North German cousin of Nap | |
![]() A game of Fipsen in progress | |
Origin | North Germany |
---|---|
Type | Plain-trick game |
Family | Triomphe group |
Players | 4 or 5 |
Cards | 25 or 32 |
Deck | French pack |
Rank (high→low) | A K Q J 10 9 8 7 |
Play | clockwise |
Related games | |
Nap | |
Notes: two different games. Clubs or diamonds are preference suits |
Fipsen or Fips [1] is an old north German card game for 4 or 5 players that resembles British Nap in some respects. It is a trick-taking game played with a standard Skat pack that was once popular across North Germany in the former states of Schleswig, Holstein, Mecklenburg and Pomerania, but is now restricted to the south Holstein region. In the village of Thedinghausen in Lower Saxony, a rather different game is played under the same name for currant buns called Hedewigs . It has been described as "quite a special card game" that is "ancient, but very easy to learn". [2]
Fipsen is an old North German card game that emerges in the sources in the late 18th and early 19th century. In 1756, the term appears in an Osnabrück dialect dictionary as "Fipsen: said of a certain card game" [3] and, in 1781, it is recorded in a Low German dictionary for the Pomeranian region as "Fipps, a game of cards." [4] By the mid-19th century it was thriving as a rural pastime, for example, in Dithmarschen in North Frisia it was "a game very popular among farmers" [5] and further afield in Mecklenburg farmers played it alongside Dreikart and Solo. [6] Finder, too, reports it being played at that time in the Vierlande area of Hamburg state together with Dreekort and other games. [7] [8]
But the name may have been used for more than one game. In 1929, Mensing reports that Fips is a card game "with similar or the same rules as Dreekaart" [9] and Wossidlo tells us that "Fipp" is a "card game played with three or five cards." [10] The earliest account of any actual rules appears as late as 1957 where two variants of the game as played in Mecklenburg are described. [10]
Today, Fipsen is still played in central north Germany in Holstein, for example in the counties of Pinneberg, [8] Segeberg [11] and Stormarn [12] in Schleswig-Holstein. There are at least two distinct variants of Holstein Fipsen as played in Prisdorf and Großenaspe. [8] Tournaments are sometimes played, for example, in 2017 at Pinneberg. [13]
In the village of Thedinghausen, near Verden in Lower Saxony, an entirely different game, also called Fipsen, is played between five players, traditionally played for currant buns called Hedewigs. [2]
Wossidlo and Teuchert give a brief description of two variants of mid-century Fips in Mecklenburg. In both cases, all the diamonds are removed from a 32-card, German-suited pack except for the Ace which is known as the Rutenas. Diamonds is thus the preferred suit or 'preference'.
Card ranking in Mecklenburg Fips | |||
Clubs | Hearts | Spades | Diamonds (Preferred) |
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The first variant is Anseggerfips ("Auction Fips"). Players are dealt five cards, the remainder forming a five-card talon or Dutt. Forehand then began the auction by passing or bidding the number of tricks he or she intended to take. Later players could pass or bid a higher number of tricks or, if holding the Rutenas, nominate diamonds as trumps so that e.g. a Rutenzwei ("Diamond Two") outbid a Zwei ("Two"). A Fips was an undertaking to win all five tricks and could only be overcalled by a Rutenfips. If all passed, the cards were thrown in and re-dealt. The actual play is not described, but may have been similar to that of modern Holstein Fipsen (see below). [10]
The second variant was Duttfips ("Widow Fips"; Dutt means "pile" or "heap" and refers to the extra hand or widow). The bidding was different. Forehand was not allowed to pass, but could play one of four contracts. In the lowest, forehand took the Dutt, discarded five cards from the resulting hand and announced trumps, playing to win the majority of tricks. This contract could be outbid by the other players with a "Ruten oewer!" - the same contract but with the Rutenas as the only trump card. The next higher bid was a Fips and the highest was a Rutenfips as before. It is likely that there was only one round of bidding and players could go straight to their highest bid, the Dutt being available in each case. [10]
There are at least two variants. The Prisdorf variant is played in the vicinity of Prisdorf north of Hamburg and is characterised by a shortened pack, by the option of playing without the skat and the bonus of Siebener Fips. [8] The Großenaspe variant is played in that village and uses the full 32-card pack. Unlike its Prisdorf cousin, there are no 'hand' contracts nor is a Siebener Fips recognised.
