From Brusquembille to Bezique

Brusquembille is a card game that gave rise to several others which appeared during the 18th and 19th centuries. Based on the content of the various rules and on the earliest known dates of their respective publication, it is possible to picture, in a way, the family tree of this group of games.

Thus, from the oldest game to the most recent, we find, along with the year their rules were published: Brusquembille (1718), Brisque (1752), Briscan (1752), and Bezique (1847). There is, however, one game whose rules were never published but whose existence is known because it was mentioned by d'Argenson in 1779: Brusquembille with marriage. It logically takes its place between Brusquembille and Brisque.

Each of these games has its own dedicated page on this site : Brusquembille, Brusquembille with marriage, Brisque, Briscan, and Bezique. To understand how to play each of them, it is necessary to start with Brusquembille and finish with Bezique, since each page builds on the previous one.

This page is intended to allow a quick comparison between these games by means of tables. Brusquembille with marriage does not appear here, as the rules proposed for it are probable but not certain.

For Brusquembille, the basic rule is that whoever scores the most points in a single hand wins. The game was often played by two players, and whoever reached, or exceeded, 61 points had won. The figures given in the table are therefore not « official », but rather the result of how the game was actually played.

Bezique had variants using several 32-card decks combined, for three or four players, with eight or nine cards dealt, and a higher target score because the greater number of decks used multiplied the brisques and melds. Here, the figures given are those of the basic game.

In the tables that follow, the numbers shown are the points awarded to the player concerned. « 0 » means the action is possible but earns no points. « X » means the rule does not apply to that game.

2. Handling the turn-up card

* 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.

3. Melds

After scoring 10 or 20 points in this way following the deal, if after completing his hand from the stock the player still has, respectively, 5 blank cards or 5 face cards, he scores the same number of points again. From the first time his 5 cards no longer meet the criterion, he permanently stops scoring the corresponding points.