HOW TO DEAL Start with two fifty-two-card decks, and discard all cards between 2 and 6, so that you’re left with 7 to ace in each suit (for a total of sixty-four cards). Note that in Bezique the cards rank (high to low) A, 10, K, Q, J, 9, 8, 7.It’s likely you’ve never played a game quite like Bezique—even though the game’s original version (Two-Hand Bezique) is the predecessor of modern Pinochle. For the most part, Bezique is a game with no loyal following and few hardcore fans. We wish it were otherwise.
In the 1840s and ’50s, Bezique was the most popular game in France, and for many years thereafter it was played by European royalty and high society. Its popularity peaked in the 1920s, thanks in no small part to Winston Churchill. He was an expert in the game, swept up in the Bezique mania that roared through London in the early twentieth century. There are many variations in Bezique. Two-Hand Bezique, the easiest to learn and master, is outlined below. Other variations are covered later.
HOW TO DEAL Start with two fifty-two-card decks, and discard all cards between 2 and 6, so that you’re left with 7 to ace in each suit (for a total of sixty-four cards). Note that in Bezique the cards rank (high to low) A, 10, K, Q, J, 9, 8, 7.
Shuffle and deal each player eight cards, face down, in bundles of three, two, three. Turn the seventeenth card face up to determine trump for the round. Place the remaining cards (the stock) face down in the center of the table. The non-dealer then leads the first trick.
SCORING The goal of Two-Hand Bezique is to score points. Games of Two-Hand Bezique are typically played to 1,000 points.
Points are awarded in two distinct phases. First is the declaration phase, in which each player tries to meld his or her cards according to the scoring chart below. What’s unique about Bezique is that it’s possible to use the same card to form multiple melds. In this phase, you’re also trying to capture brisques (10s and aces), each worth 10 points.
| MELDS/FORMATION | POINTS |
| 7 of trumps/Exchanged for the exposed trump card | 10 |
| Marriage/Q and K of same suit (not trump) | 20 |
| Royal Marriage/Q and K of trump suit | 40 |
| Bezique/J of diamonds, Q of spades | 40 |
| Four Jacks/One from each suit | 40 |
| Four Queens/One from each suit | 60 |
| Four Kings/One from each suit | 80 |
| Four Aces/One from each suit | 100 |
| Sequence/J, Q, K, 10, A in same suit (not trump) | 150 |
| Royal Sequence/J, Q, K, 10, A of trump suit | 250 |
| Double Bezique/A second J of diamonds and Q of spades played on an existing J of diamonds and Q of spades meld | 500 |
The declaration phase lasts until the entire stock of cards is exhausted. At this point, the game switches to the play-off phase; each player picks up all his or her eight remaining cards and plays them one at a time in standard tricks. The goal here is to capture more and to win the very last trick (worth 10 points).
HOW TO PLAY After dealing, a game of Two-Hand Bezique begins with the declaration phase. The non-dealer opens by playing a single card face up. The dealer then plays any card he or she chooses—in the declaration phase you are not required to follow suit. Tricks are won by the highest card in the leading suit, or by the highest trump card played. If identical cards are played in the same trick, the one that led wins. Tricks are always opened by the winner of the previous trick.
The winner of each trick sets the trick aside (any brisques captured are scored at the end of the hand), and either declares a meld or takes one card from the top of the stock. If the winner cannot meld, he or she simply takes a card from the top of the stock. So, too, does the opposing player. This way each player always has eight cards in his or her hand, until the stock is exhausted.
DECLARING MELDS Melds may be declared only during the declaration phase, only by the winner of a trick, and only before the winner takes a card from the stock. You may declare only one meld per trick. When declaring a meld, simply place the cards face up on the table and score yourself the appropriate number of points.
FOR EXAMPLE If player one leads 7 of clubs, player two follows with any card in his hand. A higher club or any trump (assuming clubs are not trump) wins the trick. If player two follows with 8 of clubs, then player two wins the trick. If identical cards are played in the same trick, the one that led wins.
Once cards have been melded, they are not dead or out of play. Instead, they remain a part of your active hand and may be played again as part of a different meld. In the declaration phase, each player always has eight cards in hand, and it doesn’t matter if some of these cards are literally in your hand or are face up on the table as part of a scoring meld.
