Manille
Manille Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
Manille is, of all games, the one that offers the most variants. The most commonly used rule is the "coinchée", also called the "contrée". Coinchée is played in teams of two.
Order of the Cards
10, Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 9, 8, 7. Their respective value in each suit is: 10 (the Manille) = 5 points, Ace (the manillon) = 4 points, King = 3 points, Queen = 2 points, Jack = 1 point.
Setting Up the Game
The dealer (the one who draws the highest card) shuffles the cards, has them cut by the neighbour on the left, and deals 8 to each player, counter-clockwise. No card is turned up. If the dealer has a good hand, he or she sets the trump suit personally; otherwise the dealer charges his or her partner with doing so. The neighbour on the right plays first, laying down a card of his or her choice.
Course of Play
It is mandatory to follow the suit led. If an opponent is currently winning the trick (master), you must go higher (play a higher card). If your partner is master, you must follow suit, but not go higher.
When an opponent trumps, you must over-trump if possible, but you are not obliged to under-trump (throw a lower trump). In that case you may discard any card. When you cannot follow the suit played by the opponent, you must trump, except if the partner has already done so. The trumping rule is of course not mandatory at no-trump, where you only have to follow suit or discard. At Trump as at No-trump, the double (contre) and the redouble (sur-contre) are permitted provided they were announced at the start of the game. The double doubles the points of the side that took the contract if the contract succeeds, or those of the side that doubled if the bidder fails. The redouble quadruples the points.
Scoring
When the eight tricks have been collected, the points are counted: each trick is worth 1 point. In a deal there are eight tricks, so 8 points in all. In addition, the points of the cards taken in the tricks must be totalled. There are 60 in all.
To score, a side must make at least half of the 68 points of tricks and cards, plus 1. In case of a tie (34 each) the deal is void.
After each deal the dealer changes.
To record points, there is no need to write down all the points won. Simply count the points above the base of 34. Example: the team makes 42 points, that is 8 above 34. It scores 8 points.
At no-trump, the points scored are doubled.
The game is played to 50, 100 or 150 points, at Trump or No-trump.