bezique

bezique, trick-and-meld card game related to pinochle, both of which derive from the 19th-century French game of binocle, itself a development of the card game sixty-six.

Bezique is now mostly played by two players using a 64-card deck consisting of two standard 52-card decks in which the 2s through 6s have been removed; the cards rank in descending order A, 10, K, Q, J, 9, 8, 7. Eight cards are dealt to each player in batches of three, two, and three, and the next card is turned faceup to establish the trump suit (a 7 immediately scores 10 points for the dealer). The remaining cards are placed facedown to form the stock.

Nondealer leads to the first trick; thereafter, the winner of each trick leads to the next. The second player to a trick may play any desired card without obligation to follow suit. The highest card of the suit led or the highest trump played wins the trick. Of identical cards, the first played beats the second.

Captured aces and 10s, called brisques, count 10 points each and are added to players’ scores at the end of the hand. A player holding a 7 of trumps may either score 10 points immediately for playing it to a trick (not for winning the trick) or exchange it for the card that was turned up to establish the trump suit.

Upon winning a trick, and before drawing a replacement card from stock, the winner may meld (declare) exactly one of the following combinations by taking the appropriate cards from in hand, laying them faceup on the table, and marking the appropriate score:

Melded cards are left on the table but continue to form part of their declarer’s hand, remaining individually playable to tricks at any time. They may also be used in subsequent melds with the following restrictions:

• If a sequence is melded first, the royal marriage it contains cannot be melded separately; however, a royal marriage may be melded for 40 points first, and then, upon winning another trick, cards may be added to meld a sequence for 250 points, provided that the marriage is still on the table.
• A king or queen that has been scored in a marriage may not be remarried to the other possible partner. It may, however, be scored as part of a quartet after capturing another trick. The same applies to either card of a bezique, which may be subsequently scored as part of a sequence.
• One bezique may be melded for 40 points, and, upon winning another trick, the other bezique may be melded as a double bezique for 500 points (so long as the first remains on the table); but, once a double bezique has been scored for 500, the individual beziques cannot be scored.

Having scored for any melds, the trick winner draws the top card of the stock, waits for the opponent to draw the next, and then leads to the next trick. When only one card remains in the stock, the loser of the last trick will draw the turned-up card (usually an exchanged 7).

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After the stock is exhausted, any cards remaining from melds are taken up into their owners’ hands. In the last eight tricks, no melds are made, and the rules of play change. The second to a trick must follow suit and win the trick if possible. Thus, if unable to follow suit to a nontrump lead, a trump must be played if possible. Finally, the winner of the eighth trick scores 10 points. A game is usually played to 1,000 or 1,500 points.

The great popularity of bezique in the 19th century led to the creation of more-elaborate and higher-scoring versions played with more than two 32-card decks shuffled together, such as four (rubicon bezique), six (Chinese bezique), and even eight decks. Bezique all but died out in the 20th century under the pressure of rummy games, which are quicker and simpler.