A French-suited Skat pack is used, from which all the diamonds are discarded with the exception of the ♦7, to leave a total of 25 cards. Again, Diamonds is the preference. Within their suits they have their natural ranking: [2] [8]
Card ranking in Prisdorf Fipsen | |||
Clubs | Hearts | Spades | Diamonds (Preferred) |
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There are four players and deal and play are clockwise. A two-card skat is placed on the table after the first packet of 3 cards is dealt to each player and before the second packet of 2 is dealt, giving each player five hand cards. Three cards are placed to one side and only used for the special bid of Kieker. There is then an auction in which players bid to become the declarer who then plays alone against the other three. Players bid the number of tricks they intend to take. The value of the game corresponds to the number of tricks bid, e.g. a bid of 3 tricks is worth 3 points multiplied by either or both of the contracts below:
Beginning with forehand, players may pass or bid a number of tricks. Bidding starts at two and an earlier player may "hold" a higher subsequent bid or overcall it. When either of the bidding pair passes, the next player in turn may enter the auction with a higher bid; the earlier player may then hold, pass or bid higher still. A 'hand' bid is an undertaking to play without the use of the skat and is higher than its equivalent numerical bid i.e. a "2 Hand" is higher than a "2", but a "3" is higher than a "2 Hand". A player with no courts may bid a Kieker, which ranks between a "4" and a "5" and is an undertaking to take all five tricks having picked up the skat and stock (thus having 10 cards in toto) and discarded any five cards face down before announcing trumps. In any bid other than a 'hand' or Kieker, the declarer picks up the skat and discards any two cards before announcing trumps. A player with four 7s and an Ace may declare a Siebener Fips and wins the deal without it being played, scoring 30 points. If all pass, the cards are re-dealt by the same dealer.
Forehand now leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit, but if unable may play any card. In addition, if the declarer wins every trick it is a Durch , and the score is doubled. However, if the declarer fails to achieve the target, he or she loses double.
A full, 32-card, Berlin-pattern pack is used. Cards rank in their natural order but, this time, Clubs is the preference suit.
Card ranking in Grossenaspe Fipsen | |||
Clubs (Preferred) | Hearts | Spades | Diamonds |
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Players draw cards and the one who draws Clubs becomes the scribe (Schreiber) or scorer and the person sitting to the left of the scribe becomes the first dealer. Dealing is as before and there is no cutting. Players bid from "One" (Ein) to "Five" (Fünf) for the number of tricks they hope to take. Any numeric bid may be overcalled by a higher number or, since Clubs is a preference suit, by saying "Good" (Gute) which means Clubs are trumps. So "Three Good" (Drei Gute) beats a "Three" (Drei), but is beaten by a "Four" (Vier). The highest bid is a Fips which is an undertaking to win all five tricks without the aid of the skat; this is the only permitted hand contract. In addition, like the Prisdorf variant, a player with no courts may bid a Kieker, which ranks between Four and Five. If successful, the declarer of a Kieker (also called a Gucker) discards the dealt hand and picks up the skat and talon (12 cards) from which 7 more cards must be discarded to leave a hand of five. At this point the declarer may fold and concede 5 points or announce trumps and play.
The highest bidder becomes the declarer, picks up the skat, discards two cards and announces trumps unless the bid was a Good, in which case it is automatically Clubs. Forehand leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit if able, otherwise may discard. The trick winner leads to the next. Play ends when the declarer succeeds or fails to take the announced number of tricks. If successful, the declarer scores the number of tricks announced, double if Clubs are trumps. A Kieker is worth 10 points and a Fips 20. A declarer, having achieved the stated number of tricks less than five, may continue by saying "I'll play on" (ich spiel' durch) or "I want them all" (ich will alles) and play on for a Durch i.e. all five tricks. In a tournament the two higher scorers at a table win a prize - typically a haunch of pork. In private rounds, players play for penny stakes, points being converted to cents.