FOR EXAMPLE Here’s the basic outline of a complete turn (assuming hearts are trump). Player one leads 7 of diamonds and player two wins the trick with J of diamonds. Player two melds a Royal Marriage by placing Q of hearts and K of hearts on the table, face up, and then takes one card from the stock. Player one takes a card from the stock. Player two then leads the next trick.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MELDING Bezique has a few melding quirks. The first oddity is the 7 of trump. If the card indicating trumps happens to be a 7, score the dealer 10 points immediately. If you are holding the 7 of trump, you may exchange it for the face-up trump card next to the stock (and don’t forget to score yourself 10 points). This counts as a declaration and, as a result, may happen only after you win a trick. The 7 of trump may be swapped this way only once.
In Bezique, it is also possible to use the same card more than once in a meld. For example, after winning a trick, you meld the queen and king of trump (Royal Marriage) for 40 points. Later in the game, you add 10, jack, and ace of trump to the existing queen and king on the table, thereby melding a Royal Sequence for 250 additional points.
Just remember that a card may be used only once to declare a different meld from the one already declared. In the example above, you may not use a card from your Royal Marriage to meld a second Royal Marriage unless you already have played a card from the Royal Marriage. In other words, with a marriage of Q of hearts-K of hearts on the table, you may not meld a subsequent Q of hearts for a second marriage. However, if you play the Q of hearts on the table as part of a trick, you may create a marriage if you meld a subsequent Q of hearts with the K of hearts already on the table.
Because you may score only one meld per turn, it’s also possible that the same card fits more than one of your existing melds. For example, assume that spades are trump and that you already have Q of spades and K of spades on the table (40 points for the Royal Marriage). Now you declare four jacks (40 points) and announce “Bezique to come.” This entitles you to score the Bezique (J of diamonds-Q of spades) the next time you win a trick.
PLAY-OFF PHASE Once the stock is exhausted, the winner of the last trick takes the final stock card, and the loser takes the exposed trump card. Both players pick up all their cards (eight each). The goal of the play-off phase is simple: capture brisques and win the final trick. No further declarations (melds) are allowed.
The player who wins the last trick in the declaration phase leads the first trick. And from this point forward, you must follow suit if possible. If you cannot, you must play a trump. Only as a last resort may you play from your other suits.
FOR EXAMPLE Assume spades are trump. Player one leads 8 of clubs. Player two must follow with a club, if possible, or a trump spade. If player two has neither clubs nor spades, she may play a diamond or heart. Either way, the trick is won by the highest card in the suit that led, or the highest trump.
The player who wins the final trick scores all of his brisques first; if this puts you over 1,000 points, then you win the game immediately. Otherwise, the cards are shuffled and dealt, a new trump is exposed, and the game continues until either player achieves 1,000 points.
HOW TO WIN If you must choose between melding a marriage or a Bezique, always choose the Bezique so you can possibly reuse Q of spades or J of diamonds in a future meld. And pay attention to sequences, because even a basic sequence is still worth 150 points.
If you are holding the 7 of trump, play a trick-winning card immediately if the exposed trump card is higher than 9. In the play-off phase, start by leading aces and 10s, if you are certain (based on what you saw of your opponent’s face-up melded cards) that your opponent is holding lower cards in those suits. Then follow up with your trump (assuming you are long in trump), in order to draw out your opponent’s trump cards and any brisques.
Finally, if your opponent is blessed with a handful of aces (especially the ace of trump), play your 10s to over-trump suits for which you hold no other cards. In Bezique, there is nothing worse than losing your 10 to an opponent’s ace in the final trick, thereby losing 20 points (10 for the brisque, 10 for the last trick) and possibly the game!
VARIATION 1: THREE-HAND BEZIQUE
This game is specifically for three players, and follows the basic rules of Two-Hand Bezique. However, instead of two decks, Three-Hand Bezique uses three decks (removing all cards ranking 2 through 6) for a total of ninety-six cards in play.
Games typically last to 3,000 points. Three-Hand Bezique uses the standard scoring system; however, with the addition of more cards, it is now possible to score a “Triple Bezique,” which is a third J of diamonds-Q of spades set played on an existing set of two J of diamonds-Q of spades melds. This very rare meld is worth 1,500 points.
VARIATION 2: RUBICON BEZIQUE
Two-Hand is the simplest version of Bezique. Yet despite that advantage, the more complex Rubicon variation is the most commonly played, even today. Rubicon Bezique is a superb two-player game, requiring equal measures of luck, skill, and concentration. If you and your partner are starting to be bored by Cribbage, invest a little time learning Rubicon Bezique.
Add spice to your game of Rubicon Bezique with a small wager. Assign points a value (one-tenth of a penny per point is common), and agree to settle all accounts at the end of a predetermined time, say, after one player reaches 10,000 points or after a 90-minute clock has run out.
