What I played on Mother's Day

When I was young, my mother and I had a ritual. When I got home from school, she would have tea ready, and we'd play a game. One of the games I remember, is what we called "Double Patience" but which I found out now is actually called Russian Bank or Crapette.

You both have a deck of cards. You put a row of four cards in front of you, to start the tableau, and a stock of 12 cards to fill up empty spaces. During the game Aces will be put in the middle as a foundation for piles like in Patience. The rest of the cards will be your hand, you may draw from if there's no other move possible.

It's a competitive game, so today I played left hand (red Joker, my mother) against right hand (black Joker, me).

On your turn you can play cards on your own tableau or that of your opponent (alternating colours, going down), on the aces in the middle (same suit only, going up) or... on the stock or discard pile of your opponent (same suit, up or down). You can move the top card of your stack, or of any row.

You win when you've gotten rid of all cards from your stock and hand.

It's some 45 years later, and my mother still plays patience most days. Just not with cards anymore. When she got a laptop, she switched to computer version. The last few years it's on the tablet. So when it's bedtime, she'll think to herself "Just one more game." - Yes, I learned from the best.

I ended the day like she may have ended it. Though I still use cards.