This page is a translated archive of the original Académie des jeux oubliés, created on July 1, 2026, from the French original at salondesjeux.fr.
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This page is a translated archive of the original Académie des jeux oubliés, created on July 1, 2026, from the French original at salondesjeux.fr.
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Briscan
Briscan is an 18th-century card game, descended from Brisque. It belongs to the family of Brusquembille, just like Mariage and Bezique. Its name is very probably a diminutive of Briscambille, a name commonly used among old-time players of Brusquembille. The rules of Briscan first appeared in 1752, in La Plus Nouvelle Académie universelle des jeux, published by Arkstee en Merkus, in Amsterdam and in Leipzig, following those for Brusquembille. Since then, this rule has most often been reprinted without modification for the games of Mariage, Brisque, and Briscan. These then appear as one and the same game. Yet, on the one hand, the first rules published in 1752 show that Briscan can be regarded as an evolution of Brisque, and on the other hand d'Argenson in 1779, while making the distinction between Brisque and Brican, mentions a game which he calls Brusqiuembille à mariage which could very well be that of Mariage. You will therefore find on the Académie des jeux oubliés, separate rules showing a very gradual evolution from that of Brusquembille printed in 1718 in the Académie universelle des jeux, up to that of Briscan published in 1752. As for the period when these games first appeared, it is not possible to trace it back further than the early 18th century, given the earliest known publications of the various rules, and the mentions of the games in literature. An error is frequently made which places the appearance of Briscan in the 16th century, or even the 15th. It probably has its source in L'Arbitre des jeux by Méry, published in 1847. In the introduction to the rules for Mariage, it is indeed written: « The game is very old, for we find its rule in a treatise printed in Holland at the end of the 16th century. At that time it was called the game of Briscan. » The oldest known rule is indeed found in a treatise on games apparently published in Holland, but in the 18th century and not in the 16th, still less the 15th. It is the one already cited above, entitled La Plus Nouvelle Académie universelle des jeux, published by Arkstee en Merkus, in Amsterdam and in Leipzig, 1752 – as for the supposed false imprint of Holland, see the corresponding blue link to the publisher.
See also: The Brusquembille Family
1. Principle Briscan is based on Brisque. It differs from it in several respects, of greater or lesser importance, but chiefly in the multiplication of ways to score points. The differences concern : – the
number of cards initially dealt to the players; A game is played to a minimum of 600 points.
Briscan is played by two with a 32-card deck. Each player receives five cards from the dealer, determined at random by whoever draws the highest card from the deck – in Brisque, the players receive six cards. The eleventh card is turned up by the dealer, who places it, partly face up, under the stock. This turned-up card indicates trump by its suit – spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs.
Unlike in Brisque, the turned-up card is not exchangeable with the seven of trumps at any moment of the game. The rule specifies that this may only be done « before playing for the last trick of the cards in the stock » In other words, once only two cards remain in the stock, and as soon as both players again have five cards in hand, the exchange is no longer possible until the end of the hand. When the turned-up card is an ace, a ten, or a face card, the dealer scores 10 points.
In addition to marriages, Briscan allows a substantial number of announcements inspired by the game of Piquet.
A sequence is the combination, in a player's hand, of three to five cards of the same suit – spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs – that run consecutively according to the order of Piquet, namely : 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, ace. A sequence of three cards is called a « tierce », one of four cards a « quart », and one of five cards, « quint ». The rank of a sequence is given by its highest card. For example: 8, 9, 10 makes a tierce to the ten, while 9, 10, jack, queen is a quart to the queen. A sequence to the ace is called major. The points awarded according to the sequence announced are set out in the table below :
Note that a sequence in trump counts double the same sequence in another suit. A card that has been used to announce a sequence can no longer be used to announce another one, whatever its type. On the other hand, an announced marriage can perfectly well be used to announce a sequence.
The combination, in a player's hand, of four cards of the same rank – today commonly called four of a kind – may be announced, excluding the lowest ones, which are the sevens, eights, and nines. The points awarded according to the rank of the four cards announced are set out in the table below:
Cards that have already been used for a sequence or a marriage may be used to announce four of a kind.
When, after the cards are dealt, a player has in hand cards that are all face cards, or else all blank – no king, no queen, no jack – he may announce it and score points accordingly :
After having thus scored points once, if the same player once again has such a combination of cards in hand following the drawing of a card from the stock, he is once again allowed to announce it and score the same number of points. However, as soon as this player no longer has one of these combinations of cards in hand following the drawing of a card from the stock, he can no longer score points for any future combination of blank cards or face cards.
The combination, in a player's hand, of five trumps, once no more cards remain in the stock, earns him, if he announces it, 30 points.
4.5 Ace of Trumps Whoever has the ace of trumps in hand may announce it and thereby score 30 points. However, if this ace had previously been the turned-up card, then the 30 points would not be awarded, since it had already given 10 points to the dealer (see section 3, Handling of the Turned-up Card).
In addition to announcements, marriages in hand or formed in play, and the turned-up card, Briscan allows additional points to be scored.
As in Brisque, whoever takes the last trick scores 10 points.
If a player takes the last five tricks, he scores an additional 20 points.
Once the hand has been played, whoever has taken the most cards scores 10 points.
Making a slam means taking every trick. Whoever achieves it wins the game outright.
Briscan seems to have answered all the players' demands regarding the possibilities of scoring points. The game thereby becomes heavier, and one may well prefer Brisque, which offers a greater fluidity. Without going into detail, Bezique, which would succeed Briscan, would move back in the other direction by limiting the number of ways of scoring points, particularly with regard to announcements. Moreover, Bezique will introduce a rule aimed at pushing players to take tricks, even ones containing no points, by allowing an announcement only to whoever has just taken the trick.
References Supplément au Dictionnaire universel françois et latin, published in Nancy in 1752 La
Plus Nouvelle Académie universelle des jeux, published by Arkstee
en Merkus, in Amsterdam and in Leipzig , 1752 Page Information Published
online on 13 September 2011 Author :
Philippe LALANNE
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