La maison academique was later reprinted (1665, 1668, 1674, 1697, 1702), then was continued by the Académie Universelle des Jeux (Paris 1718, and later editions).

[3] The first description of the Italian game of Bestia comes from Raffaele Bisteghi in his Il giuoco pratico (Bologna, 1753).

Some foundations of the original game remain in today's Bestia: the shortened pack, the limited number of tricks in play (five), the obligation to play or fold, bidding for the number of tricks and not the value of the cards, the stakes or bêtes paid by a losing declarer that weren't received by the winning defenders but carried forward to the next hand's pot.

The cards rank in descending order in each suit as follows: Ace, 3, Re (king), Cavallo (knight), Fante or Donna (jack), 7, 6, 5, 4, 2.

At the start of the hand, a pot of an agreed stake is created which will be divided among the trick winners.

The dealer shuffles the pack and has it cut by the player to the left, before turning the top card for trump.

Each player may "pass", laying their cards down, or knock, thus committing to play the hand and take at least one trick.

The above 3 maxims are excellent tactics and many circles make them rules, punished with the payment of the pot if broken.