Triomphe: Difference between revisions

| alt_names = Trump, Triumph, French Ruffruff

'''Triomphe''' (French for triumph), once known as '''French Ruffruff''', is a card game dating from the late 15th century. It most likely originated in France or Spain (as triunfo) and later spread to the rest of Europe. When the game arrived in Italy, it shared a similar name with the pre-existing game and deck known as ''[[Trionfi (cards)|trionfi]]''; probably resulting in the latter becoming renamed as ''Tarocchi'' ([[tarot]]). While trionfi has a fifth suit that acts as permanent [[trump (card games)|trump]]s, triomphe randomly selects one of the existing four suits as trumps. Another common feature of this game is the robbing of the stock. Triomphe became so popular that during the 16th century the earlier game of trionfi was gradually renamed tarocchi, tarot, or tarock.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dummett|first1=Michael|author-link1=Michael Dummett|title=The Game of Tarot|date=1980|publisher=Duckworth|location=London|page=84}}</ref><ref>Vitali, Andrea. [http://www.letarot.it/page.aspx?id=238&lng=eng Triumphs, Trionfini and Trionfetti] at Le Tarot Cultural Association. Retrieved 17 February 2017.</ref> This game is the origin of the English word "trump" and is the ancestor of many [[trick-taking game]]s like [[Euchre]] (via [[Écarté]]) and [[Whist]] (via [[Ruff and Honours]]). The earliest known description of Triomphe was of a [[point-trick game]], perhaps one of the earliest of its type; later, the name was applied to a [[plain-trick game]].

[[Hugh Latimer]] referred to the game of "Triumph" in 1529. The game is played in ''Gammer Gurton's Needle'', a comedy written around 1553 and [[William Shakespeare]] also mentioned the game in ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]'' (''c.'' 1607).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Parlett|first1=David |author-link1=David Parlett|title=The Oxford Guide to Card Games|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordguidetocar00parl|url-access=registration|date=1990|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordguidetocar00parl/page/54 54], 216}}</ref><ref>[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37503/37503-h/37503-h.htm Gammer Gurton's Needle] at [[Project Gutenberg]]. Retrieved 30 January 2018.</ref> An incomplete description of "Trumpe" was provided by Jacques Bellot, a [[Huguenot]] from [[Caen]] residing in London, in his ''Familiar Dialogues'' (1586). Like Vives and Maldonado, the game is described in a dialogue. He describes a four-player partnership game where the one who cuts the highest card becomes the dealer. Twelve cards are commonly dealt counterclockwise to each player but his characters opt for a shorter game of nine cards. The dealer cuts the stock to reveal the trump suit. The player who holds the ace of trumps gets to rob the stock. Only trumps have value. Kings are high and worth 6, queens 4, jacks 2, and all other trumps 1. Players [[Trick-taking game#Declarations|declare their trumps]] before trick-taking takes place. The game is abruptly interrupted, leaving the rest of the rules a mystery.<ref>[http://jducoeur.org/game-hist/familiar_dialogues.html Familiar Dialogues (excerpt, 1586)] at jducoeur.org. Retrieved 17 February 2017.</ref>

According to [[David Parlett]], the French game of Triomphe was known in England as '''Trump''' or '''French Ruff''', the latter name to distinguish it from the ancestor of Whist and Bridge, English Ruff.{{sfn|<ref>Parlett| (2008|), p=. 106}}</ref>

The rules are only known from ''[[The Compleat Gamester]]'', first published in 1674, and reprinted more or less verbatim until 1754.{{sfn|<ref>Cotton| (1674|), pp=. 121/122}}{{sfn|</ref><ref>Johnson| (1754|), pp=. 214/215}}</ref> A [[French-suited pack]] is used. They describe a game for two players or two teams of two or three players-a-side. Players cut for the deal and the player cutting the highest or lowest card, as pre-agreed, deals 5 cards each in packets of 2 and 3, before turning the next as trumps. Cards rank in [[Écarté]] order: K Q JKn A 10 9 7 6 (5 4 3 2). ItIf isthe uncleardealer whetherturns aup fullthe packAce isas used. Either waytrumps, the player with the Ace of trumpsdealer may 'ruff' (exchange) it with theanother trump upcardcard and, if agreed, may also exchange with the next card of the stock if it is a trump, continuing to exchange as long as trumps appear and laying out the cards discarded. This 'robbery' was known as 'ruffing' hence the name of the game.{{efn|According to Parlett 'ruff' appears to have meant robbing the stock which makes sense in the games bearing this name.}}

Players must follow suit or trump and overtrump if unable to follow; only discarding if unable to follow suit or trump. There is no requirement to head the trick. Winning three or four tricks scores 1 point, winning five tricks scores 5. If players agree, there are penalty points for incorrect dealing (1) or revoking (1 or 2). A player playing out of turn incurs 1 penalty point unless it is the last trick.

