A trick-taking game of unequal suits - there are three beggar suits (where most of the points are) and one thief suit (which is the trump suit). The game also features variable partnerships from hand to hand (determined by the play of one of the thief cards.)The game came packaged with two identical decks with different backs.Beggars & Thieves is not a perfect game, but was definitely ahead of it's time, fitting in nicely with the plethora of 'tweaked' trick-taking games we see today. - BoardGameGeek