The name is a corruption of nain jaune ("yellow dwarf"), the name of 7♦ in France where the game originated.

As the Catholic Church denies a female pope, the legend was used as Protestant propaganda in the Victorian era, which also explains the popularity of the game in Scotland.

The dealer "dresses the board" by placing a stake of six counters in the compartment labelled Pope, two each to Matrimony and Intrigue, and one to each of the others.

[5] If it is Pope (9♦), or the Ace, King, Queen or Jack, the dealer wins the contents of the appropriate compartment outright.

[5] The content (if any) staked to the Ace, King, Queen and Jack compartment goes to the player playing the said trump card, as does that for Pope.