 Suit of Bells in old Saxon playing cards | |
| Origin | France |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Kauf-Labet |
| Type | Plain-trick |
| Family | Rams group |
| Players | 3–5 |
| Age range | 12+ |
| Cards | 32 |
| Deck | Piquet |
| Rank (high→low) | K Q J A 10 9 8 7 |
| Play | Anticlockwise |
| Related games | |
| La Bête, Contraspiel, Rams | |
| Features: pot, 4 cards, exchanging, dropping out, 2 Jacks as top trumps | |
Kauflabet or Kauf-Labet is an historical German trick-taking card game for three to five players that was popular within women's circles. [1]
According to von Zwiedineck-Südenhorst, Kauf-Labet is recorded as early as 1684, [2] and von Schnüffis mentions it in 1707, [3] but its rules first appear in Corvinus in 1739. [1] It was a simple gambling game, the name referring to the feature of exchanging or 'buying' (kaufen) cards and the penalty incurred for failing to take tricks (bête). Although it sounds as if it may be related to the old French game of La Bête, the latter had a different bidding process, no dropping out and more complex staking system.
We are told that it was a game played on holiday evenings alongside Hahnrey or Snip Snap Snorem. [4] This classic version continues to be recorded during the 18th century, but in the mid-19th century a more elaborate description appears, akin to the Rams group in which players could drop out and in which the trump Jack is the commanding card and the Jack of the same colour is the second-highest trump. [5] [lower-alpha 1]
The game may have been prevalent in Swabia, Upper Saxony and the Ore Mountains as it is recorded in dialect dictionaries for those regions. [6] [7] It appears to have died out by the 20th century.
The following rules are based on Corvinus' incomplete description of 1739, although there are several other very similar accounts: [1]
Three or four players use a German-suited pack. [lower-alpha 2] Each player receives four cards and the next is turned for trump. In turn, players now exchange as many cards from their hand as they wish with cards from the talon for as long as there are cards remaining. The trump upcard is picked up by the dealer. Once exchanging is complete, forehand leads to the first trick. The player with the most tricks sweeps the pot and any player who fails to take a trick pays a penalty either equivalent to the basic stake or to the amount in the pot.
The following rules are based on Meyer (1850):
The game is played by between 2 and 5 players using a 32-card, French- or German-suited pack. Deal and play are anticlockwise. The dealer antes an agreed stake to the pot that must be divisible by four. He then deals four cards each and turns the next for trump. Beginning with forehand, players now announce in turn whether they will play or pass. If they pass, they lay away their cards and take no further part in the current deal. If they play, they may exchange their 'bad cards' (cartes fausses) with the dealer who replenishes their hands from the talon.
Forehand leads to the first trick and players must follow suit or, failing that, play a trump. A player who cannot follow must trump or overtrump if able. The trick is won by the highest trump or, if no trumps are played, the highest card of the led suit. The trick winner leads to the next until all four tricks are played. Cards rank in their natural order except that the trump Jack is the highest card and the Jack of the same colour is the second-highest. If German-suited cards are used, Acorns pair with Leaves and Hearts with Bells.
Each trick taken is worth a quarter of the stake or, if there are bêtes, a quarter of the pot. Anyone who fails to take a trick is Bête and pays a penalty equal to the stake or the contents of the pot and the next game is played for that plus the new stake.
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.
Kontraspiel, also called Contra, is a German 5-card plain-trick game for four individual players using 24 cards. Eldest hand has the first right to accept or make trumps. The Unters of Acorns and Leaves are permanent highest trumps, the Wenzels. Kontraspiel is similar to the Scandinavian game Polskpas and is recorded as early as 1811.
Réunion, Reunion or Vereinigungsspiel is an historical German point-trick game for three players which, despite its French name, appears to have originated in the central Rhineland and lowland areas to the east. It is a 10-card game of the Ace-Ten family and uses a 32-card French-suited piquet pack or 32-card Skat pack. Players who cannot follow suit must trump. Otherwise the game can be described as a simplified version of Skat, but is also reminiscent of Euchre with its two permanent top trumps, the Right and Left Bowers.
