Bezique Rules

Objective

You aim to hit 1,000 points as fast as you can by declaring bold melds and sweeping up brisques during tricks. In Bezique, the real magic isn’t just in winning cards, it’s in choosing that perfect second to reveal your hand. Get the timing right and the whole round tilts in your favor. It’s a wonderfully crafty game.

Material

Two 32-card decks shuffled together (64 cards total):

7♠ 8♠ 9♠ 10♠ J♠ Q♠ K♠ A♠

All four suits appear twice, giving you a hefty 64-card stack to navigate.

Card Ranking

Trick-taking order: A (highest), 10, K, Q, J, 9, 8, 7 (lowest)

Note: Tens jump to second place here, which always surprises newcomers.

Setup

Players: Usually 2. Works with 3 or 4 if you tweak your expectations.

Deal: Each player receives 8 cards in a 3-2-3 pattern.

Trump Determination: Flip the next card face-up. Its suit becomes trump.

Set the rest of the deck face-down as the stock. Leave the trump card visible at the bottom.

How to Play

Phase 1: Before Stock Exhausted

You don’t have to follow suit yet. Early play feels open and loose.

Trick Play

1. Non-dealer leads the opening trick
2. Opponent plays any card
3. Winner: Highest card of the led suit unless a trump steps in
4. Ties: First card down wins — a tiny rule with big impact

The winner sets the trick aside. Brisques will matter later.

Drawing Cards

After each trick, winner draws first, then the loser. Hands refill back to 8 cards.

Declaring Melds

After winning a trick and before drawing, a player may declare ONE meld by laying it face-up.

Important rules:

• Declared cards stay playable
• A single card may help several different melds
• But you cannot declare the same meld twice unless you use different physical cards

Phase 2: Stock Exhausted

Once the stock disappears, the tone changes sharply:

1. Must follow suit if possible
2. Must head the trick when you can
3. Must trump if unable to follow
4. No declarations allowed anymore

Play the remaining cards under these tighter rules.

Scoring - Declarations

Bezique Family (Q♠ + J♦)

| Declaration | Cards | Points | |-------------|--------|---------| | Bezique | Q♠ J♦ | 40 | | Double Bezique | Q♠ Q♠ J♦ J♦ | 500 |

Example: Hold Q♠ J♦ from different decks. Win a trick, call out “Bezique!”, show the pair and take 40 points.

Later, if you complete the second matching pair, announce “Double Bezique!” and enjoy a massive 500-point jump.

Sequences

In Trump Suit:

| Declaration | Cards | Points | |-------------|-------|--------| | Sequence | A-10-K-Q-J | 250 |

In Non-Trump Suit:

| Declaration | Cards | Points | |-------------|-------|--------| | Sequence | A-10-K-Q-J | 150 |

Royal Family (Trump Suit)

| Declaration | Cards | Points | |-------------|--------|---------| | Royal Marriage | K-Q of trump | 40 | | Common Marriage | K-Q non-trump | 20 |

Four of a Kind

| Declaration | Cards | Points | |-------------|--------|---------| | Four Aces | A♠ A♥ A♦ A♣ | 100 | | Four Kings | K♠ K♥ K♦ K♣ | 80 | | Four Queens | Q♠ Q♥ Q♦ Q♣ | 60 | | Four Jacks | J♠ J♥ J♦ J♣ | 40 | | Four Tens | 10♠ 10♥ 10♦ 10♣ | 10 |

With two decks, assembling four of a kind feels surprisingly achievable.

Sevens of Trump

| Declaration | Cards | Points | |-------------|--------|---------| | Seven of Trump | 7 of trump suit | 10 |

Special: Holding the trump Seven lets you exchange it with the visible trump card beneath the stock — a tiny move that often pays off later.

Scoring - Brisques

Brisques are Aces and Tens captured in tricks.

After all cards are played:

• Each Ace: 10 points
• Each Ten: 10 points

There are 16 brisques total, worth 160 points.

Example Brisque Counting

Your tricks include:

• 3 Aces = 30
• 4 Tens = 40
• Others = 0

Total: 70 brisque points

Last Trick Bonus

The final trick gives an extra 10 points.

Declaration Strategy

Timing Declarations

Early game:

• Reveal Four Aces or Kings early if you can
• Hold K-Q combos until you know whether they’ll become Royal Marriages

Mid game:

• Try building Sequences
• Chase Double Bezique when you already hold one matching pair

Late game:

• Declare anything left before the stock vanishes
• After that point, melds are frozen

Card Re-use

Take advantage of overlap. For example, A♠ K♠ Q♠ can help you build:

1. Royal Marriage = 40
2. Four Aces = 100
3. Four Kings = 80
4. Trump Sequence = 250

All that potential from just three cards.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Declaring Common Marriage too early when it might turn into Royal Marriage.

Mistake 2: Showing a Sequence without all five cards. You cant extend a partial one.

Mistake 3: Forgetting your declared cards still function normally. They’re not glued to the table.

Trick-Taking Strategy

Before Stock Empty

Winning tricks doesn’t always help early on. Focus on:

• Drawing toward key melds
• Controlling when you win
• Protecting cards needed for stronger declarations

Example: Opponent leads 8♦. You hold A♦ for future Four Aces. Play 7♦ instead. Losing now is fine if it helps you later.

After Stock Empty

Now the gloves come off. Tricks matter.

• Prioritize brisques
• Keep trumps ready for dangerous plays
• Track cards that have already vanished

Ending the Game

Game ends once someone reaches 1,000 points, unless you agreed on another target.

Final scoring:

1. Melds
2. Brisques
3. Last trick bonus

Variants

Rubicon Bezique

Uses 3 or 4 decks and targets over 1,000 points. Adds:

• Triple Bezique: 1,500
• Quadruple Bezique: 4,500

Six-Deck Bezique (Chinese Bezique)

A wild version using 6 decks (192 cards). Bigger hands, bigger chaos, bigger scores.

Polish Bezique

Tweaks meld values and adds regional combinations.

Three-Handed Bezique

Three players compete individually with adjusted rules and scoring.