Bezique

Full rules

1. Overview
2. The cards
3. Setup
4. How a hand works
5. Phase 1: playing a trick
6. Melds
7. The 7 of trumps
8. Using a card in more than one meld
9. The end of the stock
10. Phase 2: the last 8 tricks
11. Scoring a hand
12. Winning the game
13. Tips for beginners
14. Variants

Overview

Bezique is a classic trick-taking game for two, played with a double deck. You score points in two ways: by winning Aces and 10s in tricks, and above all by showing certain card combinations called melds – for example a King and Queen of the same suit, or the famous bezique: the Queen of Spades together with the Jack of Diamonds. Several hands are played until one player reaches 1000 points.

• Players: exactly 2.
• You need: two standard 52-card decks (same size, ideally the same back design) and paper and pen – or counters – for scoring. Scores run into the hundreds, so keep a running total after every hand.

The cards

From each deck, take out all 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s and 6s and the jokers. Shuffle the remaining cards of both decks together. This gives 64 cards: A, 10, K, Q, J, 9, 8, 7 in each of the four suits – and every card exists twice.

In every suit the cards rank from high to low:

A – 10 – K – Q – J – 9 – 8 – 7

Note the unusual position of the 10: it ranks below the Ace but above the King.

Aces and 10s are called brisques. Each brisque you win in a trick is worth 10 points at the end of the hand. There are 16 brisques in the deck, so 160 points in total.

Setup

1. First dealer: each player cuts the deck; the lower card deals first (or decide at random). After that, the deal alternates from hand to hand.
2. Deal: the dealer shuffles and deals 8 cards to each player, face down, in packets of 3, then 2, then 3, starting with the opponent. These cards are your hand – keep them hidden.
3. Trump: the dealer turns the next card face up. Its suit is trump for this hand. Trump is the strongest suit: any trump card beats any card of another suit. If the turned-up card is a 7, the dealer scores 10 points straight away.
4. Stock: the rest of the cards go face down as the stock (draw pile). Slide the turned-up trump card half underneath it, face up, so everyone can see it.

How a hand works

A hand has two phases:

• Phase 1 – while there are cards in the stock. Tricks are played loosely, and after each trick the winner may meld (show a combination for points). Both players then draw, so everyone always has 8 cards.
• Phase 2 – the last 8 tricks, once the stock is empty. Now strict rules apply and nobody melds.

Phase 1: playing a trick

A trick is one round in which each player plays one card face up; the higher card wins both cards.

1. The non-dealer leads (plays the first card) to the first trick. After that, the winner of each trick leads to the next one.
2. The other player plays any card. In phase 1 you do not have to play the same suit, and you do not have to try to win.
3. Who wins the trick: - If a trump was played, the highest trump wins. - Otherwise the higher card of the suit that was led wins. A card of a different suit (not trump) never wins. - If both cards are identical (e.g. both play K♣), the card played first wins.
4. The winner puts the two cards face down in their own pile of won tricks. Only the Aces and 10s in it will count later.
5. The winner may now declare one meld (see below).
6. Then the winner draws the top card of the stock, and after them the loser draws. Both are back to 8 cards.

Melds

A meld is a scoring combination. You declare it by laying the cards face up on the table in front of you and saying what it is. Only the winner of the trick may meld, and only one meld per trick. Melding is never compulsory.

For the "four of a kind" melds the suits don't matter – four Aces could even be A♥ A♥ A♠ A♣.

Cards on the table still belong to your hand. You can play them to a trick at any time, just like cards held in your hand; your opponent simply sees them. Your hand plus your table cards always make 8.

Example: Hearts are trump. Anna leads 9♣. Ben plays 7♥ – a trump – and wins the trick. Ben holds K♥ and Q♥, so he lays them on the table and says "royal marriage, 40". He writes down 40 points. Then Ben draws a card from the stock, then Anna. Ben now leads the next trick – he may even lead the K♥ from the table.

The 7 of trumps

The two 7s of the trump suit are special. Each time you win a trick, you may do one of these with a trump 7 – in addition to your normal meld:

• Show it and score 10 points, or
• Exchange it for the face-up trump card under the stock (take that card into your hand, put the 7 in its place) and score 10 points. This is worth doing if the trump card is a good one, such as an Ace or 10.

