Red nines
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Red Nines is a simple
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 ...
of the Stops family for four or more players. It is largely a game of luck, and is suitable for players of any age. Games with more than four players are best when played without hesitation. It has a modern variant called Pink Nines.


History

Games of the Stops family trace their history back to the 17th century French game of Hoc de Mazarin, named after
Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...
, prime minister to
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...
and an avid card player. Hoc was a three-stage game where the third stage involved getting rid of cards in numerical sequence with the aid of wild cards known as ''hocs'' or, in English,
stops Stop may refer to: Places *Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...
. It was this final stage that evolved into the much simpler game of Manille which was renamed
Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
on the appearance of
Halley's Comet Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the o ...
in 1682,Parlett (1991), p. 118. because the run of cards resembled a comet. In this game, the was called the ''Manille'' or ''Comet'' and was a wild card. The entire pack was dealt to between three and five players and the aim was to empty one's hand by playing cards out in sequence up to the King, suits being irrelevant._ (1718), pp. 153–159. In 1752, a variant called "New Comet" appeared which used two packs divided for play into a pack of red cards and a pack of black cards and in which the became the wild card in the red pack._ (1752), p. 215ff. Comet may well have been played in royal circles in Britain as early as the 17th century, shortly after its renaming. Red Nines appears to be derived from the older version of Comet, but with the addition of the as a wild card, the removal of certain cards from the pack, the dealing of cards to the table as 'stops' and a requirement to build in
suit sequence A run, straight or sequence is a combination of playing cards where cards have consecutive rank values.Parlett, David. ''The Penguin Book of Card Games''. London: Penguin (2008) p. 645. . They need not normally be of the same suit. However, if the ...
. Only the first change has been retained in the modern rules, which thus look very like 'ancient' Comet as it was called. It also resembles
Pope Joan Pope Joan (''Ioannes Anglicus'', 855–857) was, according to legend, a woman who reigned as pope for two years during the Middle Ages. Her story first appeared in chronicles in the 13th century and subsequently spread throughout Europe. The s ...
, which also builds in sequences in suit and has the as a special, albeit not wild, card. Red Nines itself is an old game, recorded as early as 1812 in a diary entry by Miss Fanny Chapman of
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
who described it as "a new game
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a good deal like
Pope Joan Pope Joan (''Ioannes Anglicus'', 855–857) was, according to legend, a woman who reigned as pope for two years during the Middle Ages. Her story first appeared in chronicles in the 13th century and subsequently spread throughout Europe. The s ...
but more amusing." In 1841 it is recorded as being played by British Army officers and their wives stationed in
Stony Hill, Jamaica Stony Hill is a residential neighbourhood in St. Andrew Parish, Surrey County, on the northern outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica. it had a population of 8,388. The St. Andrew Juvenile Remand Centre of the Department of Correctional Services, ...
with the
60th Foot The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...
. In 1858, it appears alongside Loo,
Vingt-Un Twenty-one, formerly known as vingt-un in Britain, France and America, is the name given to a family of popular card games of the gambling family, the progenitor of which is recorded in Spain in the early 17th century. The family includes the cas ...
and Pounce Commerce in Holme Lee's ''Ashburn Rectory'' in 1858. The first account of its rules appeared in 1881. The game was still well known enough in Britain in 1908 to be mentioned without explanation in a novel ''Lady Julia's Emerald'' as being played by well to do young folk. It is known to have been played in south-west London during the 1950s. Pink Nines appears to be a 20th-century variant played as early as 1930 and still listed in games compendia.


Red Nines (1881)

The following description is based on H.K. (1881).H.K. (1881), pp. 46–47.


Overview

Red Nines is a
round game The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to Bridge, Hearts, Poker or Rummy), ...
playable by "any number of players". This description assumes eight. The aim is to be first to get rid of one's hand cards.
Deal A deal, or deals may refer to: Places United States * Deal, New Jersey, a borough * Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Deal Lake, New Jersey Elsewhere * Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia * Deal, Kent, a town in England * Deal, ...
and
play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...
are clockwise and the deal rotates to the left after each game.


Equipment

A standard 52-card pack is used with the 2s and 3s removed to leave 44 cards. The red nines – and – are wild. Players receive e.g. 36 counters which are worth an agreed rate.


