Bezique▶Play

The deck has 64 cards: two copies each of 7, 8, 9, J, Q, K, 10 and A in spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds. In every suit A beats 10, which beats K, Q, J, 9, 8 and 7; when two identical cards meet, the one played first wins. Aces and tens are the brisques: each one you take in a trick scores 10, so the deck holds 160 brisque points, and the last trick of the deal adds 10 more.

Each player gets 8 cards and the next card is turned face up under the stock: its suit is trump for the whole deal and it is the last card anyone draws. If that card is a 7, the dealer scores 10 at once. The computer deals the first match, so you lead the first trick; after that the first dealer alternates. While the stock lasts you may play any card — you never have to follow suit or try to win. The higher card of the suit led takes the trick unless a trump is played. The winner then draws the top card of the stock and the loser the next one, so both hands go back to 8.

Only the winner of a trick may declare, and only before drawing: one meld per trick, plus any seven of trumps, which scores 10 and, while the face-up card is still under the stock and is not a 7, is swapped for it. The melds: sequence (A 10 K Q J of trumps) 250, royal marriage (K Q of trumps) 40, marriage (K Q of another suit) 20, bezique (Q♠ + J♦) 40, double bezique (both Q♠ and both J♦) 500, four aces (one of each suit) 100, four kings 80, four queens 60 and four jacks 40. Declared cards lie face up on the table but still belong to your hand, so you can play them later.

A card may be used again, but only in a different kind of meld, and every meld needs at least one card from your hand. So the K♠ of a marriage can later join four kings, a royal marriage can grow into a sequence by adding the A, 10 and J, and a bezique can become a double bezique by adding the second Q♠ and J♦ while the first pair is still on the table. The reverse steps — a royal marriage taken out of a declared sequence, or a single bezique taken out of a double — are not allowed.

When the stock is empty the face-up cards go back into the hands, no more melds can be declared, and the last 8 tricks are strict: you must follow suit and beat the card led if you can; with no card of that suit you must trump if you can; otherwise play anything.

A match is one or two deals. If after the first deal a player has 400 points or more and is ahead, that player wins at once. Otherwise a second deal follows with the other player dealing, and the higher two-deal total wins; equal totals are a draw. Each win raises the rival one level, up to level 5; a loss or a draw ends your streak. Your score is the streak with the summed winning margins as its decimal part: 3.0870 means 3 wins in a row whose margins add up to 870 (the margin part stops at 9,999).

Tips & strategy

Melds decide most deals, and you may only declare after winning a trick, so in the stock phase a trick is worth winning mainly for the declaration it unlocks. When a meld is ready in your hand, take the next trick with a card you will not miss — a low trump is a fair price under a 10 or an ace, or when it opens a 40 or more. When you have nothing to declare, let a trick of 7s and 8s go and keep your trumps for later.

Order matters because you get only one meld per trick. With K Q of trumps and hopes of a sequence, declare the royal marriage first for 40 and add A 10 J later for 250; the other way round loses the 40. A bezique first and a double bezique later scores 40 + 500. Kings, queens and jacks can earn twice — in a marriage or bezique and again in four of a kind — so think twice before you lead the third king of your set.

Everything your rival declares stays on the table, and that is information. A shown bezique means the second Q♠ and J♦ are their road to 500: each copy that lands in your hand or is played kills it. A shown royal marriage means trump A, 10 and J are wanted, so do not feed them a trump ace on a cheap trick. Plain 7s, 8s and 9s score nothing and fit no meld except the seven of trumps, so they are your free discards while the stock lasts.

In the last 8 tricks there are only 16 cards left and every other card has been seen, so a careful player knows both hands. Trump length wins that endgame: the brisques and the 10 for the last trick usually go to whoever still holds the most trumps. Keep two or three trumps in hand as the stock runs low instead of spending them on small tricks, and use the final stock draws to see what the face-up card gives the loser.