Set (cards)
A set or group in card games is a scoring combination consisting of three or more playing cards of the same rank;[1] in some games, such as Bieten, a set may also comprise just two cards (a 'pair').
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Description
Sets are one of the two types of meld that may be used in games where melding is part of the play; the other being a run or sequence. A set or group comprises 3 or 4 cards of the same rank and, usually, different suits. A prial, pair royal, gleek or triplet is a set of 3 cards of equal rank and a quartet or, in some older games, a mournival, is one of four cards of the same rank.[2]
Usually a pair (2 cards of the same rank but different suits) is not counted as a "set"; but some games, such as Bieten or Perlaggen do include pairs as sets. A wild set is one containing wild cards – that is, those cards designated in the rules as being wild, for example, the jokers in Rommé. On the other hand, a natural set is one consisting entirely of 'natural cards'.[3]
Examples
French suited cards
Pair (may not count as a set) |
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Prial or triplet | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Wild triplet | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Quartet | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
German suited cards
Pair (may not count as a set) |
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Prial or triplet | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Wild triplet | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Wild Quartet | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
See also
References
- Parlett (2008) p. 489.
- Parlett (2008), pp. 287, 645.
- Parlett, David. A History of Card Games. Oxford: OUP (1991), p. 127. ISBN 0-19-282905-X.
Bibliography
- Parlett, David. The Penguin Book of Card Games. London: Penguin (2008). ISBN 978-0-141-03787-5.