Deal

The cards are dealt singly and the first player to receive a Knave deals first. The
dealer Dealer may refer to: Film and TV * ''Dealers'' (film), a 1989 British film * ''Dealers'' (TV series), a reality television series where five art and antique dealers bid on items * ''The Dealer'' (film), filmed in 2008 and released in 2010 * ...
dresses A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a garment traditionally worn by women or girls consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice (or a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment). It consists of a top piece that covers ...
two pools: the Red Nine pool with e.g. 6 counters and the Red Ace pool with half that number. The dealer
shuffles Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome. __TOC__ Techniques Overha ...
and has the cards
cut Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut (e ...
before dealing five cards to each player in turn and placing the remaining 4 cards face down on the table. Only the dealer may view the table cards.


Play

Eldest hand Card players are those participating in a card game. Various names are given to card players based on their role or position. Position Games of Anglo-American origin In games of Anglo-American origin played in English-speaking countries, ...
begins by playing any card to the table, face up, and following it if possible with further cards in ascending
suit sequence A run, straight or sequence is a combination of playing cards where cards have consecutive rank values.Parlett, David. ''The Penguin Book of Card Games''. London: Penguin (2008) p. 645. . They need not normally be of the same suit. However, if the ...
. Aces and Kings are
stops Stop may refer to: Places *Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...
and allow a new sequence to be started. The sequences are arranged in rows with the cards overlapping. If a sequence cannot be continued because the required card is one of the table cards, the dealer (who knows what they are) cries "stop" and the player of the last card may start a new sequence, just as if an Ace or King had been played. A player who is able to play the two red Aces sweeps the contents of the Red Ace pool.


Winning and settlement of the score

The aim is to be first to shed all one's cards. The player who achieves this is the winner and receives from each other player 1 counter per card held or 2 counters if it is a red 9. A player who goes out with a red 9 sweeps the Red Nine pool and receives double payment from the opponents and quadruple for the other red 9 if held in another player's hand.


Red Nines (20th century)


Overview

The aim is to have the ''lowest'' possible score by discarding as many cards as possible. At the end of each round of
play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...
, the value of the cards remaining in a player's hand counts against them. The player who ends the round by discarding the last of his or her cards scores zero in that round. Players play the number of rounds equal to the number of players. Deal and play are clockwise. The main differences from the 19th century game are that: * No cards are removed from the pack; thus Aces are not stops * All cards are dealt and there are no table cards as stops * Suits are irrelevant * There are no pools or bonuses for 2 Aces or going out with a red 9


Cards

Four players use a complete 52-card pack (without jokers); an extra
suit A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of tr ...
is added for each additional player. With an even number of players there should be an equal numbers of red and black suits. With an odd number of players there should be one more
red suit In playing cards, a suit is one of the categories into which the cards of a deck are divided. Most often, each card bears one of several pips (symbols) showing to which suit it belongs; the suit may alternatively or additionally be indicated by ...
than black suits.


Deal

All the cards are dealt, so that each player has 13 cards.


Play

Eldest hand Card players are those participating in a card game. Various names are given to card players based on their role or position. Position Games of Anglo-American origin In games of Anglo-American origin played in English-speaking countries, ...
commences play by discarding cards in ascending numerical sequence. The player may start with any card, and may lay more than one of the starting card's
rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * H ...
, but only one of each rank thereafter. The player continues to discard cards in ascending numerical order until reaching a point where they do not have the next card, the
stop Stop may refer to: Places * Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck d ...
. The next player then continues the sequence if able to do so, otherwise that player must miss a turn and play is continued by the first player able to lay the required card. Players should announce their discards so that all players can follow what is happening easily; for example a player might say "Eight, nine, ten, jack, no queen". If the next player has a
queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
, it makes sense to lay it and if possible a
king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
as well. Kings are stops (they stop the sequence) and so, one discarding a king, a player may start a new sequence at any number, including another king. Play continues until one player discards the last card in their hand or "goes out". Sometimes no player will have the stop, everyone having announced e.g. "no Ten" (whatever the required card is). When this happens the player who was last able to discard plays again, beginning a fresh sequence at any point.


Red 9s

The red 9s ( and ) are
wild cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
and may be used to substitute for any card of a different rank. If a nine is the next number required in the ongoing sequence, a player with no nine other than a red one may say "no nine" and hold it in reserve. This could, however, be a risky strategy. It is not necessary to announce the use of the red 9 to substitute for any other card. The player simply announces the card that the red 9 replaces as if it was that card. It is up to the other players to observe that a red 9 is being used.


First turn

Being the first to discard in a round confers a useful advantage, especially if the player has one or more
ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...
s. The player may, as stated above, play more than one card of the same rank initially. After this, no player may discard more than one card of the same rank at a time (although discarding a king and starting again with another king can give the appearance of laying more than one king as a discard).


