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 (such as poker). A small number of card ...

s, a meld is a set of matching cards, typically three or more, that earn a player points and/or allow them to deplete their hand. Melds typically come in sequences of ascending cards belonging to the same suit known as '' runs'' () or ''sets/groups'' of cards of identical rank (). Other ones may be ''marriage'' (e.g. K and Q) and ''bezique'' (Q and J). Melding is typical in games of the rummy family, such as

canasta Canasta (; Spanish for "basket") is a card game of the rummy family of games believed to be a variant of 500 Rum. Although many variations exist for two, three, five or six players, it is most commonly played by four in two partnerships with tw ...

and gin. It is also used in other games such as

mahjong Mahjong or mah-jongg (English pronunciation: ) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players (with some three-play ...

. Melds are also made in some trick-taking games, such as

pinochle Pinochle (), also called pinocle or penuchle, is a trick-taking, Ace-Ten card game typically for two to four players and played with a 48-card deck. It is derived from the card game bezique; players score points by trick-taking and also by form ...

and

bezique Bezique () or Bésigue () is a 19th-century French melding and trick-taking card game for two players that came to Britain and is still played today. The game is derived from Piquet,''Transactions of the Philological Society'', Philological Socie ...

.Parlett (2008), pp. 287-291, 295-296.

References

Bibliography

* Parlett, David. ''The Penguin Book of Card Games''. London: Penguin (2008). . Card game terminology {{card-game-stub

See also

References

Bibliography