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“Contrée” in English
“Contrée” (to be pronounced with a strong French South accent), or “Belote

Contrée”, or even “Coinche” or “Belote Coinchée” (term used in the North of France,

which means, from a southern-French point of view, everything above Avignon), is a

game of cards derivated from belote - no surprise up to that point. More interesting

than belote for it replaces the random choice of the colour by a bidding system,

“Contrée” stands right between Tarot and Bridge: subtler than the the first one

(game’s control is far more important) and less formal than the second one (whose

declarations are, usually speaking, a bit tiresome, aren’t they?), “Contrée” is the

ideal cards’ game no matter the time, no matter the season, the weather, and so on…

A tournament of “Contrée” is a delicious dish of tension, subtlety, mistakes and

strokes of genius …!!! Ready to play?

Well, before starting reading the rules (sorry, there’s no escaping this step…), it

seems useful to me to remind that “Contrée” is a game, hence its main goal isn’t

bothering you, but on the contrary giving you a way to have a good time: once you’ve

assimilated all the rules (and remember that practice makes perfect, so… just

practice!), you will discover all the subtleties of the game, which will then prove to

be a GREAT game!!!

The novice’s section for Contrée

• Elementary principles

• Order and value of cards

 • How to take a trick

Elementary principles
To play “Contrée”, all you need is a deck of 32 playing cards : one can easily

recognize a player of “Contrée” for wherever he stands, he always has one within

reach!!! “Contrée” is a 4-player game, 2 in each team. (For purists: there exist rules

to play “Contrée” at 3 or even 2, but they're far less interesting …). Both team mates

take their seats one in front of the other around the table. The game is played in the

inverse direction of the hands of a clock. The way to deal cards will be examined in

detail later: nevertheless, you have to know that the first player is the one who is at

the dealer's right. It's he who will first have the deal.

What appears generally the toughest to novices is the order of cards, which is, I have

to admit it, very particular! Anyway, some simple rules and you'll know it by heart

quickly…

First, you have to know that at each hand (that is each time cards are dealt), a colour

is chosen (at the end of a bidding system that'll be described later) to be the trump.

Beyond that point, we'll then distinguish "normal" colours from the trump's one. The

team that chosed the trump is called the attacker and the other one is the defense.

Order and value of cards

Let's begin with the "normal" colours: the ace is the strongest card and is worth eleven

points ; the ten follows it (well … how strange this idea is, isn’t it?) and is worth ten

points (easy to remember: 10 = 10 points!) ; then comes what we could call the

standard order to complete the list: in descending order, the King is worth 4 points,

the Queen 3 points, The Jack 2 points, the 9, the 8 and the 7 aren’t worth a penny

(but the 9 is stronger than the 8 which is stronger than the 7 all the same). The first
thing to do when learning “Contrée” is at stake is to swallow this order slowly so that

you can digest this little oddness …

Here you are, you succeeded in learning the order? Then I've got some news for you: a

good piece of news, and, well, a bad one … Let's start with the good one: I'm very

proud of you!!!!! Now, inevitably, the bad one: the order for the trump's colour is

different from the order we've just seen for "normal" colours!!! Wait don’t go! It's

different, right, but it's slightly different: nothing changes (order and value) except

for the Jack and the 9: the Jack trump takes the leading of the group and is worth 20

points (which is why it's sometimes called the Twenty), directly followed by the 9

(we're still in the trump's colour, don’t forget it!) with 14 points (and this explains

why it's so often called the Fourteen).

I bet you would really appreciate a summary table … Alright, here it is:
Order and value of "normal" cards Order and value of trumps
Ace 11 points Jack (or Twenty) 20 points
10 10 points 9 (or Fourteen) 14 points
King 4 points Ace 11 points
Queen 3 points 10 10 points
Jack 2 points King 4 points
9 0 point Queen 3 points
8 0 point 8 0 point
7 0 point 7 0 point
Once you've learned this table, your toughest work as a novice is over!!! Waow, party

tonight! Well, no! Wait a little bit before opening the Champagne, there are still

some notions to learn … You can from now on notice that the sum of the values of the

cards is worth 3*30+1*62=152 ; nevertheless, the actual sum is worth 162 for the last

ten.
How to take a trick
If an order exists, it's simply because during a trick (ie a round, where each player

lays a card on the table in a predetermined order …), the player who takes the

abovementionned trick is the one who lays the strongest card in the colour that has

been asked (ie the colour of the first card laid at the beginning of this trick) ; the goal

of a hand is therefore clear: the more tricks, the merrier … (at least to make the

maximum of points). The player that has, at a peculiar moment, laid the strongest

card of the trick is called master.

