| An early point-trick game | |
 Four Kings - the highest clique | |
| Origin | France |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Quarante de Roi, Vierzig vom König |
| Type | Point-trick game |
| Players | 4 (2 x 2) |
| Cards | 32 |
| Deck | French-suited, Paris pattern |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Related games | |
| Manille, Tresette | |
Quarante de Roi ("Forty for Kings") or Quarante de Rois [1] 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.
The earliest mention of Quarante de Roi was published in 1772, but its point schedule and Ace ranking suggest greater antiquity. [1] An 1850 French source includes it in a list of games played in Lorraine between 1495 and 1601, although the reference cited mentions a game called Quarante-Trois or Quarantrois. [2]
The name of a set or clique used in the game may be a corruption of glique, a word used in the Metz dialogue in a game called Dix-Croix ("Ten-Cross"). This game had the same scoring scheme for the gliques as Quarante de Roi has for the cliques and they may have been the same game under different names. According to Le Duchat, the derivation of the term glique was the German word glück ("luck"). [2] Alternatively it may be derived from gleich ("same") which is the German in several card games for a set. See also Gleek.
The following rules are based on Lacombe (1792) and have been described as the "official rules" as they have been reprinted multiple times since without any changes. [3]
Quarante de Roi is a game for four players playing in 2 teams of two, the partners sitting opposite one another. The cards rank as at Triomphe: K (high) Q J A 10 9 8 7 (low). Deal and play are anticlockwise. The aim is to score the most points in tricks, the cards being valued as follows: [3]
| Rank | K | Q | J | A | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | 5 | 4 | 3 | – | ||||
The cards are dealt out, anticlockwise and one by one. When a King is dealt, that player receives no more cards. Once the four Kings are dealt, those with the two red Kings form one team and those with the two black Kings, the other. [3]
The cards are fanned on the table and players draw one card each. The one with the highest card becomes the first dealer. In the event of a tie, the two players concerned re-draw a card and the highest wins. For this purpose cards rank in their natural order, Aces high. Dealer shuffles, offers to the left for cutting and deals 8 cards each (2-3-2) before turning the last card face up for trumps. This card belongs to the dealer who collects it on playing his first card. [3]
First hand leads to the first trick; thereafter the trick winner leads to the next trick. Players must follow suit; otherwise may play any card. The trick is won by the highest trump or the highest card of the led suit if no trumps are played. [3]
A player with a set of three or four court cards held in the hand before the start of play has a clique and may declare it and score points if it is the highest or only set. The value of the cliques is as follows: [3]
To count, cliques must be declared on playing to the first trick. To do so, a player states the number of cards in the set e.g. "Three cards" or "Four cards". If two or more players have the same number then, beginning with first hand, they declare the rank. However, a clique that has been beaten by an earlier player need not be declared; instead the player may just say "It's good" or "Good". Only one clique counts; thus the player with the highest or only clique scores the relevant points for it; the remainder score nothing. A clique must be declared to count; however, a player may choose not to declare a clique if it is felt that it would reveal too much information for the number of points gained. [3]
A game is played over a number of deals, the dealer rotating to the right. The scores are kept by one of the players who chalks up a table with two columns headed "them" and "us". Game is usually 150 points. [3]
Oh Hell, Oh Pshaw or Nomination Whist is a trick-taking card game of British origin in which the object is to take exactly the number of tricks bid. Unlike contract bridge and spades, taking more tricks than bid is a fail. 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. It has been described as "one of the best round games."
All Fours is a traditional English card game, once popular in pubs and taverns as well as among the gentry, that flourished as a gambling game until the end of the 19th century. It is a trick-taking card game that was originally designed for two players, but developed variants for more players. According to Cotton, the game originated in Kent, but spread to the whole of England and eventually abroad. It is the eponymous and earliest recorded game of a family that flourished most in 19th century North America and whose progeny include Pitch, Pedro and Cinch, games that even competed with Poker and Euchre. Nowadays the original game is especially popular in Trinidad and Tobago, but regional variants have also survived in England. The game's "great mark of distinction" is that it gave the name 'Jack' to the card previously known as the Knave.
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.
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.
The game of French Tarot is a trick-taking strategy tarot card game played by three to five players using a traditional 78-card tarot deck. The game is the second most popular card game in France and is also played in French-speaking Canada.
Belote is a 32-card, trick-taking, Ace-Ten game played primarily in France and certain European countries, namely Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, North Macedonia 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 was invented around 1920 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 1921.
Polignac is a French 18th century trick-taking card game ancestral to Hearts and Black Maria. It is played by 3-6 players with a 32-card deck. It is sometimes played as a party game with the 52-card pack; however, it is better as a serious game for four, playing all against all. Other names for this game include Quatre Valets and Stay Away. Knaves is a variant and it is also similar to the Austrian and German games, Slobberhannes, Eichelobern and Grasobern.
Cinch, also known as Double Pedro or High Five, is an American trick-taking card game derived from Pitch via Pedro. Developed in Denver, Colorado in the 1880s, it was soon regarded as the most important member of the All Fours family but went out of fashion with the rise of Auction Bridge. The game is primarily played by 4 players in fixed partnerships, but can also be played by 2–6 individual players.
Pilotta (in Greek Πιλόττα) is a trick-taking 32-card game derived from Belote. It is played primarily in Cyprus, being very popular among the Cypriot population, especially the youngsters, who usually arrange “pilotta meetings” in places such as cafés and cafeterias. Its counterpart played in Greece is named Vida.
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 the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Minnesota, Northern and Central Iowa, Wisconsin and also in Ontario, Canada.
Tute is a trick-taking card game of the Ace-Ten family for two to four players. Originating in Italy, where it was known as Tutti, during the 19th century the game spread in Spain, becoming one of the most popular card games in the country. The name of the game was later modified by Spanish speakers, who started calling the game Tute. The game is played with a deck of traditional Spanish playing cards, or naipes, that is very similar to the Italian 40-card deck.
Manille is a French trick-taking card game which uses a 32 card deck. It spread to the rest of France in the early 20th century, but was subsequently checked and reversed by the expansion of Belote. It is still popular in France and the western part of Belgium.
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.
Triomphe, once known as French Ruff, is a card game dating from the late 15th century. It most likely originated in France or Spain and later spread to the rest of Europe. When the game arrived in Italy, it shared a similar name with the pre-existing game and deck known as trionfi; probably resulting in the latter becoming renamed as Tarocchi (tarot). While trionfi has a fifth suit that acts as permanent trumps, triomphe randomly selects one of the existing four suits as trumps. Another common feature of this game is the robbing of the stock. Triomphe became so popular that during the 16th century the earlier game of trionfi was gradually renamed tarocchi, tarot, or tarock. This game is the origin of the English word "trump" and is the ancestor of many trick-taking games like Euchre and Whist.
Binokel is a card game for two to eight players that originated in Switzerland as Binocle, but spread to the German state of Württemberg, where it is typically played with a Württemberg pattern pack. It is still popular in Württemberg, where it is usually played in groups of three or four as a family game rather than in the pubs. In three-hand games, each player competes for himself, while in four-hand games, known as Cross Binokel (Kreuzbinokel), two teams are formed with partners sitting opposite one another. The game was introduced to America by German immigrants in the first half of the 20th century, where it developed into the similar game of Pinochle. Binocle was still played in Switzerland in 1994. In south Germany, the game is sometimes called by its Swabian name, Benoggl.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Historical card games | ||
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| English |  | |
| French |
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| German | ||
| Italian | ||
| Spanish | ||
| Other |
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