The game was played at Christmas among the middle classes in Edinburgh in 1800, but by the 1820s it was 'the nightly resource of retired coal skippers and independent fish women.' Its first rules were published in 1830 in Edinburgh under the name Catch the Ten with 'Scots Whist' and 'Scotch Whist' as alternatives. A Scottish Dictionary also gives the name as Catch the Lang Tens, and an English dialect dictionary records it as Catch the Long Tens or Catch-honours.

In addition to these 'rustic' games, Whist and Cribbage had recently been introduced, but Catch the Ten remained that 'auld, harmless favourite'. It was clearly well known in early 19th century Scotland, particularly in Edinburgh, the 1830 Hoyle Made Familiar confirming that it is said to be a 'favourite game in Edinburgh and other parts of Scotland, though, we believe it is not much known in the sister kingdom.' In 1824, The Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia notes that the chief Galloway card games are Catch the Ten or Catch Honours, Lent for Beans, Brag, Pairs for Slaes, Beggar my Neebour, Birkie, Love after Supper and Wha to be married first. The 36-card pack and Ace-Ten scoring scheme with Tens low suggest a certain antiquity and German origins, but the game is first recorded in a farce by James Stewart in 1779, where one of the Scottish students in a tavern suggests 'we have a game, at Catch the Ten', noting that there are 'just Six o'us'. Despite its alternative name, it has nothing to do with standard Whist.

In the trump suit, the Jack is the highest card.

Unlike standard Whist, it is played with a pack of only 36 cards, the 5s and below being omitted. Catch the Ten, also called Scots Whist or Scotch Whist, is an 18th-century point-trick, Ace-Ten card game which is recorded as being played only in Scotland, although evidence suggests a possible German origin.

Rules of knockout whist