Napoleon (card game)

Napoleon, also known by the shorter name Nap, is a trick-taking card game that originated in England and became widely popular there, being described as the country's national card game by 1897. It is played with a French-suited deck, using between twenty-eight and fifty-two cards depending on how many people are playing, with three to seven participants able to take part though five is generally considered the ideal number. Each player is dealt five cards, and in turn players bid on how many of the five tricks they believe they can win; the highest bidder names trumps and leads the first card, with play proceeding clockwise around the table. A player who bids and wins all five tricks is said to go nap, a phrase that entered wider English usage as a byword for attempting, or achieving, the maximum of something. The game blends genuine tactical choices in card play with an element of chance from the deal, and numerous regional and family variants of the core rules exist across England.