It is a 'negative' game like hearts whereby the aim is to avoid taking tricks with certain cards known as loaders.

The earliest English record dates to 1591 where the game is referred to as "lodam",[2] but the only description appears in Francis Willughby's 1665 book, A Volume of Plaies.

The following rules are based on Willughby:[4] A standard 52-card pack is used with aces ranking high.

The aim is to avoid taking tricks with certain cards known as loaders which have various penalty point values.

The first person to renounce, turns the top card of the talon, announces its suit which is then trumps for the deal, and then replaces it face down.

Once a player has amassed 31 or more penalty points in loaders, he drops out and loses a counter.

If all the tricks are played out, the player with the highest point score loses that deal and a counter.

If they turn out to be the same suit, the exchange is void and players retain their original cards.