The Gambler Smurfs (original French name Les Schtroumpfs Jouers) is the twenty-third album of the Smurfs comic series. It was published in English by Papercutz on May 28, 2019 under the title "The Gambling Smurfs", with the second half of "The Flute Smurfers" as its secondary story.
Characters[]
- Lucky Smurf
- Comte d'Aubenas
- Bailiff
- Milord
- Papa Smurf
- Handy Smurf
- Brainy Smurf
- Chef Smurf
- Hefty Smurf
- Greedy Smurf
- Harmony Smurf
- Vanity Smurf
- Grouchy Smurf
- Farmer Smurf
- Miner Smurf
- Smurfette
- Lumberjack Smurf
- Lazy Smurf
- Drummer Smurf
- Gargamel
- Azrael
- Hundredth Smurf (Possibly)
- Townspeople
- Unnamed Smurfs
Summary[]
Three Smurfs are getting spices from a human village, trying to not be seen. They watch a sword fight tournament and two noblemen, the Comte d'Aubenas and his bailiff, who bet on the result.
At their return to the Smurf Village, the three Smurfs begin betting on who can hit a sign with a stone, and later they bet some food on the results of throwing dice. One of them (revealed to be Lucky Smurf) has a good start, but soon begins to lose. Other Smurfs watch them and get interested in gambling too, like one who bets a ladder borrowed from Handy Smurf.
Brainy Smurf tries to stop the gambling, but then gets tempted and ends losing everything save for his hat and a barrel to cover himself. Papa Smurf sees him, another Smurf (possibly Hundredth) with his glasses, and Farmer Smurf with Harmony Smurf's trumpet.
The gambling frenzy catches the whole village. One morning, Miner Smurf goes to play dice just to find that the other Smurfs are now betting on snail races, but they are so slow that the race finishes at night.
Lumberjack Smurf continues his normal routine, thinking gambling is a waste of time, while the other Smurfs find any excuse to gamble. Hefty Smurf wins all of the Brainy Smurf's books, while Smurfette wins all of the Greedy Smurf's cakes, despite the fact that she's on a diet.
One morning, Papa Smurf finds that a Smurf has lost his house gambling, and after finding how gambling has affected the Smurfs' lives, bans it.
Some days later, Lumberjack Smurf finds that some humans are cutting the forest; they chop to the river before the autumn approaches. Meanwhile, Papa Smurf finds a clandestine casino in the Village, and all the Smurfs inside. Then Lumberjack Smurf arrives to tell about the humans.
The Smurfs find that the humans led by the Comte d'Aubenas plan to build a gambling paradise, and its placing puts the Smurf Village under direct threat, because it's the place for the hippodrome. We also find that the Lucky Smurf had betted with another Smurf that Lumberjack Smurf would be wrong, and now Lucky Smurf owes him three nuts.
Again, a Smurf bets to Lucky Smurf that Papa Smurf will find what to do. Lucky Smurf accepts, and obviously loses since Papa Smurf knows what to do: ask help to Gargamel, because his house is also threatened.
Gargamel must challenge the Comte to avert the construction of the gambling paradise, so Gargamel is trained by Hefty Smurf. Gargamel faces a training mannequin... and loses. Lucky Smurf bets on how long Gargamel will last on his second round against the mannequin... and Lucky Smurf loses, too.
Despite failing in everything, Gargamel goes to present his challenge anyways. If he wins, the forest is left alone. If he loses, he will become the Comte's jester for three years.
The challenge is a joust, but the Smurfs steal all the weapons, so Gargamel suggest his opponents to declare themselves losers. Instead, they decide to create unorthodox competitions, like pig-riding races. Lucky Smurf bets that Gargamel will lose, this time sure he will win the bet, but the opposing knight slips off his pig and Gargamel wins the first event. The second event is a pillow fight, but Gargamel's opponent can barely stay seated on the log after his first swing of the pillow and falls.
Lucky Smurf, desperate to win his bet, sabotages Gargamel, but he's found by Papa Smurf, who reminds him that if Gargamel loses, it will be the end of the village.
There is a tie, and the last event is playing dice. Gargamel gets a seven and wins, so the Comte promises that the forest will be left alone. Gargamel bids farewell to the Smurfs, but then he decides to catch them. Gargamel catches Lucky Smurf, but then Lucky tells Gargamel that he's incapable to get another seven or an eleven. Gargamel accepts the bet, but he doesn't get the number, and while he tries again, Lucky Smurf escapes, having technically won a bet at last, and returns to the Smurf Village along with the other Smurfs.
Notes[]
- This is one of the two times that Lumberjack Smurf appears with a different hat and a jacket, the other time being in "Bathing Smurfs". In all other comics, he wears a normal Smurf outfit.
- Gargamel references "The Reporter Smurf".
- When training Gargamel, Hefty Smurf wears a knight armor, just like he had previously done in a Hanna-Barbera series episode and would later do in the game The Smurfs & Co.
- As noted in Miner Smurf's dressing scene, it appears that male Smurfs do not wear underpants.