Chouine

Chouine is a very old French card game of the Ace-Ten family for two players that is still played today in the Loire Valley, especially in north Touraine. It is a point-trick game that uses a Piquet pack of 32 cards. It appears to be a variant of Brisque or Briscan. The game has regained local popularity in recent decades.

Chouine
Historical game popular in the Loire valley
A mariage of the King and Queen of Clubs
OriginFrance
TypeTrick-taking
Players2
Cards32
DeckPiquet pack
Rank (high→low)A 10 K Q J 9 8 7
PlayAlternate
Related games
Brisque

History

Chouine is a card game played in the Loire Valley whose origins go back at least to the 18th century in the Kingdom of France. It is thought to be related to Briscan which in turn is a cousin of Mariage, a game first attested in 1715.[1][lower-alpha 1] An 1849 dictionary of the Normandy dialect gives Chouine as a "term in the game of Briske (sic) which indicates that one has in hand the Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten of trumps."[3]

In Émile Zola's 1887 novel, La Terre, he recounts two men playing a rowdy game of "La Chouine" at Cloyes in the Loire Valley.[4]

The game has had a renaissance in recent decades and 'world championships' have been held annually since 1974 in the village of Lavardin, Loir-et-Cher, the "capital of Chouine". These are preceded by courses for beginners, especially young people.[1][5][6][7]

Rules

Overview

The game is usually played by two players for the best of three rounds (manches) each of three or five deals (parties or points[lower-alpha 2]). The aim of the game is to collect as many brisques (Aces and Tens) as possible and to score bonus points through declarations and taking the last trick.[8]

Cards

The cards rank as at Belote: A > 10 > K > Q > J > 9 > 8 > 7. For scoring purposes, only the Aces and 10s – known as brisques – taken in tricks are counted, scoring 11 and 10 points respectively. An exception is that, in the event of a tie at plus or minus 10 points, the court cards taken are scored according to the following scheme: King 3, Queen 2, Jack 1.[lower-alpha 3]

Deal

The first dealer is the one who draws the lowest card from the spread pack. The dealer shuffles and has the pack cut before dealing each player 5 cards, beginning with the opponent. After dealing, the dealer places the remaining cards face down and to one side as the talon and then turns the top card for trumps, placing it half under the talon and at right angles to it, face up. The deal alternates.[5][8]

Declarations

Players now make any of the following declarations which are worth bonus points as shown. The player declares e.g. "I have a 30 in Spades."[1][8]

  • Mariage (K + Q in suit) – 20 pts
  • Tierce (K + Q + J in suit) – 30 pts
  • Quarteron (K + Q + J + A in suit) – 40 pts[lower-alpha 4]
  • Quinte (five brisques) – 50 pts[lower-alpha 5]

In addition there is the following winning combination:

  • A 10 K Q J – Chouine. Wins the partie without further play.

Declarations are worth double if in the trump suit.

Play

There are two phases. Phase 1 lasts as long as there are cards in the talon. Players may play any card and each draw a fresh card after each trick. Phase 2 begins as soon as the talon is exhausted. Players must now follow suit if able, otherwise must play a trump. If a trump is led, it must be overtrumped if possible. The trick is won by the higher (or only) trump or by the higher card of the led suit if no trumps were played. While the talon exists, the trick winner draws a fresh card from the talon, followed by the opponent. The trick winner leads to the next trick.[5]

A player holding the trump 7 may exchange it with the trump upcard provided there are more than 2 cards left in the talon.[8][1]

The player making the last trick wins the "Dix-de-Der" which earns 10 bonus points.[5][lower-alpha 6]

Scoring and winning

Players must pre-agree whether to play for one round or the best of three rounds (manches), a third and deciding round being called the Belle. Each round may comprise three or five deals (parties or points).[5]

At the end of each deal, players tot up the points from tricks and declarations. The player who took the last trick scores a bonus of 10 points. The one with the most points wins the deal.[5]

Three- and four-hand Chouine

All is as in the two-hand game except that a) the dealer deals 3 cards each and turns the next card for trumps, and b) there are only three declarations as follows:[5]

  • Mariage – as before.
  • Trente – three brisques in one hand - worth 30 points
  • Chouine – K + Q + J in the same suit which wins the deal.

Three- and four-hand Chouine is played over a single round of three or five deals.

Variations

In La Chouine de Mondoubleau, which is played in the Perche-Vendôme region, there is no turnup. Instead, trumps are determined by the suit of the first declaration of Mariage, Tierce or Quarteron.[lower-alpha 7][5]

Footnotes
  1. Although Chouine sources suggest that its origins go back to the 16th century because the game of Mariage was mentioned by Rabelais in Gargantua in 1534, David Parlett points out that "nothing is known" of that game and other evidence suggests it could refer to a relative of Piquet.[2]
  2. A point is the local name for a partie or deal.
  3. This may be a local variation; in Karnet and Proust the court cards always score.
  4. Also called Quarante, "Forty".
  5. Also called Cinquante, "Fifty".
  6. Dix de der is short for dix de dernière i.e. "Ten for Last".
  7. In the three- or four-hand games the only valid declaration for deciding trumps is a Mariage.

References
  1. La Chouine by Bertrand Karnet (2018) at jouerenlignefr.org. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  2. Parlett (1990), p. 288.
  3. Duméril and Duméril (1849), p. 66.
  4. Zola (1887), p. 178.
  5. La Chouine by Jacques Proust at montoire-sur-le-loir.net (archived). Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  6. Championnat du monde de la Chouine at lepetitvendomois.fr. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  7. Lavardin at alicejulienne.com. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  8. Chouine at regles.com. Retrieved 12 April 2023.

Bibliography
  • Duméril, Édélestand and Alfred Émile Sébastien Duméril (1849), Dictionnaire due Patois Normand, Caen: Mancel.</ref>
  • Parlett, David (1990). The Oxford Guide to Card Games. Oxford/NY: OUP.
  • Zola, Émile (1887). La Terre, tr. by George D. Cox. Philadelphia: Peterson.
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