Using a card in more than one meld

A card on the table can be used again in a different kind of meld, but never in a second meld of the same kind. Each new meld must be declared after a new trick win.

• A King from four kings may later marry a Queen: that is a different kind of meld.
• But once K♥ and Q♥ have been declared as a marriage, the K♥ cannot marry the other Q♥, and a fourth King added to three Kings from an earlier four kings does not count again.
• A royal marriage can be extended to a sequence: after declaring K+Q of trump (40), add A, 10 and J of trump later for 250. The other way round doesn't work: a marriage taken out of an already declared sequence scores nothing.
• A bezique can grow into a double bezique: if your first Q♠ and J♦ are still on the table, add the second Q♠ and J♦ later and score 500 (on top of the 40 you already scored). If you declare all four cards at once, you score only the 500.

Example: Anna wins a trick and lays out K♣ K♥ K♦ K♠: "four kings, 80". Two tricks later she wins again and adds Q♥ from her hand to the K♥ on the table: "marriage, 20". Allowed – a marriage is a different kind of meld than four kings. Could she later marry the same K♥ to the second Q♥? No – that K♥ has already been used in a marriage.

The end of the stock

When only two cards are left – one face-down card and the face-up trump card – the winner of the next trick draws the face-down card and the loser takes the trump card (or the 7 if it was exchanged). The winner of this trick may still meld before drawing.

Now both players pick up their table cards into their hand. Each player has 8 cards, and phase 2 begins.

Phase 2: the last 8 tricks

The winner of the previous trick leads. Now the rules are strict:

• You must follow suit: play a card of the suit that was led if you have one.
• If you can, you must win the trick: play a higher card of that suit.
• If you have no card of that suit, you must trump (play a trump) if you can. Only if you can't do either may you play any card.
• No more melds are allowed.

The winner of the very last trick scores 10 points.

Scoring a hand

Melds are scored the moment you declare them – write them down straight away. At the end of the hand, each player counts the brisques (Aces and 10s) in their won tricks: 10 points each.

Example: During the hand Anna scored four kings (80) and a marriage (20) = 100. Ben scored a royal marriage (40), a bezique (40) and the trump 7 (10) = 90. Ben also won the last trick: +10, so 100. Now they count brisques: Anna has 9 Aces and 10s in her tricks (90 points), Ben has 7 (70 points). Hand total: Anna 100 + 90 = 190, Ben 100 + 70 = 170.

Winning the game

Keep adding up the scores. The first player to reach 1000 points wins. If both pass 1000 in the same hand, the higher total wins. For a longer game, agree on 1500 or 2000 before you start.

Tips for beginners

• Keep your Aces and 10s safe. Don't throw brisques onto tricks your opponent will win; play low cards (7s, 8s, 9s) on tricks you don't need.
• Hold on to Q♠ and J♦. A bezique is worth 40, a double bezique a huge 500 – don't play these cards to tricks while there is still hope.
• Don't waste trumps early. Only win tricks with trumps when you have something to meld or brisques to capture. In phase 2, trumps decide the game.
• Remember what is gone. Every card exists twice. Keep track of which Aces, 10s and trumps have been played – in phase 2 you can then tell which of your cards will win.
• Win a trick when you have a meld ready. You can only meld after winning a trick, so time your wins.

Variants

All of these are optional – agree on them before the game.

• Last trick of the stock: some players award the 10 points not to the very last trick of the hand but to the last trick of phase 1 (the one before the last card is drawn).
• Brisques during play: instead of counting at the end, score each Ace and 10 as soon as you win it in a trick.
• Three players: use three decks (96 cards). Play clockwise; the trick is won by the highest card as usual, and only the winner melds and draws first. A triple bezique scores 1500.
• Rubicon Bezique: a popular larger version for two with four decks (128 cards) and 9 cards each. No trump card is turned up – the first marriage or sequence declared decides trump. Triple and quadruple beziques score 1500 and 4500, and each hand is a complete game.