Loo

Loo, or Lanterloo, was one of the most popular English card games of the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Its name comes from the French lenterlu (fiddlesticks), which implies that the game was brought to England after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.

Loo can be played with three or five cards which are dealt from a standard deck of 52 cards. The game most likely gained its popularity from its simplicity and the fact that “as many as the cards allow” could participate. Loo was played with money, or gaming counters that were assigned a certain value. Players often sat at special loo tables which had little wells close to the edge that held the counters.

The rules were easy to understand as the concept of trumps and tricks was common in many other card games of the time. Whoever did not take any tricks in one round was loo’d and had to add to the pool. In a version called Unlimited Loo players who were loo’d had to add an amount equal to that in the pool. This rapidly increased the pool and was accountable for many gamblers’ financial ruin.