See also: Le Vingt-quatre

 

1. Principle

The game of L'Impériale consists of scoring a given number of Impériales.

Impériales are the essential scoring units of the game. They are represented by chips (a long rectangular token) and are acquired during play in different ways, the basic one being reaching a total of 24 points, scored four at a time with the help of 6 counters each worth 4 points.

Several deals are generally needed to reach the total of 24 points. However, it is possible during play to win outright Impériales which are added to the one for 24 points.

Each deal is divided into two phases, one of declarations as in Piquet, and a second, which is the actual play of the cards, consisting of winning as many tricks as possible and following the rules of Triomphe.

2. Number of players and dealing of the cards

L'Impériale is played mainly by two players with a 32-card deck.

Each player receives 12 cards from the dealer, chosen at random by drawing the highest card from the deck in the usual order of Piquet, namely A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7. The cards are dealt three at a time or four at a time, and whichever method is used is kept for the whole game.

Once the players have received their 12 cards, the dealer turns up the next card and places it face up on the seven remaining cards, which stay hidden. The eight cards, including the turned card, form the talon.

The turned card indicates the trump by its suit – spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs.

L'Impériale can also be played by three players. In that case, a 36-card deck is used, adding the sixes to the 32-card deck. There will then be no talon, and it will be the last card received and shown by the dealer that determines the trump. This way of playing was the only one set out in the rulebooks of the 17th century. But from 1718 onward, the Académie universelle des jeux recommends playing only the two-player version, the three-player version being considered old-fashioned.

In any case, L'Impériale is never played by more than three players. On the other hand, its simpler variant called Vingt-quatre is perfectly suited to four or five players.

3. Ranking of the cards, trump, and honors

The order of the cards within each of the four suits follows the same ranking as in Piquet for the declarations, where the Ace is the highest and the seven the lowest (the six if playing with three) :

A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, (6)

For the play of the cards, however, the order used is that of Triomphe, where the Ace is moved from first place to the position between the ten and the jack :

K, Q, J, A, 10, 9, 8, 7, (6)

The suit of the turned card designates the trump (formerly called triomphe). It is by definition higher than the other three suits. The lowest trump card beats the highest card of any other suit.

Five of the trumps are called the honors, which are :

The Ace, the King, the Queen, the Jack, and the 7 (or the 6 if playing with three)

That is, the four highest and the lowest. This choice may be compared with that of Vingt-quatre, where the players decide at the start whether the honors will be the five highest trump cards or the five lowest. L'Impériale in a way settles this question of choice by joining the lowest to the four highest.

4. Scoring Impériales

4.1 The 24-point Impériale

This is the basic and most frequent way of scoring. It is achieved when a player has managed to total 24 points, scored 4 at a time.

There are four ways of scoring points toward the total of twenty-four, each worth four points and represented by one counter :

a) The turned card (4 points or 1 counter)

b) The Point (4 points or 1 counter)

c) The honors (4 points or 1 counter)

d) The cards (4 points or 1 counter)

A 24-point Impériale is thus obtained once 6 counters have been gathered by a player. In practice, only 5 counters are needed. When the total of 6 is reached or exceeded, the player returns the 5 counters to the basket from which they are dealt out, and receives in exchange a chip (a long rectangular token) which represents an Impériale. If he exceeds the amount of 6 counters, he receives a chip plus the number of counters beyond six.

4.1.1 The turned card

If the turned card is an honor, the dealer immediately wins 4 points or 1 counter.

4.1.2 The Point

The Point is a declaration made at the beginning of a deal and before playing one's first card.

It is counted as in Piquet.

To calculate the Point, one must first count the number of cards of the suit best represented in one's hand.

It is this number that is announced in turn, starting with the first to play seated to the dealer's right and ending with the dealer. The declarations, like the play of the cards, are always made counterclockwise.

