Allez Honours, or Dimensional Whist
- Newt
- Apr 15
- 6 min read
In 1929, Harry S. Abell of McLean, Virginia, patented an extraordinary card game to be played in 3 dimensions. He called it Allez Honours, or Dimensional Whist.
It involved 60 cards, from 4 colours and 3 shapes, in lots of 1 to 5. This is the full set of cards:
In his scheme, the pip-marking of each card having 3 meanings:
The number of pips (1-5)
Their colour (red, green, yellow, blue)
Their shape (square, circle, triangle)
Here are five cards showing this schema in action:
This meant that (as he put in in the patent)
there are four suits, in the color suit cross group or dimension, of fifteen playing units each, three suits in the shape cross group or dimension of twenty playing units each and five suits in the number cross group or dimension of twelve playing units each.
We like to think of it as an asemic game, a game you could play with aliens. It's also successfully (and naturally) a 3-D game, yet easy to learn, which is a rarity.
We'll save a discussion of his methodology for an end-note below*, but we can say that each card has peers in terms of colour, shape, and number, and the regular actions of pairing and making runs can work along those lines. This also introduces more competition for those combinations.
The colours are ranked according to the rainbow, red first, then yellow, green, blue.
The shapes are ranked according to number of sides, with a circle considered an infinitely-sided polygon: circle, then square, then triangle.
The sport-count is 5 down to 1 as with ordinary games.
The order or preference is thus that shown in the image at the top of this account, with a Red Circle 5-Spot the highest card, going down to a Yellow Triangle 1-Spot.
Harry Abell describes a game in his patent, Allez Honours (full details below here**). but as he suggests, there are any number of games that can be played with the deck. We have made a playbook for a dozen or so games, muliplayer (Dimensional Cribbage, Down and Back, Poker, Costly Colours, Pope Joan) and solitaire (Dimensional Canfield, Pyramid, Klondike, Osmosis, One-handed Solitare). See the bottom of the page here***
You can buy a copy of the deck (printed on demand) at Make Playing Cards here.
*As an engineer, and wanting to introduce complexity into card games, he analysed the dimensionality of the conventional whist pack of 52 cards. He observed that there was no colour variance within the suits. That is to say, there was no additional information encoded in the colour, an observation borne out by decks where different colours are used for the suits, or different symbols, but there is no difference to the gameplay.
Considering the spots which have been selected for illustration, the triangle square and circle, and giving them a value according to the number of their sides, the circle being, of course, considered as a polygon of an infinite number of sides, the: triangle would have the lowest value, the square next and the circle the greatest value.
** Allez Honors
Players and Setup
4 players, with partners sitting opposite each other
Deal 15 cards to each player
Bidding
The dealer examines their cards and opens bidding by declaring:
The number of tricks they contract to take (minimum bid is 7)
The trump color (or "no trump")
Bidding proceeds clockwise:
Each player may pass or increase the previous bid
When bidding, a player may select any trump color or "no trumps"
A player may overbid their partner in the same suit, in which case the original bidder plays the hand
Bidding ends when three consecutive players pass
Dummy Play
After the first lead is made, the partner of the successful bidder lays their cards face-up on the table
The successful bidder plays both their own hand and their partner's dummy hand
Trick Play
The player to the left of the successful bidder leads the first trick
The winner of each trick leads the next trick
Players must follow the led color if possible
If unable to follow the led color, a player may play a trump or discard any card
The highest card of the led color wins the trick, unless trumped
Within the trump suit, the hierarchy follows the standard card ranking
SCORING
Scoring in Allez Honors has two components: Game Points and Honor Points.
Game Points
Each trick taken counts as 1 game point
A game is completed when one partnership accumulates at least 20 game points
Winning two games out of three doubles the honor points for the winners
Honor Points
Honor points are earned based on combinations of cards within each trick:
Combination | Description | Points |
1 Pair | Two cards with same number and shape, different colors | 2 |
3 of a Kind | Three cards with same number and shape, different colors | 6 |
4 of a Kind | Four cards with same number and shape | 12 |
Sequence | Three or four cards with same shape, consecutive numbers | 3 or 4 |
Flush | All four cards of the same color | 4 |
Similarity | Three cards with same number but different shapes | 3 |
Nines | Any combination of cards whose spots add up to exactly 9 | 2 |
Honor points are counted after each trick is completed.
