Oden Rule

OMBRE
The Game of Ombre Played in "Rape of the Lock"

The Cards
Ranked highest to lowest with trumps listed first

The Rules
Ombre (Hombre, or "The Man") is a trick-taking card game very similar to the modern games of Spades and Hearts. It is also a direct ancestor of the modern game of Bridge. It was very popular among the London elite in Pope's time, and the game that he describes in "The Rape of the Lock" obeys its rules perfectly. The complete rules of the game are somewhat complex and are described in great detail here, but the following points should help you get a handle on the game that is described in the poem.

* The game is usually played with three players with a standard deck of cards that has the 8's, 9's, and 10's removed. Each player is dealt 9 cards, and the remaining 13 cards are placed in the talon.

* The players bid on who will be able to take a majority of the tricks (five of nine). The winning bidder becomes the declarer (the Hombre) and must play against both of the other two players.

* The winning bidder is allowed to declare which suit will be trump. ("Let spades be trumps she said, and trumps they were).

* Three cards are called "Matadors," which means that they are the highest three cards in any game. The black aces are always Matadors: the Ace of Spades is spadille and is always the highest trump card and the Ace of Clubs is basta, which is always the third highest trump. The second highest card, manille, is the card that would otherwise be the lowest card in the trump suit.

* Each player plays a card in a counter-clockwise rotation. Black and red suits have a slightly different ranking. If the the trump is a black suit (spades or clubs), the ranking of the suit is S 2 B K Q J 7 6 5 4 3 (S = Spadille, or the Ace of Spades; B = Basta, or the Ace of Clubs); if the trump suit is red (hearts or diamonds), the cards are ranked S 7 B A K Q J 2 3 4 5 6. Similarly, cards in the black suits (when not trump) are ranked K Q J 7 6 5 4 3 2 A and cards in red suits (when not trump) are ranked K Q J A 2 3 4 5 6 7.

* To win the hand, the declarer must take five tricks. If another player takes five tricks, the result is called codille, which is a loss for the declarer. It is possible to achieve a sort of a tie, or a bête by taking exactly as many tricks as one other player (4-4-1 or 3-3-3). And, in extremely rare cases, it is possible to achieve a Tout by taking all nine tricks.

In the game described in "Rape of the Lock," Belinda is the declarer and must win five tricks. Once she declares spades as trumps, she has the four highest cards possible (the three Matadors and the King of the trump suit), so she is guaranteed to win at least four tricks--and since she has two kings it is very possible that she will be able to win five. However, the outcome is not certain, since, when the Baron seizes the lead, Belinda is out of trump cards and must follow his lead. Everything comes down to whether or not her king of hearts in the last trick is met with another heart (in which case she wins) or any other suit (in which case she looses).

The Tricks

The actual game of Ombre played in "Rape of the Lock" can be recreated from Pope's narrative. The game unfolds as follows. For the first five hands, Belinda leads off, for the next four the Baron leads. The winner of the trick is marked with a red border.

Source: http://webpages.shepherd.edu/maustin/ombre/ombre.htm.
Developed by Dr. Michael Austin, Shepherd College Department of English
(Adapted from the Twickenham Edition of the Rape of the Lock, pp 361-367)

Claus and Raymond

Conventions

Bridge Sites

Home Page I

Glossary

Home Page II

	*	The game is usually played with three players with a standard deck of cards that has the 8's, 9's, and 10's removed. Each player is dealt 9 cards, and the remaining 13 cards are placed in the talon.

	*	The players bid on who will be able to take a majority of the tricks (five of nine). The winning bidder becomes the declarer (the Hombre) and must play against both of the other two players.

	*	The winning bidder is allowed to declare which suit will be trump. ("Let spades be trumps she said, and trumps they were).

	*	Three cards are called "Matadors," which means that they are the highest three cards in any game. The black aces are always Matadors: the Ace of Spades is spadille and is always the highest trump card and the Ace of Clubs is basta, which is always the third highest trump. The second highest card, manille, is the card that would otherwise be the lowest card in the trump suit.

	*	Each player plays a card in a counter-clockwise rotation. Black and red suits have a slightly different ranking. If the the trump is a black suit (spades or clubs), the ranking of the suit is S 2 B K Q J 7 6 5 4 3 (S = Spadille, or the Ace of Spades; B = Basta, or the Ace of Clubs); if the trump suit is red (hearts or diamonds), the cards are ranked S 7 B A K Q J 2 3 4 5 6. Similarly, cards in the black suits (when not trump) are ranked K Q J 7 6 5 4 3 2 A and cards in red suits (when not trump) are ranked K Q J A 2 3 4 5 6 7.

	*	To win the hand, the declarer must take five tricks. If another player takes five tricks, the result is called codille, which is a loss for the declarer. It is possible to achieve a sort of a tie, or a bête by taking exactly as many tricks as one other player (4-4-1 or 3-3-3). And, in extremely rare cases, it is possible to achieve a Tout by taking all nine tricks.