Piquet
Classic 2-player French trick-taking + melding card game dating from LATE 15TH CENTURY — one of the OLDEST + MOST INFLUENTIAL card games in European history. Played with 32-card 'piquet pack' (7s to Aces); scoring combines POINTS (longest suit) + SEQUENCES + SETS + TRICKS. Six-deal 'partie' to 100+ points. Peak popularity 17th-19th c. European aristocracy; still played by connoisseurs.
Quick facts
Category
Card Games
Type
Individual
Players
2–2
Duration
~60 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇫🇷 France
Estimated origin
Emerged 15th century France; earliest surviving rules treatise 1534 (Rabelais lists Piquet in Gargantua); modern rules crystallised 17th century; peak popularity through 19th century.
Olympic
No
Popularity
niche
How it works
Objective
Score more total points across 6 deals than opponent; win the 'partie' by 100+ points (or match preset target).
Rules
Basic rules
DEAL: 12 cards each; 8-card 'talon' stock in middle
Standard piquet deal.
EXCHANGE: elder hand (non-dealer) discards up to 5 cards + draws replacements; younger hand exchanges up to 3
Signature exchange phase.
DECLARATIONS: POINT (longest suit) + SEQUENCE (runs) + SETS (three/four of a kind) — announced + scored before play
Signature 3 declaration types.
CARTE BLANCHE (no face cards) = 10 bonus points
Signature carte blanche bonus.
TRICK PLAY: 12 tricks played; MUST FOLLOW SUIT; highest card wins
Standard trick play.
PIQUE (30 pts before opp scores) = 30 bonus; REPIQUE (30 pts in melding phase alone) = 60 bonus
Signature Pique + Repique bonuses.
CAPOT (winning all 12 tricks) = 40 bonus
Signature capot bonus.
Scoring
Points from declarations (point/sequence/set) + trick play (1 per trick + 10 leading + 10 winning majority + 40 capot); pique + repique bonuses.
Win condition · Highest total across 6 deals (or target reached).
Equipment
32-card 'Piquet pack' (7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A in 4 suits)
Signature reduced deck.
Scoresheet + pencil
Written score tracking.
Terminology
- Elder
- Non-dealer; leads first + has more exchange rights.
- Younger
- Dealer.
- Point
- Player with longest suit scores 1 pt per card.
- Sequence
- 3+ consecutive cards in one suit.
- Pique
- Scoring 30 before opponent has scored anything = 30 pt bonus.
- Repique
- Scoring 30 in melding alone = 60 pt bonus.
- Capot
- Winning all 12 tricks = 40 pt bonus.
- Carte blanche
- Hand with no face cards = 10 pt bonus, declared before exchange.
Where it is played
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — Piquet— Wikipedia
- Pagat.com — Piquet— Pagat