If several players announce the same number of cards, then each must calculate the number of points represented by their cards of that suit. For this purpose, the Ace is worth 11 points, face cards 10 points, and the other cards their marked value.

Whoever announces the best total wins the Point, which is worth 4 scoring points or 1 counter.

In the event of a tie in the calculated point totals, priority of the declaration decides the matter, the first to play having the advantage.

4.1.3 Honors, or scoring cards

The honors score when, during the play of the cards, they are captured in the tricks that are won.

Each of the five honors is worth 4 scoring points, or 1 counter, to whoever wins the trick it is found in. Thus, with two players one can score up to 2 counters, and with three players up to 3.

4.1.4 The cards

At the end of the play of the cards, the player who has won more than six tricks with two players, or more than four with three players, counts 4 points or 1 counter for each additional trick. The first to play is, where applicable, paid first, followed by the others going to his right.

4.2 Impériales won outright

Besides the 24-point Impériale, others can be won outright. There are five types :

a) The Carte Blanche Impériale

b) Impériales in hand

c) The turned-card Impériale (optional)

d) The fallen Impériale (optional)

e) The capot Impériale

4.2.1 The Carte Blanche Impériale

Cards are said to be blank when they are not face cards (king, queen and jack).

When all twelve cards received by a player are blank, that player is paid 2 Impériales (2 chips).

The Carte Blanche Impériale is said to be double.

When the Carte Blanche Impériale is announced and shown by one or two players, the deal is not played, but the Impériales in hand are also paid. The deal passes to the next player on the right.

4.2.2 Impériales in hand

There are two kinds :

a) Quart majors

b) Fours of a kind

4.2.2.1 Quart majors

A quart major is the combination, in a player's hand, of the four highest cards (J, Q, K, A) of the same suit.

Outside of trumps, it is worth 1 Impériale outright, represented by one chip.

In trumps, it is worth 2 Impériales outright, that is, two chips. It is a double Impériale.

4.2.2.2 Fours of a kind

Holding in hand all four jacks, queens, kings, aces, or 7s (6s if playing with three) is worth 1 Impériale outright, represented by one chip.

4.3 The turned-card Impériale

The turned-card Impériale comes after the Impériales in hand.

It occurs when the dealer holds an incomplete Impériale in hand and the missing honor turns out to be the turned card. The turned-card Impériale is worth 1 Impériale outright (one chip) but never two.

The turned-card Impériale is optional. Whether it is used must be agreed between the players before the start of the game.

IMPORTANT : Impériales in hand and the turned-card Impériale must be announced and shown before the Point in order to count, otherwise they do not count.

4.4 The fallen Impériale

During the play of the cards, a player who gathers in his tricks the quart major in trumps scores 1 Impériale or 1 chip.

The fallen Impériale is optional. Whether it is used must be agreed between the players before the start of the game.

The fallen Impériale is scored after the twelfth trick when it is found among the tricks of a single player. Only after that are the points for the cards scored.

4.5 The capot Impériale

The capot Impériale is awarded instead of the points for the cards to the player who has won all twelve tricks, leaving none to the other player or players, who are thus said to have lost by capot (a term originally from the game of Piquet).

The capot Impériale is double, counting as 2 Impériales, that is, 2 chips.

5. The declaration phase

It allows the following to be claimed, after the dealer's possible four points for the turned card :

- for all players, their Carte Blanche Impériale ;

- for all players, their Impériales in hand ;

- for the dealer, the turned-card Impériale.

The first to play announces first his Carte Blanche Impériale, then his Impériale or Impériales in hand, which he has scored immediately after showing them, then it is the next player's turn to do the same, the dealer also being able to score the turned-card Impériale.

Impériales are only validated and scored with chips if they are shown before the Point is validated. After that, they are worth nothing.

Once the Impériales in hand and the turned-card Impériale have been paid, one moves on to declaring the Point, which is worth 4 points or 1 counter once it has been shown.

