What games do we play ‘according to Hoyle’? In 1742, Edmond Hoyle was making some extra money by teaching people to play cards. When he couldn’t find a set of rules for the game of whist — a forerunner to bridge — he wrote them himself in A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist. The publication quickly became one of the 18th century’s best-selling books. He went on to write rule books on backgammon, piquet, quadrille and chess. Though he is no longer the authority on bridge, backgammon is still played “according to Hoyle.” The catchphrase “according to Hoyle” came to signify the final authority on a topic or any official rules. The date of Hoyle’s death in 1769, is celebrated as “According to Hoyle” Day.
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