Maw

Number of players: 2 to 10 (4 or 5 best)
Type of game: Cards (trick-taking)
Period: 16th Century

Maw is a five card trick-taking game for a pot. To win you need three of the five tricks, and if nobody manages it the hand is spoilt and the pot carries over. Its most unusual feature is its trumps: the Five of trumps is the highest card in the game, followed by the Jack of trumps and the Ace of Hearts, whatever suit is trumps.

History of Maw

• Origins: English references to Maw begin around 1550. It was also played at the Scottish court of Mary, Queen of Scots.

• Royal Favourite: Maw became the chief card game of the English court with the accession of James I (James VI of Scotland) in 1603, replacing Piquet, which had been in fashion under Elizabeth.

• Decline and Return: Like many card games, it declined in England during the Puritan Commonwealth of the 17th century, and reappeared in 19th century English game books as Spoil Five.

• Descendants: Maw is the ancestor of a family of games associated with Ireland and Irish communities abroad, including Spoil Five and games named for the points needed to win (25, 45, 55, 110 and 120). It is the oldest form of Ireland’s national card game Twenty-Five, and of the Canadian Forty-Five.

• Two Versions: The game seems always to have had two forms. In one, players try to win the pot by taking three tricks, or to “spoil” the hand for everyone else. The other is a game for two players (or partners) scoring points for each trick taken, with no spoiling. The rules below are for the first version.

• Rules Source: These rules are adapted from the card games booklet published by MacGregor Historic Games (historicgames.com).

Rules of Maw

Setup

• Deck: A standard 52 card deck.

• Players: 4 or 5 players are best.

• Stakes: Each player antes 2 or 3 coins into the pot. The dealer antes a double stake.

• First Dealer: Deal cards face up round the table until someone receives a Jack. That player deals the first hand, and the deal then passes to the left each hand.

• Deal: Shuffle and have the player to the dealer’s right cut. Deal five cards to each player, stack the rest face down, and turn up the top card. Its suit is trumps for the hand.

• Misdeals: If you misdeal, deal out of turn, or expose a card, you lose the deal and it passes to the next player. (Or it may be agreed that you keep the deal by paying a second dealer’s stake into the pot.)

Card Ranking

The four highest trumps are always, in order:

1. Five of trumps (“Five Fingers”)

2. Jack of trumps

3. Ace of Hearts, whatever suit is trumps

4. Ace of trumps (if trumps are not Hearts)

After these, the cards rank differently in red and black suits, highest to lowest:

The cards in brackets only take these places when they are not among the top trumps. In red suits the low numbers are low, but in black suits the low numbers are high.

Objective

• Win three tricks, or make sure nobody else wins more than two.

Gameplay

1. The player to the dealer’s left leads the first trick.

2. If you can follow suit, you must either do so or play a trump.

3. If you cannot follow suit, you may play any card.

4. If trumps are led, you must follow with a trump if you can. The exception is that you may hold back one of the top three trumps (the Five, the Jack or the Ace of Hearts) if it is the only trump you hold and it is higher than the trump led. So you are never forced to play the Five or Jack unless the Five is led, and never the Ace unless the Five or Jack is led, and then only if you have no lower trumps.

5. The trick is won by the highest trump, or if none were played, the highest card of the suit led.

6. The winner of a trick leads the next.

Jinking

• If you win the first three tricks you may stop and claim the pot.

• Or you may go for double or nothing and try to win all five. If you succeed, you have jinked the hand, and win the pot plus an extra stake from each player. If you fail, nobody wins and the pot carries over.

Victory Conditions

• The first player to take three tricks wins the pot.

• If nobody takes three tricks, the hand is spoilt and the pot carries forward to the next hand.

• After a win, everyone antes as at the start to refill the pot.

• After a spoil, everyone except the dealer antes one coin. The dealer always pays the full dealer’s stake, whether the last hand was won or spoilt.

Optional and House Rules

1. Simple Ranking

• A 19th century source says a very good game can be played with the cards in their ordinary order in every suit. This avoids confusion and suits family play.

2. Anteing to a Spoilt Pot

• When the pot carries forward, only the dealer antes one coin, and the others pay nothing.

3. Robbing the Pack

• If you are dealt the Ace of trumps, you may rob the pack: take the turned up card in exchange for any card from your hand, placed face down at the bottom of the deck. The turned up suit stays trumps.

• You must do this before the first trick. If you forget, you lose the privilege and any chance of winning the pot that hand, however many tricks you take.

• If the dealer turns up the Ace of trumps, they must discard a card face down before the first card is played. They leave the Ace showing as a reminder of trumps until they are ready to play it.

4. Two Trick Win

• With more than five players, the pot may go to anyone who wins two tricks.

5. Partnerships

• With an even number of players, play in partnerships of two. A team that wins three tricks takes the pot.

6. Fiving (Two Players)

• If the non-dealer does not like their hand, they may ask the dealer to “five” it. If the dealer agrees, they turn up cards from the stock until one of a different suit appears. That suit becomes trumps instead, and cannot be changed again.

Summary Table

• Game
• Period

• Cards