Chouette Gin

Chouette is a version of Gin Rummy designed for three or more players, but only two players are active at one time.

"Chouette" (pronounced "shoo-ETT") is a general term, often used in the game of Backgammon, to describe a method for more than two people playing a two-person game. This technique is also sometimes called "Captains".

To determine the first two players in a Chouette game, all participants draw a card from the deck. Holder of the highest card becomes the "man in the box", and the remainder of the players become a partnership, with the holder of the second-highest card becoming the "captain" of the partnership. The remaining players become next-in-line, according to the order of their drawn cards.

The man in the box plays solo against the captain, with the other remaining player(s) consulting with the captain to advise on play, though the captain makes the final decisions as to gameplay. When the captain wins a hand, he retains his position. When he loses a hand, the captain position is passed along to the next player in line. The man in the box plays the entire game, regardless of whether he wins or loses individual deals.

In scoring the game, one score is kept for the man in the box, and another for the partnership as a whole. If the man in the box wins the game, he collects in full from each player in the partnership. If the partnership wins, each partner collects in full from the man in the box.