These declarations being complete, play moves on to the play of the cards.

6. The play of the cards

After the declaration phase begins the play of the cards, which follows the rules of the game of Triomphe :

The first to play is called the first to play, and is the player to the dealer's right. For the next trick it is whoever won the last trick; he is said to have the lead.

Play always proceeds counterclockwise.

Players are required to follow suit and, if possible, to head the trick by playing a higher card ;

If a player does not hold the suit led, he must trump with a trump card, and if another player has already trumped before him, he is required to overtrump by playing a higher trump ;

If a player has no trumps, or has some but cannot overtrump, he plays a card from his hand as he wishes.

Whoever has played the highest trump, or, failing trumps, has played the highest card of the suit led by the first player, wins the trick, which he places face down in front of him. He has the lead for the next trick if the deal is not yet over.

When the 12 tricks have been played, the play of the cards is over for that deal and one moves on first to validating any fallen Impériale, which is worth 1 chip, and then finishes with the payment of the counters for the cards.

6. Counting points and Impériales

The game of L'Impériale uses a system it shares with Trictrac which gives it an added interest: points already scored can be wiped out depending on circumstances, but not the chips.

The object of the game is to total a set number of Impériales, generally fixed at 5.

Impériales can be won outright as we have seen, but also more often by totaling a number of points equal to 24 through the turned card, the Point, the honors, and the cards.

Impériales are represented by chips (5 are needed to win the game, for example), and by counters, each equivalent to 4 points. Consequently, 6 counters make one chip.

As a result, besides any chips, each player may at any time during the game have in front of him up to 5 counters, representing 0 to 20 points.

However, the very moment a player obtains a new Impériale, whether outright or through his sixth counter, he wipes out all the points of his opponent or opponents, who must return all their counters to the basket.

Chronology of the acquisition of points and Impériales for determining the winner of the game :

The 4 points for the turned card come first, so that a dealer who has completed his points with the turned card to make a 24-point Impériale wipes out the points of his opponent or opponents. Likewise, if with this Impériale he obtains the count needed to win the game, it stops immediately in his favor.

Impériales in hand come next, and where applicable, in the case of a possible win of the game, priority determines the winner.

Then comes the turned-card Impériale, if it is being used

Then the 4 points of the Point (the same as for the turned card)

Then the points for the honors (the same as for the turned card)

Then the fallen Impériale, if it is being used

And finally, the points for the cards (the same as for the turned card, and priority may decide the game)

Note concerning the 4 points for the turned card :

In the oldest rules, it is recommended not to claim the points for the turned card without first finding out whether another player holds an Impériale in hand that would immediately wipe out the points just acquired, but rather to do so only after the declaration of an Impériale in hand, scoring the points afterward. This is, in effect, a way of getting around the rule on the chronological order of the validity of points.

More recent rules state that the points for the turned card cannot be wiped out by an Impériale in hand. This seems acceptable to me, being consistent with the trick just described, which thus becomes unnecessary.

The 4 points for the turned card on a deal can therefore only be wiped out by an Impériale made on the Point or after. The turned-card Impériale is not affected by this, since it can only be achieved by the dealer, who is the one who benefits from the turned card.

7. Length of the game

All the rules leave players free to choose the number of Impériales played per game.

Five Impériales is the number most commonly mentioned.

            

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References

The various editions of La Maison académique and of La Maison des jeux académiques, published during the second half of the 17th century, which make no distinction between the game of L'Impériale and that of Vingt-quatre

Rémond de Montmort, Essay d'analyse sur les jeux de hazard, Quillau, Paris, 1708

L'Académie universelle des jeux, published by Legras, Paris, 1718, 1725, and subsequent editions

Horace Raisson, Académie des jeux, Edme et Alexandre Picard, Paris, 1835

Information about this page

Published online on 5 January 2022

Author : Philippe LALANNE

Le Salon des jeux - Académie des jeux oubliés

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