 Suit of Hearts from a Bavarian pack | |
| Origin | Bavaria, Germany |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Herzl'n |
| Type | Trick-taking avoidance |
| Family | Hearts family |
| Players | 4 (3-8) |
| Age range | 6+ |
| Cards | 32 |
| Deck | Schafkopf pack |
| Rank (high→low) | A 10 K Q J 9 8 7 |
| Play | Clockwise |
Herzla or Herzl'n is a Bavarian, reverse trick-taking, card game for 4 players in which the aim is to avoid taking any Hearts. There is a simpler variant for children and adults that may be played by 3-8 players.
Herzla is reported as being popular in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg around 1900 and later, alongside 's Dappa, Spitzramsen, Mariaschen, 66 and Lügo. [1] It is still played there today [2] as well as in Bavaria. [3]
The following rules are based on Sirch (2008). [3]
A Bavarian pattern pack of 32 cards is used. Typically the Sixes are removed from a Schafkopf pack. Alternatively any German-suited pack may be used. The cards rank in their natural order: Sow (Sau), King, Ober, Unter, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven.
Dealer shuffles the cards and offers to rearhand to cut. Each player is then dealt 8 cards, either in two packets of 4 or four packets of 2 cards. Dealing and play are clockwise.
Players may bid for the following contracts:
If no-one bids for a contract, a normal game is played as described below. If two players bid, positional priority applies. The successful bidder becomes the declarer and plays against the 3 'defenders'.
Forehand leads to the first trick. There are no trumps. Hearts may not be led to either of the first two tricks. Players must follow suit ( Farbzwang ), but there is no compulsion to win the trick (i.e. no Stechzwang ).
Beddl is Bavarian for Bettel, i.e. a contract in which the declarer undertakes to win no tricks. If they do have to take a trick, the hand ends immediately and the declarer loses. Hearts become irrelevant.
Mord literally means "murder", but is the equivalent of a slam or march (Durchmarsch), a contract in which the declarer undertakes to win every trick. As soon as an opponent wins a trick, the hand ends and the declarer loses. Again, who wins which Hearts is irrelevant.
A Schleichermord or "sneaky Mord" is when a player decides to play a Mord without announcing it and aims to win all the tricks.
In a normal game, players pay 10c for every Heart captured to the player who has avoided taking any. If 2 players are void in Hearts, they each receive 40c. If a player captures all 8 Hearts, they pay 80c to the stock (pot). If a Beddl or Mord is won, the losers pay the declarer 80c each. If the declarer loses, he pays 80c to each opponent. A Schleichermord is worth 80c if won; if it is lost no-one will know anyway!
A simple variant, suitable for children as well as adults, is to play the normal game. Any number of players from 3 to 8 may play; a Bavarian-pattern Schafkopf pack is used, 36 cards are dealt accordingly and any leftover cards put to one side, face down. Players only play a 'normal game' and score penalty points for each Heart taken. Players may agree to play a set number of rounds and the winner is then the one with the fewest points. Alternatively they may choose to play until the first person reaches an agreed total e.g. 50 points.
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."
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 played with non-proprietary packs. It should not include terms solely related to casino or banking games. For glossaries that relate primarily to one game or family of similar games, see Game-specific glossaries.
Préférence, frequently spelt Preference, is a Central and Eastern European 10-card plain-trick game with bidding, played by three players with a 32-card Piquet deck, and probably originating in early 19th century Austria, becoming the second most popular game in Vienna by 1980. It also took off in Russia where it was played by the higher echelons of society, the regional variant known as Preferans being still very popular in that country, while other variants are played from Lithuania to Greece.
Bauerntarock also called Brixentaler Bauerntarock or Brixental Tarock, is a point-trick card game played in the Brixental, Austria. It may have originated in the 19th century either as an adaptation of 54-card Tapp Tarock onto the cheaper and smaller 36-card German pack. Another possibility is that it was adapted from the 78-card Grosstarock or Taroc l'Hombre game as the ratio of trumps to non-trumps is almost the same. It uses the Skat Schedule found in popular regional games such as Jass and Schafkopf. It is closely related to Bavarian Tarock, German Tarok, Württemberg Tarock and especially Dobbm. Like Bavarian Tarock and Tapp, Brixental Bauerntarock and Dobbm do not belong to the true tarot games, but have adopted rules from Tapp Tarock. The most fundamental difference between these games and true tarot games is in the use of German or French decks instead of true Tarot playing cards.
