The History of Trix
A modern classic of the coffee houses and family evenings of the Middle East, in which every player gets to rule a kingdom.
A Twentieth-Century Game
Trix is played above all in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq and the Gulf states. It is usually said to have become popular in the Levant in the 20th century. Who put it together and where exactly is not known.
Its structure is that of a compendium game, a family that also includes European games such as Barbu: the players take turns choosing from a fixed list of contracts - several negative ones in which you try to avoid certain cards or tricks, and one positive one in which you lay out cards in rows.
Kingdoms, Partners and Apps
The word "kingdom" for each player's round of five contracts is part of how the game is talked about, and the strong position of the King of Hearts gives the game much of its tension. Besides the single-player game there is a very popular partnership version, and many groups add doubling rules.
In recent years Trix has also become a favourite on phones, where friends and families far apart play together. PaperGames offers the plain single-player version and explains on the rules page exactly how it is played.