Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
15th century card games
BASSETTSource: Parlett, CottonDeck Used: any (52 card Italian or Spanish deck) Number of Players: a banker plus any number of punters Basset is an Italian game, first appearing in the mid isth century. It did not travel to France or England until the middle or late 17th century (Parlett, P. 77). It is described in Cotton with a plethora of French terminology. Basset is a banking game, with a significant advantage for the house. It is purely a game of luck. One player is the banker. The banker has a full deck of cards, well shuffled. Each punter has the 13 cards of a single suit of a similar deck in front of him, or perhaps a board with marks for the 13 denominations. Punters put bets on their boards before play begins. Once all bets are placed, the banker turns up a single card from his deck and wins all bets placed on the denomination shown (suit is ignored). After the first card is turned up the banker turns up cards from his deck in pairs, putting them on two piles alternately, until all bets are resolved or the deck is exhausted. Denominations that match a card turned up on the first pile lose their bets to the banker; denominations that match a card turned up on the second pile win. The banker must pay equal to any winning bets. As with the first card turned up, the banker wins any bets that remain on the last card turned. |  |
On any winning bet the punter may decline his winnings and let the bet ride in the hope of further winnings. If the same denomination shows up again on the winning pile, the banker must pay seven times the bet; if the bet is let ride again and wins, the banker pays 15 times; if it is let ride and shows up a fourth time on the winning pile the banker must pay 30 times the bet (33, according to Cotton). Finally, if it shows up four times in one deal, the punter lets it ride into the next hand, and the same card shows up winners a fifth time, the banker must pay 60 times the bet (67, according to Cotton). The decision to let a bet ride is marked by bending up a corner of the card it lies on each time (this is destructive of cards, so I suggest using some other way to mark a riding bet).
Once a payment is declined by a punter (leaving a bet to ride) the punter can not change his mind until the card shows up again on the winning pile, when he again has the choice of taking his winnings or letting it ride.
GLIC, OR POCHSPIEL
Source: Oxford Guide to Card Games; The Game of Tarot.
Deck Used: various: 52 card French, 48 card German or Spanish, or a 32 card version of the German, French, or Spanish decks (usually produced by dropping the 6,5,4,3, and 2).
Number of Players: 3 or more
Pochspiel, or Bockspiel, appears as early as 1441 in Strasburg and regularly thereafter in Germany and Switzerland. Glic appears first in 1454 in France, and seems to be virtually the same game. Both names appear frequently from then on, and the game (by either name) was very popular throughout the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries in France, Germany, Switzerland, and England. Other names used for the same game are Boeckels, Poque, Bocken, and Bogel (Parlett, p. 86). Even without surviving rules the names can be recognized as belonging to the same game by their playing boards --a number of brightly painted boards survive from the i6th century.
Pochspiel is played with a board having eight compartments or spaces. These compartments are labelled Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Marriage, Sequence, andPoch.
There are three separate phases to a game of Pochspiel. Before play the players place stakes in each compartment except Poch. I suggest starting at the dealer and each player in sequence putting a single penny or denaro into a compartment until one penny has been put in each. Five cards are dealt to each player, and the top remaining card is turned up for trump.
The first phase is a "sweepstakes." Anyone who holds the Ace of trump wins the stakes in the Ace compartment, and so on for the other marked compartments. The "Ace" compartment is often marked Sau on German boards, and when playing with a German 48 card deck the Sau is won by the player holding the Two of trump (as the lowest trump-there is no Ace). The name Sau comes from the boar that is often found on the Two of German suited decks. Marriage is won by the player holding the King and Queen of trump (who also wins the stakes in the King and Queen compartments). The Sequence compartment is won by the player who holds the 7-8-9 of trump. If any compartment is not claimed, the stakes in it remain for subsequent hands.
The second phase is a betting phase, like poker or primero. The winning hand is that with the best combination. Four of a kind beats a triple, three of a kind beats a pair, and a pair beats a hand without a pair. Higher valued cards beat lower ones in the same class (for example, a pair of kings would beat a pair of sixes, but would be beaten by three jacks). Each player in turn may put a stake into the Pochcompartment. Other players may see it, raise it, pass, or fold. When the betting returns to the first player, he may bet again (unlike betting in Poker or Primero, you cannot call). I suggest that a limit be put on the total bet. Betting stops only when every player has passed or folded. When betting stops, if only one player remains he wins the stakes in the Poch compartment. If two or more players remain (having all bet the same amount) the winner is the one with the best hand.
