Gossip Trip Trix

You are office workers of a certain political party who have been summoned by a reporter. He gets paid if he provides juicy material courtesy of your gossip — but if the article is widely reported and your role in its creation comes out, the responsibility that awaits you is...being fired! You absolutely do not want to leave the political party and need to make somewhat unconventional arrangements, perhaps kicking down your colleagues instead. Gossip Trip Trix is a trick-taking game in which you want to avoid points, that is, credit for the gossip being spread. The deck consists of four suits numbered 1-11. Lay the 8s in a vertical column on the table as pat of an imaginary grid, then shuffle and deal the remaining cards. The lead player plays what they want, and each player must follow suit, if possible; otherwise, they play what they wish. The highest card of the lead suit wins the trick, then all played cards are placed into the grid in the appropriate places: 1-7 to the left of the 8 of the matching color, and 9-11 to the right. Whoever won the trick scores points equal to the longest run of consecutive numbers from 1-7 in the winning suit, then they lead the next trick. However, if the 9-10-11 of a color have been played, then tricks won in this color are worth 0 points. Once the 9-10-11 of each color have been played, the round ends. Shuffle the cards, then start a new round. After each player has been start player once, the game ends, and whoever has the fewest points wins.