Mariage (card game)


or Mariagenspiel is a German 6-card trick-and-draw game for two players in which players score bonus points for the "marriage" of King and Queen of the same suit. The game, first documented in 1715 in Leipzig, spawned numerous offshoots throughout continental Europe and gives its name to the Marriage group of card games, the widest known of which is probably Sixty-Six. Many of these are still the national card games of their respective countries. It is unrelated to the Nepalese game of Marriage.

History

Parlett notes that "despite claims for its invention at Paderborn, Westphalia, in 1652, it is not attested earlier than 1715." That first record, which gives an incomplete sketch of the rules of Mariage-Spiel, is listed in a ladies' encyclopaedia printed in Leipzig that year. The game's entry said that the game was popular among ladies, and the entry for playing card listed as first among nine card games played with the German pack. Despite its name, at that stage the bonus-earning combination of mariage was for a King and an Ober of the same suit. Shortly thereafter, in 1720, Mariage-Spiel is included as an illustration in a sermon text alongside Labet and Piquet, which reinforces that it must have already been well known at that time.
The 1715 rules do not specify whether tens rank high or low and, as late as the 1820 re-edition of the Berlin Spielalmanach, one finds the comment that Mariagenspiel is the only game in which Tens rank high Contemporary readers of the 1715 rules would probably have assumed, incorrectly, that Tens were low. On the other hand, around the same time the related French game Brusquembille was already described with Tens ranking high. The fuller description given in later 18th century publications makes clear that Tens are high and also includes the bonus for l'Amour, Duseur or Douceur, the Deuce-Ten pair of the trump suit.
By the 19th century, the game is being played with French-suited cards and the feature of closing the stock has been added. The game of Sixty-Six first appears in 1860 as a variant alongside Mariage but, by the early 20th century, has superseded it; the last effective mention of Mariage being in 1905 when it was still described as being played with 32 cards and with bonuses for amour and whitewashing, all of which were dropped in Sixty-Six.

Earliest known rules (1715)

Rules

The 1715 rules were as follows:
Mariagen-Spiel is played by two players, each of whom receives a hand of 6 cards. Another card is turned face-up for trumps and can be robbed with the seven of trumps. While the stock lasts, after each trick players fill up their hands. As soon as the stock is depleted, players must follow suit.
A of Ober and Unter of the same suit is worth 20 points, or 40 points in trumps. The winner of the last trick receives 10 points. Players must not announce and shown a before they have won at least one trick.
The rules mention that some play a variant in which the bonus points for marriages are replaced by side-payments, so that there are always 130 points in a deal.

Ambiguities

A number of ambiguities in this description correspond to variations in the game's offshoots. The number of cards is not specified, although from the encyclopaedia's entry for 'playing card' and from other early rules for Mariage it follows that it was most likely 32. The scoring scheme is not explained, although it is likely to have been the standard Ace-Ten scheme. It is not specified when and how a is announced. In some modern variants, players can announce a from their hands at any time, or only after winning a trick. In others a occurs when Ober and Unter fall into the same trick. In the second phase of the game players must follow suit, but it is not specified whether they must win the trick if possible, or whether they must trump if they cannot follow suit. All these variations exist in modern offshoots of the game.

Mariage (18th century)

The earliest known more or less complete set of rules is listed in Palamedes Redivivus in 1739. It was described as "a very easy game" played with 32 German-suited cards. The pack is shuffled and cut before 3 cards are dealt to each player, non-dealer first. Then the dealer turns the next card for trumps before dealing another 3 cards to each player. Again the trump upcard may be 'robbed', i.e. exchanged by the player with the trump 7.

Announcements

In addition to the mariage of a King and Ober of the same suit, the player with the trump Ace and Ten may announce an amour or duseur Both must be announced before the stock is used up, although in the case of a mariage this can be done after picking up the last card. Players may only make these announcements if they have already taken a trick. An amour must be announced before a player declares any mariages. Apparently if played in ladies' circles the player announcing amour gave her playing partner a kiss, presumably in those days this was on the hand. This practice, we are told, was being extended to mixed circles.
Bonuses may count towards a player's point total or earn side payments in hard score. Thus a mariage in a plain suit is worth 20 points or earns 1 groschen or 3 pfennigs paid a parte. Both the amour and a bon mariage, i.e. mariage in the trump suit, are worth 40 points or earn 2 groschen / 6 pfennigs.

Playing

To begin with players do not have to follow suit. Once the stock is exhausted however, players must follow suit or trump if unable. If a player fails to win any of the last six tricks he is a 'dirtbag' and "had to be washed". The feat was known as a whitewash and scored another 40 points or earned 2 groschen/6 pfennigs.

