 The three Criticals: Maxi, Belli and Spitz | |
| Origin | Bavaria |
|---|---|
| Type | Plain-trick |
| Players | 2-4 |
| Cards | 32 |
| Deck | German-suited, Bavarian or Franconian pattern |
| Rank (high→low) | Trumps:  K  7  7A K O U 10–7 Plain suits: A K O U 10–7 |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Related games | |
| Zwanzig ab | |
Bohemian Watten, sometimes called Bohemian Ramsen, is a trick-taking card game for two to four players. In fact, Bohemian Watten bears more resemblance to Zwanzig ab, Ramsen and Schnalzen than Watten itself.
The game is known in German as Böhmisch Watten, Kuddeln, [1] Hudln, [2] Hudeln [3] or Böhmisch Ramsen. [4]
Any number from two to four may play. [lower-alpha 1] The sixes are removed from a standard 36-card Bavarian pattern pack to leave 32 cards in play. The suits are: Acorns, Leaves or Grass, Hearts and Bells. [5]
There are three permanent top trumps or "Criticals" (Kritische or Kritten) [lower-alpha 2] which, together are called the "Machine" (Maschine): [5]
K is Maxi, the highest card in the game, named after King Maximilian I of Bavaria. [lower-alpha 3] 7, the second highest card. [lower-alpha 4] 7 is Spitz. [lower-alpha 5] Apart from the Criticals, cards rank in their natural order within their suits i.e. A > K > O > U > 10 > 9 > 8 > 7, where O is the Ober and U the Unter. [5]
Players start with 20 points and aim to be first to zero by taking as many tricks as possible; each trick being worth minus 1 point. Players who take no tricks must add 5 points to their running totals. If the trump suit is Hearts, all points are doubled. [6]
The first dealer is usually either the youngest player or the one who cuts the highest card from the pack. The dealer shuffles the pack and has it cut by the player to the right. Deal and play are clockwise.
Cutting is an important ritual that can have a bearing on the outcome of the game. If the cut card is a Critical, the cutter may take it; this is often called schlecking. [3] If the next card is also a Critical, the dealer may take it. A third Critical may also be taken by the cutter. If the cutter declines to take the first Critical, the dealer may not take a second one. Unusually, the cutter may pick up the enture pack to look at the bottom card. [7]
Once the cutting ritual is over, the dealer completes the cut and deals, in the normal case, a packet of 3 cards each, face down and beginning with forehand to the left, and then a second packet of two cards each. A player who took one or more Criticals during cutting receives one or two cards in the first packet to ensure they end up with five cards. Between the two rounds of dealing, the dealer turns the next card of the stock over for trump. [7] The winner may deal first in the next hand. [8]
Variations:
After the deal, each player must decide whether to play or fold, with the exception of the dealer who must play. A player to elects to play may exchange up to three cards from the stock, but the dealer, who has the right to exchange with the trump upcard, may only exchange two from stock for that reason. At least two players must remain active in each hand. [7]
Variation: the dealer may exchange 3 cards from stock as well as the trump upcard. [3]
Players may not fold in the first hand, if Hearts are trumps, if they have 5 points or fewer, if they sat out in the previous hand, if they are the dealer or if they are the cutter and everyone else has folded. [7]
Forehand leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit if able and must overtake in that suit if they can. If unable to follow suit, they must trump and overtrump if possible. If a trump is led, players must overtrump if they can. [9]
Variation: overtaking is not compulsory. [3]
At the start of the game, one player is nominated as the scribe to keep score. [8]
Each player starts with a tally of 20 points, the aim of the game is to reach zero. For each trick taken, one point is deducted from the tally; if no trick is taken in a game, 5 penalty points are added. If Hearts are declared as the trump suit, the points count double, i.e. -2 points per trick or +10 points for no trick, and you may not fold, which is possible with other suits. [8]
There are variations over what happens if a player overshoots zero and ends up with a minus score:
There is always at least one winner and one loser; depending on the final scores there may more of either. [8]
Variation: a player who scores plus 50 wins; if another player simultaneously scores 0, they both win. [3]
The biggest differences in Bohemian Watten compared with standard Watten are rules of play such as following suit, the manner in which trumps are determined, there are no Strikers, no teams and, consequently, no signalling. Despite its name, the game is much closer to Zwanzig ab.
