Penneech or peneech, sometimes called penicth,
[''Western Folklore'' (1947), p. 151] is an unusual historical English
card game for two players played with hands of seven cards. English
point-trick games are rare anyway, but the unique feature of this game is that the trump suit changes with each
trick.
Parlett describes it as a "jolly little two-hander".
[
]
History
Penneech was alluded to in ''Pepys Ballads'', II, 98 (1625-1640) by Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...
,[ but its rules were first described by ]Charles Cotton
Charles Cotton (28 April 1630 – 16 February 1687) was an English poet and writer, best known for translating the work of Michel de Montaigne from the French, for his contributions to ''The Compleat Angler'', and for the influential ''The Comp ...
in the 1674 and first edition of ''The Compleat Gamester
''The Compleat Gamester'', first published in 1674, is one of the earliest known English-language games compendia. It was published anonymously, but later attributed to Charles Cotton (1630–1687). Further editions appeared in the period up to 1 ...
'',[Cotton (1674), pp. 148/149] and repeated in all subsequent editions until 1754. There are no other descriptions of the game, although it is mentioned in passing by Holme in 1688 and described as "a game formerly in use" in 1822.[Nares (1822), p. 371]
Card games historian David Parlett notes that English point-trick games are rare[Parlett (1991), p. 261.] and knows of no other game in which the trump suit changes from one trick to the next.[ He tested it extensively in order to reconstruct the rules.][
]
Cards
A standard 52-card pack
The standard 52-card deck of French-suited playing cards is the most common pack of playing cards used today. In English-speaking countries it is the only traditional pack used for playing cards; in many countries of the world, however, it is used ...
of English pattern
French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. I ...
, French-suited cards
French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. I ...
is used with Aces ranking high.[
]
Rules
The following is a description based on Cotton's rules, supplemented by Parlett who tested the game extensively:[Penneech]
at parlettgames.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2020.[
]
Deal
Players cut for the first deal
A deal, or deals may refer to:
Places United States
* Deal, New Jersey, a borough
* Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* Deal Lake, New Jersey
Elsewhere
* Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia
* Deal, Kent, a town in England
* Deal, ...
, the lower card winning ( Aces low for this purpose).[ The dealer deals 7 cards each, individually, and turns the next for ]trumps
A trump is a playing card which is elevated above its usual rank in trick-taking games. Typically, an entire suit is nominated as a ''trump suit''; these cards then outrank all cards of plain (non-trump) suits. In other contexts, the terms ''tru ...
,[ placing the rest face down as the ]stock
In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
. A player with no Aces nor face cards may throw in his cards for a fresh deal.[Cotton (1674), pp. 148/149]
Play
Elder hand leads to the first trick.[ The second player to a trick may either follow suit or trump, but may only discard if unable to follow.][ The trick winner turns the next card of the stock for trump][ and pegs its value (see below) if it is a counter before leading to the next trick. The winner of the last trick turns the next card of the stock and likewise scores for it if it is a counting card.][
]
Scoring
Players score for cards won in tricks, for turning a counter
Counter may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Counter machine, a subclass of register machines
* Counter (digital), an electronic device, mechanical device, or computer program for counting
* Loop counter, the variable that controls the iter ...
as trumps and for turning a counter after the last trick is taken. An Ace is worth 5 points, a king 4, a queen 3 and a knave 2. The 7, called ''penneech'', is the highest card when diamonds are trumps and is worth 14 points when turned or 7 points in the hand.[ If diamonds are not trumps it has no scoring value, but still ranks as the highest diamond. Players also score 1 point per card taken in excess of seven. Game is 61 points.][
Parlett recommends using a ]cribbage board
Cribbage, or crib, is a card game, traditionally for two players, that involves playing and grouping cards in combinations which gain points. It can be adapted for three or four players.
Cribbage has several distinctive features: the cribbag ...
for scoring.[
]
Footnotes
References
Bibliography
* _ (1947)
''Western Folklore''
Californian Folklore Society.
* 1674
''The Compleat Gamester''
A.M, London. Charles Cotton.
* Holme, Randle (1688). ''The Academy of Armory.'' Vol 2, ed Jeayes, Roxburgh Club, 1905. BM C.101.h.2.
* Nares, Robert (1822)
''A Glossary or Collection of Words, Phrases, Names and Allusions to Customs, Proverbs, etc.''
London: Triphook.
* Parlett, David (1991). ''A History of Card Games'', OUP, Oxford.
External links
* Parlett, David (2020)
''Penneech''
at parlettgames.uk. Description of history and rules.
at catsatcards.com.
{{Historical card games
17th-century card games
English card games
Two-player card games