Aluette

Aluette, also known by the nickname Vache, meaning cow, is an old trick-taking card game played on the west coast of France, historically concentrated in the region between the Gironde and Loire river estuaries. It is played by two teams, most commonly of four players each, though six-player variants also exist, using a distinctive forty-eight-card Spanish-suited deck whose cards carry unique illustrations found nowhere else in European card games. The game is a trick-taking contest played without a trump suit, and one of its most distinctive features is a codified system of signals, including facial expressions and hand gestures, that partners use to communicate information about their cards to each other during play, a practice considered a legitimate and celebrated part of the tradition rather than cheating. Aluette survives today mainly as a folk pastime among enthusiasts along the French Atlantic coast, preserved through regional clubs and occasional festivals that keep its distinctive deck and signalling customs alive.