The third phase involves playing cards in a sequence, building up to 31. This is similar to modern cribbage: each player in turn lays down a card so that the total of the cards laid so far does not exceed 31. When no one can play (the total is too high) each player must pay the person who laid the final card of the sequence one penny. The person who laid the last card of the previous sequence gets to play the first one of the next sequence. As soon as one player runs out of cards, all the players who have cards remaining must pay him one penny for each card they still have remaining in their hands.
LANDSKNECHTE, or LANSQUENET
Source: Parlett
Deck Used: any German, Swiss, or French deck
Number of Players: 2 or more
Landsknechte shows up in documents in 1542, in the list of games in the fifth edition of Rabelais' Gargantua. It is a simple-minded gambling game with banker. In its play and betting it is reminiscent of dice game like Hazard (Parlett, P. 76-77).
The banker puts up some amount as a wager, and the punters may see some or all of it. The banker deals two cards face up, one to the left and one to the right. If the suits match, the banker wins all the bets. If the suits do not match he deals cards, one at a time, to the middle (between the two piles) until one of them matches either the left or the right pile. If the left pile is matched the banker wins; if the right one is matched the banker loses.
When the banker loses, the deck passes to the next player in line, who becomes the next banker. Alternatively, the game may be played so the banker may auction off the bank, with the highest bidder becoming the next banker.
SWISS TAROT
Sources: Dummett (interpreting rules from Maison academique, 1659)
Deck Used: 78 card Tarot deck
Number of Players: 3
The Tarot deck seems to have come to Switzerland from Italy at the same time it reached France, in the early 16th century (Durnmett, p. 217). It got to Germany later, apparently through France towards the end of the 16th century or the beginning of the 17th. It enjoyed a wave of popularity in both places.
Order of Play: Counter-clockwise
Order of Cards
| Permanent Trumps: | As normal: XXI down to I |
| Swords, Batons: | (high) K Q C J 10 9 8 7 6,5 4 3 2 1 (low) |
| Cups,Coins: | (high) K Q C J 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 l0 (low) |
Play of the Game
Each player antes an agreed upon stake before play. The dealer deals out 25 cards to each player, and takes the last three remaining cards to himself. He then chooses three cards to discard (they may not be any King, the Fool, or any Trump). These three discards count just as if a trick won in play. A game consists of three rounds, with a different dealer each round. The person with the highest score at the end of the game wins. Play is normal for Tarot games (follow suit if possible, must trump if void in the suit led).
Le Fou (The Fool)
The Fool may be played instead of following suit or being forced to trump. The Fool cannot take a trick, but neither is it captured with the rest of the trick by the winning card; instead the one who played it may exchange it for a card he has taken and lay it with his captured tricks. If the one who played the Fool has no card to exchange for it when he plays it, he may wait and exchange it later when he takes a trick. If the one who played the Fool takes no tricks through the game he may not exchange it.
Point Value of Cards:
The counting scheme is:
Le Monde (the World, XXI): 5
Le Basteleur (the Magician, I): 5
Le Fou (Fool): 5
Each King: 5
Each Queen: 4
Each Cavalier: 3
Each Jack: 2
Counting Points:
1. A trick with three counting cards has a value of the sum of the card values- 2. For example, a trick containing the Cavalier of Swords, the Queen of Swords, and the Fool would be worth 3 + 4 + 5 -2= 10 points.
2. A trick with two counting cards has a value of the sum of their values - 1. For example, a trick containing the World, the Magician, and Death would be worth 5 + 5 - 1= 9 points.
3. A trick with one counting card has the value of that card.
4. A trick with no counting cards has a value of 1.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cotton, Charles. The Compleat Gamester. London, 1674.
Parlett, David. The Oxford Guide to Card Games. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
The Tarot
ITALY is said to be the birthplace of the tarot, which according to playing-card historians was originally a card game invented in the fifteenth century and whose principal innovation was the introduction of trumps into Western European card-gaming. It may also have had a didactic or educational motivation, similar to the "Mantegna Tarocchi" or other educational games which served as mnenomic pictures. However, the symbolism found on some early tarot cards has led many people to believe that tarot cards are in fact the expression of ancient streams of wisdom... the eternal, esoteric and holy tradition itself. Following this belief, modern tarot packs draw upon the teachings of a tremendous range of traditions, including Kabbalah, Western esotericism and alchemy, Buddhism, Sufism, Egyptian initiations, mystical Christianity, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Celtic mythology… and so on. People have mapped whichever belief system or philosophy they fancy onto the tarot deck. Many people find they can quickly realise and develop an affinity with symbolic images in the deck which become a source of meaning or guidance.
