Gleek (card game)


Gleek is an English card game for three persons. It is played with a 44-card pack and was popular from the 16th century through the 18th century.

History

Gleek is mentioned in several publications during the first half of the 16th century. The earliest known reference to Gleek has been traced by Micahel Dummett to Henry Watson's The chirche of the euyll men and women. However, the game called Gleek in that era more closely resembled the French game of Glic, known from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The best contemporary descriptions of Gleek in popular English form come from three sources: John Cotgrave, Francis Willughby, and Charles Cotton.

Etymology

From the Old French word glic.

Gameplay

Three players must be present for this game. Gleek was a fairly elaborate game in four main stages:
  1. Bid for Stock
  2. Vie for Ruff
  3. Gleeks and Mournivals
  4. Play Tricks
Cards are ranked Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4.
To begin, the dealer deals 12 cards to each player, 4 at a time. The remaining 8 cards are placed face-down on the table, stacked, and the top card is turned up to determine the trump.

Bid for Stock

This is the stage where players bid for the right to draw card replacements in hope of improving their hand. Only the highest bidder may do this.
Go around, bidding for the stock. Bidding begins at 13 pence. According to Willughby, the Eldest must open bidding.
Go around, raising 1 penny at a time, until no one raises. The winner pays out the amount bid, dividing it between the other two players.
Winner of the Stock must discard 7 cards, then take in the stock.

Vie for Ruff

This is the stage where players vie for who has the best ruff: the highest value of cards in a suit, counting court cards at 10 each, aces at 11 and numerals at face value. For example, a hand of has its highest ruff in clubs; 24.
A "ruff" refers to a suit, so the winner of the Ruff has the highest value of cards in a suit.
Everyone tosses tuppence into the pot as an ante and then bids begin. The first to bid may vie or pass; the others may see and re-vie, or pass. To vie or revie, players put tuppence into the pot; this declares that you think you can win the Ruff. To pass, say, "I'll have nothing to do with it". If a player says this, then he is out of the Ruff. To see, simply match the vies that have been made since it last came to you; you must see before you can revie.
It is not clear whether an initial pass takes you out of the bidding, or serves like a Poker "check", letting you see the first vie.
The Ruff ends when the bidding returns to the last player who vied. At this point, any player still in the Ruff shows the relevant cards, and the winner takes the pot. The whole process is very like Poker, but with only one kind of hand.

Gleeks and Mournivals

This is the stage where players declare their Mournivals and Gleeks.
Mournivals are four of a kind and Gleeks are three of a kind. A Mournival of Aces is worth 8 pence from each opponent. A Mournival of Kings: 6; a Mournival of Queens: 4; and a Mournival of Knaves: 2. Other four of a kind suits are irrelevant.
A Gleek of Aces is worth 4 pence. A Gleek of Kings: 3; a Gleek of Queens: 2, and a Gleek of Knaves: 1.
It is not clear whether players must show these cards upon declaration.

Play Tricks

This is the stage where players play their cards in tricks. Twelve tricks are played.
In this final stage, players play out 12 tricks as normal. The eldest leads this stage to the first of 12 tricks. Players must follow suit if they can, but may otherwise play any card. The trick is taken by the highest card of the suit led, or by the highest trump if any are played, and the winner of each trick leads to the next. Each trick provides a particular score and certain trumps add an additional value.
If a player holds a Tiddy, he may claim a consolation of 2 pence from each opponent, either at start of play or when he plays it to a trick. This optional rule may be ignored by prior agreement, as it is often forgotten. If it is allowed, then players should also agree whether to claim similar side payment of 5 pence and 6 pence when a Towser or Tumbler, respectively, are played.

Scoring

At the end of the game, players count 3 points for each trick he has won, and adds to this the point-value of any honours you may have played. Honours include Ace, King, Queen, and Jack. Furthermore, if the turn-up was an Ace, King, Queen or Jack, the dealer counts it in with his total.
Each player then either wins or loses the difference between this total and 22. In other words: If your count is less than 22 you pay to the pot a penny for each point by which it falls short of 22, and if it is more you withdraw from the pot a penny for each point in excess of 22. If all honors are in the player's hands, then the total points accrued in the trick-taking stage will be 156. With the specified three players, 156-=90, meaning that each hand, 90 pence more will be withdrawn from the pot at this stage than is placed into it. Since the pot is empty after the vie for ruff is complete, and there is no other time the pot is filled with pence, this will usually be impossible to perform as stated. What to do if the pot is empty, or whether a section of the game which adds to the pot is omitted here, is unclear.

Terms