Winning and scoring

Each player has one opportunity to be the first to discard, so the number of rounds equals the number of players. After the end of the final round all the scores are totalled and the player having the lowest score is declared the winner. Each card from 2 to 10 scores its face value. Jacks score 11, queens 12 and kings 13. Aces, although representing 1 in the sequence, score 20. If a player is caught with a red 9 in hand when another player goes out, the caught player's score is doubled. Two red 9s would quadruple the score. Conversely if the last card discarded by the player going out is a red 9 that player should announce "out on a red 9", and the scores of all the other players are doubled.


Strategy

Success in Red Nines is mainly determined by luck rather than skill, although there are some opportunities for strategic decisions to be made. In general it is desirable to discard higher scoring cards when starting a sequence, especially an ace even if the player has no two (“ace, no two”). Deciding when to play a red 9 can make a big difference–they can be very valuable to fill in a gap, but getting caught with one should be avoided.


Pink Nines

Taylor and Parlett describe a game called Pink Nines which appears almost identical to 19th-century Red Nines.
Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...
recalled playing it in 1930 and it was still played in England in the 1970s. It is still listed in modern compendia. The Pink Nines are the same two wild cards – and . Players ante an agreed
stake Stake may refer to: Entertainment * '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game * ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film * "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams'' * ''Stakes'' (miniseries), a Cartoon Netw ...
to a pool, no cards are removed from the pack, four are dealt face down to the table and the rest are equally divided between the players with any remainder being added to the table stops. Play is as in classic Red Nines except that suits are disregarded and Aces, not Kings, are high. If all pass, the last to play starts a new sequence. The first player to shed all cards wins the pool.Parlett (1990), p. 117.


See also

*
Curse of Scotland The Curse of Scotland is a nickname used for the nine of diamonds playing card.The Oxford English Dictionary (1971) and Chambers 20th Century Dictionary (1983) give similar definitions The expression has been used at least since the early 18th c ...


Footnotes


References


Bibliography

* _ (1718)
''Académie Universelle des Jeux''
Paris: Le Gras. * _ (1752)
''La Plus Nouvelle Académie Universelle des Jeux''
Amsterdam and Leipzig: Arkstee and Merkus. * _ (1786). ''The Gentleman's Magazine'', Part II. * _ (1849)
''Colburn's United Service Magazine and Naval and Military Journal''
Part 1. p. 113. * Chapman, Fanny (1812). ''The Diaries of Miss Fanny Chapman''. 1812 diary. Original held by the
Alexander Turnbull Library The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''Nat ...
in the
National Library of New Zealand The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''Nat ...
. * H.K. (1881)
"Red Nines"
in ''Chess Player's Chronicle: A Monthly Record of Provincial Chess'', Volume 5. pp. 46–47. * Lee, Holme (1858)
"Ashburn Rectory"
in ''Littell's Living Age'', 3rd series, Vol. 1, ed. by E. Littell. New York: Stanford & Delisser; Boston: Littell, Son & Co. pp. 105–142. * Macnaughtan, Sarah (1909). ''Us Four''. J. Murray. p. 143. 'I believe she thought a game called "Catch the Ten" was admissible, but as she could never teach us the rules, we continued to play "Pope Joan", "Red Nines", "Five and Forty", "Loo", and, on birthdays, "Commerce" in the drawing-room.' *
Parlett, David David Parlett (born 18 May 1939 in London) is a games scholar, historian, and translator from South London, who has studied both card games and board games. He is the president of the British Skat Association. His published works include many pop ...
(1990). ''The Oxford Guide to Card Games: a Historical Survey''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, *
Parlett, David David Parlett (born 18 May 1939 in London) is a games scholar, historian, and translator from South London, who has studied both card games and board games. He is the president of the British Skat Association. His published works include many pop ...
(2008). ''The Penguin Book of Card Games'', London: Penguin, * Tucker, Eva (2009). ''Becoming English''. London: Starhaven. p. 19. * Woolf, Virginia (1930). Letter dated 30 Oct 1930 in ''The Letters of Virginia Woolfe'' ed. by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
975 Year 975 (Roman numerals, CMLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine wars#Byzantine resurgence, 863–11th century, A ...
p. 241. * Wylde, Katharine (1908)
''Lady Julia's Emerald''
J. Lane. {{Non trick-taking card games Shedding-type card games Stops group Round games