Quadrette
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Quadrette is an old French
card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...
for four players, who form two teams of two. It is unusual in that communication between partners is allowed and the team captain is permitted to ask for information and direct play. It is a variant of classic
Whist Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play. History In 1674, '' The Complete Gamester'' described the game Ru ...
that is simpler and faster to play.


History

The anticlockwise direction of play, ranking of the Ace and oral communication between partners all suggest a certain antiquity. The game appears to be a four-player offshoot of Sizette, whence the name, and Sizette (implying six players)Panckoucke (1792), pp. 274–275. itself was first recorded in 1725''Académie Universelle des Jeux'' (1725), pp. 115–120. and appears to have been played across many parts of France, both northLebrun (1828), pp. 233–235. and south,''Sizette''
at salondesjeux.fr. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
before dying out in the late 19th century. Meanwhile, Quadrette is first recorded in 1785 in a dictionary for the regions of
Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
and
Comtat Venaissin The (; ; 'County of Venaissin'), often called the for short, was a part of the Papal States from 1274 to 1791, in what is now the region of Southern France. The region was an enclave within the Kingdom of France, comprising the area aroun ...
where, together with Sizette, it also has the name Parlaire (from ''parler'', to speak) because players were expected to talk about the cards they held in their hands.Achard (1785), Vol 1, p. 646 & Vol. 2, p. 485. The name Parlaire endured at least until the mid-19th century. In 1834,
Piquet Piquet (; ) is an early 16th-century plain-trick card game for two players that became France's national game. David Parlett calls it a "classic game of relatively great antiquity... still one of the most skill-rewarding card games for two" but ...
, Quadrette, and Sizette were games with which old folk in the
Hautes Alpes Hautes-Alpes (; ; ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population of 141,220 as of 2019,
relaxed, but it was also known in
Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...
. In 1860, Quatrète is described as a "village
Whist Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play. History In 1674, '' The Complete Gamester'' described the game Ru ...
" in Languedoc in which players indicate their hands aloud to their partner.Figuier (1860), p. 145. Quadrette survived at least until the 1930s, when it was still being played, as Quadretta, in
Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionAlpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...
.''La Quadrette''
at www.departement06.fr. Retrieved 28 January 2023.


Rules (1930)

The rules below are based on the 1930 account of "the good old game of our fathers, Quadretta, ... which held such a large place in the heart of the ordinary people and peasants of
Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionCason (1930), pp. 288–290.


Overview

The game is played by four players, in two teams of two with partners facing one another. The aim is to be the first team to take 4 of the 8
tricks.
Deal In cryptography, DEAL (Data Encryption Algorithm with Larger blocks) is a symmetric block cipher derived from the Data Encryption Standard (DES). Its design was presented by Lars Knudsen at the SAC conference in 1997, and submitted as a proposa ...
and
play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...
, unusually, are anticlockwise. Each team chooses a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
. A 32-card
French-suited pack 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. In ...
is used in which the cards
rank A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial. People Formal ranks * Academic rank * Corporate title * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy ...
in descending order from
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
to Seven, the
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...
coming between the
Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...
and the Ten as in Sizette and
Triomphe Triomphe (French for triumph), once known as French ruff, is a card game dating from the late 15th century. It most likely originated in France or Spain (as triunfo) and later spread to the rest of Europe. When the game arrived in Italy, it shared ...
.


Deal

Players
draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn most commonly refer to: * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Draw (tie), in a competition, where competitors achieve equal outcomes * Draw ...
cards from the
pack Pack or packs may refer to: Music * Packs (band), a Canadian indie rock band * ''Packs'' (album), by Your Old Droog * ''Packs'', a Berner album Places * Pack, Styria, defunct Austrian municipality * Pack, Missouri, United States (US) * ...
to determine partners and the first deal. The first to draw a King becomes the first dealer and the player who draws a King of the same
colour Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...
becomes the dealer's partner. The dealer
shuffles Shuffling is a technique used to randomization, randomize a deck of playing cards, introducing an element of chance into card games. Various shuffling methods exist, each with its own characteristics and potential for manipulation. One of the ...
the pack, has it
cut Cut or CUT may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** ...
by the player to the left and deals 8 cards each in two packets, either 4-4 or 5-3, beginning with the player to the right. The dealer turns the last card for
trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
before picking it up and adding it to other cards in the dealer's hand.


Communication

Before play begins the teams assess their hands. The captain of the team on lead (the team that did not deal) asks questions and the partner responds with information about the cards held. The idea is for the captain to work out what cards are held and direct the partner's play accordingly, including, for example, which
suit A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt su ...
to lead. Once the first card is led, the other team does the same.


Play

Players must
follow suit A trick-taking game is a card- or tile-based game in which play of a ''hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of that trick. The object of suc ...
if possible; otherwise may trump or discard as they please. The first team to take 4 tricks won the deal and scores 1 point. If they press on to take all 8 tricks, they score 2 points. During play, the captain may give instructions such as "take this one" or "let it run to me". In a few locations, teams could only speak when on lead.


Rules (modern)

In a modern rule set by the department of
Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...
, all is as in the 1930 rules with the following exceptions: * Only six cards are dealt to each player and the trump is not the dealer's last card but the next card of the talon. The talon is not used during the game. This increases the level of uncertainty. * Four tricks are needed to win the game, and six to win a double game. * If the teams take 3 each it is a tie and both score 1 point. * The captains of the two teams are always the current dealer and current first hand. * After the first trick only the captains may speak.


Examples of communication used

Cason gives an example of the opening discussion between a captain and his teammate: In an 1861 novel by Antoine Gandon is a description of a game of Quadrette between officers of the 17th Chasseurs. The hero, Jean Gigon, and his veteran captain converse as follows:


Footnotes


References


Literature

* _ (1725)
''Académie Universelle des Jeux''
Paris: Theodore Legras. * Achard, Claude François (1785). ''Dictionnaire de la Provence et du Comté-Venaissin''
Vol. 1.
an
Vol. 2
Marseilles: Jean Mossy. * Baron Ladoucette, Jean Charles François (1834)
''Histoire, Topographie, Antiquités, Usages, Dialectes des Hautes-Alpes''
Paris: Gide. * Cason, François (1930), "Les Jeux de Cartes à Nice: La Quadretta." In: ''Armanac Nissart'': 288–290. Online in Occitanica collection, Centre interrégional de développement de l’occitan (CIRDOC) publ., Béziers. * Figuier, Charlotte (1860)
''Nouvelles Languedociennes : les Fiancés de la Gardiole''
Paris: Hachette. * Figuier, Claire Sénart (1859)
"Le Franciman: Scénes et Souvenirs du Bas-Languedoc"
in ''Revue des Deux Mondes'', Vol. 22. Paris: J. Claye. pp. 936–962. * Honnorat, Simon-Jude (1847). ''Dictionnaire Provençal-Français Ou Dictionnaire De La Langue D'Oc''. Vol. 3. Digne. * Lebrun, M. (1828)
''Manuel des Jeux de Calcul et de Hasard, ou Nouvelle Académie des Jeux''
Paris: Roret. * Panckoucke, Charles-Joseph (1792)
''Encyclopédie méthodique: Dictionnaire des Jeux''
Volume 3. Paris: Panckoucke.


External links



– with classical rules for Quadrette.
''La Quadrette''
– modern rules. {{Historical card games French card games French deck card games Four-player card games