Bête , la Bête ( French : Jeu de la Bête ), Beste or la Beste ( Jeu de la Beste ), originally known as Homme or l'Homme ( Jeu de l'Homme ), was an old, French, trick-taking card game , usually for three to five players. It was a derivative of Triomphe created by introducing the concept of bidding. Its earlier name gives away its descent from the 16th-century Spanish game of Ombre . It is the "earliest recorded multi-player version of Triomphe".
40-496: During the 17th century, the Ombre concept of bidding was incorporated into Triomphe resulting in the game initially called l'Homme ("Man") and, later, la Beste or la Bête (German Labet , Dutch LaBate , English Beast ). La Bête, or just Bête or Beast in English, later gave rise to the variants of Mouche and Mistigri , the latter still being played today. It may also have been antecedent to
80-406: A bête is always the same as the player would have earned if he had won the deal (e.g., with five players, 6 jetons , the value of a fiche , and the amount of the current bête , if present) which he pays into a separate pot to be played for in the next deal. If the declarer loses every trick, it is a dévole and he pays an additional jeton to each player. When a bête is paid, it is staked on
120-422: A fiche worth 5 jetons . If a bête is currently staked, they would win it too). If the declarer takes all five tricks - a vole - he not only wins all the stakes for the game, but all the bêtes , including those not part of the current deal and also wins an extra jeton from each other player. If the declarer loses, he 'makes the bête' , that is he pays the penalty known as the bête . The amount paid out in
160-466: A "most pleasant" provincial game that had yet to catch on in Paris. In the mid-19th century, it is described as being "very like Triomphe in the way it is played, but much more spicy" and as a game for the "petty bourgeoisie", a family game played before dinner. Mouche also went under the less fashionable name of Bête ("Beast") in the region of Perche and its surrounding areas. However, Bête or Beste
200-462: A French pack are needed; if three or four play, the Sevens are removed leaving 28 cards. According to Van de Aa (1721), the game was usually played by three or four players, "three being better". Card ranking is as per Écarté : K > Q > J > A > 10 > 9 > 8 > (7) > (6). Deal and play are anticlockwise. The first dealer is chosen by lot . The pack is placed face down and players take
240-453: A pack of 32 French-suited cards . If three play, the Sevens are removed. The cards follow the Écarté scheme, ranking from highest to lowest as follows: K Q J A 10 9 8 7. Tokens or chips are used for scoring. According to the Academie des Jeux Oubliés , at the start of the game each player takes 20 jetons (round), 16 fiches (long rectangular) and 9 contrats (short rectangular). A fiche
280-483: A player making a mouche only pays a 20 jeton penalty. Alternatively they may agree that, if two or more players make a mouche during one deal, their penalties are paid in successive deals rather than both into the next deal. The term mouche is used in various ways as follows: Draw (cards) Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
320-408: A pre-agreed rate. Within each deal, the player who becomes the declarer aims to win three of the five tricks or at least the first two, if no one else makes three. Meanwhile the defenders try to prevent the declarer winning, forcing him to pay the penalty known as the bête . The game is played by three to seven players. If five play, a 32-card Piquet pack is used; if more play, 36 cards of
360-406: A second player decides he has a good enough hand, he may double the game by saying contre . Otherwise the first to say "play" prevails and becomes, in effect, the declarer. Once a bid is made, it cannot be changed. Bids may not be made once the first card is played to a trick. If all pass, players may opt to stake another jeton and turn the next card of the talon as trumps. This card is known as
400-402: A trump mouche beats a plain suit mouche and a higher-scoring plain suit mouche beats one worth fewer points. To calculate the value of such a hand, court cards and Aces score 10 and the remaining cards score their face value. If two hands score the same, the player with positional priority wins (i.e. the one nearest the dealer's right). If no-one has the mouche , once everyone has had
440-412: A trump, provided that it is not high enough to overtrump. The penalty for revoking , or failing to play the appropriate suit when able, is a single bête . If the declarer wins, he sweeps all the jetons staked on the deal, a fiche , and the current bête , if present (e.g., if five play, he wins the value of 11 jetons ; one from each player including himself plus the extra one placed by the dealer and
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#1732859025608480-436: Is a bête at stake for a particular deal, no jetons are staked on that deal apart from the extra one placed by the dealer. Since fiches are won singly, no fiches are anted until all have been taken. Players now pick up their cards and decide whether they have a game. Beginning with the eldest hand , the player to the right of the dealer, players elect whether to "play" ( je joue or je prends ) or "pass" ( je passe ). If
520-425: Is a gambling game, often played for small stakes, it is also suitable as a party game or as a family game with children from the age of 12 upwards. It is named after the mouche , a term that variously refers to its winning hand, the basic stake and the penalty for failing to take any tricks. Although also called Bête , it should not be confused with the older game of that name from which it came and which, in turn,
