What Is Rubicon Bezique?
Rubicon Bezique is the premium version of Bezique — with two full Bezique decks (128 cards), higher-value melds, and a ‘Rubicon’ rule that doubles the winner’s score if the loser fails to reach 1,000 points. It was Napoleon III’s favorite card game and hugely popular in Victorian England.
What You Need
- Two merged 64-card Bezique decks (four of each: 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A in all four suits = 128 cards)
- 2 players
- Score pad
Setup
- Deal 9 cards to each player.
- No trump upcard — trump is declared by the first player to declare a marriage (K+Q of same suit). That suit is trump for the game.
How to Play
Phase 1 (while stock remains): Players do not need to follow suit. Winner of each trick draws a card and may declare ONE meld by placing it face-up. Meld cards remain on table but can still be played.
Phase 2 (stock exhausted): Must follow suit. Aces and 10s won in tricks score 10 points each. Last trick = 50 points.
Premium Melds in Rubicon Bezique
- Bezique (Q♠ + J♦): 40 pts
- Double Bezique: 500 pts
- Triple Bezique: 1,500 pts
- Quadruple Bezique: 4,500 pts
- Carte Blanche (no face card in original hand): 50 pts, plus 50 each time you draw a non-face card
- Back Door (non-trump sequence): 150 pts
- Any sequence in trump: 250 pts
- Four Aces: 100 pts / Four Kings: 80 pts / Four Queens: 60 pts / Four Jacks: 40 pts
- Trump marriage: 40 pts / Non-trump marriage: 20 pts
Winning
When both players agree the game is over (usually after stock is exhausted and final tricks played), the player with the higher score wins. If the loser has under 1,000 points, they’ve been ‘Rubiconned’ — the winner scores their own total PLUS the loser’s total PLUS 1,000 bonus.
Strategy Tips
- Prioritize Double and Triple Bezique — these melds are worth enormous points.
- Don’t rush to declare trump — wait until a strong trump hand develops before declaring a marriage.
- In Phase 2, follow suit strictly — mistakes here can cost the 10-point cards.