The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (93 page)

Preliminaries Two players each receive eight cards dealt 3-2-3 from

two 32-card packs shuf led together, ranking ATKQJ987. Turn the

next for trump and stack the remainder, face down, half covering

the turn-up. Object To be the first to reach 1000 points over as

many deals as necessary, dealing alternately. Points are scored for

capturing brisques (Aces and Tens) in tricks, and for acquiring and

declaring any of the combinations listed opposite.

Play Elder leads first. Second to a trick may play any card. A trick is

won by the higher card of the suit led, or by the higher trump if any

are played, or by the first played of two identical cards.

trump sequence (ATKQJ)

250

trump marriage (KQ)

40

non-trump marriage

20

double bezique ( Q Q J J) 500

single bezique ( Q J)

40

any four Aces

100

any four Kings

80

any four Queens

60

any four Jacks

40

trump Seven

7

Brisques For each Ace or Ten won in a trick, score 10 points

immediately. (Variant: Some players wait until the end of the hand

before counting them, but this is not recommended.)

Declarations Winning a trick entitles you to declare a scoring

combination. This is done by taking the relevant cards from your

hand and laying them face up on the table, where they remain, and

continue to form part of your hand, until played to tricks. You then

draw the top card of stock, wait for your opponent to draw the

next, and lead to the next trick. If the draw gives you a

next, and lead to the next trick. If the draw gives you a

combination, you must wait until you win a trick before you can

declare it.

You may declare more than one combination upon winning a

trick, but may score only one of them per trick won. Any others

must be left in place until another trick is won, and then are

scorable only if no card has been played from them.

A card that has been declared once in a combination may later be

combined with one or more others, from hand or table, to form a

combination of a dif erent type (sequence, marriage, bezique,

quartet), but it may not be used twice in the same combination.

Thus, the Queen in a spade marriage may not be remarried to the

other King, but may later be counted in a bezique or a quartet of

Queens. Similarly, with ‘eighty Kings’ and ‘sixty Queens’ declared,

each possible marriage may be scored in a subsequent trick so long

as it remains intact. It is perfectly legal to make a meld entirely

from cards already on the table, so long as none of them has

already been scored in a combination of the same type.

If you score a trump sequence, you may not subsequently score

the marriage it contains; but you may count the marriage first, and

then score the sequence upon winning a subsequent trick.

You may declare double bezique by laying out al four cards at

once, or by adding a second bezique to a single bezique already

scored and stil on the table; but if you score for two singles, you

may not count the double as wel .

Trump seven You may show a †7 and score 10 for it at any time,

usual y upon playing it to a trick. You may also exchange it for the

trump turn-up, but only upon winning a trick, and instead of

declaring any combination. (Sources dif er as to the detail of this

procedure. This is my recommendation.)

End-game The winner of the last trick before the stock is emptied

may make one declaration before drawing the penultimate card.

When both last cards have been drawn, no more declarations may

When both last cards have been drawn, no more declarations may

be made, and each player takes al his cards back into hand. In

playing the last eight tricks, the second must fol ow suit if possible,

win the trick if possible, and trump if unable to fol ow suit.

Combinations are no longer declarable. The winner of the eighth

trick scores 10 for last.

Score Play continues, with the deal alternating, until one player

reaches or exceeds 1000 points, whereupon it immediately ceases.

If the loser has failed to reach the ‘rubicon’ of 500 points, the

winner scores a double game or stake.

Variations

1. Instead of turning a card, start at no trump and entrump the

suit of the first marriage declared.

2. If spades or diamonds are trump, bezique may be redefined as

Q J.

Comment The main point of the game is to judge which cards to

col ect for possible melds and which to throw to tricks, especial y

when the hand consists entirely of meldable cards. It is important to

remember which cards are not available because declared by the

opponent or previously played to tricks. Win tricks with Tens

wherever possible, as they have no melding value but score 10

each. Lead Aces and Tens to tempt out trumps if weak in trumps

yourself. Win tricks only if they

yourself. Win tricks only if they

contain brisques,

or if you have something to declare, or think your opponent has.

Fildinski (Polish Bezique)

Play as above, but with the fol owing dif erences. Cards held in the

hand may not be melded. Instead, those won by each player are left

face up on the table in front of him. Either or both cards of a won

trick may be used to form and score for a meld in conjunction with

one or more cards already won. More than one meld may be scored

at a time, provided that each incorporates a card won in the trick

just played, and that no card is used simultaneously in dif erent

melds.

Multi-pack variants

Bezique may be played with four, six or eight 32-card packs

shuf led together. Four is cal ed Rubicon (or Japanese) Bezique, six

Chinese Bezique. The fol owing general rules apply to al . See also