560-405: Is also the name of an earlier, possibly antecedent, game in which there is no equivalent of the flush known as the mouche , but otherwise the rules are much the same. The term bête came to be used in both French and German as the name of the stake and penalty payment in a number of old games of this type and may be the origin of the word bet which dates to the same era. Another name for Mouche
600-462: Is the name of those additional stakes (one jeton per player) placed on top of their dish or plate. These are won by the player who has the King of trumps, except in the case where he was also the declarer and lost the deal, in which case the stakes remain in place for the next deal. As soon as the King is won, players place another jeton on their plates. Lacombe helpfully describes the terminology used in
640-407: Is used for the game and each player begins by placing a fiche (a token worth 5 or 10 jetons ) half under the dish, facing him, and then places 2 jetons (chips), one beside the dish as the stake for the deal and the second on top of the dish to be won by the player with the King of trumps. The dealer adds a third jeton ; this also serves to remind everyone who dealt. If, during the game, there
680-488: The Curieuse . The first trump upcard becomes void and is placed to one side. Eldest hand leads to the first trick. Suit must be followed. If players are unable to follow, they must trump or overtrump if able. Only if they have no cards of the led suit and no trumps high enough to head the trick, may they discard . So, for example, if a plain suit card is led and then trumped, a subsequent player may discard even if he has
720-408: The mouche ", i.e. sweep the pool. A player who fails to take a trick must "make the mouche " i.e. pay a penalty equal to the amount of the current pool into the basket which is played for in the next deal along with the dealer's ante. In order to stop the amount in the pool escalating too far, players may agree to cap the mouche so e.g. if there are 40 jetons in the basket and the cap is 20 jetons,
760-410: The bête" - see below) gave rise to the game's second name, 'Bête' or 'Beste'. The 1690 edition of Dictionaire Universel calls it " jeu de la Beste " and states that virevole or dévole was a term used in the game to refer to a player who undertook to win every trick, but failed to win any and had to pay a penalty to the other players. By the mid-17th century, the game had spread to Germany, where it
800-423: The chance to stick or exchange cards, play begins with the eldest hand ( premier en cartes ) leading to the first trick. Players must follow suit or trump and overtrump if unable to follow. If they can neither follow nor trump they may discard. In addition, if a player is unable to beat an earlier trump, they may discard. Players earn 1/5 of the pool for each trick taken. If a player wins all five tricks they "take
840-434: The dealer adds a jeton and players are playing for the first bête . The second bête is held in abeyance until the next deal. Player B wins the King and collects the five jetons . Player D wins the game and collects 34 jetons : Deal 4. Players place the jetons for the deal and the King. The dealer adds his extra jeton . There are two fiches left in play along with the second bête . And so it continues. The King
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#1732859025608880-605: The game of Beast was "called by the French, La Bett". From three to five played using cards ranking as per Écarté . Stakes are placed in three heaps called the King, the Play and the Triolet before five cards are dealt to each player as 2+3 or 3+2, as in French Ruff and the next turned as trumps. Players must follow suit or trump or overtrump if unable. The winner of the most tricks sweeps the Play,
920-610: The game of la Bête: As with Écarté , for a more modern variation of the game, the cards may be re-ranked with the Ace as the highest card (with the associated pot) and the King as the second highest card (as in most modern card games). In 1672, Francis Willughby recorded the earliest rules in English for the game of Beast or "Le Beste", but his work was not published until much later. He was followed shortly thereafter by Charles Cotton in The Compleat Gamester . The latter notes that
960-569: The games of the Rams family although it does not share their characteristic of allowing players to drop out of the current deal if they consider their hand to be too poor. Bête was a gambling game, often played for small stakes, but was also played as a social and family game. It is named after the bête , a term that referred to the penalty for failing to take the required number of tricks or for various infringements. The term, bête , came to be used in both French and German in various other card games as
1000-508: The name for the stake on a game, the penalty for losing and the loser himself. At first called Homme, the game appears as early as 1619 in French literature and originated from the Spanish game of Ombre , the name of which also means "man" although, unlike Homme, it did not allow players to contre the initial bid to play, and its more immediate antecedent was the game of Triomphe as attested by other sources. The expression faire la bête ("make
1040-403: The new dealer adds a jeton for the next round. The following example assumes there are five players: Deal 1 . The first deal is for a simple (single) stake. Player A elects to play but loses. Had he won, he would have collected one fiche , the five jetons staked on the game plus the extra one by the dealer, making 11 jetons . Instead he must pay this amount into the pool for deal 2. All
1080-438: The next card as trumps leaving it face up on the table, and places the remaining cards face down to form the talon . Players then decide whether they will pass, exchange a number of cards from one to five or 'stick' with the cards in their hand. If they pass, they just lay their hand, face down, on the table and take no further part in the deal. If they want to exchange cards, they select their discards and place them face down on