Euchre or eucre is a trick-taking card game commonly played in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, and the Midwestern United States. It is played with a deck of 24, 28, or 32 standard playing cards. There are normally four players, two on each team, although there are variations for two to nine players.
Marjapussi is a traditional Finnish trick taking game for 4 players playing in 2 partnerships and is one of the Mariage family, its key feature being that the trump suit is determined in the middle of the play by declaring a marriage. There are variants of Marjapussi for two and three players.
Tarabish, also known by its slang term Bish, is a Canadian trick-taking card game of complex rules derived from Belote, a game of the Jass family. The name is pronounced "tar-bish", despite the spelling. It is played primarily by the people of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, in Canada, where, according to one source, it was brought in 1901 by a Lebanese immigrant George Shebib. On the other hand, following comprehensive research Kennedy (1996) states that opinions as to its origin vary and that no "definitive roots may ever be determined."
Belote is a 32-card, trick-taking, Ace-Ten game played primarily in France and certain European countries, namely Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and also in Saudi Arabia. It is one of the most popular card games in those countries, and the national card game of France, both casually and in gambling. It appeared around 1900 in France, and is a close relative of both Klaberjass and Klaverjas. Closely related games are played throughout the world. Definitive rules of the game were first published in French in 1921.
Klaverjas or Klaverjassen is a Dutch, four player, trick-taking card game that uses a Piquet pack of 32 playing cards. It is closely related to the internationally popular card game of Klaberjass. Klaverjas is one of the most popular card games in the Netherlands, traditionally played in cafes and social clubs. The game offers a considerable level of complexity and depth. It has numerous variants, but its basic rules are universal.
Tute is a trick-taking card game of the Ace-Ten family for two to four players. Originating in Italy, where it was known as Tutti, during the 19th century the game spread in Spain, becoming one of the most popular card games in the country. The name of the game was later modified by Spanish speakers, who started calling the game Tute. The game is played with a deck of traditional Spanish playing cards, or naipes, that is very similar to the Italian 40-card deck.
The card game of Euchre has many variants, including those for two, three, five or more players. The following is a selection of the Euchre variants found in reliable sources.
Watten, regionally also called Waddn, Watteln or Wattlung, is a card game that is mainly played in Bavaria, Austria, Switzerland and South Tyrol, including Ladinia. There are several main variants: Bavarian, Bohemian, South Tyrolean (Stichwatten), (Austrian) Tyrolean, Kritisch and Blind Watten. It is usually a 4-player game, which is "by far the most interesting", but it may also be played by 2 or 3 players. According to Parlett, Watten is "hard to describe [but] fun to play and easy to learn."
Grasobern, Grasoberl, Grasoberln, Graseberla, Grünobern, Lauboberl or Laubobern is a card game that was once commonly played in Old Bavaria, especially in the old counties of Bad Aibling and Rosenheim, and is still popular in eastern Bavaria, especially in Upper Palatinate. The game has relatively simple rules and thus a rather relaxing and leisurely character without the mental demands of Schafkopf or psychological stress of Watten, two other traditional Bavarian card games. The name is taken from the game's penalty card, the Ober of Leaves. The suit of Leaves is known in German variously as Laub, Gras ("grass") or Grün ("green").
Wallachen is an Old Bavarian card game which used to be very popular in eastern Bavaria. Although, by 2012, it had become a rarer sight at pub tables, there have been more recent moves to revive it. Wallachen is a relatively simple three-hander that is easy to learn. As a result, like Grasobern, it has a relatively relaxed character without the mental demands of Schafkopf or the psychological stress of Watten. It is a member of the Préférence family of card games.