"The primordial image or archetype is a figure, whether it be a daemon, man or process, that repeats itself in the course of history whenever creative fantasy is freely manifested. Essentially, therefore, it is a mythological figure. If we subject these images to a closer investigation, we discover them to be the formulated resultants of countless typical experiences of our ancestors." C.G. Jung
However, the thematic content of early tarot trumps probably reflects the Platonic Catholicism of the time. An interesting early example is the Guildhall Library Tarocchi cards (shown below) believed to have been painted in Spain during the 15th century. The cards contain curious symbols and iconography. The Knave of clubs shows a hunting scene, and in Platonic philosophy hunting was reckoned to develop moral strength and virility. The World card shows the New Jerusalem, the paradise where we are fully realised. The black and white chequered floor tiles on the ace of cups, like in Masonic lodges, suggests the dualistic nature of the material realm upon which we must rebuild the spiritual life through practising higher moral virtues. The ace of swords (or Sun) suggests the idea that the endless cycles of birth and rebirth can only be penetrated or overcome by spiritual wisdom. And we can also observe that the suit symbols were batons, cups, swords… and probably coins…
So the question arises, was this merely a game? How do we explain what looks more like Mystery Tradition Symbolism in these early tarot cards?n those days, the term "psychology" hadn't been invented. What they had was Morality. "Toutes les sciences ont été mises à contribution et rien n'est plus obscur encore que la science de l'homme moral." (All sciences have been put together and nothing is more obscure than the science of moral man). Ordinary folk were very superstitious, more learned folk read philosophy books. Churches and academies used visual allegorical symbolism to depict moral lessons. Medieval bestiaries depicted various animals as examples of different moral qualities in humans. Astrological symbolism was all about temperaments, passions and moral virtues, etc. There were lots of religious paintings depicting all sorts of sins and virtues… so we should not be surprised that early playing cards and tarot cards also reflected this cultural atmosphere.
In some cases it looks like random symbols were added to the cards at the whim of the artist or woodcutter. In other cases, we ask whether the artist was trying to express his/her understanding of some religious doctrines, a new philosophical or moral teaching, or maybe a secret esoteric doctrine…?
Ultimately it is a question of what you want to believe…
Above: detail from the Cary Collection uncut and uncoloured sheet of tarot cards (housed in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut) probably printed in Milan and possibly dating as early as c.1500. The entire sheet is available for digital download here. The images are untitled and unnumbered, again suggesting that players must have already known the sequence or hierarchy of trump cards in play from contemporary knowledge. Much of the imagery is recognisable as anticipating the more familiar Tarot de Marseille designs (see below) whilst other features are common to other early Italian decks such as the Visconti-Sforza and D'Este decks. Thus it looks like a prototype or intermediate form of the Tarot de Marseille design.
During almost 600 years the tarot cards have undergone a transformation from renaissance card game to new age spiritual treasury. Every age gets the tarot that it deserves or desires.
In the 18th century the trump cards became the focus of esoteric investigations and since then the tarot has become a sort of popular religion or diagnostic tool for mind, body and spirit. French occultists were largely responsible for this, notably Court de Gébelin, Eliphas Levi and Eteilla, who saw correlations between the tarot trumps and ancient mysteries. During the 20th century the literature on “esoteric tarot” has grown spectacularly and fantasy is given freedom to create every imaginable type of tarot card, from the “72 names of God” to the Maya Calendar. These new tarot decks are usually accompanied by booklets explaining the rationale and meaning of the symbolism chosen in the images, as well as the correct manner of using the cards and their interpretations in readings.
There has also been a distinguished output of ENGLISH TAROT CARDS. By the 1870s a number of English occultists had begun taking an interest in the tarot, attracted by the idea that the tarot was some sort of repository of ancient wisdom, esoteric lore or such like, and that it could be used to predict the future… more…
Tarot de Marseille
Tarot de Marseille by N. Conver, 1760 but probably a Camoin (Marseilles) edition of c.1870 from the original woodblocks. Stencil colouring. By this time the trump cards are named and numbered to designate their value during play
Faro
Game Type
Casino
Age
Adults
Players
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Deck
Standard
Faro is a very old card game. Introduced in France in the court of King Louis XIV, its name is derived from the picture of an Egyptian Pharaoh on one of the cards in the French deck. It was once the most widely played gambling game in England. Faro was also very popular in America, and during the 19th century, many referred to it as "the national card game." It is of historical interest to note that during the Civil War era there were more than 150 gambling houses in Washington D.C., and Faro was the principal attraction at every one of them. Today, with the advent of Black Jack and the dice game called Craps, Faro has almost vanished from casinos except in Nevada.
