 The suit of Spades in Ambigu | |
| Origin | France |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Meslé, Mêlé |
| Players | 2 – 6 |
| Cards | 40 |
| Deck | French-suited pack |
| Play | Anticlockwise |
Ambigu is an historicalFrench vying game, composed of the characteristic elements of Whist, Bouillotte and Piquet. A Whist pack with the court cards removed is used, and from two to six persons may play. Each player is given an equal number of counters, and a limit of betting is agreed upon. [1]
The rules of Ambigu, then also known as Meslé, first appear in 1659, the game being much in vogue at the time of Louis XIV who reigned from 1643 to 1714. [2] It continued to be recorded in French gaming compendia throughout the 19th century and, occasionally, up to the present century. [3] [4]
Two cards are dealt, one at a time, to each player, after each has anted two counters in a pool. Each player then either keeps his hand, saying "Enough," or takes one or two new cards from the top of the stock; after which the stock is reshuffled and cut, and each player receives two more cards, one at a time. [1]
The players then either "play" or "pass." If a person "plays," he bets a number of counters and the others may equal this bet or raise it. Should no player meet the first bet, the bettor takes back his bet, leaving the pool intact, and receives two counters from the last player who refuses to play. When two or more bet the same number, they again draw cards and " pass " or "play" as before. If all "pass," each pays a counter to the pool and a new deal ensues. The player betting more than the others call wins the pool. He then exposes his hand and is paid by each adversary according to its value. [1]
The hands rank as follows: "Point," the number of pips on two or more cards of a suit (one counter). "Prime," four cards of different suits (two counters). "Grand Prime," the same with the number of pips over 30 (three counters). "Sequence," a hand containing three cards of the same suit in sequence (three counters). "Tricon," three of a kind (four counters). "Flush," four cards of the same suit (five counters). "Doublet," a hand containing two counting combinations at once, as 2, 3, 4 and 7 of spades, amounting to both a "sequence" and a "flush" (eight counters). "Fredon," four of a kind (the highest possible hand), ten or eleven counters, according to the number of pips. Ties are decided by the number of pips. [1]
Hearts is an "evasion-type" trick-taking playing card game for four players, although most variations can accommodate between three and six players. It was first recorded in America in the 1880s and has many variants, some of which are also referred to as "Hearts", especially the games of Black Lady and Black Maria. The game is a member of the Whist group of trick-taking games, but is unusual among Whist variants in that it is a trick-avoidance game; players avoid winning certain penalty cards in tricks, usually by avoiding winning tricks altogether. The original game of Hearts is still current but has been overtaken in popularity by Black Lady in the United States and Black Maria in Great Britain.
Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play.
Bouillotte is an 18th-century French gambling card game of the Revolution based on Brelan, very popular during the 19th century in France and again for some years from 1830. It was also popular in America. The game is regarded as one of the games that influenced the open-card stud variation in poker. The rules continue to be printed in French gaming compendia.
Lanterloo or Loo is a 17th-century trick taking game of the trump family of which many varieties are recorded. It belongs to a line of card games whose members include Nap, Euchre, Rams, Hombre, and Maw. It is considered a modification of the game of "All Fours", another English game possibly of Dutch origin, in which the players replenish their hands after each round by drawing each fresh new cards from the pack.
Commerce is an 18th-century gambling French card game akin to Thirty-one and perhaps ancestral to Whisky Poker and Bastard Brag. It aggregates a variety of games with the same game mechanics. Trade and Barter, the English equivalent, has the same combinations, but a different way of acquiring them. Trentuno, Trent-et-Uno, applies basically to the same method of play, but also has slightly different combinations. Its rules are recorded as early as 1769.
