Help & Support

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Pinochle Circle keeps score for partnership pinochle: four at a table in two teams of two, partners across from each other, with a single or double deck and small or big numbers. When the numbers don’t come out in fours, a table of 3 or 5 plays everyone for themselves. The app never deals, counts your meld or cards, checks a bid or referees. Your table counts as it always has, and the scorekeeper types in what it counted. A group that moves tables says “round”; a group that stays at its tables says “game”. The answers below use round, with game in brackets where it differs. A hand is a hand in both.

Joining a group

How do I join my group?

Tap the invite link your organizer sent you. If the app is already on your phone, open it, tap I have an invite link, and paste the link in.

It says my link is a Bunco Circle invite.

Each Game Night Circle app has its own groups. An invite from another of our apps, such as Bunco Circle or Farkle Circle, opens in that app, and a Pinochle Circle invite opens here. Ask your organizer for your pinochle group’s link.

How do I start a group of my own?

Open the app and tap Start a group (or, if you’re already in a group, tap your group’s name at the top of the screen, then + Start another group). You name it, say when you play and how many players (at least 3), and answer Which deck do you play? (you can pick it later). How your group plays is in Organize → Group settings, and its deck, numbers and scoring rules are in Organize → Your game and scoring. Then share the invite link from Organize → Roster & invite.

Signing in

My sign-in code never came.

Pinochle Circle emails you a 6-digit code, so there’s no password to remember. Give it a minute, then look in your junk or spam folder. The email is called “Your Game Night Circle sign-in code”. Still nothing? Tap Didn’t get it? Send again. Make sure the email address is spelled right: the code goes only to that address.

I already use another Game Night Circle app. Can I use the same email?

Yes. Sign in with the same email address. The first time, Pinochle Circle asks your name, and your phone number if you’d like to give it. Your pinochle groups, scores and subscription are kept separately from your other apps.

Keeping score

Who keeps score?

Each table has a scorekeeper: a player at that table who has the app. Only players who have the app can keep score. The organizer sees who it is on Table setup (Scorekeeper: Marlene · Change) and can tap Change. The organizer and co-organizers can keep score for any table, which is how a table with nobody on the app gets scored. Everyone else just plays: they don’t need the app at all.

How do I score a hand?

When a hand is played, tap Score Hand 3 → on the Scorekeeper. Then:

• tap a name under Who took the bid?;
• type The bid. A Minimum 15 chip beside it fills in your group’s minimum bid;
• type each team’s Meld: what both partners laid down this hand, added together;
• type the Counters the team that took the bid took: the aces, tens and kings in its tricks, and the last trick. The other team’s counters fill in as the rest of the hand’s counters (25 with a single deck and small numbers).

Each team’s card shows its score for the hand as you go, and the foot shows what the totals become, such as Marlene & Herb 52 → 91. Save Hand 3 waits until who took the bid, the bid and the counters are in. Tap it, and the line under the button says what was saved, such as Hand 2 saved — Irene went set at 24 · Marlene & Herb 21, Irene & Arnie −24.

How does the app work out made or set?

It adds the meld and counters of the team that took the bid. If that reaches the bid, the sheet says Made it — 39 is 28 or more. and the team scores its meld and counters. If it falls short, it says Set — 21 is short of 24. The bid comes off. and the team scores minus the bid and nothing else that hand. A score can go below zero, and shows with a real minus sign. The other team scores its meld and counters if it took a trick: the app asks Did Irene & Arnie take a trick? (Yes or No) only when that team took no counters, because only your table knows.

The team that took the bid gave up before playing.

Tick They threw it in. The bid comes off their score, and the other team gets its meld and all the hand’s counters, shown as all of them. If your group gives fewer, tap Change and type the number.

What is SET!?

When a hand is saved where the team that took the bid went set, or threw it in, SET! flashes for about a second with that team’s names and the minus, such as Irene & Arnie · −24. Nothing else flashes, and it never plays for a fix or an Undo.

