How to Play

Commerce is a classic 18th-century French gambling card game for 3 to 12 players and a direct ancestor of Thirty-One and Stop the Bus. Each player holds 3 cards and trades them with a face-up 3-card 'widow' pool. The worst hand at showdown loses a token; the last player with tokens wins. Hand rankings: Tricon > Sequence > Flush > Pair > Point.

Commerce is a classic French card game documented since at least 1769, and a direct ancestor of modern games such as Thirty-One and Stop the Bus. It is played by 3 to 12 players with a standard 52-card pack. Each player is dealt three cards face-down AND three 'widow' cards are dealt face-up in the centre as a shared trading pool. Each player starts with three TOKENS representing lives. On your turn, you may EXCHANGE one of your hand cards for one of the widow cards (taking the widow card into your hand and placing your discarded card face-up in the widow pool), or you may PASS. Play continues clockwise; a player who is satisfied with their hand may KNOCK to end the trading phase. After one final trade round each for the other players, everyone reveals their hands. The player with the LOWEST-ranking 3-card hand loses one token. Hand rankings from best to worst: Tricon (three of a kind, Aces highest), Sequence (same-suit run with A-K-Q highest), Flush (same suit, non-sequential), Pair, and Point (highest total card value, A=11, courts=10, pips face value). A player loses the game when they lose their third token, and the last player with any tokens wins the match.

Players

3 to 12 players, each for themselves; 5 to 8 is the sweet spot. A single deal runs 2 to 5 minutes; the whole elimination-based match usually takes 30 to 60 minutes depending on player count. Turn order is clockwise; the first dealer is chosen by drawing high card, and the deal rotates clockwise after each hand.

Card Deck

• Standard 52-card French-suited pack. No jokers.
• Card values for Point (tiebreaker low hand): Ace = 11, King = 10, Queen = 10, Jack = 10, 10 = 10, 2 through 9 = face value.A♠K♠Q♠J♠
• Rank order for sequences: A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Ace is high; some home rules allow Ace low as well (A-2-3).K♠Q♠J♠10♠9♠8♠7♠6♠5♠4♠3♠2♠
• Tokens, chips, or matchsticks are needed; 3 per player at the start.

Objective

Avoid having the worst hand at showdown. Each time you have the lowest-ranked 3-card hand, you lose one of your three tokens; losing all three eliminates you from the match. The last player with any tokens remaining wins.

Hand Rankings (Highest to Lowest)

• Tricon (three of a kind): three cards of the same rank. A-A-A is highest; 2-2-2 is lowest.
• Sequence (straight flush): three consecutive cards of the same suit. A-K-Q of one suit is highest; then K-Q-J, down to 4-3-2.
• Flush: three cards of the same suit, not consecutive. Compared first by highest card, then middle, then low.
• Pair: two of a rank plus a kicker. Higher pairs beat lower; ties decided by kicker value.
• Point: no other combination; the hand's Point value (sum of its three card values using A=11, face cards = 10, pips face value) is the score. Higher is better among Point hands.
• Tiebreakers: equal-ranked hands are decided by the next card value; if still tied, the player to the left of the dealer wins.

Setup and Deal

1. Each player takes 3 tokens and places them face-up in front of them.
2. Determine the first dealer by drawing high card. The deal rotates clockwise each hand.
3. The dealer shuffles; the player to the dealer's right cuts.
4. Deal 3 cards face-down to each player, one at a time, clockwise.
5. Deal 3 cards face-up to the centre of the table; this is the widow or trading pool.
6. The player to the dealer's left takes the first turn.

Turn Flow and Trading

1. On your turn you choose ONE of three actions: Exchange, Pass, or Knock.
2. Exchange: take ONE card from the widow and replace it with ONE card from your hand. Both cards move simultaneously; the widow always has exactly three cards.
3. Pass: decline to trade this turn; play moves to the next player.
4. Knock: declare that you are satisfied with your hand. Your turn ends and each remaining player gets ONE final turn (in clockwise order) to exchange or pass, after which the showdown occurs.
5. Multiple trades per turn (optional): some versions permit up to 3 exchanges per turn (one of each widow card); the traditional rule is one exchange per turn.
6. Revealing the widow: the three widow cards are always face-up; every player can see them and plan around them.
7. Exchange visibility: the exchanged card you place into the widow is face-up for all opponents to see; the card you took is private.
8. Play continues clockwise until someone knocks, OR until every player has passed twice in a row (deadlock; same effect as a knock).

