Quinze

Quinze, sometimes called quince or ace-low, is a seventeenth-century banking card game of Spanish origin that spread and gained popularity in other parts of Europe. It is regarded by card game historians as a forerunner of the French game vingt-et-un, which in turn is an ancestor of modern blackjack, and it shares that family's basic goal of building a hand as close as possible to a fixed target without going over. In Quinze, that target is fifteen points, played with a standard fifty-two card deck, and players compete against a bank rather than against each other directly. The game is designed for between two and six players, and it is generally regarded, in the words of writers on historical card games, as admired for its simplicity and fairness, since the outcome depends almost entirely on the luck of the deal rather than on strategic choices, bluffing or skillful play. A typical hand of Quinze plays quickly, with a full game normally finishing in around twenty-five minutes, which made it a convenient game for casual social play in the households and gaming rooms where it was popular.