The first important business requiring attention is the dressing of the board; and the fifteen counters necessary for this performance are either supplied by the dealer alone or are contributed by the company, according to arrangement. Six are given to pope, two to matrimony, two to intrigue, and one each to ace, king, queen, knave, and game. The eight of diamonds being taken from the pack of cards, the rest are dealt out equally to all the players, face downwards, the last card deciding for trumps.
Pope Joan Board.
Should either ace, king, queen, or knave happen to be turned up, the dealer has the privilege of appropriating the counters that have been allotted to their compartments for himself, and if pope be turned up, the advantage gained by him is still greater. He takes both it and game, and also can claim a stake for every card dealt to each player.
In addition to the shares allotted to each player, an extra hand is placed in the middle of the table, to form what is called the stops, and no one but the dealer has the privilege of looking at them. The four kings, which are the last of their suit, and the seven of diamonds, which precedes the eight of diamonds that has been withdrawn, are always fixed stops, the ace counting only as one in the game.
The players have two objects in view—one of which is, to be the first to play out all their cards; and the other, to play those cards that will entitle them to receive the counters with which the board is supplied.
The dealer's left-hand player begins by playing any card he likes, choosing one, if possible, that is one of a sequence, so that he may have the opportunity of ridding himself of, perhaps, several cards at once. Any other player having the next higher card in sequence plays it, then another, until either a king, a seven of diamonds, or some other stop card is played. The person playing a stop always leads next.
At any time during the game, should an ace, king, queen, knave of trumps, pope, matrimony, or intrigue be played, the owner of any of these cards is entitled to receive all the counters in the corresponding compartments of the board. The player who first announces himself to be without cards is the winner of the game, receiving, therefore, all the stakes in that compartment of the board, and also from the rest of the players a counter for each card they may still have in hand. Among these unplayed cards, however, should one of them be pope, the holder of it is excused from paying.
Although in the same hand king and queen make matrimony, and queen and knave intrigue, neither they nor any other good cards entitle the holders of them to the stakes deposited in their particular compartments unless played out; and it must also be remembered that all claims for payment are useless that are not made before the board has been re-dressed for the next deal. Still, in cases where unclaimed stakes are left on from one round to another it is quite a common thing to terminate the game by dealing round the cards, face upwards, and giving to the holders of the various cards or combinations the pools corresponding to them, thus making a clear board.