DEALING Start with four packs of cards, removing all cards ranking 2 through 6, for a total of 128 cards in play. There is only one deal in Rubicon Bezique; simply deal each player nine cards, face down and one at a time. The first stock card is not exposed, and the 7 of trump has no additional value.
DECLARING TRUMP Unlike in Two-Hand Bezique, the trump suit is established only when a marriage or sequence is melded; the suit of the first meld establishes trump. Until then, the game is played without a trump suit.
SCORING The winner of a hand in Rubicon is the player with the highest score at the end of a single hand (there is no second deal). That player receives 500 points, plus the difference between the two players’ scores. For example, if you end the game with 1,150 points and your opponent ends with 1,100 points, you win the game with a final score of 500 points plus 50 points (your score minus your opponent’s score), for a total of 550 points.
One exception to this scoring is called rubicon. The losing player is said to be “rubiconed” when their final score is less than 1,000 points. In this case, the winning player receives 1,000 points (rather than 500 points) plus the sum (rather than the difference) of the two scores.
Tricks (plus any brisques) won during the declaration phase are set aside and have no scoring value whatsoever. The final scoring anomaly is that brisques are not counted and have no scoring value, unless there is a tie or in order to avoid a possible rubicon. In these cases, both players count the brisques only from the play-off phase.
DECLARATION PHASE Melds are valued as in Two-Hand Bezique, with the following exceptions. First is a meld called Carte Blanche. If you are dealt only number cards and no face cards, you may declare Carte Blanche immediately without winning a trick, by exposing all eight of your cards and scoring yourself 50 points. On the next round, score yourself another 50 points if you draw a non-face card, and keep scoring yourself 50 points until you finally draw a face card.
Also note that melded cards may be reused (as often as possible!) to form further melds. For example, if you have already declared a meld of four queens, on the next trick you win, it is OK to use a fifth queen to declare a second “Four Queens” meld. Two marriages of the same suit may also be reused to form two additional marriages.
PLAY-OFF PHASE Play is the same as for Two-Hand Bezique, except that winning the last trick counts as 50 points (rather than 10 points).
Six-Pack Bezique is played according to the rules of Rubicon Bezique. What’s the main difference? Each player is dealt twelve cards, which places an emphasis on aggressive melding and re-melding of your cards.
Six-Pack Bezique is also more strategic, in that points are awarded exclusively for melds (brisques are neither counted nor scored). With so many combinations of cards to meld, it’s best to devise a plan early for how to extract the maximum point value from your hand.
Tip: Move as quickly as possible to declare the trump suit. Even if you sacrifice a future meld or establish trump in a slightly weaker suit, it’s always better for you to take that initiative rather than letting your opponent establish trump.
Winston Churchill’s preferred variation is Six-Pack Bezique, better known in traditional circles as Chinese Bezique.
DEALING Start with six packs of cards, removing all cards ranking 2 through 6, for a total of 192 cards in play. As with Rubicon Bezique, there is only one deal; each player receives twelve cards, in batches of three.
DECLARING TRUMP The trump suit is determined as in Rubicon Bezique (the suit of the first marriage or sequence determines trump). However, unlike in Rubicon Bezique, the same suit may not be trump on two successive deals (assuming you’re playing a multihand game). So if the first sequence or marriage in a subsequent deal would establish the same suit, simply score the standard points for the declaration, and wait for the next marriage or sequence to establish trump.
SCORING The winner of a hand receives 1,000 points. A Rubicon is worth 3,000 points. Carte Blanche is worth 250 points. The last trick is worth 250 points. Brisques are never counted.
The composition of Beziques vary according to which suit is trump: diamonds (Q of diamonds, J of spades), clubs (Q of clubs, J of hearts), hearts (Q of hearts, J of clubs), spades (Q of spades, J of diamonds).
| MELDS/FORMATION | POINTS |
| Marriage/K, Q of same suit (not trump) | 20 |
| Royal Marriage/K, Q of trump suit | 40 |
| Bezique/Q of spades, J of diamonds | 40 |
| Four Jacks/One from each suit | 40 |
| Four Jacks of Trump/Four Jacks of trump | 400 |
| Four Queens/One from each suit | 60 |
| Four Queens of Trump/Four Queens of trump | 600 |
| Four Kings/One from each suit | 80 |
| Four Kings of Trump/Four Kings of trump | 800 |
| Four 10s of Trump/Four 10s of trump | 900 |
| Four Aces/One from each suit | 100 |
| Four Aces of Trump/Four Aces of trump | 1,000 |
| Sequence/A, 10, K, Q, J in same suit (not trump) | 150 |
| Royal Sequence/A, 10, K, Q, J of trump suit | 250 |
| Double Bezique/Two sets of Q, J | 500 |
| Triple Bezique/Three sets of Q, J | 1,500 |
| Quadruple Bezique/Four sets of Q, J | 4,500 |
VARIATION 4: EIGHT-DECK BEZIQUE
This is a good variation for Rubicon enthusiasts who crave even more melding opportunities. The game is played under the standard Six-Pack Bezique rules, except there are 256 cards total in play and each player holds fifteen cards. It is melding madness!
