Laugh and Lie Down: A Card Game for Everyone to Enjoy

Let’s dive into the exciting world of a card game called Laugh and Lie Down. The objective is simple – collect pairs, prials, and mournivals. But here’s the catch: you need to be the last player with cards in your hand to win!

This game is perfect for a group of 5 players, making it ideal for gatherings with friends and family. All you need is a standard 52-card deck, and you’re good to go!

Now, let’s talk about the ranking of the cards in this game. The King is the highest-ranking card, followed by the Queen, Jack, 10, and so on, all the way down to the Ace.

Laugh and Lie Down falls under the category of fishing card games. If you love other fishing games, you’re going to enjoy this one too!

What’s great about this game is that it’s suitable for players of all ages. Whether you’re young or young at heart, Laugh and Lie Down offers a fun and engaging experience for everyone.

Unveiling the History of Laugh and Lie Down

Laugh and Lie Down is an ancient English card game that dates back to the 16th century. This game is incredibly special because it is one of the earliest recorded instances of the fishing card game genre.

Interestingly, the origins of Laugh and Lie Down can be traced back to Chinese card games. However, it is unique in its own right, as noted by Willughby, who said, “there is no other game at cards that is anything akin to this.”

The game I’ll be talking about is called “lay down.” It’s an interesting game where, if you can’t capture any cards on the table, you have to throw in your hand. The other players will definitely have a good laugh at your expense.

Special terms are used in this game. For instance, if you have two cards of the same rank, it’s called a “pair.” If you have three cards of the same rank, it’s called a “prial.” And if you have four cards of the same rank, it’s called a “mournival.”

Now let’s talk about how the game is dealt. First, the deck of cards is cut. The player who cuts the lowest-ranking card (ace is the lowest) becomes the dealer for that round. After each round, the dealership passes to the left. At the beginning of each round, the dealer puts up a stake of 3p or 3 cents, and the other players each put up a stake of 2p. In total, the pot will have 11p.

After the dealer gives each of us eight cards, one at a time and face-down, they place the remaining twelve cards on the table face-up. These cards should be easily seen by everyone, but they don’t have to be in a specific order. If there’s a group of four of the same card on the table, called a mournival, the dealer takes them and puts them in a pile in front of themselves.

Before we start playing, we should look at our hand and see if we have any sets of three cards that are the same, called prials, or any mournivals. If we have a prials, we should put them on the table face-up. These cards are our first winnings. We need to put down two of the cards from the set and keep the third one in our hand. But if we have a mournival, we automatically get all four cards in the set. We should place them face-down in front of us. If we forget to claim these cards before we start playing, we can still get them during our turn.

Okay, now it’s time to play!

When the game begins, the player sitting left of the dealer goes first. Then, the turns continue in a clockwise direction. During your turn, you can choose to play a card from your hand and collect either one or three cards from the table that have the same rank.

Alternatively, if you have a pair of cards in your hand that matches a pair on the table, you can capture that pair. However, it’s a better strategy to capture one card at a time to avoid running out of cards and losing the game.

If you have a pair in your hand and another player captures a card from the table that matches your pair, you can add those cards to your “won pile”. This means you cannot win with a prial or mournival anymore.

When you can’t pair cards anymore, you have to throw in your hand and lie down. Maybe you don’t have a matching card or there are no more cards on the table. Your cards from your hand will be added to the table so that other players can capture them.

The game ends when there’s only one player left with cards in hand. Their cards, along with any remaining cards on the table, are added to the dealer’s “won pile.”

PAYOUT

The player who has cards in hand at the end of the game wins 5p from the pot. Then, the other players count the cards they’ve won. If a player captured less than 8 cards, they pay 1p into the pot for each pair they were short of 8. If a player captured more than 8 cards, they take 1p from the pot for each pair they won over 8.