All fours (card game)
All fours is a traditional English card game, once popular in pubs and taverns as well as among the gentry, that flourished as a gambling game until the end of the 19th century. It is a trick-taking card game that was originally designed for two players, but developed variants for more players. According to Charles Cotton, the game originated in Kent, but spread to the whole of England and eventually abroad. It is the eponymous and earliest recorded game of a family that flourished most in 19th century North America and whose progeny include pitch, pedro and cinch, games that even competed with poker and euchre. Nowadays the original game is especially popular in Trinidad and Tobago, but regional variants have also survived in England. The game's "great mark of distinction" is that it gave the name 'jack' to the card previously known as the knave.
All fours, depicted in 1783 | |
| Origin | England |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | High-low-jack, old sledge, seven up |
| Type | Trick-taking |
| Family | All fours |
| Players | 2 or more |
| Skills | Memory, attention |
| Cards | 52 cards |
| Deck | English pattern |
| Rank (high→low) | A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 |
| Play | Clockwise (US, England) or anticlockwise (Trinidad and Tobago) |
| Playing time | 15 minutes approximately |
| Chance | Moderate |
| Related games | |
| Pitch • Auction Pitch • Cinch • Pedro • Phat | |
| Remarks: 6 cards dealt; players may either follow or trump; points for high, low, jack and game. | |
The game has a number of unusual features. In trick play, players are allowed to trump instead of following suit even if they could. The title refers to the possibility of winning all four game points for high, low, jack and game for holding (later winning) the highest and lowest trump in play and the jack of trumps and for winning the greatest number of card points.