What about a renege?

There’s no renege button. Type all of the hand’s counters for the team that gets them. The sheet reminds you: A renege? Give the other team all 25 counters.

Does the app count the meld or cards?

No. The app never deals, never counts meld or cards, never checks a bid and never referees. Your table counts its own meld the way it always has, and the scorekeeper types the numbers. A bid below your minimum shows That’s below your minimum of 15. but can still be saved, and counters outside 0 to the hand’s total show Counters are 0 to 25. and wait. Scores are points only: no money changes hands in the app.

Can we just type the scores?

Yes. On the scoring sheet, tap Just type the scores and type each team’s score for the hand, with Add or Take off. You still tap who took the bid and type the bid. A hand typed as scores counts the bid as made unless the bidding team’s score is below zero. Count it for me goes back to the counters.

What about a table of 3 or 5?

Everyone keeps their own score. The sheet has a card for each player, and each player’s own Meld and Counters go in. The last player’s counters fill in as the rest. With They threw it in, each other player gets their own meld, plus any counters you type for them.

Do my points stay with me?

Yes. Your points tonight are your team’s totals from every round you played, added up (at a table of 3 or 5, your own totals). If your group moves tables, your own points go with you to each new table and partner.

Your deck, your numbers and what things are worth

Which decks and numbers does it score?

Your organizer picks them in Organize → Your game and scoring. Nothing is picked ahead of time. Your deck is Single deck (48 cards, 12 each) or Double deck (80 cards, no 9s, 20 each). Your numbers is Small numbers (a run is 15, counters count 1) or Big numbers (a run is 150, counters count 10). Once both are picked, the usual values fill in:

• Single deck, small numbers: minimum bid 15, winning score 150, 25 counters a hand.
• Single deck, big numbers: minimum bid 150, winning score 1,500, 250 counters a hand.
• Double deck, small numbers: minimum bid 50, winning score 500, 50 counters a hand.
• Double deck, big numbers: minimum bid 500, winning score 5,000, 500 counters a hand.

Our group scores differently. Can we change things?

Yes. In Your game and scoring, your organizer can change the Minimum bid and pick two rules: Going set (Take the bid off their score or Give the bid to the other team; either way a team that goes set scores nothing else that hand) and Saving meld (To keep its meld, the other team must take A trick or A counter). In Organize → Group settings, under How you play, are Hands per round, Winning score and, for a group that stays at its tables, If both teams reach it on the same hand. Nothing picked means the usual rule. The counters in a hand follow the deck and numbers, so they stay as they are.

A House rules note (up to 300 characters) holds anything else, like how many cards you pass. Everyone can read it on Our scoring sheet, and the app never referees it. Your deck, numbers and rules can’t be changed during a pinochle night. Picking a different deck or numbers after changing values asks first, such as Switch to big numbers? The values change to match.

Where can players see what things are worth?

Tap Our scoring sheet on the Scorekeeper, or Our scoring sheet → on Home during a pinochle night. It lists your minimum bid, the counters, what made, set and threw it in score, your winning score or hands in a round, the usual meld values for your deck and numbers, and your house rules. Your table counts its own meld; the chart is for reference.

Rounds, games and ending the night

When is a round over?

When you move tables, each table plays a round of 4 hands unless your organizer changes Hands per round. The hand card shows Hand 3 of 4, with a dot for each hand. The team with the higher total for the round wins it (at a table of 3 or 5, the player). After the last hand, the scorekeeper taps Round over →, which turns gold. Then the table waits: Waiting for the other tables to finish Round 3. When every table has finished, the app draws the tables again.

When is a game over?

When you stay at your table, a game is played to the winning score, 150 with a single deck and small numbers, one game after another. It ends after the hand in which a team reaches the winning score. If both teams reach it on the same hand, the team that took the bid wins, even with fewer points, because they count first. The Scorekeeper says so, such as Both teams passed 150. Herb & Gerald took the bid, so they win, 153 to 158. If your organizer picked The higher total wins, the higher total wins instead. Then the scorekeeper taps Game over →, or Start Game 2 → when the night has more games: the next game starts at once with the same teams at 0, and never waits for the other tables.

