Chouette
Chouette (French: owl ), formerly also Jouette , is a method that allows several people to take part in a two-person game.
Basic rules
- Before the start of the game, the order of play is determined (e.g. by drawing lots).
- In every single game there is a declarer and a main player , all other participants are only financially involved, they bet against the declarer on the victory of the main player.
- The roles change after each game:
- If the declarer wins, he remains declarer; the main player must leave his seat and join the end of the waiting list, the highest ranking becomes the new main player.
- If the main player wins, he becomes the new declarer, the previous declarer is moved back, all others move up accordingly and the highest ranking becomes the new main player.
Of course, this principle can also be used for games without money, then only the respective game pairings are determined in this way. The Chouette principle can be found in a modified form at
- Backgammon ,
- Barbudi
- Bézique
- Écarté (The game of Jouette or Écarté-Jouette [sic] was banned as a game of chance in 1933.)
- Gin rummy
- Liar Dice
- Piquet and
- Trappola
The bank or player change in baccarat or the change of thrower in craps follow a similar procedure. The Chouette principle is mainly used today in backgammon, but it probably has its origin in piquet (according to Dictionnaire de L'Académie française , Cinquième édition, 1798: On dit au jeu de Piquet, Faire la chouette, pour dire, Jouer seul contre deux ou contre plusieurs. ) or the Jeu de Paume, a forerunner of tennis .
About the meaning of the word
In French, faire la chouette means to play as declarer in a card game . This idiom is explained by the fact that the declarer is harassed and attacked by all other players, just as an owl is attacked by the other birds. ( Par contre si vous participez à une partie de jeu de paume, l'expression "faire la chouette", vient bien de l'oiseau. Il s'agit de jouer seul contre plusieurs adversaires, ainsi l'oiseau de nuit qui égaré de jour se fait poursuivre par plusieurs autres oiseaux peu amicaux à son égard. ) From a zoological point of view, this metaphor is certainly questionable.
proof
- ↑ Manfred Zollinger: History of gambling: from the 17th century to the Second World War , Böhlau 1997, ISBN 3-205-98518-4