Forty-fives (also known as auction forty-fives, auction 120s, 120, and growl) is a trick-taking card game that originated in Ireland. The game is popular in many communities throughout Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island) as well as the Gaspé Coast in Québec. Forty-fives is also played in parts of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire in New England, United States, as well as in the South Island of New Zealand. Some other very small populations of players also seem to reside in Seattle, Washington and Los Angeles, California by way of traveling from the east and spreading the game.
There are several regional variations. Traditional Forty Fives goes to a score of 45 points, hence the name of the game. In the Auction Forty Fives variant the score goes to 120 points and requires bidding. In many areas outside of Canada, Auction Forty Fives is simply referred to as Forty Fives. Although the number 45 has no relevance to Auction Forty Fives, the name persisted. Auction Forty Fives is closely related to the game One-hundred and ten.
History
Early history Forty-fives is a descendant of the Irish game, Twenty-five, a variant of Spoilt Five, which in turn is a descendant of a game that King James VI of Scotland popularized in the 17th century called Maw. Scottish emigrants to Atlantic Canada may explain the reason for the popularity of the game there.Chambers, Robert, The Book of Days: a Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in connection with the Calendar, vol.2 (1832), p.779 Maw dates to at least 1548Maw at parlettgames.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2022. and is regularly reported up to around 1650 and the earliest written rules of 1576, the incomplete "Groom Porter's lawes at Mawe," may have originated from Scotland. James VI was recorded playing "Maye" at Kinneil House at Christmas 1588.Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 9 (Edinburgh, 1915), pp. 653-6. The daughters of Elizabeth Kitson, Meg and Mary played Maw at Hengrave Hall at Christmas 1572.John Gage, History and Antiquities of Hengrave (London, 1822), p. 192.
19th century By 1831, the game had reached America because Eliza Leslie records a simple version that year of what she calls Five and Forty in a book for American girls. A full pack is used. Any number may play and the first dealer is chosen by cutting; highest deals (Aces high). The cards are shuffled and cut before the dealer deals 5 cards each before turning the next for trump. Eldest hand leads to the first trick and players may always play any card. The trick is won by the highest trump or the highest card of the led suit if no trumps are played. The trick winner places the trick beside her and leads to the next trick. Each trick taken scores 5 points and 45 is game.Leslie (1831), pp. 151–152.
Recent history In the 1920s, French Canadian economic migrants who moved south into Massachusetts and New Hampshire in New England introduced the game, where it continues to be popular, sometimes under the French name quarante-cinq. In this region the game is most popular in the Merrimack Valley region of southern New Hampshire and northeastern Massachusetts. Forty fives tournaments are becoming increasingly popular there. For example, the New England Academy of Forty-Fives holds occasional tournaments in Plaistow, New Hampshire, and Methuen, located in the Merrimack Valley, recently held a Forty-Fives tournament. At the community level a popular pastime on Dog Beach in Newbury, Massachusetts, is to play auction Forty-Fives at low tide during green head season. A growing concern however is the decreasing amount of knowledgeable players in the area as many current enjoyers of the game are older. It is encouraged to teach others to play in order to spread the game and keep the spirit alive.
In New Brunswick Forty-Fives was a popular evening pastime at lumber camps during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as with men congregating at general stores. The Auction Forty-Fives variant is popular through the province at community "card parties". For example, in the greater Harvey Station, New Brunswick area (GHA) biweekly card parties are popular with cottagers and local residents alike during the Spring-Fall months at the Lodges of the Ladies' Orange Benevolent Association (L.O.B.A) Tweedside. In the GHA there are also weekly gatherings at the 50+ Hall, Prince William.
On Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, notably in Richmond County, there are 45-Card-Games in almost all communities. This may involve tens or hundreds of people depending on the size of the jackpot. Generally 25 games are played in an evening, couples only, usually lasting about two hours. Winning teams rotate around the room, while the losers remain stationary. Winners always deal first. Each couple has a small cue card with the numbers 1 through 25, wins are punched out with a hole punch. Usually there are three winners for the evening, the teams with the highest number of games. Ties may be broken by splitting the prize, cutting the deck for low card win, or playing off. If one party wants to play-off, others either do so or forfeit; splitting must be unanimous. Thus, if two couples have 18 games, a third couple 16 games and a fourth and fifth couple 15 games, then the third couple is automatically the second-place winner. First and third place prizes are either split, or the deck is cut, or there is a play-off. Sometimes there is a cookie jar, where a couple can attempt to win eight or ten randomly chosen games. Sometimes there is a consolation-like boobie prize for the team with the fewest games.