Bostogné, Boston or Boston Whist is an 18th-century trick-taking card game played throughout the Western world apart from Britain, forming an evolutionary link between Hombre and Solo Whist. Apparently named after a key location in the American War of Independence, it is probably a French game which was devised in France in the 1770s, combining the 52-card pack and logical ranking system of partnership Whist with a range of solo and alliance bids borrowed from Quadrille. Other lines of descent and hybridization produced the games of Twenty-five, Préférence and Skat. Its most common form is known as Boston de Fontainebleau or French Boston.
Reversis, or more rarely, Réversi, is a very old trick-taking card game of the Hearts group whose origin is supposed to be Italian, transformed into Spain and then in France. It is considered one of the two probable ancestors of Hearts, Black Lady and Black Maria, the other being Coquimbert or Coquinbert. It was very popular with the French aristocracy in the 17th and 18th centuries, and much played elsewhere, except in Britain. Initially quite simple, the game eventually developed into an elaborate affair involving vast quantities of counters and a complex system of pools and side-payments. Its name may have possibly come from the reverse order and construction of the game itself, or even from its exceptional slam which, like "shooting the moon" in Black Lady, reverses the entire aim of the game.
Gilet, also Gile, Gillet, is a 16th-century Italian gambling card game that probably predates the game of Primero. Rabelais, in 1534, gives it pride of place in his list of games played by Gargantua, and Cardano, in 1564, describes it as Geleus, from the word Geleo, meaning "I have it".
The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific, but apply to a wide range of card games. For glossaries that relate primarily to one game or family of similar games, see Game-specific glossaries.
Belle, Flux et Trente-et-Un, is an historical, gambling, card game that was widespread in France and Germany during the 17th and 18th centuries. As a relative of Brag and Poch, from which the game of Poker developed, it is of cultural-historical interest.
Mistigri, historically Pamphile, is an old, French, trick-taking card game for three or four players that has elements reminiscent of poker. It is a member of the Rams family of games and, although it is a gambling game, often played for small stakes, it is also suitable as a party game or as a family game with children from the age of 12 upwards.
Briscan is an 18th-century, French Ace-Ten card game for two players played with a 32-card Piquet pack. It is a member of the Marriage group of games in which the 'marriage' of a King and Queen brings a bonus score, but Briscan takes this simple concept to extraordinary lengths.
Mouche, also known as Lanterlu, is an old, French, trick-taking card game for two to six players which has elements, such as bluffing, reminiscent of the much later game of poker. It is a member of the Rams family of games and, although it is a gambling game, often played for small stakes, it is also suitable as a party game or as a family game with children from the age of 12 upwards. It is named after the mouche, a term that variously refers to its winning hand, the basic stake and the penalty for failing to take any tricks. Although also called Bête, it should not be confused with the older game of that name from which it came and which, in turn, was a derivative of Triomphe.
Culbas or Cul-bas is an historical French card game of the fishing type for three to eight players that dates to at least the 17th century. It is described as being "very old" and having "a great simplicity in which chance plays the biggest role."
Gé, Point, Flux et Sequence, also called Les Quatre Jeux is an historical, French gambling, card game of the 17th and early 18th centuries.
Comet is a very old, French card game of the Stops family for 2 to 5 players that is still played today. It was originally called Manille, but acquired a new name on the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1682. It is not related to the modern trick-taking game also called Manille. The American game of Commit is an evolution of Comet.
Hoc Mazarin, also just Hoc, is an historical French gambling game of the Stops family for two or three players. The game was popular at the court of Versailles in the 17th century and was named after Cardinal Mazarin, chief minister to the King of France.
Ferme ("Farm") is an historical French gambling game of the banking type for ten to twelve players that dates to the mid-17th century. It was described then as being "fun and recreational".
Romestecq is an historical Dutch card game for two, four or six players in two teams that dates to at least the 17th century. It was also popular in France for over a century. Despite being criticised in contemporary sources as "complicated" it continued to appear in the literature until the end of the 19th century and was sufficiently interesting for it to appear in The Penguin Book of Card Games in 2008.
Papillon is an old French card game of the fishing type for three or four players. It has been described as "perfect for children who know how to count".
