Mèn’che is an historically popular card game in the Namur and Bastogne area [in Belgium]. In order to breathe new life, a new game that casts the traditional version in a new light, evoking the rich fauna and flora of the Ardennes, has been designed.
The game components are 32 playing cards, 1 memo card and 16 tokens. The cards have a strength level (from 1 to 13) and they carry some points (from 0 to 4). Cards 9 to 13 are named the triyonfes and are unique : Mite (red), Coûne (blue), Canète (green), Mac Mahon (black) and Zè (red).
The aim of the game is to be the first team to get rid of all their tokens (starting with 3, 4 or 5, depending on the desired length of the game) after playing several rounds.
A round is composed of dealing the cards, announcing the color of the mèn’che (trump card), announcing who has the triyonfes in their hands, playing the tricks and counting the points of each team at the end of the round. Depending on which teams announced the color of the mèn’che, the wining team discards a token or give it to the opposite team.
The game is made for 4 players but variants for 2 or 3 players are also explained in the rules.