Oh hell or contract whist is a trick-taking card game of British origin in which the object is to take exactly the number of tricks bid. It was first described by B. C. Westall around 1930 and originally called oh! well. It was said to have been introduced into America via the New York clubs in 1931. Phillips and Westall describe it as "one of the best round games."
Bezique or bésigue is a 19th-century French melding and trick-taking card game for two players that came to Britain and is still played today. The game is derived from piquet, possibly via marriage (sixty-six) and briscan, with additional scoring features, notably the peculiar liaison of the Q♠ and J♦ that is also a feature of pinochle, Binokel, and similarly named games that vary by country.
Euchre or eucre is a trick-taking card game commonly played in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, and the Midwestern United States. It is played with a deck of 24, 28, or 32 standard playing cards. There are normally four players, two on each team, although there are variations for two to nine players.
Ninety-nine is a card game for 2, 3, or 4 players. It is a trick-taking game that can use ordinary French-suited cards. Ninety-nine was created in 1967 by David Parlett; his goal was to have a good 3-player trick-taking game with simple rules yet great room for strategy.
Marjapussi is a traditional Finnish trick taking game for 4 players playing in 2 partnerships and is one of the Mariage family, its key feature being that the trump suit is determined in the middle of the play by declaring a marriage. There are variants of marjapussi for two and three players.
Belote is a 32-card, trick-taking, ace–ten game played primarily in France and certain European countries, namely Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and also in Saudi Arabia. It is one of the most popular card games in those countries, and the national card game of France, both casually and in gambling. It appeared around 1900 in France, and is a close relative of both Klaberjass and klaverjas. Closely related games are played throughout the world. Definitive rules of the game were first published in French in 1921.
Sixty-six or 66, sometimes known as Paderbörnern, is a fast 5- or 6-card point-trick game of the marriage type for 2–4 players, played with 24 cards. It is an ace–ten game where aces are high and tens rank second. It has been described as "one of the best two-handers ever devised".
Pitch is the American name of the English trick-taking game of Blind All Fours which, in turn, is derived from classic All Fours. Historically, Pitch started as "Blind All Fours", a very simple All Fours variant that is still played in England as a pub game. The modern game involving a bidding phase and setting back a party's score if the bid is not reached came up in the middle of the 19th century and is more precisely known as Auction Pitch or Setback.
Smear is a North-American trick-taking card game of the All Fours group, and a variant of Pitch (Setback). Several slightly different versions are played in Michigan, Minnesota, Northern and Central Iowa, Wisconsin and also in Ontario, Canada.
Klaberjass or Bela is a trick-taking ace–ten card game that is most popular in German communities. In its basic form it is a 9-card trick-and-draw game for two players using a 32-card piquet pack.
Mariáš or Mariasch a three-player, solo trick-taking game of the king–queen family of ace–ten games, but with a simplified scoring system. It is one of the most popular card games in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but is also played in Bavaria in Germany as well as in Austria. The Hungarian national card game Ulti is an elaboration of Mariáš.
Mariage or Mariagenspiel is a German 6-card trick-and-draw game for two players in which players score bonus points for the "marriage" of king and queen of the same suit. The game, first documented in 1715 in Leipzig, spawned numerous offshoots throughout continental Europe and gives its name to the marriage group of card games, the widest known of which is probably sixty-six. Many of these are still the national card games of their respective countries.
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 played with non-proprietary packs. It should not include terms solely related to casino or banking games. For glossaries that relate primarily to one game or family of similar games, see Game-specific glossaries.
Dreierschnapsen, Talonschnapsen or Staperlschnapsen is a three-hand variant of the popular Austrian card game, Bauernschnapsen. The rules are very similar to those for Bauernschnapsen except that, instead of two teams of two players, one player bids to become the soloist against the other two who form a temporary alliance. Another difference is that the game makes use of a talon with which the soloist may exchange cards to improve his hand, hence its alternative name of Talonschnapsen. The game is usually played with William Tell cards.
Tatteln, also called Franzefuß and Därde, is an historical card game for two players that is played with a pack of 32 French or German playing cards. The rules resemble those of Piquet and Mariage (Sixty-six), and David Parlett refers to it as a trick-and-draw version of the international classic, two-hander, Klaberjass.
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.
Brisque 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 earns a bonus.
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.
Norseman's knock or Norrlandsknack is a classic Swedish card game for 3 to 5 players, known since the mid-1800s. It is traditionally played for money. The game is about winning as many tricks as possible and above all not being completely left without a trick.
1001 is a point-trick card game of German origin for two players that is similar to sixty-six. It is known in German as Tausendundeins and Tausendeins ("1001") or Kiautschou. The winner is the first to 1001 points, hence the name. Hülsemann describes the game as "one of the most stimulating for two players", one that must be played "fast and freely".