Bavarian Tarock or, often, just Tarock, is a card game that was once popular in Bavaria and also played in parts of Austria as well as Berlin. The name is a clue to its origin in the historical German game of [Gross-]Tarock, a game using traditional Tarot cards. At some point in the mid- to late-18th century, attempts were made to emulate Taroc using a standard 36-card German-suited pack, resulting in the formerly popular, south German game of German Tarok. During the last century, the variant played with a pot (Haferl) and often known as Bavarian Tarock or Haferltarock, evolved into "quite a fine game" that, however, has less in common with its Tarock progenitor. German Tarok also generated the very similar game of Tapp, played in Württemberg, and both are related to Bauerntarock, Dobbm and the American games of Frog and Six-Bid Solo. Bavarian Tarock should not be confused with Königrufen, also known as Austrian Tarock or just Tarock.
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.
Wendish Schafkopf, Wendisch or Wendsch is an old German card game for four players that is still played today. It uses a Schafkopf pack of German-suited cards or a Skat pack of French playing cards.
Mucken or Muck is a variation of the popular German card game, Schafkopf. However, unlike Schafkopf, it must always be played in teams of 2 players, so there are no soloist or Rufer ("caller") contracts. Mucken is mainly found in the province of Upper Franconia in the German state of Bavaria. Mucken is often played in Franconian restaurants, as it is part of the Franconian pub culture. The details of the rules vary greatly, even from village to village.
Brandeln is an historical card game for three or four players; in which the winning bidder plays alone against the rest. It is one of the earliest games to use the terms Bettel – a contract to lose every trick – and Mord - a contract to win every trick. One of several card games mastered by Mozart, Brandeln is still current in Austria and Germany today. It has been described as having a "civilized, refined and ingenious character" and "one of the most pleasant card games".
Droggn, sometimes called French Tarock is an extinct card game of the Tarock family for three players that was played in the Stubai valley in Tyrol, Austria until the 1980s. Droggn is originally local dialect for "to play Tarock", but it has become the proper name of this specific Tarock variant. An unusual feature of the game compared with other Tarock games is the use of a 66-card deck and that, until recently, there was no record in the literature of a 66-card game and no current manufacturers of such a deck. The structure of the game strongly indicates that it is descended from the later version of Tarok l'Hombre, a 78-card Tarock game popular in 19th-century Austria and Germany, but with the subsequent addition of two higher bids.
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.
Bolachen is a traditional card game for 3 players that is played in parts of southern Upper Bavaria, especially in the Rupertiwinkel area of the Berchtesgaden Land, where there is a cultural influence from Salzburg, and the state of Salzburg itself. It is a Bavarian variant of the more complex, old Austrian game of Préférence. Like its Bavarian cousin, Wallachen, Bolachen is threatened by extinction.
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.
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.
German Tarok, sometimes known as Sansprendre or simply Tarok, is an historical Ace-Ten card game for three players that emerged in the 18th century and is the progenitor of a family of games still played today in Europe and North America. It became very popular in Bavaria and Swabia during the 19th century before being largely superseded by Schafkopf, but has survived in the local forms of Bavarian Tarock and Tapp. During the mid-19th century, it became the most popular card game among Munich's middle classes and was also played in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by notable Bavarian author Ludwig Thoma, frequently appearing in his novels and journal articles. It was superseded after the First World War by other forms such as Bavarian Tarock.
Skærvindsel is a Danish card game for four players that is a member of the Schafkopf family. Today it is mostly played in Jutland and is therefore often spelled Sjervinsel, but was previously widespread throughout Denmark. It was the first Danish game where the winner of the auction, the declarer, could choose a partner by calling an Ace. This principle has since been transferred to Call-Ace Whist (Esmakkerwhist).
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.