In Thedinghausen, a village southeast of Bremen, a quite different game is traditionally played after the annual meeting of the local farmers, the Bauernkör, who formerly represented the district, the Bürgerei, and settled farming matters. Today it is a more of a social gathering with guest speakers talking about topics of local interest. After the meeting, the men repair to a pub or a member's house to play a five-hand game with no bidding. [2] [14]
The key differences from the games described above are that:
The rules are as follows: [2] Five players play with a normal Skat pack of 32 cards. Within each suit, cards rank in their natural order.
Card ranking in Thedinghausen Fipsen | |||
Clubs | Hearts | Spades | Diamonds |
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Each player antes the cost of a hedewig to the pot. After shuffling and offering the pack to the right to be cut, the dealer deals five cards to each player and then turns the next as trumps. The remaining six cards are placed to one side and not used. The aim is to win as many tricks as possible.
Forehand (to the dealer's left) leads to the first trick. Suit must be followed; if that is not possible players must trump and overtrump if able. If a player, after receiving five cards, announces "fipsen", this is a slam contract and the declarer has to win all five tricks.
The first player to win ten tricks wins five hedewigs. A player who wins a fipsen, earns double, i.e. five hedewigs. If even just one trick is lost to an opponent, however, the player must pay five hedewigs. After each round, the winner is given a slip and, at the end of play, players work out how many hedewigs they have won. A hedewig is a type of currant bun local to the region and also known as a Heißwecke.
Similar games are played elsewhere in Austria and Germany. For example, in Anglia they used to play Stutenspiel for Stuten i.e. currant buns. Other games for cakes or buns are traditionally played in Hesse, and in parts of Austria.
A trick-taking game is a card or tile-based game in which play of a hand centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called tricks, which are each evaluated to determine a winner or taker of that trick. The object of such games then may be closely tied to the number of tricks taken, as in plain-trick games such as contract bridge, whist, and spades, or to the value of the cards contained in taken tricks, as in point-trick games such as pinochle, the tarot family, briscola, and most evasion games like hearts. Trick-and-draw games are trick-taking games in which the players can fill up their hands after each trick. In most variants, players are free to play any card into a trick in the first phase of the game, but must follow suit as soon as the stock is depleted. Trick-avoidance games like reversis or polignac are those in which the aim is to avoid taking some or all tricks.
Skat, historically Scat, is a three-player trick-taking card game of the Ace-Ten family, devised around 1810 in Altenburg in the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. It is the national game of Germany and, along with Doppelkopf, it is the most popular card game in Germany and Silesia and one of the most popular in the rest of Poland. A variant of 19th-century Skat was once popular in the US. John McLeod considers it one of the best and most interesting card games for three players, and Kelbet described it as "the king of German card games."
Bid whist is a partnership trick-taking variant of the classic card game whist. As indicated by the name, bid whist adds a bidding element to the game that is not present in classic whist. Bid whist, along with spades, remains popular particularly in U.S. military culture and a tradition in African-American culture.
Schafkopf, also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German trick-taking card game of the Ace-Ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. It is still very popular in Bavaria, where it is their national card game played by around two million people, but it also played elsewhere in Germany and in Austria. It is an official cultural asset and important part of the Old Bavarian and Franconian way of life. Schafkopf is a mentally demanding pastime that is considered "the supreme discipline of Bavarian card games" and "the mother of all trump games."
Doppelkopf, sometimes abbreviated to Doko, is a trick-taking card game for four players.