Showdown and Scoring

1. After the final trade round following a knock, all players reveal their 3-card hands.
2. Compare hands by the rank hierarchy (Tricon > Sequence > Flush > Pair > Point).
3. The player with the LOWEST-ranked hand loses one TOKEN. They pay one of their tokens into a central discard pile or return it to the supply.
4. Ties at the bottom (two players both with the same weakest Point value, for example): each tied player loses one token.
5. The knocker does NOT get penalty or bonus for knocking; the knocker simply stopped the trading at their satisfaction point.
6. The deal then rotates clockwise to the next player, and a fresh hand begins.

Elimination and Winning

• When a player loses their THIRD token, they are eliminated from the match.
• The remaining players continue with the same rules.
• The match ends when only ONE player has tokens left; that player wins the game.
• In large tables, elimination can take 15+ hands; shortening the game by starting with 5 tokens rather than 3 makes matches longer but reduces swings.

Common Variations

• Pounce (Pounce Commerce): a player holding three of a kind who sees the fourth card of that rank in the widow may 'pounce' and take it, creating a 4-card hand that beats any normal 3-card hand. A new card is drawn from the deck to refill the widow.
• Trade and Barter: no widow pool; players exchange directly with the dealer (paying a chip per trade) or with their right-hand neighbour (free but mutual consent). Mechanically closer to Thirty-One.
• Trentuno (Italian variant): played with a 40-card Italian pack (remove 8s, 9s, 10s). Goal is to assemble a 3-card hand totalling closest to 31 without going over. Tricon ranks between 30 and 31 points.
• Extended Commerce: drop the round cap; trading continues until every player has declined on consecutive turns or someone knocks. Pair and Point hands are not recognised; only Tricon, Sequence, and Flush score.
• Thirty-One (29/30/31 Stop): the most famous descendant; each player has three cards in a single suit ideally, goal is 31 points suited. Knock to end; lowest total loses a life.
• Stop the Bus: a British/Irish variant nearly identical to Thirty-One; the knocker is called 'stopping the bus'.
• Pan-European variants: Cuccù (Italy), Cambio (modern Italian variant), and Schwimmen (German) are all descendant games with subtle rule shifts.

Tips and Strategy

• Knock only when your hand is demonstrably above a Point of ~25, OR you hold any Flush or better; knocking with a low Point hand hands the loss to yourself.
• Read the widow carefully; if the three visible cards are all different suits, nobody can easily build a Flush, so your own Flush becomes more valuable.
• Observe what opponents discard into the widow. A discarded King or Ace means that player is probably not building a 10-plus-face Point hand; a discarded low card means they may be close.
• Aim for a Sequence or Flush rather than hoping for a Tricon. Tricon requires three specific ranks out of 52 cards; Sequences and Flushes are far more achievable.
• Protect your tokens. Early in the match, fold losses are cheap; late in the match, each loss is a third of your remaining life.
• When close to elimination (1 token left), play conservatively: a higher-variance strategy (hunting for Tricon) is correct only if you are already going to lose a Point hand.
• Knocking after one trade is aggressive but sometimes correct if your initial hand is strong (natural Pair or Flush); it denies opponents trading time.

Glossary

• Widow: the three face-up shared cards in the centre; a pool for exchanges.
• Token (life, counter): one of a player's three starting counters; lost when you hold the worst hand.
• Tricon: three of a kind; the top hand rank. 'Tricon' is from the Italian 'tre di conio', three of the same die.
• Sequence: same-suit straight of three consecutive cards; second-best hand rank.
• Point: the weakest non-combination hand; scored by total card value (A=11, faces=10, pips face value).
• Knock: declare end-of-trading; triggers one final round of turns and then showdown.
• Pounce: in the Pounce variant, calling dibs on a fourth rank-matching card from the widow to build a 4-card hand.
• Eldest: the player to the dealer's left; first to act in each hand.