Scoring and payment

If bonuses were paid a part, then sixty-six points were needed to win; if both players scored 65, the deal was a draw and the next deal was worth double. Although not stated, it is likely that card values followed the familiar Ace-Ten schedule and that there were 10 points for winning the last trick. A simple win was worth 2 groschen, but a player who failed to score 33 points was a Schneider or Modes Commissair and the winner earned a further 2 groschen.

Later descriptions

These rules were reprinted, with minor changes, in 1756 and 1769 in Die Kunst die Welt published in Vienna and Nuremberg. They included mention of a three-hand game – where players took turns to be the 'king', shuffling and dealing, but then not participating in the game except to receive the same winnings – and a multi-player variant which appeared to consist merely of players playing two-at-a-time around the table.

Mariage (19th century)

In 1820, von Abenstein records that Mariagespiel is now played with a 32-card Piquet pack, each player being dealt 3 cards, the 7th being turned for trumps and then each player receiving 3 more. The remaining 19 cards are placed face down to form the stock. Cards rank from highest to lowest as follows: A > 10 > K > Q > J > 9 > 8 > 7. Cards score as per the usual Ace-Ten system and the last trick scores an additional 10 points.

First phase

In the first phase, players need not follow suit; nor are they required to trump if they have no card of the led suit. As usual, a player with the trump 7 in his hand may use it to 'rob' the trump upcard.
Bonuses are paid in hard score. Both cards of a mariage must be held in the hand and shown at the time or its suit named. As before, a player must have taken a trick in order to declare a mariage, which may be done at any time until the first trick of phase 2 is led. No rules are given around amour, but it is likely that they are similar to those in the 18th century descriptions.
A new rule is that a player may 'close the book' which means that no more cards may be drawn from the stock. This is an undertaken to win the deal or even the game from one's hand cards. If the bid fails, the opponent automatically wins regardless of whether he has the most card points or not. As soon as the book is closed, phase 2 rules on following suit and trumping apply.

Second phase

Once the stock is exhausted, players must follow suit or trump if unable. Announcements may no longer be made. However, now a whitewash must be announced to count.

Scoring and winning

Sixty-six card points are needed to win the deal; if both score 65, the winner of the next deal is deemed to have won both. If a player fails to make 33 points, it is a matsch and he loses double.
The value of a simple game is two chips; a double game earns four. A plain mariage earns a bonus of one chip, a bon mariage, two chips, and an amour, three chips. A whitewash earns six chips if won and costs six if lost.
Von Abenstein gives two other 'soft' scoring options. The first is that lines or strokes are chalked up on a slate instead of paying chips and the first to 9 strokes wins. The second is to agree a starting total such as 27 and deduct one every time instead of paying a chip. The first to zero is the winner. Closing the book may be done to win a deal or the entire game.

Three- or four-hand variants

Von Abenstein records another three-hand game played "in many regions" using 36 cards, then goes on, paradoxically, to say that it is "very rare" and will probably not catch on. Each player is dealt 5 cards only and, after each trick, players replenish their hand cards in turn. Announcements are made as per the two-hand game except that they are paid by each opponent. Again, the player with the most card points at the end of the deal wins.
He also describes a four-hand game called Cross Mariage where each player is dealt 8 cards, the last one, which belongs to the dealer, determining trumps. Melds are made at the beginning, in turn starting with forehand, and the bonus is paid by each of the three other players. Again the winner is the player with the most card points at the end of the deal. There is no matsch and a player achieving a slam earns 8 chips from each player. From the outset, players must follow suit, trump if unable and head the trick if possible. The game is also played in pairs i.e. each player always playing apparently only with the one opposite him.

Closing the stock

19th century game anthologies describe closing the stock as a standard element of the game. This does not appear in the earliest published rules, though, and the later rules are very sketchy about the details of winning and scoring.
In the first phase a player may have cards good enough to win the game even without drawing further cards. To abbreviate the game and increase the odds of making match, the player can close the stock.
A player closes the stock by putting the turn-up card crosswise on top of the stock. The opponent may immediately make any undeclared melds he or she still holds. After this, the second phase starts.
It is implicit in the 19th century rules that it is not sufficient that the player who closes the stock win more points than his or her opponent. In fact, the rules states explicitly that if the player fails to win, the opponent wins even though he or she may have fewer points. However, they do not state the precise winning condition.

Variations

For three players, 19th century German anthologies recommend playing the basic two-player game with one player pausing, but briefly describe a 5-card variant for three in which all players play separately. The game is won by the player who wins the greatest number of points.
Several modern games such as Mariáš, Tysiąc and Ulti are best understood as three-handed -based solo games. These games were developed by the influence of Skat mixed in Marriage-family card games. Marias for three players is no-drawing game, some variants use a bidding process like Contract bridge. You can play this variant in four players too, there are 10 tricks made by three players and two cards put-off in talon. Another variants of Marias are four-handed solo games or five-handed.

Footnotes

Literature