Reversis
Reversis, or more rarely Réversi, is a very old trick-avoiding card game in the Hearts family. Its origin is uncertain, but it may have emerged in Italy before spreading to Spain and France. It is considered one of the two probable ancestors of Hearts, Black Lady and Black Maria, the other being Coquimbert or Coquinbert. It was very popular with the French aristocracy in the 17th and 18th centuries, and much played elsewhere, except in Britain. Initially quite simple, the game eventually developed more complex mechanics such as vast quantities of counters and a system of pools and side-payments. Its name may have possibly come from the reverse order and construction of the game itself, or even from its exceptional slam which, like "shooting the moon" in Black Lady, reverses the entire aim of the game.
History
The game of Reversis was first mentioned in France in 1601, under the name Reversin, played with a 52-card pack and is the subject of a poem written around 1611 by Antoine du Brueil. Jean-Baptiste Bullet suggested it was invented in the Court of Francis I. In the earliest version of the rules there was no Quinola nor was there a pool or other embellishments that appeared later. The game was won and lost based on the points taken in tricks – the player with the fewest points being paid by every other player – but a player 'making the reversis i.e. a slam, won outright. It may have been this latter feature that distinguished it from Coquimbert or La Gana Perde with which it is sometimes equated in the literature. By 1634, it had given a special role to the, known as Quinola, and added the features such as trading Aces, a pool and points for successfully discarding key cards. Further important additions were made to this otherwise subtle game; in particular towards the end of the 18th century in the form of options. In the 19th century, the increasingly popular game of Reversis saw its rules becoming more and more complex with the exclusive use of preceding options making it a high-tension kind of game. It was long thought to be a game of Spanish origin, once a 48-card pack was used, besides its counter-clockwise rotation and the words Quinola, name of a 17th-century Spanish admiral, and Espagnolette, but it more probably originated in Italy where a negative variety of Tressette called Rovescino is still played.In most games the highest cards were best in the usual method of play, but in Reversis the lowest had the preference. The Jack was a better card to play than the King, and one of them, the Jack of Hearts, was called the Quinola, just as at Primero. The strange incongruity of this inverted order of things made the Spaniards, when this game became known to them, give it the appropriate denomination of La Gana pierde, that is, the winner loses.
Common rules
Reversis is a trick-avoidance game where each player normally attempts to avoid taking tricks, especially those with counting cards in them. However, in the rare event of having a very strong hand, a player may attempt to 'make the reversis, i.e. take all tricks. The game is normally played by four players with a 52-card, French-suited pack, in later rules lacking the 10s, and ranking A K Q J 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2, Aces being high. There are no trumps. The traditional, higher, card values were: Ace 5 points, King 4, Queen 3 and Jack 2, remainder 0, making a total of 56 in the game. However, from the middle of 18th century, lower card values were introduced, being reduced to Ace 4, King 3, Queen 2 and Jack 1, giving a total of 40, while the or Quinola scored 4 if in the discard pile or partie.Deal and play are anticlockwise beginning with first hand. Each player plays one card to each trick. Players must follow suit if able, otherwise may play any card, some rules placing restrictions on what may be discarded. The player with the highest card of the led suit takes the trick and leads to the next.
At the end of each deal, players add up their card points and the one with the fewest points wins and is paid the agreed amount by the one with the most points. However, if a player takes every trick, called 'making a reversis, this takes precedence and that player wins the deal.
Ancient Reversis
Le Plaisant Jeu du Reversis des Dames or LPJR, describes the "ancient game of Reversis" played by "our fathers" alongside the contemporary rules. This "languid and sleepy" game was only played by four players, never five. There was no trading of Aces and the was just an ordinary Jack. No pool was used and there was no talon in the sense of a fixed payment for winning and losing.There was a tariff for each card point which could be as little as 1 denier or 1, 2, 3 or 10 sols. The one with the fewest card points was the winner and was paid by all three opponents; each one paying the number of points personally taken. Counters called jetons were used to keep score and players settled at the end.
Reversis (early 17th century)
Much of LPJR is devoted to a newer variant which, compared to Ancient Reversis, is "full of action and fire". Additional features include bonuses and penalties associated with the Aces and the Quinola, a fixed payment for winning, called the talon, and the feature of trading Aces. There was a five-hand variation in which players received 10 cards and discarded one.Preliminaries
A card is thrown on the table and further cards dealt individually to the players. The first to receive a card of the same suit as the table card deals first. The dealer shuffles and offers the pack to the left for cutting, before dealing 13 cards each, either individually or in packets. Players view their hands and make a single discard, face down. Alternatively, 12 cards are dealt and 4 laid aside.Trading. Before play begins, a player with an unguarded Ace may call for another Ace and trade it with the player who holds it. By agreement, the unguarded Quinola may also be traded for an Ace. Cards may not be re-traded.
Play
See [|common rules of play].Winning
Normal game. In a normal game, players count up the points in their tricks and the player with the most points is talon. That player has lost and pays the talon to the winner. If two or more players tie with the most points, the one with the most tricks loses; if points and tricks are equal, the number of counting cards decides. The score was kept in jetons which were converted to hard score at the end, the usual tariffs being: Ace 1, Quinola 2, talon 3 and reversis 4. A common alternative scheme was 2–3–6–9.Quinola. The owner of Quinola aims to discard it onto another suit in which he or she is void. There is normally no payment for this. An alternative rule is that its holder sweeps a pool into which all players – or just the dealer – have paid an agreed amount at the start of each deal. If Quinola is forced out by a Heart lead, the player who led to the trick is paid 2 jetons by its holder.
Reversis. A player making the reversis wins and earns the agreed rate from each other player. All payments made by the reversis winner during the deal are repaid. If the reversis is lost on the last trick, the player who broke it wins the talon and not the one who scored the fewest points. Payments made during the deal by the person who broke the reversis are returned.
Reversis (mid-17th–early 18th century)
By the mid-17th century, trading Aces has gone, but a pool is now standard and could now be won by a successful reversis as well as by a successful discarding of Quinola. The first lead had to be a heart if the player had one and players were not allowed to discard hearts when void in the led suit, with the exception of the K, Q and Quinola.The rate for Quinola was now 4 jetons if forced out but still 1 for an Ace. If Quinola was successfully discarded on another suit, its holder swept the pool and was also paid 2 jetons by the trick taker. A reversis winner swept the pool and earned 2 jetons from each opponent, as well as having any payments during that deal returned.
In a normal game, the loser 'paid the talon' to the winner, which was an amount equal to the pool.