Nevertheless, the trump has its own role: whenever a player doesn’t hold any card of

the colour that's currently played, he has (under certain circumstances that will be

given when our friends "the beloters" will have joined us) to lay a trump's card (one

says he is cutting), which makes him master insofar as noone before him cut or laid a

trump stronger than his trump. If he doesn’t hold any trump either, he can (and in

practice, he has to) discard himself of a card. The trump's turns take place exactly

the same way (just one difference: one can’t cut trump!). A very important rule for

trumps: whenever the case occurs (ie would it be to overcut or to lay a trump in a

trump's turn), one has, if he can, to rise at trump (ie to lay a stronger trump than the

strongest already laid). We'll see in a while with our friends "the beloters" which rule

to follow if one doesn’t hold a stronger trump.

The master at the end of the trick takes it and has the deal, ie he's the first one to lay

a card at the following trick.

The last trick is worth 10 points: it's hence very important to take it.

Contrée for beloters

 • The dealing out

• Determintation of the trump: the bidding system

• Extra rules for the unfolding of a trick

• Scores

The dealing out

The dealer (the one at the immediate left of the “cutter”) deals the whole deck of

cards (a short division leads to 8 cards per player) according to 3 variations: 3 cards,

then 2 cards, and eventually 3 cards (the only “official” dealing out, called the

defensive dealing out) ; slightly different, 3/3/2 ; and last but not least, the offensive

dealing out: 4/4 which entails usually the most interesting games… The first player is

the one at the left of the dealer. The cutter changes at each hand of the game (the

ex-dealer becomes the cutter, and so on…).

Determination of the trump: the bidding system

The trump is determined during the bids: each player, in the order of the game,

announces, according to his wishes, a contract on a colour (there are no contract

without “no trump” or with “all colours are trumps”), which fits with the minimum

number of points that he thinks he can take with the colour in question as a trump.

As the total number of points is 162, the minimum possible contract is 80. The bids

always rise, and rise strictly (a player who wants to announce something has to

propose a higher contract) by steps of 10. The highest contract at the end of the bids

(which can last for more than just one turn of the table insofar as a player doesn’t

speak “over himself”, ie rises his own contract) determines the trump's colour for the

hand to come.
Besides the numerical declarations (these are 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, or

160), one can announce a “capot” (I’m afraid I don’t know any translation for this

term: to be “capot” means simply not to take a single trick…). A “capot” is the

maximum declaration and means that the attacker has to take all the tricks of the

hand. The “capot” is the ultimate goal towards which all the declarations should tend

and is at the ground of all the declaration system. Some people pretend (but they’re

overstating, don’t forget where the roots of the game are: in the south of France…)

that a “capot” should occur every two hands!!!

Eventually, two other declarations are possible during the bids ; one can double (in

French, the verb is “contrer” and explains the name of the game) a declaration: one

bets that the last declaration won’t be kept (the contract will hence be down) ; no

more declaration can be made as soon as a contract is doubled (the trump’s colour is

therefore determined by the declaration that has been doubled): the only reply for

the team that has been doubled is to redouble, which means to bet that the doubled

contract won’t be down. In any case, bids are over after a “redouble”. These two

declarations have of course some drastic fallouts on scores. They have to be made

promptly, which means that any player can double or redouble as soon as the

declaration is made, but that once a declaration is made, there's no doubling the

former one. These declarations can only be made under an essential circumstance:

one has to bang his fist on the table!!!

A very important teamwork lies hidden in the bids: indeed, if one’s team mate

declares something, one has of course to take it into consideration before speaking ;

in particular, one has to answer one’s team mate making declarations that will help

him understand whether the suggested colour fits or not. Some simple rules to

understand these bids and answers' system will be seen later …

Eventually, the fact to hold the belote (ie to hold in the hand the King and the Queen

of the trump) allows when attacking (and only when attacking) to be given a margin

of 20 points to fulfill the contract (for instance, 60 points are enough with the belote

to an 80-point contract) and is to be declared by saying “belote” while laying the first

card of the couple, and “rebelote” when laying the second one.

