Japanese Napoleon: Rules and How to Play
Japanese Napoleon is a trick-taking card game for 5 players (4–6), about 15 minutes: win the bid and team up with a hidden adjutant. Free, no sign-up.
What is Japanese Napoleon? How to win
In Japanese Napoleon, the winner of the bidding becomes Napoleon and, together with a secret partner called the adjutant, plays against everyone else (the allies) for the honour cards — the 10, J, Q, K and A of each suit, 20 in all. If Napoleon's army takes at least the number it bid, it wins; otherwise the allies win.
Setup: players and the deal
- Five players is standard (four or six also work; on this site the computer fills empty seats).
- Use 53 cards with one joker. With five players deal ten each and leave three face down as the widow (four players: twelve each and a widow of five; six players: eight each and five).
- The honour cards are the 10, J, Q, K and A — 20 in all. The joker is not an honour.
How to play: bidding, the adjutant and the tricks
- Starting left of the dealer, bid a number of honours and a trump suit (for example 13 in hearts). Each bid must be higher in number, or the same number in a higher suit (♠ > ♥ > ♦ > ♣). Bids start at 13.
- Once you pass you cannot bid again that deal. When everyone else has passed, the last bidder is Napoleon. If everyone passes, the cards are redealt.
- Napoleon names the adjutant card, adds the widow to their hand and discards the same number of cards face down.
- Napoleon leads the first trick. Others must follow suit if they can; otherwise they may play any card. The highest card takes the trick's honours and leads next.
Card order: the Mighty, the jacks and yoromeki
Japanese Napoleon has special cards that beat even trumps. From strongest:
| # | Card | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mighty (♠A) | Beats every card — unless the ♥Q falls in the same trick (yoromeki) |
| 2 | Right jack | The jack of the trump suit |
| 3 | Left jack | The other jack of the same colour (♦J when hearts are trumps, ♣J for spades) |
| 4 | Same two | If everyone plays the same suit, the 2 wins (not in the first trick or when the Mighty, the right jack, the left jack or a joker is played) |
| 5 | Joker led | Calls for trumps and beats everything but the special cards |
| 6 | Trumps | A, K, Q, 10 … 2 |
| 7 | The suit led | A, K, Q, J, 10 … 2 |
- A joker played later is the lowest card. You may play the joker at any time, even when you could follow suit.
- Yoromeki and same two can be switched off in the party settings.
Choosing the adjutant
Once the bidding is over, Napoleon names one card. Whoever holds it is the adjutant, on Napoleon’s side.
- The adjutant does not announce themselves. Until the named card is played, not even Napoleon knows who it is — only the adjutant does.
- Napoleon usually names a strong card they do not hold, such as the Mighty or one of the jacks.
- If the named card is in Napoleon’s own hand or in the widow, Napoleon plays alone.
Scoring and the end of the game
- If Napoleon's army (Napoleon and the adjutant) takes at least the number of honours bid, it wins; otherwise the allies win.
- The winning side scores and the losing side pays the same (with five players and an adjutant: Napoleon +2, adjutant +1, each ally −1). Taking all 20 honours doubles the score.
- After the chosen number of deals (five by default), the highest total wins.
Defaults on this site
| Item | Default on this site |
|---|---|
| Players | 4–6 players (set automatically by the party size) |
| Turn time limit | None by default (the host can set 30 or 60 seconds) |
| If someone drops mid-game | Reopening on the same device returns you to your seat. If you do not return, the CPU plays in your place. |
| Draws | In ranked play, a draw counts as halfway between a win and a loss for your rating. |
| Source of the rules | Based on the standard reference rules |
Rules supervised by Qdan, Inc. (based on the standard reference rules)
House rules you can choose on this site
Defaults follow the standard reference rules. The party can change these.
| Name | Description | Default | Changeable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest bidLowest bidA bid is the number of honours (20 in all) Napoleon's army promises to take. Lowering the minimum makes it easier to bid on a weak hand, so a Napoleon is found more often. Scores do not depend on the size of the bid, so a lower bid is easier for the army to win. | The smallest number of honours you can bid. | 13 | Yes |
| JokerJokerA joker led to a trick beats everything except the Mighty and the two jacks. Played later in a trick it is the weakest card, and it can be played at any time even if you hold the suit led. Leaving it out removes one special card and makes card strength easier to read. | Play with 53 cards including one joker. Without it, 52 cards (a widow of two with five players). | On | Yes |
| YoromekiYoromekiThe Mighty (♠A) normally beats every card. With this rule, the ♥Q beats it, but only when both fall in the same trick. It gives the other players a way to fight back against the Mighty. | The ♥Q beats the Mighty (♠A) when both fall in the same trick. | On | Yes |
| Same twoSame twoA 2 is normally the lowest card, but with this rule, when everyone plays the same suit to a trick from the second trick on, the 2 wins. It does not apply if the Mighty, either jack or a joker is in the trick. It gives a use to weak 2s. | If everyone plays the same suit, the 2 wins (not in the first trick or when the Mighty, the right jack, the left jack or a joker is played). | On | Yes |
| Naming the adjutantNaming the adjutantBefore the widow, Napoleon names the adjutant card without knowing what the widow holds. After exchanging, Napoleon picks up the widow and discards first, so they can check which strong cards they lack before naming one, which favours Napoleon. If the named card ends up in Napoleon's own hand, Napoleon plays alone. | Whether Napoleon names the adjutant card before or after the widow. | Before the widow | Yes |
| Double for all 20 | If Napoleon's army takes all 20 honours, that deal scores double. | On | Yes |
| Number of deals | Play this many deals; the highest total wins. | 5 | Yes |
Japanese Napoleon terms
- Napoleon
- The highest bidder, who tries to take the honours bid together with the adjutant.
- Adjutant
- Napoleon's secret partner: whoever holds the named card. Nobody knows who until it is played.
- Allies
- Everyone except Napoleon and the adjutant. They try to stop Napoleon's army making its bid.
- Honours
- The 10, J, Q, K and A. There are 20, and the number taken decides the deal.
- Mighty
- The strongest card, the ♠A.
- Right and left jacks
- The jack of trumps (right) and the other jack of the same colour (left). They rank just below the Mighty.
- Yoromeki
- When the ♥Q falls in the same trick as the Mighty, the ♥Q wins.
- Same two
- When everyone plays the same suit, the 2 among them wins.
Japanese Napoleon rules FAQ
Does the adjutant know?
Yes. If the named card is in your hand, you are the adjutant. Others find out only when you play it.
Is anything stronger than the Mighty?
Only the ♥Q, and only when it falls in the same trick as the Mighty (yoromeki).
How does the joker work?
Led, it calls for trumps and beats all but the special cards. Played later, it is the lowest card, but you may play it at any time.
What about other house rules?
Japanese Napoleon has many house rules. Here you can choose the lowest bid, the joker, yoromeki, same two, when to name the adjutant, double for all 20 and the number of deals. Special cards not counting in the first trick, no-trump bids and the "revolution" rule are not used.
Can I bid no trumps?
No. No trumps is a house rule found on some sites, but it is not used here. Every bid names one trump suit.
Is this the same as Nap?
No. The British game Nap (also called Napoleon) is a five-card game about the number of tricks. Bidding for honours with a secret adjutant is the Japanese game.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-09-26 · Run by Qdan, Inc.