Gambiter assumes 52 cards are used; that the dealer may ruff i.e. rob the stock if he turns an Ace as trumps, that winning 5 tricks is only worth 2 points and that game is 5. Play is anti-clockwise and [[eldest hand]] (right of the dealer) leads to the first trick. However, it is not clear from what source these clarifications or changes are drawn from.<ref name=Gambiter>[http://gambiter.com/cards/Triomphe.html ''Triomphe''] at gambiter.com. Retrieved 19 December 2020.</ref>

Incomplete rules from [[Strasbourg]] when it was still part of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] were recorded in both French and German (as Trümpfspiel) in 1637.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Martin|first1=Daniel|title=Parlement nouveau|date=1637|location=Strasbourg}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Parlett|first1=David|author-link1=David Parlett|title=The Oxford Guide to Card Games|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordguidetocar00parl|url-access=registration|date=1990|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordguidetocar00parl/page/264 264]–265, 337}}</ref> Its rules are similar to the Dutch game of Troeven ("Trumps").<ref>{{cite web|last1=McLeod|first1=John|author-link1=John McLeod (card game researcher)|title=Couillon|url=https://www.pagat.com/couillon/couillon.html|website=[[pagat.com]]|accessdate=9 December 2016}}</ref>

The object of each hand is to capture cards with the most points. Aces are worth four, kings three, queens two, and jacks one; in total there should be 40 points. If a player achieves a slam (winning all the tricks), he will get 80 points. It was thus a [[point-trick game]], probably one of the earliest known.

Though Triomphe can be traced back to the 1480s in France,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dummett|first1=Michael|author-link1=Michael Dummett|title=Il Mondo e l'angelo|date=1993|publisher=Bibliopolis|location=Naples|pages=158–160}}</ref> the earliest surviving rules date to 1659. French Triomphe was played by four players divided into two partnerships with a 52-card deck.<ref>[[Charles Cotton|Cotton, Charles]], ''[[The Compleat Gamester]]'' ([https://books.google.com/books?id=6-lYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA57&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false1725 reprint of 1674 original])</ref> The order of the cards from highest to lowest is King, Queen, Jack, Ace, 10, 9 ... 2. Each player takes a card from the deck, the one with the highest card becomes the dealer and passes five cards face down to everyone. The remaining 32 cards form the stock. The dealer then turns up a card from the stock, the suit of that card will be the trump suit. An optional rule is that the player with the Ace of trumps gets to exchange the exposed card with one from his hand. He can do the same with the remainder of the stock taking any trumps until he exposes a non-trump.<ref>[[David Parlett|Parlett, David]], [http://www.parlettgames.uk/histocs/euchre.html#five Euchre:Five-trick trump games]. Retrieved 9 December 2016.</ref> This is called robbing the stock. If the dealer exposes an ace as the trump, then he gets the right to rob the stock. The current dealer picks the next dealer out of the opposing team.

Since the 18th century, the game has been played with a 32-card [[stripped deck]].<ref>[https://academiedesjeux.jeuxsocsalondesjeux.fr/triomphe.htm La Triomphe] (French) at Académie des jeux oubliés. Retrieved 17 February 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.jeux-de-cartes.com/jeux-de-cartes/triomphe/ Règle du jeu de Triomphe] (French) at jeux-de-cartes. Retrieved 17 February 2017.</ref>

* [[Cotton, Charles]] (1674) [https://books.google.decom/books?id=FupmAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA56&dq=%22the+compleat+gamester%22&hlpg=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj6i-v7vLznAhW-VRUIHbu1CpI4ChDoAQgoMAA#v=onepage&q=%22the%20compleat%20gamester%22&f=falsePA56 ''The Compleat Gamester'']. London: A.M.