DEALING Start with eight packs of cards, removing all cards ranking 2 through 6, for a total of 256 cards in play. As with Six-Pack Bezique, there is only one deal, and each player receives fifteen cards, dealt three at a time.
SCORING Follow the scoring guidelines for Six-Pack Bezique, except in this eight-deck version, a Rubicon is achieved only if the losing hand has fewer than 5,000 points.
| MELDS/FORMATION | POINTS |
| Marriage/K, Q of same suit (not trump) | 20 |
| Royal Marriage/K, Q of trump suit | 40 |
| Bezique/Q of spades, J of diamonds | 50 |
| Four Jacks/One from each suit | 40 |
| Four Jacks of Trump/Four Jacks of trump | 400 |
| Five Jacks of Trump/Five Jacks of trump | 800 |
| Four Queens/One from each suit | 60 |
| Four Queens of Trump/Four Queens of trump | 600 |
| Five Queens of Trump/Five Queens of trump | 1,200 |
| Four Kings/One from each suit | 80 |
| Four Kings of Trump/Four Kings of trump | 800 |
| Five Kings of Trump/Five Kings of trump | 1,600 |
| Four 10s of Trump/Four 10s of trump | 900 |
| Five 10s of Trump/Five 10s of trump | 1,800 |
| Four Aces/One from each suit | 100 |
| Four Aces of Trump/Four Aces of trump | 1,000 |
| Five Aces of Trump/Five Aces of trump | 2,000 |
| Sequence/A, 10, K, Q, J in same suit (not trump) | 150 |
| Royal Sequence/A, 10, K, Q, J of trump suit | 250 |
| Double Bezique/Two sets of Q of spades, J of diamonds | 500 |
| Triple Bezique/Three sets of Q of spades, J of diamonds | 1,500 |
| Quadruple Bezique/Four sets of Q of spades, J of diamonds | 4,500 |
| Quintuple Bezique/Five sets of Q of spades, J of diamonds | 9,000 |
VARIATION 5: FOUR-HAND BEZIQUE
It seems that all great two-and three-player games have a four-player version suitable for partnerships. Bezique is no exception. The game is played according to standard Rubicon Bezique rules, except that you may use your partner’s declared cards to form melds. This gives the game a subtle flavor of Contract Bridge, although without the complexity of bidding and playing a dummy hand.
DEALING Start with six packs of cards, removing all cards ranking 2 through 6, for a total of 192 cards in play. Deal each player nine cards, three at a time. The player to the left of the dealer always leads the first trick.
SCORING The game works exactly as Rubicon Bezique, with two exceptions. If you win a trick, you may nominate yourself or your partner to declare a meld. If you nominate your partner, you still must lead the next trick.
More significant, you can also create melds using any of your partner’s already declared cards (keep the cards separate, and simply call out which of your partner’s cards are being included in the meld). Finally, if both players in a partnership score a Carte Blanche, each receives 500 points.
| MELDS/FORMATION | POINTS |
| Marriage/K, Q of same suit (not trump) | 20 |
| Royal Marriage/K, Q of trump suit | 40 |
| Bezique/Q of spades, J of diamonds | 40 |
| Four Jacks/One from each suit | 400 |
| Four Queens/One from each suit | 600 |
| Four Kings/One from each suit | 800 |
| Four 10s/One from each suit | 900 |
| Four Aces/One from each suit | 1,000 |
| Sequence/A, 10, K, Q, J in same suit (not trump) | 150 |
| Royal Sequence/A, 10, K, Q, J of trump suit | 250 |
| Double Bezique/Two sets of Q of spades, J of diamonds | 500 |
| Triple Bezique/Three sets of Q of spades, J of diamonds | 1,500 |
| Quadruple/Four sets of Q of spades, J of diamonds | 4,500 |
| Quintuple Bezique/Five sets of Q of spades, J of diamonds | 13,500 |
| Sextuple Bezique/Five sets of Q of spades, J of diamonds | 40,500 |