Tippen, also known as Dreiblatt, Dreikart, Drei Karten, Dreekort, Kleinpréférence or Labet, is an historical German 3-card, plain-trick game which was popular as a gambling game for three or more players. The Danish version of the game was known as Trekort and more elaborate Swedish variants include Knack and Köpknack. It appears to be related to the English game of 3-Card Loo. It was banned as a gambling game in some places.
Chratze is a trick taking card game, mainly played in the German-speaking part of Switzerland as well as in Bavaria. It is one of over 70 variants of Jass and played with a pack of 36 cards, either a Swiss-German or French one. It appears to be related to the Austrian game, Kratzen.
Bestia is an Italian card game. It is a gambling game and is similar to Briscola and Tressette. The word bestia means beast.
Poch, Pochen or Pochspiel is a very old card game that is considered one of the forerunners of poker, a game that developed in America in the 19th century. An etymological relationship between the game names is also assumed. Games related to Poch are the French Glic and Nain Jaune and the English Pope Joan. Other forerunners of poker and possible relatives of the game are the English game, Brag, from the 16th century and the French Brelan and Belle, Flux et Trente-et-Un. Poch is recorded as early as 1441 in Strasbourg.
Zwicken is an old Austrian and German card game for 4 to 6 players, which is usually played for small stakes and makes a good party game. 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. Despite a lack of sources, it was "one of the most popular card games played from the 18th to the 20th century in those regions of what is today Austria."
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.
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.
Mistigri, historically Pamphile, is an old, French, trick-taking card game for three or four players that has elements reminiscent of poker. It is a member of the Rams family of games and, although it is a gambling game, often played for small stakes, it is also suitable as a party game or as a family game with children from the age of 12 upwards.
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.
Bester Bube or Fünfkart is an historical German card game for 3–6 players played with a Piquet pack. 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. It may be an ancestor of Five-Card Loo.
Mouche, also known as Lanterlu, is an old, French, trick-taking card game for two to six players which has elements, such as bluffing, reminiscent of the much later game of poker. It is a member of the Rams family of games and, although it is a gambling game, often played for small stakes, it is also suitable as a party game or as a family game with children from the age of 12 upwards. It is named after the mouche, a term that variously refers to its winning hand, the basic stake and the penalty for failing to take any tricks. Although also called Bête, it should not be confused with the older game of that name from which it came and which, in turn, was a derivative of Triomphe.
Bête, la Bête, Beste or la Beste, originally known as Homme or l'Homme, was an old, French, trick-taking card game, usually for three to five players. It was a derivative of Triomphe created by introducing the concept of bidding. Its earlier name gives away its descent from the 16th-century Spanish game of Ombre. It is the "earliest recorded multi-player version of Triomphe".
Jucker, also known as Juckerspiel or Juckern, is a card game that was popular in the Alsace and Palatinate regions on either side of the modern Franco-German border. It is believed to be the ancestor of Euchre and may have given its name to the playing card known as the Joker.
Trekort, Tre-Kort or, in Swedish, also Trikort, is an old card game of Danish origin for four or five players that was usually played for money. It was also known in Sweden, where it developed into the variant of Knack. The name Trekort is also loosely used to describe related three-card games such as Swedish Köpknack. The name means "three cards" and may therefore be related to German Dreiblatt.
Femkort is a classic Swedish card game for 3 to 8 players "with an unusual object", known since the 17th century, being mentioned in 1658 in Georg Stiernhielm's epic poem, Hercules (Herkules) as Fämkort. It is traditionally played with some kind of bet.
Cucumber is a north European card game of Swedish origin for two or more players. The goal of the game is to avoid taking the last trick. David Parlett describes it as a "delightful Baltic gambling game".
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.
