Gemopedia
Card Games🇫🇷France19th century

Bezique

Classic 2-player French melding + trick-taking card game (mid-19th c.) — ancestor of PINOCHLE (US variant). Played with 64 cards (two 32-card packs); score by making MELDS (e.g. bezique = Q♠ + J♦ = 40 pts) + winning aces/tens in trick play. Extremely popular Victorian parlour game — favorite of Winston Churchill.

⏱~45 min🌤indoor

Quick facts

Category

Card Games

Type

Individual

Players

2–4

Duration

~45 min

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇫🇷 France

Estimated origin

First rules published 1860s Paris; popular 1870-1930 in France + UK + US; direct ancestor of American pinochle (which uses similar melding principles).

Olympic

No

Popularity

niche

How it works

Objective

Score points by trick-taking (aces + tens = 'brisques') + declaring melds during play; reach target score first.

Rules

Basic rules

  • DEAL: 8 cards each; remaining 48 form stock; top card of stock turned to indicate trump

    Standard deal.

  • TRICK PLAY: no follow-suit rule while stock remains; higher card of same suit wins, trumps beat non-trumps

    Signature free-play phase.

  • MELDS declared after winning trick: BEZIQUE (Q♠ + J♦) = 40; DOUBLE BEZIQUE = 500; SEQUENCE in trumps (10-J-Q-K-A) = 250; MARRIAGE (K+Q same suit) = 20; ROYAL MARRIAGE (trumps) = 40; FOUR ACES = 100; FOUR KINGS = 80; FOUR QUEENS = 60; FOUR JACKS = 40

    Signature meld types + values.

  • BRISQUE = ace or ten captured in trick = 10 pts each

    Signature brisque scoring.

  • AFTER STOCK EXHAUSTED: FOLLOW-SUIT + BEAT-IF-POSSIBLE rules apply for final tricks

    Signature 2-phase trick rules.

  • LAST TRICK BONUS = 10 pts

    Standard last-trick.

Scoring

Melds (40-500) + brisques (10 each) + last-trick (10); reach 500 (classic) or 1,000/2,000 (variants).

Win condition · First to target score wins the game.

Equipment

  • 64 cards — two 32-card 'piquet' packs (A K Q J 10 9 8 7 in 4 suits, 2 of each)

    Signature double piquet deck.

  • Scoresheet + counters

    Score tracking.

Terminology

Bezique
Q♠ + J♦ meld (in the classical game) = 40 points; the game's namesake meld.
Brisque
Ace or ten captured in trick play = 10 pts.
Marriage
King + Queen of same suit meld = 20 (40 in trumps).
Rubicon
In Rubicon variant: failing to reach 1000 = losing double.

Where it is played

Famous names & records

Famous athletes

  • Winston Churchill (GB, avid player)
  • Robert Louis Stevenson (GB, referenced in essays)

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-28.verified