We want to end a round early.

Tap Round over → before the last hand and the app asks first, such as End Round 3 after 2 of 4 hands? (End the round or Keep playing). The team ahead wins the round, and hands can’t be added afterwards. When you stay, Game over → asks End Game 1 now? With no hand saved yet, it asks you to score Hand 1 first.

When does the night end?

If your organizer set Rounds per night (Games per night when you stay), the night ends after the last one: each table taps Last round over → (Last game over →), and when every table is done, everyone goes to Tonight’s winners. Otherwise the organizer taps End the night now on the Scorekeeper, then End the night. When you move tables, tonight counts the rounds every table has finished, and the round being played now isn’t counted. When you stay, every hand already saved counts, and a game that isn’t finished has no winner.

Tables, partners, staying or moving

How are the tables and teams made?

On Table setup, the organizer picks How many tables?, which lists only the counts that work: every table has 3 to 5 players, and at most one table has 5. The app seats as many tables of 4 as it can, two teams of two with partners across from each other (Seats 1 and 3 against Seats 2 and 4). The rest play at a table of 3, or one table of 5, everyone for themselves. With 11 players at 3 tables, for example, you get tables of 4, 4 and 3, and nobody sits out. You need at least 3 players. Partners and seats are drawn at random: Tap two names to swap them (to keep a couple together, say), or tap Shuffle to draw again. Then tap Start Round 1 → (Start Game 1 → when you stay), and confirm Start the night?

It says A few choices first.

Your group hasn’t picked its night, its deck or its numbers yet. Pick what’s missing (Your pinochle night, Your deck, Your numbers) and tap Start the night. They’re saved for your group, and you can change them in Group settings.

What are the two ways to play?

Your organizer chooses in Organize → Group settings, under Your pinochle night:

• Stay at your table: everyone keeps their table and partner all night, and each table plays games to the winning score one after another without waiting for the others.
• Move tables: after each round, the app draws new tables and new partners for everyone, and everyone’s own points add up. Nobody moves until every table has finished the round, and nobody gets the same partner twice in a row when it can be helped. Who plays at a table of 3 or 5 goes in turn.

How do I know where to sit?

Where’s my table? on the live scoreboard shows your table, your seat and your partner, such as Your partner: Gerald, with a little map of the tables. When your group moves tables, Round over — where do I go? → appears there after each round, once every table has finished, and shows where you move to, such as Your new partner: Verna. At a table of 3 or 5 it says Everyone plays for themselves at this table.

Late arrivals and going home

Someone came late.

Before the tables are made, just tick them Here on Pinochle night sign-in. Once play has started, the organizer taps + Someone just arrived (on the Scorekeeper or Table setup), and picks their name or taps + Someone new to type it. They play from the next round (game), when the app draws (deals) the tables again with everyone who’s there: Vic plays from Round 4, when the app draws the new tables. If the round or game being played is tonight’s last, they’re marked Here and play next time.

Someone has to go home.

Tap Someone has gone home (on Table setup, or at the foot of the scoring sheet) and pick who. They keep the points already saved. When you move tables, their table’s round ends there, at its score, and the next round’s tables are drawn without them. When you stay, that table’s game ends with no winner, its hands still count, and the app deals the tables again for the next game.

Fixing a hand

We typed the wrong number.

Tap Undo. It takes back the last saved hand completely: its points, who took the bid, the bid, and made or set. Undo works until Round over → (Game over →, Last round over → or Start Game 2 →) is tapped. The table’s scorekeeper and the organizer can use it.

The mistake was a few hands back.

Tap that hand in the list under the team totals (Tap a hand to fix it.). It opens with that hand’s entries, as Fix Hand 1; change what was wrong and tap Save changes. The totals are worked out again.

We already tapped Round over.