Let's sum up, bids are over:

• if no declaration is made by 3 consecutive players

• after a declaration of a “capot” if noone doubles

• after a double, if noone redoubles

• after a redouble, in any case!

The bids are, strategically speaking, a major moment in the game ; it's them that

make the “Contrée” more subtle and less grounded on fate than the normal belote.

They are hence not to be neglicted!

Extra rules for the unfolding of a trick

To a great extent, a trick unfolds itself the same way in “Contrée” and in belote. But

one has to note that:

• if, in a turn, one's team mate is master, one doesn’t need to cut if one doesn’t hold

the colour currently played and can discard himself of any card..

• a player that can’t overcut needn’t undercut (lay a weaker trump) but can discard

himself of any card (NB: this rule isn’t accepted unanimously, and beloters

particularly are against it ; but my opinion is that it's necessary to assure subtlety,

flexibility and keenness in the game). Don’t forget that this rule can only be applied

when someone cuts a colour: if trump is the color currently played, one has to lay a

trump (whatever its value may be) if one holds one!

Scores
There are different ways to count points (mainly 3 ways: declared points, made

points, and made points + declared points). I just present the one I use for it seems to

me it's the one that equilibrates the best the game: indeed, when only made points

are summed, players won’t be tempted by the highest contracts ; on the other hand,

declared points prevent from an effective bidding system … Using made points +

declared points presents a good alternative: the principle is to add the value of the

contract with the total of points reached during the hand.

Generally speaking, the points of the defense are counted first, then one easily

checks whether the contract of the attack is down or not by a substraction (attack =

162 - defense). If it’s not down, the defense is being given the total of points reached

during the hand corrected to the nearest ten, and the attack is being given 160 points

- this correction + the value of the contract. If it’s down, the defense is being given

160 points + the value of the contract as if they were the attackers and had won by a

“capot”, and nothing is given to the attack. To achieve this system of counting, let’s

point out that a “capot” is worth 250 points (and therefore a “capot”, no matter if it's

down or not, is worth 410 points…), and that the belote, though giving a margin of 20

points to the attack, is never counted in the total of points. Finally, a double doubles

the value of a contract (well … very surprising, isn’t it?) and a redouble quadruples it.

Eventually, the winner of the game is the first team to reach 2000 points. I just would

like to emphasize the fact that these rules are mine, which means that you could

encounter other players who will use very different ones. Nevertheless, these seem to

me very pleasant to use!

» Dom’s Home (nimbustier.net) » “Contrée” in english

Everything you should know to become a
real player of “Contrée”…
The most difficult part in learning how to play “Contrée” is of course to assimilate the

rules … But, since it's done (isn’t it?), you can now learn all that makes “Contrée”

crisper…

• The vocabular of a player of “Contrée”

• Some tactical advice

• Fair play in “Contrée” …

The vocabular of a player of “Contrée”

Some of the following terms aren’t restricted to “Contrée”, others are only restricted

to a particular kind of players…

the Twenty: the Jack of the trump, master of the game, to which all the other cards

yield…

the Fourteen: the damned soul of the Twenty, the 9 of the trump, who keeps playing

some nasty tricks to imprudent players… Better hold it!

to hold a nth card: means that one holds n cards in the colour of the

abovementionned card (including it) ; very useful when talking about Aces or master

cards… Any player of “Contrée” will advise you to keep an eye on a third Ace, or

worse, on a fourth ten. Just play, you'll quickly understand what I'm trying to explain!

to hold a dry card: to hold a "first" card… Very annoying to hold a dry Fourteen for

instance…
to finesse : not to play a card you know is master (typically an Ace) to make more

points at the next turn on the colour… Hazardous but sometimes very useful…

a give-points-operation: to lay a card of high value in a trick where your team mate is

master to save a maximum of points… Sometimes necessary, sometimes not…

non conventional declaration : typically, the declaration of a player more or less

discreet (usually less) and more or less authorized (usually more!!!) to his team mate

during the bids… Warning, most of non conventional declarations are standard (ie

conventional!!!!!!!).

