Nain Jaune

Yellow Dwarf is a shedding game in which the aim is to be first to get rid of all your cards. The 1760 version was played by 3 or 5 players using a full French-suited pack and 5 additional cards – the ♥K, ♠Q, ♣J, ♦10 and ♦7 or nain, the 'Dwarf' – which were placed face up on the table as a staking tableau.[9] These are the 5 honours (belles cartes).[7][lower-alpha 3]

Card are built in suit sequence,[9] unlike modern Nain Jaune in which suits are irrelevant. Within each suit, cards rank in their natural order, from lowest to highest: One[lower-alpha 4] to King. Certain cards were stops,[10] i.e. they 'stop' the sequence, and are known as hocs. The three permanent hocs are the Queen of Spades, the Jack of Clubs and the Ten of Diamonds. The 'Chief Hoc' (hoc principal) was the Dwarf, the Seven of Diamonds, and the four Kings were 'end-of-run' hocs (hocs de fin de suite).[7]

Dealing and play are anti-clockwise.[7] If three play, dealer deals 15 cards, individually, to each. If five play, 9 cards are dealt to each player. The remaining 7 cards are placed face down to one side as a talon and are not used during the deal.[9] Any card in the talon can act, in effect, as a 'stop' or 'incidental hoc' (hoc accidentel), preventing sequences from being completed.[7]

Eldest hand plays a card to the table to start the first run, calling out its name, e.g. "One" and may follow it by laying off the next higher card of the same suit if they have it e.g. "...Two". They may keep on adding cards until they cannot continue the sequence e.g. "...Three, Four and without (sans) Five".[9] They do not have to start with the lowest card. In turn, the other players continue to lay off as many cards as they can to the same suit sequence or say "pass" if unable. When a King is played to complete the run, the player calls "Hoc!" and may begin a new sequence with a card and suit of his choice.[11] Equally if no player can continue a sequence because the wanted card is in the talon, the player of the last (highest) card in the existing sequence calls "Hoc!" and may start another sequence. The player of a permanent hoc does the same. If a player has the Chief Hoc, it is wild and they may therefore play it at any time; equally they do not have to play it even if it is the next in sequence.[11][9]

Dealer antes 15 chips to the board as follows: 1 on the ♦10, 2 on the ♣J, 3 on the ♠Q, 4 on the ♥K and 5 on the ♦7.[9]

During the game, if a player plays a hoc (i.e. a King or an honour) and announces it, they receive 1 chip from each of the other players.[7] If a player plays an honour and announces it, they win the contents of the corresponding box as well. If a player forgets to announce his hoc, they forfeit the stake they would have won and it remains in situ.[9]

The winner is the first player to go out having shed all his cards.[9] The remaining players tot up their card points: courts being worth 10, Aces 1 and all other cards scoring their face value.[7] The winner is paid by each player the number of chips corresponding to the card points of cards left in his hand. If a player still holds the ♦7 they pay double. If they still hold an honour, they are bête and have to double the stake in the corresponding box. If the winner managed to shed all his cards without any of the other players being able to play at least one – they have an Opera – and the losers pay double.[9]

Because only the dealer pays an ante, a game comprises a fixed number of rounds, typically 10 (5 players) or 12 (3 players).[9]

The later game uses a bespoke board with five removable compartments or "boxes" decorated with imagery and the pictures of the 5 honour cards. In the centre is an image of a dwarf holding in his hand the seven of diamonds and, in each of the four corners, is depicted one of the other honours: the king of hearts, the queen of spades, the jack of clubs and the ten of diamonds.[8]

Key differences from the original game include:[7]

• Any number of players from three to eight may play
• Suits are irrelevant and so there is no requirement to follow suit
• All players ante stakes to the board, and hence a game can comprise any number of deals
• There are no permanent hocs nor a Chief Hoc
• There are no payments during the game except for the honours
• The payment system at the end of a deal is different

The game is less intricate and challenging and appears to have been designed to be speeded up with restrictions on the number of deals and players removed and the stakes greatly raised to increase its gambling potential.

At the beginning of the game, each player is given the same number of chips (jetons) e.g. five 10-point chips, ten 5-point chips and twenty 1-point chips each. Then the board is 'dressed' in that each player places chips in the boxes on the board as follows: one chip on the ♦10, two chips on the ♣J, three on the ♠Q, four on the ♥K and five on the ♦7 or 'Yellow Dwarf'. If there are any chips left from the previous round, they are kept and added to the new stakes.[8]

The first dealer is chosen by lot. The dealer shuffles the cards, offers them to the left to be cut and then deals to the right, in threes, a number of cards dependent on the number of players as shown in the table below.[8]

The game is played clockwise, so the player to the left of the dealer starts. They put down any card of his choice, calling out its value e.g. "Five!" and continues with the next cards in sequence if they can e.g. "Six, Seven, Eight...", regardless of suit. When they stop they announce "no ... " or "without ... " (sans...). For example, if they stop at nine they announces "... no Ten!" (sans dix). The player to his left continues the sequence if they can and if they wish, and so on. If none of the players can complete the sequence, the player who has stopped starts a new sequence with a card of his choice.[8]

When a player plays a king, they start a new sequence with a card of his choice.[12][lower-alpha 5] When a player places one of the cards represented on the board, for example the Queen of Spades, they announce "the Queen who sweeps" (Dame qui prend) and sweeps up the chips in the box corresponding to the card. If they forget to announce, the bet is lost for them and stays in place for the next game. If a player still holds one of the honour cards at the end of the game, they pay a bête to the board that matches what is in the box for that card.[8]

The winner of the round is the player who is first to get rid of all his cards. They win from the other players either as many chips as they have points left in their hand (each court card is worth 10, the rest count at face value). In counting points, pip cards are worth their face value, courts are worth 10 points each and Aces score 1 point each. If a player gets rid of all his cards at once the first time they are on lead, it is an "Opera" (or Grand Opera) and, in addition to the payment of the other players, they sweep the board.[8]

When the deal has been settled, the board is re-dressed for the next deal and the player to the right of the last dealer now becomes the new dealer.[8]