Traditional card games
Bezique
- players
- 2
- minutes
- 40
- years
- 10+
In the box
Two 32-card packs combined, making 64 cards
Box details
- Origin
- Traditional game, with no specific designer or publisher
- Mechanics
- Set CollectionTrick-taking
Where to buy it
Near you
In a shop
Within 50 km.
The basics
With two 32-card packs combined, each player receives eight cards and the turned-up card sets trumps. Tricks are played with no need to follow suit while the stock lasts; the winner of the trick may declare a meld (bezique, marriage, sequence, four aces…), then each player draws, and once the stock is exhausted, you must follow suit and trump. The first to pass 1,000 points wins the game.
The rules, step by step
Setup
2 packs of 32 cards, 8 cards each, Turned-up card: trumps
- Two 32-card packs combined, making 64 cards, from ace to seven in each suit.
- Eight cards each, dealt in threes, then twos, then threes.
- The next card is turned up: it sets trumps. The rest forms the stock.
How to play
Declare after a trick, Draw 1 card, Stock empty: follow suit
- While the stock lasts, you do not have to follow the suit led.
- The winner of the trick may declare a meld, then each player draws a card from the stock.
- Once the stock is exhausted, you must follow suit, and trump if you cannot.
Scoring
Bezique 40, Double bezique 500, Trump sequence 250
- Bezique, the Queen of Spades and the Jack of Diamonds: 40 points. Double bezique: 500 points.
- Marriage, King and Queen of the same suit: 20 points, 40 in trumps.
- Sequence, the trump run ace-ten-king-queen-jack: 250 points. Four aces: 100 points; four kings: 80; four queens: 60; four jacks: 40.
- The last trick of the deal is worth 10 points.
- Each ace and each ten won (the brisques) is worth 10 points in the final count.
End of the game
1,000 points
- The deal ends when the last eight cards have been played.
- The first to pass 1,000 points wins the game.
House rules and pitfalls
A card can only be used once in a meld of the same kind: the king from one marriage cannot make a second…
- A card can only be used once in a meld of the same kind: the king from one marriage cannot make a second marriage.
- Declarations only count if you have just won a trick: that is what makes the end of the stock decisive.
Going further
Variants · Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Variants
Game to
1,000 points
2,000 points
choose them when you start a game: the scorer adapts
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is bezique?
The pairing of the Queen of Spades and the Jack of Diamonds, worth 40 points. Double bezique, both copies of each card, is worth 500: it is the most valuable declaration in the game.