Game of Pure Strategy

Game of Pure Strategy

Play GOPS (Goofspiel) online free - a pure strategy, zero-luck 2-player card duel.

  • Free • No Sign-Up
  • Zero-Luck Strategy
  • 2-Player • Simultaneous Bids
  • Custom Tie Rules

Game of Pure Strategy

Play GOPS (Goofspiel) online free - a pure strategy, zero-luck 2-player card duel.

  • Free • No Sign-Up
  • Zero-Luck Strategy
  • 2-Player • Simultaneous Bids
  • Custom Tie Rules

Available on App and Play Stores

About Game of Pure Strategy

GOPS, also known as Goofspiel, stands for The Game of Pure Strategy. It is a challenging game for card players of all levels, with no luck element at all. You will need to bring your best logic and your sharpest mind to take on the Coppercod AIs at this game. Are you up to the challenge?

To win GOPS, you must collect more points than your opponent by taking more Diamonds. You are dealt all of the Spades and your opponent is dealt all of the Hearts. The suit of Clubs isn’t used in this game. Each round, a Diamond card is revealed, and players simultaneously select a card from their hand (Spades for you, Hearts for your opponent) to bid for the Diamond. The player with the highest bid wins the Diamond, and the value of the Diamond card is added to their score.

Quickfire Rules

Each suit is ranked Ace (low) - King (high).

The aim of the game is to win Diamonds by bidding cards from your own hand against your opponent. Players make ‘closed bids’ for the top, face up, prize Diamond by selecting a card from their hand. These cards are then revealed simultaneously, and the player making the highest bid takes the competition card. Rules for tied bids vary. Either the competition card is discarded, or its value may ‘roll over’ to the next round so that two or more cards are competed for with a single bid card. (see Settings).

The cards used for bidding are discarded, and play continues with a new upturned prize card.

After 13 rounds the game is scored. Points are totalled equal to the sum of the cards won - Ace is worth one point, up to King worth 13 points.

Game of Pure Strategy app screenshot 1 Game of Pure Strategy app screenshot 2 Game of Pure Strategy app screenshot 3 Game of Pure Strategy app screenshot 4

Available on App and Play Stores

Strategy Tips

  • Balance value: avoid spending a king to win a low diamond.
  • Track opponent tendencies; punish predictable overbids.
  • With carryover ties on, protect a mid-high card to scoop stacked prizes.

Game of Pure Strategy FAQs

What is GOPS (Goofspiel)?

A two-player, zero-luck strategy game. Both players start with identical hands, bid simultaneously for the face-up diamond card, and highest bid wins its value.

Is there any luck in GOPS?

No. Both players have the same cards and see the same prize order; outcomes depend entirely on bidding strategy.

How are ties handled?

Choose in settings: either discard tied diamonds or carry them over so the next round awards multiple cards at once.

What’s the goal and scoring?

Win more points than your opponent. Diamonds score by face value (A=1 … K=13). After 13 rounds, highest total wins.

Can I play offline?

Yes. The iOS and Android apps work fully offline against AI - perfect for practice anywhere.

Any quick strategy tips?

Don’t overpay early kings, mix your bids to be unpredictable, and adapt to your opponent’s patterns - especially when carryovers stack value.

How To Play

Deal

GOPS, or Goofspiel, stands for The Game of Pure Strategy, because players start with the same hand rather than a hand dealt by chance. You are dealt all of the Spades and your opponent is dealt all of the Hearts, so both players have one of each card value. The Diamonds are played for during game, and the suit of Clubs is not used.

The aim of the game is to win more points than your opponent by taking the Diamonds. The winner of the game is the player whose score is highest after all 13 Diamonds have been played for.

Play

The suit of Diamonds is shuffled and placed face down. The first card is revealed and both players choose a card in their hand to try and win it. So that there is no advantage due to the order of play, the cards are selected in secret and are revealed at the same time. The player who has played the higher card wins the Diamond. If both players have played the same card value, neither wins the Diamond, and it is either discarded or carried over to be won with the next hand, depending on the Drawn cards setting (see Settings). The next Diamond is revealed, and play continues in this way until all 13 Diamonds have been revealed. If the last hand is drawn, nobody wins the last Diamond.

Scoring

Players score points for each Diamond they win. The Ace is worth one point, the Jack 11, the Queen 12, the King 13. All other cards are worth their face value. At the end of the game, each player scores the total of all the Diamonds they have won, and the higher score wins.

Settings

Choose from the following settings (defaults shown in italics):

Sound: On, off.

Speed: Normal, fast.

Orientation: Portrait, landscape left, landscape right or landscape free.

Single click play: On, off.

AI level: Easy, hard.

Drawn cards: Discard, 'play for cards'. When set to 'discard', diamonds from hands which are drawn are discarded. When set to 'play for cards', diamonds from hands that are drawn are carried over to be won with the next face up card.

Cards: Classic, coppercod or modern.

Deck: Choose from 18 different deck designs for coppercod, 16 for modern.

Mobile Cards: Off or on. Only available on phones.

Theme: Green, merlot, dark red, light blue, black, purple, teal, pink, orange or blue

Interface

Home screen:

From the home screen you can access the following options:

  • Start new game
  • Continue game: if there is a game in progress it can be continued
  • Settings (cog icon, bottom left). Once open you can close it by tapping close or tapping > at the top right.
  • Information (question mark icon, bottom right). Once open you can close it by tapping close or tapping > at the top right.
  • Stats (trophy icon, top left)
  • Sound: Tap the speaker icon at the top right of the home screen to toggle between sound on and off

During a Game

Your cards are displayed face up at the bottom of the screen and your opponent’s cards are face down at the top. Your cards are ordered low to high from left to right. Your opponent’s cards are ordered at random. Diamonds that you have won are collected below your hand, and your opponent’s above theirs. Drawn Diamonds are shown above the draw pile, either greyed if they have been discarded, or not greyed if they are carried over to be won with the next hand, depending on the Drawn cards setting (see Settings).

Players’ current scores are shown on the right of the screen. A light is displayed above your hand which turns from red to green when it is your turn to act. Drag or double tap a card to play it.

At the end of the game a scoreboard is displayed, with a trophy next to the winner’s score. From here you can choose new game or home to return to the home screen.

Thank you for playing GOPS!

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