Number of Players
Any number of people can play. All bets are placed against the dealer (banker). The banker is usually selected by auction - that is, the player who agrees to put up the largest stake as the amount of his bank, becomes the banker.
The Pack
The standard 52-card pack is used, plus 13 spades from another pack which are used for the layout.
The Layout
The complete spade suit, either pasted to a board or enameled on felt, is placed on a table. Players indicate their bets by placing chips on any card on the layout. (The spade suit is selected arbitrarily-all suits are equivalent; only the ranks of the cards are relevant.)
The Deal
The cards are shuffled by the dealer and cut by any player. After bets have been placed against the dealer (banker), as described below, the dealer turns up the top card of the pack and places it to his left. This card is called "soda" and has no bearing on bets. The dealer then turns up the next card and places it face up on his right. He then turns up a third card and places it on top of soda, to his left. The dealing of these three cards constitutes a turn.
Betting
The first card turned up in any turn (except soda) always loses. The second card wins. Before the turn begins, the players may place their bets on cards in the layout. Chips placed on any card are a bet that the card will win unless a copper (penny or similar disc) is put on top of the chips. In this case, the player is betting that the card will lose. Any bet is settled the next time that a card of the indicated rank is turned up. For example: A player puts a chip on the 6♠ in the layout. The dealer turns up two cards, neither of which is a six, so the player's bet remains on the layout, unsettled. But on the next turn, the first card turned by dealer is the 6♥; this means that the six loses, and the dealer takes the player's bet. If the player had bet on the six to lose (by coppering his bet), the dealer would have paid him; or if the 6♥ had been the second card in that turn, instead of the first, the player would have won.
After each turn, all bets settled at that turn are paid and collected. Other bets remain on the layout or may be withdrawn, and new bets may be placed. In many regions, other types of bets are permitted.
As the deal progresses, all the cards that lose form one pile, and all cards that win form another pile.
Splits
If two cards of the same rank come up on the same turn, so that a bet on that rank both wins and loses, it is called a split, and the dealer takes half of all bets on that rank. This is the dealer's only advantage in the game.
Calling the Turn
A record of all cards turned is kept on a "casekeeper" which is similar to an abacus. Each spindle has four counters which are moved when each of the four cards of a denomination (ace through king) are played. By using a casekeeper, players always know which cards remain undealt. When only three cards remain, a player may bet on the exact order in which those cards will come up, and the dealer pays off the player's bet at 4 to 1 if he is correct. This is referred to as "calling the turn." There are six ways in which the cards may come up, so the actual odds against the player are 5 to 1. If two of the last three cards are a pair, it is called a "cat-hop," and the dealer pays only 2 to 1.
Stuss
The rules are the same as for Faro, except there are no elaborate side bets and no soda card. The dealer simply turns up two cards at each turn. Also, when there is a split, the dealer receives the full amount of the bet, rather than half.
Trente et Quarante
This game is popular at the famous casino in Monte Carlo. Trente et Quarante (which means 30 and 40 in French) is also played in Nice, on the French Riviera.
Number of Players
Any number of people can play, though more than 20 participants at the table can get somewhat cumbersome. Usually, a casino will open up another table when there are more than 20 players.
The Pack
Six packs of the standard 52-card pack are used. These are shuffled together.
The Play
The croupier (dealer) always deals. Any one of the players cuts the cards after the croupier has prepared them, and then the croupier places the cards in a shoe (dealing box). Before the deal begins, a player may bet on "rouge" (red), "noir" (black), "couleur" (color) or "inverse" (reverse).
Aces count 1, face cards count 10, and all other cards are equal to their pip value. Once the bets have been made, the croupier lays out a row of cards, announcing the cumulative total as each card is dealt, until the total hits 31 or more. This row of cards represents "noir." Below the first row, a second row is then dealt in the same way, and represents "rouge."
Settling
A bet on noir or rouge wins if the row of that designation counts nearer to 31. A bet on "couleur" wins if the first card dealt in a rouge or noir row is of the color designating that row. For example, a diamond is dealt first for the rouge row. If this first card is of the alternative color, the "inverse" bet wins.
When both rows total the same number, it is a "refait" or stand-off, and all bets are called off. However, when the same number for each row is 31, the house takes half of all the bets that have been made; this represents the house advantage, which is only a little more than one per cent because a refait of 31 occurs only about once in 40 coups (deals).
Monday, January 28, 2013
Timelines
http://www.warsoftheroses.com/
| ||||||||||||
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)