MeggieSoft Pinochle and Bezique v2007.1.70405
MeggieSoft Pinochle and Bezique v2007.1.70405
Win Game | 2.2mb | RS.COM
Pinochle & Bezique is a triple-mode game which may be configured to play two-player Pinochle, Binokel, or Bezique, or even a hybrid combining any of the various melding rules. The games adhere to the respective documented rules, and provide rule variations should you be familiar with other methods of playing.
Bezique is the older game, having originated in France where it evolved from games dating back to the sixteenth century. Bezique reportedly evolved into the Swiss/German game of Binokel ("Binocle" in the French dialect) which then crossed the Atlantic and was popularized as Pinochle in the U.S. in the late 1800s by German immigrants. Subsequently two-player Pinochle further evolved into the four-player version. With respect to the derivation of the term "Binokel" (as in "binocular"), some sources claim that it is because the deck includes two copies of each card; others claim that it means "two eyed" and refers to the fact that of the Jacks and Queens in the traditional French deck, only the Queen of Spades and the Jack of Diamonds appear in profile - thus showing one eye each.
The MeggieSoft Games implementations of Pinochle, Binokel, and Bezique are of the original two-deck, two-player games. (The six-deck version of Bezique is reported as having been Winston Churchill's favorite game.)
The games combine elements of the Whist and Rummy families insofar as they involve trick taking and melding. The basic rules and differences between the three games are shown in the following table.
(Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP)