An optional three-card kitty for the pitcher
- House rules, on or off: dealer steal, stuck dealer, low to the capturer, smudge wins the game, and the score you play to

PLAY ON YOUR SCHEDULE

No account, no sign-up, no waiting for a fourth. Games save themselves mid-hand, so a phone call never costs you the deal.

MAKE IT YOURS

Level up, unlock a roster of opponents with their own voices and perks, and earn card backs, table felts and card faces as you go. Career stats track everything worth tracking: bids made, times set, jacks captured, and how often you set them back.

BUILT TO BE READABLE

Big-card and large-print modes for anyone who has squinted at a phone-sized deck, a tap-to-view last trick, a rewind for the card you wish you had not played, and an optional auto-play for the last card of a hand when there is only one legal move anyway.

FREE TO PLAY

Pitch is free, with ads between hands. Everything else is optional: watch a short video for Flux when you want it, buy Crystals, or remove the between-hand ads for good. The Mystery Box shows the odds of every prize before you open it.

Pitch the way it is played at a kitchen table - with opponents who make you earn every point.