Rules of Glic

By THL Colyne Stewart

Glic was a game in 15th and 16th C. France with English and German variants. This is the variant that has sprung up in Ealdormere.

Set– Up

For three to six players works best. The board is laid out as on the previous two pages. On the top row is an Ace, a King, a Queen and a Jack or Valet. On the bottom row is a Ten, a King/Queen combination, a Nine/Eight/Seven combination and the Poker, Poch or Glic space. Each player starts with a number of counters. We usually play with 20—25 pennies, and 10 groats (worth four pennies each).

Phase One: Ante and Deal

Each player puts one penny on any of the compartments on the board, except for the Poker space. The dealer then deals each player four cards.

Phase Two: Sweepstakes

The deck is then cut and whatever suit is revealed is Trump. If anyone has a card in Trump that matches one of the compartments on the board, they win any coins/counters on that compartment. For instance, if a six of hearts is turned up, and I have the Queen of Hearts, I show that card and take all coins on the Queen compartment. If you have the King and Queen, you get the King, Queen, and the King-Queen combination (or marriage). Because the chances of getting a Nine-Eight-Seven combination is unlikely, Ardchreag also allows a flush to take the coins on this compartment.

Phase Three: Poker

Starting with the player to the left of the Dealer, players place bets on the Poker compartment. Winning hands are in the following order: Four of a Kind, Three of a Kind, Two Pairs, One Pair, high Card. In case of a tie, the hand with the highest card in the Trump suit wins. The winner takes all the coins from the Poker compartment.

Phase Four: Countdown

The player who wins the Poker round begins the Countdown by placing a card on the table. Each subsequent player, if they are able, place a card on top trying not to exceed 31. Face/Court cards count as 10 and an Ace is 1. If a player cannot play without going over 31 play proceeds to the next player. The last player to be able to play is given a penny by all the other players, and then begins a new Countdown. When a player runs out of cards all other players must pay them a penny for every card still in their hand. If they player goes out on a 31, every other player pays him an extra penny.