Contrée — Rules
Contrée is the French bidding game of belote: before play, you bid how many points your pair will take. This is the plain version: no announcements, no sans atout or tout atout, only the four suits as trump. Coinche is the same game with announcements and sans/tout atout.
1. At a glance
- 4 players in 2 pairs; partners sit opposite
- 32 cards, 8 each, dealt 3-2-3
- Bid 80 to 160 points, or capot, in one of the four suits
- No announcements; belote-rebelote adds 20
- Goal: 701 points
2. How to play
- The player to the dealer's left bids first, then the others in turn. Bid 80 to 160 in tens with a trump suit, or bid capot: all 8 tricks for your pair. Or pass. Each bid must beat the last one by number.
- Bidding ends after three passes in a row. If all four pass, the cards are redealt.
- Contre (coinche): an opponent of the bidder can double the contract. The bidder's side may then surcontre (surcoinche) and quadruple it. After a contre there are no more bids.
- The player to the dealer's left leads. You must follow suit. If trump is led, play a higher trump if you can, even over your partner. If you cannot follow suit: when your partner is winning, play anything; otherwise you must trump, and overtrump if you can.
- The highest trump wins the trick, otherwise the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads next.
3. Cards and points
- Trump order and points: J 20, 9 14, A 11, 10 10, K 4, Q 3, then 8 and 7
- Other suits: A 11, 10 10, K 4, Q 3, J 2
- Dix de der: 10 points for the last trick. Cards plus dix de der always make 162.
- Belote-rebelote: K and Q of trump in one hand, 20 points, counted automatically.
- Capot: if one pair takes all 8 tricks, they count 252 (the last trick is worth 100).
4. Scoring
- The bidding pair makes its contract if its points in tricks plus belote reach its bid (level points with the opponents count as a failure). If it makes it, it scores what it took plus the value of the bid; opponents score what they took.
- If it fails, the opponents score 162 plus the bid. The bidders keep only their belote.
- Contre multiplies only the value of the bid, by 2; surcontre by 4. The points taken are not multiplied.
- A capot bid is worth 260.
- Example: bid 90 hearts; the bidders take 100 in tricks and hold a belote (20). They score 100 + 20 + 90 = 210, the opponents 62.
5. Winning the game
The first pair to reach 701 wins. If both pairs pass 701 on the same deal, the higher score wins; on a tie, the pair that won the last deal.