The Pickwick Papers Card Game
Crossword clue: "Card game played in Dickens's The Pickwick Papers" — 5 letters, NYT crossword, October 18, 2026 (101-Down).
The answer is
WHIST
Why WHIST fits this clue
The clue names the novel to pin down one specific game — and whist is literally the card game the Pickwickians play.
- 1It's in the book
In The Pickwick Papers (1836–37), characters gather for games of whist — it was the default polite social card game of Dickens's England.
- 2Right length, right era
Five letters, Victorian, unambiguous — crossword setters love it because no other 5-letter period card game fits as cleanly.
- 3A recurring answer
WHIST shows up in crosswords constantly under clues like "bridge ancestor" or "old trick-taking game" — worth memorizing as a fill.
What whist actually is
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Players | Four, in two fixed partnerships sitting opposite |
| Goal | Win tricks by following suit — most tricks of 13 wins the hand |
| Bidding | None in classic whist (that's what bridge added later) |
| Era | Dominant English card game from the 1600s through the 1800s |
| Legacy | Direct ancestor of contract bridge and solo whist |
Related clues: if your puzzle has "Pickwick Papers" elsewhere in the grid, common Dickens fills include PICKWICK, WELLER, SNODGRASS, and WINKLE — the novel's recurring character names.