Forty-fives is popularly played on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Regular 45's Tournaments are held as a fun night out in locations like Workingman's clubs and RSA buildings. Serious competition tournaments are held yearly. There was a large percentage of Irish immigrants on the West Coast, normally around a third of immigrants to this region of New Zealand in colonial times, and the game of 45s originated from among these immigrants.
Forty-five is still played in many places in Ireland, with tournaments called 45 Card Drives being played.
Card ranks
The ranking of cards depends on which suit is the trump suit. The trump suit follows a trump suit ranking, beginning with the 5, J, and . The is always considered part of the trump suit, even if the trump suit is not hearts. Cards from the non-trump suits, known as "off-suits", follow off-suit rankings beginning with the K, Q and J.
Any card from the trump suit beats any cards from an off-suit. In the absence of a trump card, the best card from the off-suit that was led wins the trick.
There are unique rankings to remember for number cards and for off-suit Aces. In red suits, 10 is best and 2 is worst; but in black suits, 2 is best and 10 is worst. A simple way to remember this is "red is high, black is low." Another is "Black is Black-wards; Red is Red-gular." The ranking of off-suit Aces also depends on the suit. In black off-suits, the A is stronger than number cards but weaker than face cards, while in diamonds the A is the weakest card.
Trump diamonds Trump hearts Off-suit diamonds Off-suit hearts Trump clubs Trump spades Off-suit clubs Off-suit spades
Rules
Traditional forty-fives (45 point) The game is played with a regular deck of 52 cards. One joker is used also. Players are dealt 5 cards each. Each player is dealt three cards at once, starting with eldest hand, the player left of the dealer, and continuing in a clockwise-direction, then each player is dealt two cards at once in the same order. The dealer never deals more than three cards at a time.
The top card of the deck is turned face up. The card that is shown determines the trump suit and that card is left on top of the deck. If an ace is turned up, that is the trump suit but the dealer must immediately claim the ace by discarding one of his dealt cards. If any of the players is dealt the ace of the trump suit, then he may claim the card that was turned up by discarding one of his other cards. This must be done before he plays his first card.
Each stage, where every player plays a card, is called a trick. As there are 5 cards in a hand, there will be 5 tricks played and won. One card is played by each player, in turn, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. The winner of the trick is determined by who played the highest card. The winner gets five points (on his way to 45). A bonus trick worth ten points rather than five points is awarded for the best card played during the round. This is determined at the end of the round.
Rule for which card may be played: Players must always follow the suit of the led card. The led card can only be beaten by a higher card in the same suit or with a trump. Any trump suit card beats every non-trump suit card. The only time in which a player may choose not to follow trump suit is when the only trump card he has is the five, jack, joker or ace of hearts or if he does not have any cards of the trump suit. A player might wish to save the most powerful cards if he believes that another player is saving another strong card, or until he believes the other trump cards have been exhausted so that he can have the advantage of leading the remaining tricks. The action of holding a card in this fashion is known as reneging. If the ace of hearts is led, players must always play a trump card to follow suit. If they have no trump (and trump is not hearts) they must play a heart if there is one in hand. If they have no trump or heart they may play any other card.
Once a player has revealed his card to players, that card is deemed to be played.
Points are added up based on tricks won and the bonus trick at the end of the round. Scores after the first round are full 30, 25–5, 20–10 or two 15s (note that the total must be 30). Scores after the second round are win, 40–20, 35–25 or two 30s (totalling 60). The score of the game is not written down, simply remembered by the players. If many games are played one should keep track of the number of games won. If it happens that all players have no trump, hence no best trump then the score after a round will only add up to 25.
If a player reached 45 points or more (including points earned in previous rounds), that player wins. If more than one player reaches at least 45 points in the same round, the player with more points is the winner. If no player reaches 45 points, the deal is given to the player to the left of the last dealer and a new round begins.
If playing in a fire house and you get a call mid game and do not flow water the game continues.
120 point In the 120-point version, the game goes to 120 points.
Auction Forty-Fives There are four styles of play for auction forty-fives: Heads up: two players, one on one. Three-way cut-throat: In this game after a player wins the bid and calls the Trump, the other two players form a temporary unspoken truce to try to 'shoot' the bidder. Players who do not honor this truce are seen as selfish and called nickel grabbers (each trick is worth 5 points). Five-way cut-throat: Similar to normal 3-man cut throat. In this game it is much harder to make your bid as it tends to be 4 vs. 1 and the bidder is often shot. Partners/teams: Either four or six players (two teams of 2, or two teams of 3), with teammates sitting in every other position. Points are pooled towards the overall team score, and towards bid.
Cards are dealt the same as in forty-fives except that three cards are dealt to the kitty after each player has their first three cards. Games are often played 'no kitty' and are considered to be more legitimate.