Blattla is a Bavarian card game for four players, who usually form two teams of two for each deal. It is a simplified version of Schafkopf and Bierkopf and is thus a point-trick game. Unlike those two games, in Blattla the Obers and Unters are not permanent trumps. In order to learn the rules of Schafkopf, it can be an advantage to first become familiar with Blattla. The game is traditionally played with Bavarian pattern cards.
Lampeln or Lampln is an old Bavarian and Austrian plain-trick card game that is still played in a few places today. It is one of the Rams group of card games characterised by allowing players to drop out of the current game if they think they will be unable to win any tricks or a minimum number of tricks.
Ramsen or Ramsch is a traditional Bavarian plain-trick, card game for three to five players that is played with a 32-card German-suited pack and is suitable both for adults and for children. It is one of the Rams group of card games that are distinguished by allowing players to drop out if they think they will fail to win the required number of tricks. An unusual feature of Ramsen is the presence of four permanent trump cards that rank just below the Trump Sow (Ace). It should not be confused with the contract of Ramsch in games like Skat or Schafkopf, nor with the related game of Rams which is also called Ramsenin Austria, but is played with a Piquet pack, does not have permanent trumps and has a different card ranking.
Matzlfangen is a traditional point-trick, card game for 4 players that originated in the Bavarian province of Upper Palatinate over 200 years ago and spread to Austria. It is still played in a few places today. The game is named after the Ten or Matzl, which plays a key role.
Officers' Schafkopf is a German point-trick, card game for two players which is based on the rules of Schafkopf. The game is a good way to learn the trumps and suits for normal Schafkopf and to understand what cards one is allowed to play. It is similar in concept to Officers' Skat.
Zwanzig ab, 20 ab or simply Zwanzig is card game for four players. It is a member of the Rams family in which the key feature is that players may choose to drop out of the game if they believe their hand is not strong enough to take a minimum number of tricks. It appears to be a recent, internet-propagated variant of Schnalzen or Bohemian Watten. However, the latter has a natural card ranking, is played with double German cards and a Weli, has no exchanging and has a different scoring system. It is suitable for children from 8 upwards. It may be related from Fünf dazu! which is a simpler game described by Gööck in 1967 that has neither trumps nor the option to drop out.
Norseman's Knock or Norrlandsknack is a classic Swedish card game for 3 to 5 players, known since the mid-1800s. It is traditionally played for money. The game is about winning as many tricks as possible and above all not being completely left without a trick.
Sjavs is a Danish card game of the Schafkopf family that is played in two main variants. In Denmark, it is a 3-player game, played with a shortened pack of 20 cards; in the Faroe Islands, where it is very popular, it is a four-hand, partnership game using a standard Piquet pack of 32 cards.
Klammern is an Ace-Ten card game and variant of Jass, which is particularly widespread in the Alemannic region. It is played mainly in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the Austrian state of Vorarlberg and in parts of southern Germany and Alsace. But the game is also finding more and more fans in the north-west of Germany, mainly in North Rhine-Westphalia. In Hamburg the game goes under the name Klapperjazz or Klapperjass and was initially played mainly by stevedores for "nen Heiermann", a 5 Mark piece. A die was used to keep score. In other parts of North Germany it is called Klappern or Klapper-Jas and was popular in the 1950s and 60s in pubs and bars and also among lorry drivers as they waited, for example, for customs clearance at Hamburg's free port.
Chouine is a very old French card game of the Ace-Ten family for two players that is still played today in the Loire Valley, especially in north Touraine. It is a point-trick game that uses a Piquet pack of 32 cards. It appears to be a variant of Brisque or Briscan. The game has regained local popularity in recent decades. John McLeod assesses Chouine as a good entry point for games of the Mariage family, thanks to its relatively relaxed rules.