to start in a pair of shorts : to have really overestimated your game!!!

to start in tanga: to have well smoken your game!!!!!!

to start totally naked: to have hallucinated your game!!!!!!!!!

to small-play : to have a little bit underestimated your game ; the main default of

novices!

little-followed of a contract (typically a 80 or a 90 contract…): non conventional

declaration very useful to say a little more than what is usually allowed ; helps your

team mate understand that the declaration you've just made doesn’t lie on

conventional roots…

Moreover, if a player makes at a peculiar moment a strange allusion on mosquitos,

feelings, windows, or chance (note: for non French people that just don’t understand

a word in French, these allusions are linked to the names of the colours…) you can say

that he's cheating!!! (more exactly, there is a non conventional declaration)

Some tactical advice
Firstly, here is the most simple and most traditional declaration’s system:

- 80: the player who makes this declaration holds one of the two master trumps (the

Twenty or the Fourteen), usually followed by something like 2 other trumps or 3

depending whether he holds the Twenty or not. In particular, there's no answering (ie

rising the contract on the same colour) such a declaration if one doesn’t hold the

other master trump (the Fourteen or the Twenty) or if one holds it dry…

- 90: the player who makes this declaration holds the two master trumps (the Twenty

and the Fourteen), usually a third one, but not a lot of master cards in the other

colours. To answer a 90, one has to hold a few trumps (basically 3) and at least an

Ace.

- 100: the player who makes this declaration is hardened when it comes to trumps (he

holds the first 3 master cards plus one), and is asking for the Aces of his team mate,

who can answer by increasing the contract by 10 per Ace he holds in his hand…

Higher declarations can or not have a signification: this is where teamwork starts.

What remains the same is that one increases the contract by 10 per Ace for any

declaration upper 100! Bids are the main part of the game, one has hence to be fine-

tuned with one's team mate on the subject!!! The system described above is anything

but official, so the best piece of advice I could give you is to develop your own system

(with your team mate of course!)

The rules of behaviour during the game are: for the attackers to control the trumps,

ie to have all the trumps of the defense laid on the table as quickly as possible by
making trumps' turns. The defense as for it must have the attack cut on small tricks,

and must save the maximum of points.

During the unfolding of the game:

- the best would be to count all the cards that have been played, to know exactly

where you stand in each colour… Go on Rainman, you can do it!

- it's nevertheless usually sufficient to count the master cards and the trumps…

- but it's absolutely NECESSARY to count the trumps if you can’t focus on the 4 colours

at a time!!!

You always have to keep in mind that the last trick is worth 10 points, so whatever

may occur, you have to take it! Moreover, before to double someone, don’t forget

that the belote is worth 20 points… And eventually, during a very tightened contract,

fill free to finesse, which will prove to be very interesting if you're looking for a good

result.

You will be seen as a real player of “Contrée” if you fulfill the two following steps:

you always have within reach a deck of 32 playing cards, and you use that type of

score's sheet…
You'll note the score of your own team in the N column (N stands for "Nous" in French,

ie Us in English) and the score of the other team in the E column (E stands for "Eux",

ie Them). Great, now you've entered the temple of all the players of “Contrée”!!!

Fair play in “Contrée” …

Unlike many games, fair play in “Contrée” is not a fundamental rule!!! In fact, the

main point is to find a moderate middle between fair play and bad temper… Basically,

when you're with friends, to the extent where it's not too apparent, cheating can be

allowed (which explains the importance of non conventional declarations!!!).

Moreover, when the tension is at its paroxysm (at the end of a game, when a hand is

doubled or when a "capot" is engaged), trying to destabilize your opponent (by

throwing him a "you're fat and ugly!" in the face for instance, private joke!!!) isn’t to

be excluded… Nor can be excluded the possibility to lay your whole hand on the table

saying "Now I'm the master, gimme your cards", very pleasurable…

Eventually, keep in mind that “Contrée” is a game that comes from the South: said

differently, laziness is the rule… (and I know what I'm talking about, I come from

there!). In particular, a main rule to be applied is that the dealing out is tiring and

you should always try to have an opponent deal for you (by cutting whereas it's not

your turn, for example…), all the more so as it gives your team mate the hand…
Let's summarize: you can use insincerity thriftily with cleverness, just be respectful

towards your opponents, else …