Penalties
If the successful bidder fails to make their bid:
They forfeit all game points for that hand
Their honor score for the hand goes to the opponents
The hand must be played to completion
Final Score
The total score is the sum of game points and honor points.
STRATEGY TIPS
Bidding: Consider not just the high cards in your hand, but also combinations that might score honor points.
Trump Selection: Choose a color where you have strength in the higher shapes (circles and squares).
Opening Lead: When leading against a bid, consider shapes rather than just numbers. A Circle 1 is more powerful than a Square 5.
Honor Point Awareness: Keep track of what cards might create scoring combinations with cards already played.
Dummy Management: When playing with the dummy hand exposed, coordinate the two hands to maximize both trick-taking and honor point scoring.
Color Counting: Since each color has exactly 15 cards, tracking how many cards of each color have been played is crucial.
ALLEZ HONOURS PRACTICE
This is a solitaire game designed to practice the trick-taking method, and explore the probability space of Abell's deck
Overview
Setup
Shuffle the Abell deck thoroughly
Deal 15 cards face-down to form your "hand"
Deal 15 cards face-down to form three "opponent hands" of 5 cards each
Set aside 1 card face-up as the trump indicator
The remaining 29 cards will not be used in this round
Game Structure
The game consists of 15 tricks
For each trick, you will play one card from your hand and reveal one card from each opponent hand
Focus on winning tricks and creating honor point combinations
Trump Determination
The color of the trump indicator card establishes the trump suit for the game
Trump cards outrank all non-trump cards regardless of their shape or number
Playing a Trick
Choose one card from your hand to lead
Turn over the top card from each of the three opponent hands
Determine which card wins the trick:
The highest card of the led color wins the trick
A trump card beats any non-trump card
Within a color: Circles > Squares > Triangles
Within a shape: 5 > 4 > 3 > 2 > 1
Remember: Circle 1 beats Square 5, and Square 1 beats Triangle 5
If you win the trick, place all four cards face-up in your "won" pile
If an opponent wins, place all four cards in a separate "lost" pile
Honor Scoring
After each trick, check for honor point combinations in the four cards played:
Combination | Description | Points |
1 Pair | Two cards with same number and shape, different colors | 2 |
3 of a Kind | Three cards with same number and shape, different colors | 6 |
4 of a Kind | Four cards with same number and shape | 12 |
Sequence | Three or four cards with same shape, consecutive numbers | 3 or 4 |
Flush | All four cards of the same color | 4 |
Similarity | Three cards with same number but different shapes | 3 |
Nines | Any combination of cards whose spots add up to exactly 9 | 2 |
Record the honor points for each trick, regardless of who won the trick.
Game End and Scoring
After all 15 tricks are played, calculate your final results:
Total tricks won (out of 15)
Total honor points accumulated across all tricks
Record both numbers to track your improvement over time
Success Levels
Tricks Won | Rating |
12-15 | Master |
9-11 | Expert |
6-8 | Competent |
3-5 | Novice |
0-2 | Beginner |
Honor Points | Rating |
40+ | Honor Master |
30-39 | Honor Expert |
20-29 | Honor Adept |
10-19 | Honor Novice |
0-9 | Honor Beginner |
Strategy Focus Areas
While playing, focus on these key aspects of Allez Honours:
Card Hierarchy: Practice recognizing the three-dimensional hierarchy (color > shape > number)
Trump Strategy: Learn when to use trump cards for maximum advantage
Honor Combinations: Develop the ability to spot potential honor combinations
Card Tracking: Practice remembering which cards have been played
Leading Strategy: Experiment with different leading strategies to control tricks
Practice Exercises
Trump Focus: Play a round focusing solely on maximizing tricks won with trump cards
Honor Focus: Play a round focusing solely on creating the most honor point combinations
Balance Practice: Play a round trying to balance trick-winning with honor point collection
Here is the book of our other Dimensional games, to download (copyright New Tradition Games):
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