Suggest adding an option of treating a 4-tuple superior than a tractor

[xiaofan-iit]

I would like to suggest we add a game option such that a four-of-a-kind/4-tuple beats a regular tractor. For example, with 4 or more decks, trump 2 spade, 3333 (heart) should beat AAKK (heart). If possible to be implemented, 333344 (heart) should beat AAKKQQ (heart). I understand that there are different preferences of rules. Can we add an option in the game settings such that four-of-a-kind is treated superior than a regular tractor? To make it simple at first, we don't have generalize it so that 5-tuple or N-tuple (N>5) is superior (as it almost does not occur in practice).

[rbtying]

What do you mean by "beat" here?

In the current implementation, a 4-tuple will force a tractor to be played. However, the winner of a particular trick depends still on the first player's trick format; if the tractor is played the 4-tuple would not match. I don't think it makes sense to have a 4-tuple win in a tractor trick; in throws, playing a triple rather than a pair doesn't count as having played higher (ie a throw of AAK non-trump can be trumped by 333, but that can be defeated again by 447; conversely, if 447 was already played, 333 should not be considered higher)

In the six-card case you mentioned, it sounds like you would like there to be support for trick formats of non-rectangular tractors, so that 333344 is interpreted as a six-card play rather than as a throw of a 4-tuple and a pair or as a tractor and a pair. This can probably be done behind a game option, but would be a rule set I'm not familiar with.

[xiaofan-iit]

The essential part of the game is 2x2 tractors. We think a 4-tuple is a "better" type of 2x2 tractor, because it is even closer and rarer than a regular 2x2 tractor. In this game, we acknowledge the special role of a tractor but not adjacent singles such as '34567' of the same suit. We want to put a 4-tuple into the same category of 2x2 tractors but not try to generalize to such that making triple superior to a pair plus a single, etc. Here, an example of a trick with 4 players and trump 2 spade, 1st player JJQQ heart, the 2nd player AAKK heart, 3rd player 3333 (heart), 4th player 5577 (heart). The 3rd player wins the trick.

The six-card cases are extension of the above. If a player starts a trick with [AAKKQQ] and the 3rd player has [333344], the 3rd player wins over the 1st player.