One & Thirty

One & Thirty

this card game dates back to at least 1440.  During that year Bernadine of Sienne mentioned the game in an anti-gaming sermon.  This is one of a number of games dating from the 15th to the 17th Centuries that are ancestors to modern Blackjack.  The game was popular in both Spain and Ireland.

The game is for two or more players.  Each player is dealt three cards, face down.  The dealer starts the deal to the player on his left.  Starting with the eldest hand (the player to the left of the dealer), a card may be discarded face up by each player.  It is replaced by the top card on the deck or the previous card on the discard pile.  The player that comes closest to 31 with three cards in the same suit is the winner.  Play continues by discarding one card at a time until a player knocks twice on the table.  After the knock the players get one last discard.  The hands are then shown and the hand closest to 31 wins.  A player who hits 31 exactly wins automatically and does not have to wait for the knock or make a knock.  Ties are redealt.
Scoring is as follows: aces are 11, face cards are 10 and the rest are their face value.  A three of a kind (different suits) is worth 30 & 1/2 points.

If you are interested in a source for Elizabethan era playing cards contact me.

[Source: Elizabethan Card Games]