Tap Fix Round 2 (with the round’s number; Fix Game 1 when you stay) on the Scorekeeper, then the hand. The higher total still wins the round; if a fix leaves two teams tied, they share it unless you tap one. Nobody’s seat moves. The organizer can fix any round, and a table’s scorekeeper the one being played and the last one played at their table, until tonight’s winners are saved.

Ties

What if two teams tie for a round?

They share it, and each team gets a round won: the Scorekeeper shows IT’S A TIE and Tied at 64, then says the teams share the round, and each team (at a table of 3 or 5, each player) gets a round won. If your group settles ties another way, tap Tap the winner instead and tap the team that won, or Not yet. Undo takes that tap back. When you stay at your table, a game can end level only if your organizer picked The higher total wins and both teams pass the winning score with the same total; they share the game.

Two players tie for a prize.

On Tonight’s winners, the organizer sees It’s a tie — tap the winner, with each player’s numbers to help decide. Partners share a Best round, so it goes to the two of them, shown as Norma & Duane. When you stay at your table, partners who played every game together have the same points, so they win a prize together, shown as Herb & Gerald.

Take a look first

Can I try the app before my group starts?

Yes. Before you’re in a group, tap Take a look first. You get a sample group of your own with eleven pretend players, a pinochle night already played, and a practice night today. Open Pinochle night sign-in, tap Here for each player who came, then Make the tables, pick how many tables and Start Round 1. The other players are pretend, so you keep score for every table. Everything is unlocked in the sample, and nothing is sent to anyone.

How do I get rid of the sample?

Tap Delete sample on its banner, or Delete the sample group on Me. The pretend players and their pinochle nights go with it. Nothing else changes.

Bigger words

How do I make the words bigger?

Go to Me (or Settings, if you aren’t in a group yet) and choose a Text size: Normal, Large or Extra Large. Large is where the app starts.

Subscriptions

What’s free?

Saying “I’m in”, RSVPs, keeping score, finding your table and partner, tonight’s winners with every player’s scores, and your brag card are always free, for everyone in your group.

What does the subscription cost, and what does it unlock?

The price is $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year in the US, per person: each player who wants it subscribes for themselves. The App Store or Google Play shows the price before you buy, and in Canada it shows your price in Canadian dollars. It is paid through Apple on iPhone, or Google Play on Android. One subscription covers every Pinochle Circle group you play in. It unlocks the live scoreboard with the whole room (Everyone tonight), season standings, the winners log and your stats.

Does my subscription to another Game Night Circle app cover this one?

No. Each app has its own subscription. A Bunco Circle, Mahjongg Circle, Euchre Circle or Farkle Circle subscription doesn’t unlock Pinochle Circle, and a Pinochle Circle subscription doesn’t unlock the others.

How do I change or cancel my subscription?

In the app, go to Me and tap the Subscription row. Or on your iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions. On Android, open the Play Store app, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions.

I subscribed, but things are still locked.

Tap any Subscribe button, then Restore purchases. Make sure you are signed in to the same Pinochle Circle account you subscribed with. In a web browser, subscribe in the Pinochle Circle app on your phone; it unlocks in the browser too.

Deleting your account

How do I delete my account?

Go to Me (or Settings, if you aren’t in a group yet) and tap Delete my account. The app tells you what goes and what stays before anything is deleted. If you run a group, pass it on first: Organize → Roster & invite, tap … next to a player who has joined and isn’t a sub, and choose Pass the circle to them. Or delete the group in Organize → Group settings → Delete this circle. Deleting your account doesn’t cancel an Apple or Google Play subscription, so cancel that first.

No longer have the app? Sign in at gamenightcircle.com/pinochle in any web browser and do the same from Me, or email support@gamenightcircle.com from the address you sign in with and we will delete it for you.

If you also use another Game Night Circle app, that account stays, and so does your sign-in for it. Deleting one of those accounts leaves Pinochle Circle alone, too. More in the privacy policy.