| One of the Hoc family | |
 Suit of Spades from a 52-card French pack. | |
| Origin | France |
|---|---|
| Type | Shedding game |
| Players | 3–6 |
| Cards | 52 |
| Deck | French-suited, Paris pattern |
| Play | Anticlockwise |
| Related games | |
| Hoc Mazarin, Comet, Nain Jaune | |
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.
The earliest account of the rules of Emprunt date to 1718 [1] and the game continues to be regularly included in French games compendia until the late 19th century but now appears obsolete. [2] The name Emprunt means "loan" and stems from the "borrowing" feature of the game. [1]
The 1718 Académie Universelle des Jeux does not give a full account of the rules, describing the game as having "a lot of similarity to Hoc" but named Emprunt because it contains the distinguishing feature that players are allowed to "borrow" a card they do not have. [1] The following rules are based on Lacombe (1800). [3]
Emprunt may be played by three to six players using a standard French-suited pack of 52 cards. If six play, each is dealt eight cards with four going to the talon; if five play, each receives ten and there are two in the talon. If four play, the aces and twos are removed, reducing the pack to 44 cards; each player receives ten and four are left to the talon. If three play, the threes are also removed, leaving 40 cards in the pack; each player is dealt 21 and there is a talon of four.
The cards having been dealt, each player antes one or two jetons of an agreed value to the pool (poule). Players draw lots for first dealer, the one with the lowest having this privilege. [lower-alpha 1] The dealer shuffles, has the cards cutting by the player to the left and then deals the requisite number of cards in anticlockwise order beginning with first hand, the player to the right.
First hand leads with any card from his or her hand. Second hand must follow this with the next card in suit sequence; [lower-alpha 2] if he does not hold it, he must "borrow" it from the player who has it and pay a jeton for it to that player. If no player has it, the player draws the card from the talon (wherein it must lie) and pays a jeton to the pool. Once the first suit is exhausted, the player who played the last card of that suit begins a new suit with any card held.
The first player to shed all his or her hand cards wins the game, sweeps the pool and receives from each opponent as many jetons as the opponent has cards left in hand.
Bezique or Bésigue is a 19th-century French melding and trick-taking card game for two players. 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.
Ambigu is an historical French 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.
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.
Brusquembille is an historical, French, 3-card trick-and-draw game for two to five players using a 32-card piquet pack. The game has variable trumps. Side-payments are made for keeping or winning aces and tens.
Newmarket is an English card game of the matching type for any number of players. It is a domestic gambling game, involving more chance than skill, and emerged in the 1880s as an improvement of the older game of Pope Joan. It became known in America as Stops or Boodle before developing into Michigan. In 1981, Newmarket was still the sixth most popular card game in Britain.
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.
Briscan is an 18th-century, French 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.
The jeux de hocs are a family of French card games in which the aim is to be first to shed all one's hand cards to sequences laid out in rows on the table. They all feature cards known as 'stops' or hocs: cards that end a sequence and give the one who played it the advantage of being able to start a new sequence. In some games, hocs attract bonuses.
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.
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."
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.
Quarante de Roi or Quarante de Rois is an historical French, point-trick, card game for four players in partnerships of two. The name comes from its highest scoring combination of four Kings which is worth 40 points.
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.
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.
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