Cego is a card game for three or four players played with eponymous German Tarot cards. The game was probably derived from the three-player Badenese game of Dreierles after soldiers returned from the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars and, based on a Spanish game they had encountered, introduced Cego's distinctive feature: a concealed hand, or blind. Cego has experienced a revival in recent years, being seen as part of the culture of the Black Forest and surrounding region. It has been called the national game of Baden and described as a "family classic".
The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific, but apply to a wide range of card games. For glossaries that relate primarily to one game or family of similar games, see Game-specific glossaries.
German Solo or just Solo is a German 8-card plain-trick game for 4 individual players using a 32-card, German- or French-suited Skat pack. It is essentially a simplification of Quadrille, itself a 4-player adaptation of Ombre. As in Quadrille, players bid for the privilege of declaring trumps and deciding whether to play alone or with a partner. Along with Ombre, Tarock and Schafkopf, German Solo influenced the development of Skat. Parlett calls it a "neat little descendant of Quadrille" and "a pleasant introduction" to the Ombre family of games.
Officers' Skat (Offiziersskat), is a trick-taking card game for two players which is based on the rules of Skat. It may be played with a German or French pack of 32 cards which, from the outset of the game, are laid out in rows both face down and face up. As in Skat, tricks are taken and card points counted to determine the winner of a round; game points are then awarded to decide the winner of a game. It is also called Two-hand Skat, Sailors' Skat (Seemannsskat), Farmers' Skat (Bauernskat), Robbers' Skat (Räuberskat) or Coachmen's Skat (Kutscherskat)
German Schafkopf is an old German card game and the forerunner of the popular modern games of Skat, Doppelkopf and Bavarian Schafkopf. Today it is hardly ever played in its original form, but there are a number of regional derivations.
Tapp is a trick-taking, card game for 3 or 4 players using 36 French-suited cards that is played in the south German region of Swabia, especially in the former Kingdom of Württemberg. It is the French-suited offshoot of German Tarok; its German-suited form being called Württemberg Tarock in that region. Tapp is one of a family of similar games that include Bavarian Tarock, the Austrian games of Bauerntarock and Dobbm, and the American games of Frog and Six-Bid Solo. Although probably first played in the early nineteenth century, the game of Tapp is still a local pastime in its native Württemberg, albeit in a greatly elaborated form.
1000 is an easy-to-learn card game for two or three players. Its simple rules make it suitable for players to quickly become familiar with the basic concepts of trick-taking and trump-based card games. The name is taken from the score at the end of the game.
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.
Solo 66 is a trick-taking, Ace-Ten, card game for five players in which a soloist always plays against the other four. It is based on the rules of Germany's national game, Skat, and is played with a French-suited Skat pack of 32 cards. Bidding is for the trump suit. Jacks are ranked within their respective suits and do not form additional trumps over and above the cards of the trump suit. Grupp describes it as "an entertaining game for a larger group."
Scharwenzel, formerly also called Schipper-Schrill, is a traditional north German plain-trick card game of the Schafkopf family that is played by two teams with two to four players on each team. The game is at least three centuries old and is played today only on the island of Fehmarn in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It may be a regional variant of German Solo with which it bears some similarities and it may also have been ancestral to Schafkopf. It is not related to a different game called Scharwenzel or Scherwenzel that was once played in Bavaria.
Officers' Schafkopf, also called Open Schafkopf, Farmer's Schafkopf (Bauernschafkopf) or Two-Hand Schafkopf (Zweier Schafkopf or Schafkopf zu zweit, 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.
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.
Herzblatt or Herzblättchen is a German card game of the Ace-Ten family for two to five players. It bears a certain resemblance to the extinct 19th-century game of Piquesept, however without the special rules associated with the trump Seven.
Call-ace Whist or Danish Whist is a card game for four players playing in variable partnerships. It is the most popular form of Whist in Denmark, where it is often just called "Whist". It has a well developed bidding system and has imported from the traditional Danish game of Skærvindsel the feature of determining the partnerships by 'calling an ace'. John McLeod records that there is also a version of Danish Whist in which there are fixed partnerships.
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.