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.
|
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.
|
Brisque
Brisque is a card game probably descended from Brusquembille with Marriage. With few exceptions, everyone who has written about card games agrees that Briscan, Brisque and Marriage are one and the same game, and systematically repeat the rules of Briscan published in 1752 in La Plus Nouvelle Académie universelle des jeux, by Arkstee and Merkus, in Amsterdam and Leipzig – there, the rules of Briscan follow those of Brusquembille. However, an old rule for Brisque seems to have been overlooked, one found in the Supplément au Dictionnaire universel françois et latin, published in Nancy in 1752. There, Brisque appears as a lighter version of Briscan, and probably an earlier one. Brisque, which derives from Brusquembille with Marriage, and introduces points from the rules of Briscan, would thus fall chronologically between these two games. The name « Brisque » given to the game is probably a shortening of Brisquembille – Brusquembille was in fact often called by players Brisquembille, or Briscambille. Likewise, the name « Briscan » may very well be another shortening of Briscambille. The use of such shortened names would not be surprising, in the sense that the full name « Brusquembille » is a bit cumbersome, even though the author of the original rules found it rather pleasant.
See also: The
Brusquembille family
Brisque is based on Brusquembille with Marriage. It differs from it in several respects, more or less important : – the
number of players ; The
game may be played to, for example, 300 or 500 points. 2. Number of players and dealing of the cards Brisque is played only by two players, with a deck of 32 cards. Each player receives six cards from the dealer, chosen at random by whoever draws the highest card from the deck – in Brusquembille, whether simple or with marriage, players receive only three cards. The dealer turns up the thirteenth card and places it, partly face up, under the stock. This card, called the turn-up, indicates the trump suit by its color – spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs.
At any point in the game, the turn-up may be exchanged for the seven of trumps by the player who holds it in his hand – this option does not exist in Brusquembille. The successors of Brisque, notably Briscan and Bezique, do not allow the seven of trumps to be exchanged unconditionally. The author of the rules of Brusquembille contained in the same Supplément au Dictionnaire universel françois et latin, published in 1752, is careful to specify that the seven of trumps may be exchanged for the turn-up at any time, including on the last draw from the stock. The use of the name Brusquembille is misleading here, since the rules set out match those of Briscan on many points. However, the note concerning the exchange of the seven of trumps for the turn-up is probably applicable to Brisque as well.
As long as there are cards left in the stock, play does not differ from that of Brusquembille. However, once the stock is exhausted, the players must follow suit and even head the trick if they can. If they do not have a card of the suit led, they are required to trump. The player who takes the last trick scores 10 points.
Marriages are handled the same way as in Brusquembille with Marriage, whether declared or met in a trick. The points awarded are also the same: 40 points for a trump marriage, and 20 points for the other suits. As in Brusquembille with Marriage, a marriage may only be declared once.
Another type of declaration appears in Brisque, that of four kings in hand, or four queens. This type of declaration immediately wins the game, which therefore ends in favor of the player who declared it as soon as he has declared it. A
queen, or a king, that had been declared as part of a marriage could
be used to declare four queens, or four
kings, respectively.
References Supplément au Dictionnaire universel françois et latin, published in Nancy in 1752 La
Plus Nouvelle Académie universelle des jeux, by Arkstee
and Merkus, in Amsterdam and Leipzig , 1752 Information about this page Published
online on 4 September 2011 Author : Philippe LALANNE Le Salon des jeux - Académie des jeux oubliés
|
