Mèn’che is an exceptional card game, packed with come-backs and variations. To date, it is still the best trick-taking game. No less! And yet… Historically a very popular game in the Namur and Bastogne area for nearly two centuries, today it has disappeared from bars and living rooms.
The format we have recorded is believed to have appeared in the 19th century, probably in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It then became a mainstay along the Arlon-Namur axis, and highly popular around Bastogne and Neufchâteau.
Mèn’che was played until the 1950s, when it was slowly but surely ousted by other games such as couyon. Mad Cat Studio has revisited the game of mèn’che from a modern-day stance that remains true to the traditional game, in order to revive this part of Wallonia’s cultural heritage, the practices of times gone by, the warmth of evenings by the fire and the ambiance of animated games: In the Ardennes forests, the owls rule the roost. Play your cards carefully to be the first to discard all your tokens!