[2] The game of Brelan, even breland, for the name and the rules varied over time, appeared as early as an edict of Lille, France, of 1458, however Depaulis says that "contrary to popular belief, [Brelan] only had the meaning of a card game in the 17th century".

It is often considered as sharing roots with a Renaissance game of Primero and Primo visto.

The game of Treschaken is equated to the French bréland in an 1802 Holstein dialect dictionary.

It evidently derived from the game of Brelan and later evolved into Bouillotte, which flourished during the French Revolution.

Brelan is played by three, four or five players, with a 32-card pack,[6] each receiving 3 cards and a fourth turned from the stock.