How to Play

Manille is a 4-player partnership trick-taking game from France and Spain where the 10 (Manille) is the highest card in every suit, followed by the Ace (Manillon). Uses a 32-card Piquet pack; teams race to 101 cumulative points.

Manille is a classic 4-player partnership trick-taking game from France and Spain, popular since the 17th century. The unusual signature is the card ranking: the 10 is the highest card (the Manille) and the Ace is second (the Manillon). Using a 32-card Piquet pack, teams compete for card points captured in tricks and aim to reach 101 over successive deals (or win the match at an agreed deal count).

Players

4 players in two fixed partnerships; partners sit across the table. The first dealer is chosen by cutting for low card; deal rotates counter-clockwise (the French convention) after each hand.

Card Deck

One 32-card Piquet pack (remove the 2s through 6s from a standard 52-card deck, leaving Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7 in each suit). Manille's distinctive rank order, high to low: 10 (Manille), Ace (Manillon), King, Queen, Jack, 9, 8, 7. The 10 outranks the Ace in every suit, including trump; this is the rule that defines the game.

Objective

As a partnership, capture more than half the 60 card points available in each deal by winning tricks that contain high-value cards. Over a series of deals, score a cumulative total; the first partnership to reach 101 points (or the highest score after an agreed number of deals) wins the match.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the 32-card pack. The dealer offers a cut to the player on the right.
2. Deal 8 cards to each player, counter-clockwise in batches (commonly 3-2-3 or 4-4).
3. Trump declaration: The dealer names trump from five options: clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, or 'en voiture' (no-trump). Some groups turn the last card of the deck face-up to indicate trump instead; agree before play.
4. First lead: The player to the dealer's right (eldest hand, since play is counter-clockwise) leads any card to the first trick.
5. Misdeal: A void deal if a card is exposed or if players receive wrong counts; same dealer redeals.

Card Values

• 10 (Manille): 5 points and the highest rank.
• Ace (Manillon): 4 points and the second-highest rank.A♠
• King: 3 points.K♠
• Queen: 2 points.Q♠
• Jack: 1 point.J♠
• 9, 8, 7: 0 points; they cannot win a trick unless they are the highest card of the led suit.
• Total: 60 card points per deal (5+4+3+2+1 per suit = 15; four suits = 60). Winning a majority (31 or more) wins the deal.

Gameplay

1. Turn order: Play proceeds counter-clockwise. Each player in turn plays one card face-up.
2. Must follow suit: If you hold any card of the led suit, you must play one.
3. Must trump: If you cannot follow suit, you must play a trump if you hold any; discarding a non-trump on a non-trump-led trick is only legal when you are void in both the led suit and trump.
4. Must overtrump: If a trump has already been played to the trick and you cannot follow the led suit, you must play a higher trump than the current winner if you hold one. If not, you may play any trump or discard.
5. Partner-winning exception: In some houses, you are not required to overtrump when your partner is currently winning the trick (soft overtrump). Agree before play.
6. Winning the trick: The highest trump wins; if no trump is played, the highest card of the led suit (by Manille's ranking: 10 > A > K > Q > J > 9 > 8 > 7) wins. Winner leads the next trick.
7. End of hand: After 8 tricks, each team totals the card-point values in their captured tricks.
8. Renege (revoke): Failing to follow suit or overtrump when required is a renege. Standard penalty: the offending team scores zero for the hand and the non-offending team takes all 60 points.

Scoring

• Per-deal score: Each team totals card points captured. If one team captures 36 or more, they score 6 (the margin above 30 = 6); 31-35 gives the scoring team exactly their margin (1 to 5). Falling short (30 or fewer) scores 0; some houses use point-difference scoring where the winning team scores captured-minus-30.
• No-trump (en voiture): When the dealer declares no trump, all captured points count double for the winning team.
• Match target: The match ends when one partnership reaches 101 cumulative points, or after an agreed fixed number of deals (commonly 12 or 50).
• Last-trick bonus (optional): Some groups award 1 extra point to the team winning the last trick.

Winning

• Match winner: First partnership to 101 cumulative points, or highest total after the agreed deal count.
• Tie-breakers: If both partnerships cross 101 on the same deal, the declaring team (the dealer's side) is checked first. A genuine tie after this is rare; play one more deal to resolve.

Common Variations

• Manille Parlée: Partners may openly discuss strategy during play; used for teaching.
• Manille Muette (silent): No talking or signalling permitted; the strict tournament version.
• Coinchée (Auction) Manille: Adds a bidding phase where players bid for the right to name trump, with doubling and redoubling calls.
• 3-player Manille: One player sits opposite a 'dummy' dead hand; modified scoring.
• En voiture (no trump): Any deal can be played no-trump; doubles the hand's scoring.
• Manille Aveugle (blind): Players hold their cards reversed; a party-game twist.

Tips and Strategy

• The 10 (Manille) and the Ace (Manillon) together hold 9 of each suit's 15 card points. Capturing both in the trump suit is usually decisive; aim to lead trump early when you or your partner holds them.
• Internalise the 10 > Ace ranking: standard Whist instincts mislead newcomers who keep leading Aces expecting them to win.
• Partner signalling is the heart of Manille: a lead of a low card often asks your partner to take the trick; a lead of a 9 or 8 of a side suit is usually a signal to trump.
• Count trumps played; with only 8 trumps in the deck, tracking them mentally is manageable and decisive. Once all trumps are out, your side's Aces and Kings become free winners.
• Never waste the Manille on a trick that an Ace or a lower trump would win; save it to capture an opponent's expected Ace or to seal the last trump.

Glossary

• Manille: The 10 of any suit; the highest-ranking card in Manille, worth 5 points.
• Manillon: The Ace of any suit; the second-ranking card, worth 4 points.
• En voiture: A no-trump declaration; all points double for the winning team.
• Piquet pack: The 32-card deck (A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7 per suit) used across European trick-taking traditions.A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠9♠8♠7♠
• Coinchée: A double call in Coinchée (Auction) Manille, similar to Bridge's double.
• Parlée / Muette: 'Spoken' vs 'silent' partnership modes; Parlée allows open discussion, Muette forbids all signalling.
• Overtrump: The obligation to play a higher trump than the current trump winner of the trick when you cannot follow suit.