Pope Joan (card game)
Encyclopedia
Pope Joan, a once popular Victorian family game, is an 18th century English
round game of cards
for three to eight players derived from the French
game of Matrimony and Comete, and ancestor to its less elaborate relative Newmarket and Spinado.
Although its first published rules have appeared in Hoyle
's Games edition of 1814, the earlier reference to the game Pope Joan, originally called Pope Julius, comes from The Oxford English Dictionary in 1732.
, the Warrior Pope, or it probably derives from the legend that Pope John VIII
was actually a woman. As the Catholic Church denies a female pope, the legend was used as Protestant propaganda in the Victorian-Era, which also explains the popularity of the game in Scotland
.
Eldest leads first playing a card face up to the table. It may be of any suit, as long as it is his lowest card. For this purpose, cards rank A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K. If he has the next higher card of the same suit, he plays it too, and so on until he can go no further. The sequence is then continued by the player who holds the next card up, and if no one can play the next card up because it is in the dead hand, or because a King has been reached, a new sequence is started by the player who played the last card ("stop card"). As before, it may be of any suit, but must be the lowest he has of it. All Kings are of course stops, also the seven of diamonds; also the cards next below the dealt stops, and the cards next below the played cards.
The content (if any) staked to the Ace, King, Queen and Jack compartment goes to the player playing the said trump card, as does that for Pope. That for Intrigue can only be won if the same player is able to play Queen and Jack, as does Matrimony for King and Queen, if all three, those in the two compartments, and if they are in different hands these counters are sometimes divided. If any stake is not won, it is then carried forward to the next deal.
The first to play out all of his cards wins the stake for Game, plus one counter from each other player for each card remaining in his hand, except the player holding the Pope who is excused payment.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
round game of cards
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
for three to eight players derived from the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
game of Matrimony and Comete, and ancestor to its less elaborate relative Newmarket and Spinado.
Although its first published rules have appeared in Hoyle
Hoyle
Hoyle is a surname, and may refer to* Alan Hoyle, British basketball player and coach* Arthur Hoyle, Australian historian and biographer* Bert Hoyle , English football goalkeeper* Colin Hoyle, English football player...
's Games edition of 1814, the earlier reference to the game Pope Joan, originally called Pope Julius, comes from The Oxford English Dictionary in 1732.
Etymology
The game was presumably named after Pope Julius IIPope Julius II
Pope Julius II , nicknamed "The Fearsome Pope" and "The Warrior Pope" , born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513...
, the Warrior Pope, or it probably derives from the legend that Pope John VIII
Pope John VIII
Pope John VIII was pope from December 13, 872 to December 16, 882. He is often considered one of the ablest pontiffs of the ninth century and the last bright spot on the papacy until Leo IX two centuries later....
was actually a woman. As the Catholic Church denies a female pope, the legend was used as Protestant propaganda in the Victorian-Era, which also explains the popularity of the game in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Setup
A staking board is required, with eight compartments labelled Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Game, Pope (9), Matrimony (K Q of trumps) and Intrigue (Q J of trumps). Each player receives a number of counters, or chips, whose value is determined by the players involved in the game. The 8 is then removed from the pack to form a stop sequence, which classifies the game as a sub-group of the stop family of games. The aim of the game is to run out of cards before anyone does.Gameplay
The dealer "dress the board" by placing a stake of six counters in the compartment labelled Pope, two each to Matrimony and Intrigue, and one to each of the others. He then deals the 51 cards among the players as far as they go, but to one more hand than there are players, with the last card dealt to the dead hand turned for trumps. Cards in excess may be dealt to "stops," or an agreed number may be left for the purpose, so that all players may have an equal number of cards. If it is Pope (9), or the Ace, King, Queen or Jack, the dealer wins the contents of the appropriate compartment outright.Eldest leads first playing a card face up to the table. It may be of any suit, as long as it is his lowest card. For this purpose, cards rank A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K. If he has the next higher card of the same suit, he plays it too, and so on until he can go no further. The sequence is then continued by the player who holds the next card up, and if no one can play the next card up because it is in the dead hand, or because a King has been reached, a new sequence is started by the player who played the last card ("stop card"). As before, it may be of any suit, but must be the lowest he has of it. All Kings are of course stops, also the seven of diamonds; also the cards next below the dealt stops, and the cards next below the played cards.
The content (if any) staked to the Ace, King, Queen and Jack compartment goes to the player playing the said trump card, as does that for Pope. That for Intrigue can only be won if the same player is able to play Queen and Jack, as does Matrimony for King and Queen, if all three, those in the two compartments, and if they are in different hands these counters are sometimes divided. If any stake is not won, it is then carried forward to the next deal.
The first to play out all of his cards wins the stake for Game, plus one counter from each other player for each card remaining in his hand, except the player holding the Pope who is excused payment.
Strategy
The game only requires a little bit of attention in order to know what stops have been made in the course of play. Pope, is sometimes considered a universal "stop."See also
- Pope Joan
- Curse of scotland