Coinche Rules (French Contract Belote)

Game Overview

La Coinche, also known as La Coinchée, La Belote Coinchée, or La Belote aux Enchères, is a popular French contract card game that originated from the Jass family of games. It is played by four players in fixed partnerships, using a 32-card deck, and requires strategic bidding and careful play to score points and win the game. You can purchase a 32-card coinche game on Amazon.

Objective

The primary objective in La Coinche is to win tricks containing valuable cards, with the goal of reaching a score of 2000 points or more to win the match. Additional points are awarded for winning the last trick (10 points for dix de der) and for holding the king and queen of trumps together in hand (20 points for belote).

Setup

The game is played between two teams of two players (North/South versus East/West). Deal and play are anticlockwise. The first team that reaches a score of 2000 points or more wins the match.

The suits in La Coinche are cœur (hearts), carreau (diamonds), trèfle (clubs), and pique (spades). In a French pack, the aces and picture cards have indices: 1 = As (Ace), R = Roi (King), D = Dame (Queen), V = Valet (Jack). The ranks and point values of the cards are different in the trump suit from the other suits.

How to Play

The Deal

The dealer is chosen by lot at the start of a match, and thereafter the turn to deal passes to the right after each hand. The dealer shuffles the cards (they must be shuffled before the first deal) and the player to dealer’s left cuts. The dealer then deals all the cards: a batch of 3 cards to each player beginning with the player to his right, then two cards each, then three again (or the cards can be dealt 3-3-2 or 2-3-3).

The Bidding

The players speak in turn, beginning with the player to dealer’s right. Each player may:

1. Pass, which does not prevent the player from bidding in future if some other player has bid meanwhile. If all four players pass, the cards are thrown in, and the next dealer deals a new hand.
2. Bid by announcing the number of points his team will try to take in tricks, and the suit he would like as trumps. The bid must be for at least 82 points (by convention, 82 is bid by saying “80”), must be a multiple of 10, and must be higher than the previous bid. For example, “90 pique” means “90 spades.”
3. Double the opponent’s bid if he thinks the contract will fail: the word for this is “coincher.” In reply, the opponents can redouble (“surcoincher”) if confident of succeeding. It is not necessary to wait for your turn to say coinche, but you can only double if the most recent bid was by an opponent. A coinche ends the bidding, except that either the bidder or his partner can surcoincher.
4. Bid a “capot” (slam), which is undertaking to win all the tricks, which earns a bonus. A capot bid ends the bidding and cannot be doubled.

The Play

The team that won the bidding now tries to make their contract. The cards are played out in eight tricks, and the objective is to win tricks containing valuable cards.

1. The player to dealer’s right leads any card of his choice to the first trick. The suit of the first card played to a trick card fixes the suit to be followed.
2. The other players, in anticlockwise, order must each play a card in turn.
3. Players must follow suit if they can. If the card led is not a trump, they may play any card of the suit led, without any obligation to beat the previous cards. However, if a trump is led, each player must if possible beat the highest trump in the trick, even if that card was played by their partner.
4. If a player is unable to follow suit and if the highest card in the trick was played by an opponent, he must play a trump. If an opponent is already winning the trick with a trump, he must play a higher trump if possible; if he does not have a higher trump, he must play a lower trump.
5. If the highest card in the trick so far was played by his partner, he is allowed to discard even if he has a trump. A player who has no card of the suit led and no trumps may discard any card.
6. Whoever played the highest trump, or, if no trumps were played, the highest card of the suit that was led wins the trick, and leads a card of his choice to the next trick. Each team stores the tricks it has won in a pile face down in front of one of the players.

Dix de Der and Belote

1. The last trick is worth 10 points to the team that wins it, known as “dix de der” (“ten for last”).
2. If a player in the team that won the bidding holds the king and queen of trumps, he may declare them for 20 points by saying “belote” as he plays the first of the two cards and “rebelote” as he plays the second card. The 20 points for Belote count towards making the contract and are scored by the bidding team, even if the contract fails.

Scoring and End of Game

When all eight tricks have been played, each team counts the points it has won: the cards in its tricks, the last trick, and the Belote if declared.

1. In order to succeed, the team that bid the contract must take at least as many points as they bid (at least 82 if they bid 80). (They do not need to take more points than their opponents.)
2. Successful contract: If the contract succeeds, the bidding team scores the number of points they took plus the number they bid, and their opponents score the points they took. Scores are rounded to the nearest 10, with scores ending in 5 rounded upwards. If the bidding team wins all the tricks (capot), they score 250 points plus the amount of the bid. If they bid and make capot, they score 500, plus 20 for Belote if declared.
3. Failed contract: If the contract fails, the bidding team scores nothing (except 20 points for Belote if they declared it). Their opponents score 160 plus the amount of the bid. If a bid of capot is lost, the opponents score 500.
4. Coinche and surcoinche: A coinche doubles the score for the bid only, and a surcoinche doubles it again. For example, if we bid 100, they say coinche, we declare a Belote, and the contract fails, we score 20, and our opponents score 160 + (100 × 2) = 360.

The game ends when one or both teams achieve a score of 2000 points or more, and the team with the higher score wins. In case of a tie, the winners of the latest deal win the game.

Common Variants

La Coinche has several common variants, including:

1. Grand Coinche: A variation where the bidding starts at 100 points instead of 80.
2. Petit Coinche: A variation where the bidding starts at 60 points instead of 80.
3. Coinche à la Française: A variation where the trump suit is determined by the last trump played in the previous hand.
4. Coinche avec l'Allemande: A variation where the game is played with the Allemande rule, in which the players must follow the highest card of the led suit if possible, even if it is not a trump.

Beginner Mistakes to Avoid

1. Bidding too low: Beginners often bid too conservatively, which can result in missed opportunities to score more points.
2. Overbidding: On the other hand, bidding too high can lead to a failed contract and a significant loss of points.
3. Poor card play: Failing to follow suit or play the highest trump when possible can result in losing valuable tricks.
4. Forgetting to declare Belote: If you hold the king and queen of trumps, remember to declare Belote to