What is Setback?
Setback is a fast partnership trick-taking game played across New England, especially in Connecticut and Massachusetts, where it's a fixture of social clubs and family tables. Outside the Northeast the same game is usually called Pitch.
Each hand, players bid on how many of four points their team can win, the high bidder picks trump, and the team that misses its bid gets set back. The game descends from All Fours, an English tavern game that crossed the Atlantic in the colonial era, and it has stayed popular because the rules fit on an index card while the strategy keeps unfolding for years.
How many players and cards does Setback use?
The standard game has four players in two partnerships, partners across from each other. Use a 52-card deck and deal six cards to each player, usually in two rounds of three. The deal moves to the left each hand.
Cards rank from ace high down to two low in every suit, and there are no jokers in the basic game. Because only 24 of the 52 cards are dealt, most of the deck stays out of play every hand. That is what makes Setback so interesting: you never know for sure whether the jack of trump or the deuce is sitting in someone's hand or buried in the undealt stack.
What are the four points in Setback?
Setback awards up to four points each hand: High, Low, Jack, and Game. High is the highest trump played. Low is the lowest trump played. Jack is the jack of trump, if it was dealt. Game goes to the team with the most card points in its tricks, counting each ten as 10, ace as 4, king as 3, queen as 2, and jack as 1.
Because some points may not be in play (the jack of trump might sit undealt in the deck), a hand can be worth fewer than four points.
Tables differ on Low. Some give it to whoever played the lowest trump, which makes holding the two of trump a sure point. Others give it to the team that captures it, so a low trump has to be protected. If the Game count is tied, most groups award the Game point to nobody.
How does bidding work in Setback?
Starting left of the dealer, each player bids 2, 3, or 4, or passes. Each bid must be higher than the last. In many Setback groups the dealer may take the bid by matching the current high bid instead of beating it. If everyone passes, the dealer is often stuck with a bid of 2.
Most Setback games give each player exactly one chance to bid, so you need to judge your hand quickly. A good rule of thumb: count one point for each of High, Low, and Jack you can reasonably expect to win, then add Game if you hold tens or several face cards. Your partner's hand is unknown, so expect help with roughly one point, not two.
Position matters too. Players who bid early have less information, so they should be a little cautious. The dealer bids last and sees every other bid first, which is why rules like dealer-may-steal make that seat so valuable. If your partner has already bid, think about whether your hand supports theirs before you raise.
How do trump and tricks work?
The winning bidder leads first, and the suit of that card is trump. Players follow the led suit when they can; most tables also allow trumping in at any time. The highest trump wins the trick, or the highest card of the suit led if no trump fell.
The winner of each trick leads the next, and play continues until all six tricks are taken. A few clubs play strict follow suit, meaning you may only trump when you cannot follow the led suit. Ask before the first deal, because that one rule changes which cards are safe to keep.
How does scoring work and what is getting set back?
Make your bid and you score every point you took. Miss it and you lose the amount you bid. The defending team always keeps whatever points it captured. First team to 11 wins; if both cross on the same hand, the bidding team usually goes out first.
Scores below zero are common and are often called being in the hole. Many score sheets circle negative numbers so everyone can see who is in trouble. Some groups also say a team in the hole cannot win on a defensive hand and must make a bid of its own to climb out.
A sample Setback hand, scored
Clubs are trump and North bid 3 for the North-South team. North leads the ace of clubs, which wins High. Later East plays the two of clubs on a trick that South wins with the king of clubs. The jack of clubs was never dealt. North-South counts 22 Game points to East-West's 18.
North-South took High and Game. Low depends on your table: if it goes to the capturer, North-South also has Low and scores 3, making the bid exactly. If Low goes to the player who played it, East-West takes that point, North-South has only 2, and the team is set back 3. The same cards can make or break a bid depending on one house rule.
Common Setback mistakes and quick strategy
The most common mistake is overbidding on a single strong card. Holding the ace of a suit guarantees High, but High alone is one point, and a bid of 3 needs two more. Another frequent error is leading trump too late. If you are the bidder, pulling the opponents' trump early protects your jack and your low cards.
Defenders often forget that stopping one point is enough to set a bid of 4, and stopping two is enough to set a bid of 3. Save your trump to capture the bidder's jack, and throw tens to your partner's winning tricks so the Game count goes your way.
Regional variations of Setback
Setback is especially strong in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, where clubs and veterans' halls hold weekly tournaments. Some of those groups play a version where the bid of all four points is called shooting the moon and wins the game outright if made. Others add a fifth point or use a joker, much like the Midwest game Smear.
Because there is no governing body, the safest approach is to treat your local club's rules as the standard at that table and adapt when you sit down somewhere new.
Play Setback online
pitch.ac plays Setback free in the browser and on iPhone and iPad, with house rules like dealer-may-steal and stick-the-dealer you can switch on before each game. Play against AI players or share a 4-letter code with friends.
Tables run from 2 to 8 players, and you can pick a quick game to 7, the classic 11, or a longer 21. There is no download or sign-up, just a name, and a free account keeps your game history and stats. If you want competition, free Showdown tournaments run every Wednesday and Sunday at 7pm ET with 64 seats and gems as prizes.