One of the earliest fishing games | |
![]() Suit of Spades from a Paris pattern pack | |
Origin | France |
---|---|
Alternative names | Cul-bas, Cou-bas |
Type | Fishing game |
Players | 3–8 (5 or 6 best) |
Cards | 52 |
Deck | Paris pattern, French-suited |
Play | Anticlockwise |
Related games | |
Coquimbert, Papillon |
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." [1]
Culbas is one of the oldest European fishing games, being recorded as early as 1658. [2] The English game of Laugh and Lie Down, recorded 1515, is reckoned to be the oldest. [3] The name means something like "bottom down" and refers to a player having to throw his or her hand down when unable to play. An attempt by Lebrun in 1828 to change the name to Cou-bas ("neck down") failed. Culbas may have been the origin of the French game, Papillon, which appeared in 1725. [1] Culbas appears to have died out by the end of the 19th century.
The following rules are based on those described by Philippe Lalanne at the Academy of Lost Games (Académie des jeux oubliés): [1]
Culbas is a game for three to eight players (five or six are best) using either a 32-card Piquet pack when three or four play, or a standard 52-card, French-suited pack, typically of the Paris pattern, when more play. Suits and card ranking are irrelevant during play; the aim being to match, rather than, beat cards.
A game ( partie ) comprises a number of rounds (tours), each round in turn consisting of a number of deals (coups) equivalent to the number of players. Players start with four fiches (rectangular chips) and twenty jetons (circular chips), a fiche being worth twenty jetons, enough for around 30-35 deals.
The cards are fanned, face down, on the table and players draw for the first deal, the lowest card prevailing. For this purpose only, cards rank in their natural order, Aces low, in a 52-card pack; or in Écarté order (K Q J A 10 9 8 7) in a Piquet pack.
Deal and play are anticlockwise. The dealer shuffles, offers to the left for cutting and then deals five cards each (2+3 or 3+2). The next eight cards are spread, face up, on the table and the remaining cards are placed, face down and to the right, as the talon. Next to the talon is a small basket or corbillon for the pool (poule).
Any player who is dealt four of a kind returns them to the dealer, who places them at the bottom of the talon and gives out four replacements.
First hand (premier en cartes), the player to the right of the dealer, begins by playing, if able, one card that matches one of the table cards e.g. a King to a King or a Nine to a Nine. He or she picks up both cards and places them, face down, nearby. A player with three cards of the same rank as a table card, may play them and pick up the table card. If unable to play, either because there are no matching cards or because there are no table cards left, a player must culbas i.e. throw down his or her hand, combining it with the table cards and drop out of the current deal.
A player who has to culbas and go out, pays as many jetons to the basket as the number of cards left in his or her hand.
The winner is the first player to shed all five cards by matching. Play ends immediately and those with cards still in their hands are out. If all the players have had to culbas, there is no winner.
The winner sweeps all the chips (jetons and fiches) in the pool. If there is no winner, the pool is carried forward to the next deal.
At the end of the game, players may reckon up their score from the chips they have lost or won and establish a ranking order.
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
and that is also a feature of Pinochle, Binokel, and similarly named games that vary by country.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.
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.
Jeu Royal de la Guerre is a French novelty card game for two to twelve players that was described in La Maison des Jeux Academiques in 1659. It is a trick-taking game played with a dedicated war-themed 40-card pack based on the French-suited 36-card piquet pack. The suits are irrelevant for gameplay, and to a large extent the game is determined by four suitless special cards.
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.
Bête, la Bête, Beste or la Beste, originally known as Homme or l'Homme, was an old, French, trick-taking card game, usually for three to five players. It was a derivative of Triomphe created by introducing the concept of bidding. Its earlier name gives away its descent from the 16th-century Spanish game of Ombre. It is the "earliest recorded multi-player version of Triomphe".
The game of Nain Jaune or Yellow Dwarf, also formerly called Lindor, is an "attractive and unique traditional French card game" using a board comprising five compartments or boxes. It is a reasoned game of chance because it combines the hazards of card distribution with the strategy of building suits. Nain Jaune, which is considered a classic French game, is named after the seven of diamonds, which is depicted as a yellow dwarf in the centre of the game board.
Coucou is an historical French card game that uses a pack of 32 or 52 cards and is played by five to twenty players. It is unusual for being played with only a single card in hand. As a shedding game, there is only one winner who may claim the stakes, if there are any.
Homme d'Auvergne is an historical French card game for two to five players dating to the 17th century. It is a derivative of Triomphe and ancestral to la Bête with which it gradually become almost identical over time. It was a source of inspiration for other games, such as Écarté.
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.
Tontine is an historical French gambling game for five to twelve players using playing cards. It is a social game of pure chance in which the chips (jetons) circulate between the players and the pool until one player wins all the chips in play.
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.
Emprunt is an historical French card game of the Hoc family for three to six players that dates to at least the early 18th century.
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".
Quadrette is an old French card game for four players, who form two teams of two. It is unusual in that communication between partners is allowed and the team captain is permitted to ask for information and direct play. It is a variant of classic Whist that is simpler and faster to play.