1120-417: The next deal unless there is already a bête on that deal, in which case it is put to one side until the following deal and so on. If a contre has been announced; the contre player wins or loses double, but the original player only wins or loses a single bête as normal. If the declarer ties with another player for the number of tricks won, the round is null. Dealer role passes counterclockwise and only
1160-410: The one with the King (presumably of trumps) sweeps the King and a player with a triplet , e.g. three Fours, wins the Triolet. Mouche (card game) Mouche , also known as Lanterlu , is an old, French, trick-taking card game for two to six players which has elements, such as bluffing, reminiscent of the much later game of poker . It is a member of the Rams family of games and, although it
1200-405: The pool). The player who has the mouche must declare it before trick play starts. Players are allowed to question someone who sticks by saying e.g. "are you saving the mouche ?" The player so questioned does not have to respond. Silence is taken as a "yes", but a questioned player who speaks is expected to bluff and be evasive, as long as he or she doesn't lie. If two or more have the mouche ,
1240-443: The same for about two centuries, but by 1828, the name seems to have merely become a synonym for the game of Mouche , a game which differed in allowing players to drop out of a deal with a poor hand and to win the game if they were dealt a flush . The following rules are based on Le Gras (1739), except where stated. The overall aim of the game is to win counters , known as jetons , which can then be converted into money at
Bête - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-415: The same suit in the initial deal, 'has the mouche ' and wins immediately without further play, sweeping the pool (the mouche ). The player does not have to declare it straight away but may 'save the mouche' by announcing the intention to stick. This may be advantageous since, once the mouche is declared, any remaining players will pass in order to avoid making the mouche (i.e. paying a penalty equal to
1320-441: The stakes for the deal remain in place. Player C holds the King of trumps and wins the 5 jetons for the 'King', which are replaced by all the players. Deal 2 . Player A loses again. No-one has the King of trumps. As before, the bête is the same amount as that he would have won. All the stakes from both deals and the stakes for the King remain in place. The second bête is a sum that equates to 28 jetons i.e.: Deal 3. Only
1360-469: The table announcing the number of cards being exchanged e.g. "all cards", "four cards", etc. The dealer then places the discards on the table face to his right and gives the player the same number of cards from the top of the talon. A player who has a good hand, may stick by saying e.g. "I'll take it" ( "je m'y tiens" ) and not exchange any cards. Once a player sticks or has exchanged cards, he or she must play and cannot drop out. A player dealt five cards of
1400-476: The talon and winning outright if a player was dealt an eponymous, five-card flush - and Mistigri or Pamphile, which additionally promoted the Jack of Clubs to the top trump. As Bête, the rules are last recorded in 1888. The English game Lanterloo resembles the latter, but may have crossed the channel at an earlier stage of development and evolved in parallel to its eventual form. The rules for Bête remained substantially
1440-442: The top card in turn, the player drawing the first King or other nominated card dealing first. Five cards are dealt to each player either as 2+2+1, 2+3, 3+2 or 2+1+2. The mode of dealing is up to the first dealer and then stays the same for rest of the game. After dealing the talon is placed face down on the table and the dealer turns the top card for trump , leaving it on top of the talon. An "upturned silver, tin or ceramic dish"
1480-567: Was Lanterlu , a term clearly related to the Lanterloo, although in the English game the Jack of Clubs is the top trump, a concept not found in Mouche but mirrored in its descendant, Mistigri , historically also known as Pamphile . The following rules are based on van der Aa (1721) with some additional clarifications from the Académie des Jeux Oubliés . The game is played by three or four players using
1520-474: Was a derivative of Triomphe . Mouche is first recorded in the Académie Universelle des Jeux of 1718, although Parlett implies that, from its terminology, it ought to be an ancestor of the English game, Lanterloo , which goes back at least to Cotton's rules of 1674, and that they are probably both descended from an early trump game, known as Triomphe . In the early 18th century, Mouche was considered
1560-487: Was known as la Bäte , la Bête , Labeth or Labetspiel and to Italy where it was referred to as bestia or l'asino . By the 18th century, it had reached England, where it was called Beast (see below), and Austria-Hungary , where it was known as Labet or Zwickerspiel and banned as a gambling game. Bête subsequently evolved into the games known Mouche or Lenturlu (see also the English game of Lanterloo ) - which featured bluffing, 'robbing' (i.e. exchanging with)
1600-423: Was worth 5 jetons and a contrat was worth 100 jetons . The first dealer is chosen by lot; the player drawing the agreed card (e.g. a King) dealing first. Deal and play are anti-clockwise. The dealer antes 5 jetons to the pot before dealing each player five cards. These may be dealt either as 2+2+1, 3+2, 2+3 or 2+1+2 as the dealer wishes, but the method should not be changed during a game. The dealer then turns
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