Newmarket (card game)
 The ♦7 is a stop in the 1885 Hoyle rules. | |
| Origin | England |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Stops, Boodle |
| Type | Matching |
| Family | Stops group |
| Players | variable |
| Skills | low skill, high random chance |
| Cards | 52 cards |
| Deck | French |
| Related games | |
| Queen Nazarene, Pope Joan | |
Newmarket is an English card game of the matching type for any number of players. It is a domestic gambling game, involving more chance than skill, and emerged in the 1880s as an improvement of the older game of Pope Joan. It became known in America as Stops or Boodle before developing into Michigan. In 1981, it was still the sixth most popular card game in Britain.[1]
History
Pope Joan was an English gambling game with an elaborate staking board in the shape of a rotating multi-compartment dish whose popularity waned in favour of Newmarket in the second half of the 19th century. The earliest known rules appear in The Bazaar, Exchange and Mart in 1875. Although the description clearly mentions stop cards in addition to Kings, no provision is made for them and there are none in the example that follows.[2]
In America, it was also known as Newmarket to begin with, but later became known as Stops or Boodle before being superseded there by Michigan in the 1920s. Meanwhile Newmarket continues to be a popular family game in the UK, although both it and Michigan are being displaced by games of the Eights family. The 1885 American Hoyle contains the earliest transatlantic rules.[3][4]
Different rules use different cards on the staking layout which are from a second pack, except where stated:
- Heather (1875)[2] – ♦K, ♠Q, ♣Kn and ♥10
- Dick (1885)[4] – ♠A, ♥K, ♣Q and ♦Kn
- "Trumps" (1897)[5] – ♥A, ♦K, ♠Q and ♣Kn
- Dawson (1923) – ♠A, ♥K, ♣Q and ♦J
- Phillips (1957)[6] – ♥A, ♦K, ♠Q and ♣J
- Arnold (1988)[7] – an A, K, Q and J of different suits.
- Kansil (2001)[8] – ♥A, ♣K, ♦Q and ♠J
- Parlett (south London, 2008)[9] – four Kings from the player's pack.
- Parlett ("original rules")[9] – an A, K, Q and J of different suits.
Rules
An early description of the rules is given in 1885 edition of The American Hoyle on which the following is based:[4]
Preliminaries
Newmarket is a round game for any number of players using a pack of 52 French-suited cards from which the ♦8 has been removed. It requires a staking board to which the following cards from a second pack have been affixed: ♠A, ♥K, ♣Q, ♦Kn.
Any player shuffles the pack, has it cut by the person to his right and then deals one card, face up, to each player in clockwise order beginning with eldest hand (the player to his left). As soon as any player receives a Knave, he becomes the first dealer.
Stakes
Players stake an agreed number of chips upon any of the cards on the staking layout, distributing them as they choose. The dealer stakes double the amount in likewise fashion.
Deal and play
The pack is shuffled and cut before the cards are dealt in entirety, individually, beginning with eldest hand again. He also deals an extra hand for stops immediately before dealing to himself. There are no trumps.
Eldest leads the lowest card of any suit that he has and names the card as he does so. The player with the next higher card in suit sequence plays and names it. The cards rank from Ace (lowest) to King (highest). Play continues in this way until a stop is reached. A player may play several cards in succession as long as they are in suit sequence.
A stop is a card that stops the sequence continuing because no-one holds it or because it is the highest card; so the four Kings and the ♦7 are always stops. Also a card ranking immediately below a card in the spare hand are stops. When a stop is played, all the cards are turned face down and the player of the stop (the last card to be played), leads to the next round by playing the lowest card he has of any suit.
If a player plays any of the cards on the staking layout, he sweeps the stakes on that card. If the stakes on any card are not claimed during the round (e.g. because that card is in the spare hand), they remain in place for the next round. If any are left at the end of the session, they are claimed by lot.
Play continues until someone has got rid of all their cards and says "out!" He earns from each other player one chip for each card that player holds.
References
- ^ Parlett 1991, p. 3.
- ^ a b Heather 1875, p. 181.
- ^ Parlett.
- ^ a b c Dick 1885, pp. 259–261.
- ^ "Trumps" 1897, p. 330.
- ^ Phillips 1957, p. 220.
- ^ Arnold 1988, pp. 165.
- ^ Kansil 2001, pp. 272.
- ^ a b Parlett 2008, pp. 438–440.
Bibliography
- Arnold, Peter (1995) [1988]. The Book of Card Games. New York: Barnes & Noble.
- Dick, William Brisbane (1885). The American Hoyle. Dick & Fitzgerald, New York. Full view.
- Heather, H.E. (1875). "Newmarket" in The Bazaar, Exchange and Mart, September 11, 1875. London.
- Kansil Joli Quentin (2001). Bicycle Official Rules of Card Games, 90th edn. Cincinnati: USPC.
- Parlett, David (1991). A History of Card Games, OUP, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-282905-X
- Parlett, David (2008). The Penguin Book of Card Games, Penguin, London. ISBN 978-0-141-03787-5
- "Trumps" (1894). The American Hoyle, 15th edn. Dick & Fitzgerald, New York.