 The suit of Leaves in a William Tell pattern German-suited pack | |
| Origin | Germany |
|---|---|
| Type | Compendium game |
| Players | 3 or 4 |
| Age range | 12+ |
| Cards | 32 |
| Deck | German pack |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Card rank (highest first) | A K O U 10 9 8 7 |
| Playing time | 30 minutes |
| Related games | |
| Barbu • Herzeln • Kein Stich • Lorum • Quodlibet | |
| 6 deals x 1 round = 6 games | |
Rosbiratschka is a trick-taking, compendium, card game for three or four players that is played with a German-suited pack of 32 or 24 cards.
Despite the name, Rosbiratscka is a game of German origin for three to four players that is known in different regions under different names. It is easy to learn and suitable as a parlour game i.e. with friends and family. [1]
The following rules for four players are based on Altenburger. [1]
A full game involves a partie of six different contracts and the aim is to score as few penalty points as possible.
A 32-card pack is used with German suits i.e. Acorns, Leaves, Hearts and Bells. The ranking of the cards in each suit is Sow (~Ace), King, Ober, Unter, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven. Each player is dealt 8 cards (2-3-3). The player to the left of the dealer (forehand) leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit ( Farbzwang ) and the highest card wins the trick. there are no trumps. If suit cannot be followed, a player may discard a card of his choice. Six individual contracts are played:
For three players, remove all Sevens and Eights from a 32-card pack and deal eight cards to each player; score 2 minus points for the Ace and King of Hearts in deal 2. For five players remove the Six of Bells and deal seven each. Score 2 minus points for the last trick in deal 1. For six players use a 36-card pack and deal six to each player; score 2 minus points for the first and last tricks in deal 1.
Black Lady is an American card game of the Hearts group for three to six players and the most popular of the group. It emerged in the early 20th century as an elaboration of Hearts and was initially also called Discard Hearts. It is named after its highest penalty card, the Queen of Spades or "Black Lady". It is a trick-avoidance game in which the aim is to avoid taking tricks containing hearts or the Black Lady. American author and leading bridge exponent, Ely Culbertson, describes it as "essentially Hearts with the addition of the queen of spades as a minus card, counting thirteen" and goes on to say that "Black Lady and its elaborations have completely overshadowed the original Hearts in popularity."
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."
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 Rhineland. 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.
Ramsch, formerly also called Mike in East Germany, is a card game based on the contract of the same name in the popular German card games, Skat and Schafkopf. However, thanks to its interesting mode of play it has since developed into an independent game in its own right which is only loosely based on Skat or Schafkopf. It should not be confused with the games of the Rams family – Ramsen and Ramscheln – that also go by the name Ramsch.
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)
The card game of Bauernschnapsen is an expanded form of the popular Austrian card game of Schnapsen, played by four players. This variant of Schnapsen is played throughout the whole of Austria.
Dreierschnapsen, Talonschnapsen or Staperlschnapsen is a three-hand variant of the popular Austrian card game, Bauernschnapsen. The rules are very similar to those for Bauernschnapsen except that, instead of two teams of two players, one player bids to become the soloist against the other two who form a temporary alliance. Another difference is that the game makes use of a talon with which the soloist may exchange cards to improve his hand, hence its alternative name of Talonschnapsen. The game is usually played with William Tell cards.
Binokel is a card game for two to eight players that originated in Switzerland as Binocle, but spread to the German state of Württemberg, where it is typically played with a Württemberg pattern pack. It is still popular in Württemberg, where it is usually played in groups of three or four as a family game rather than in the pubs. In three-hand games, each player competes for himself, while in four-hand games, known as Cross Binokel (Kreuzbinokel), two teams are formed with partners sitting opposite one another. The game was introduced to America by German immigrants in the first half of the 20th century, where it developed into the similar game of Pinochle. Binocle was still played in Switzerland in 1994. In south Germany, the game is sometimes called by its Swabian name, Benoggl.
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.
Herzeln is a compendium card game for three or four players in a partie of eight deals. As its name suggests, it is an Austrian game. It should not be confused with other games sometimes called Herzeln, including Barbu and Kein Stich.
Quodlibet is a traditional card game associated with central European student fraternities that is played with William Tell pattern cards and in which the dealer is known as the 'beer king'. It is a compendium, trick-taking game for 4 players using a 32-card pack of double German playing cards.
Rumpel is a card game, similar to Quodlibet that is native to the Danube region from Regensburg to Linz, but is played especially in the region of Hauzenberg in the German county of Passau. Mala describes a version with 8 or 12 contracts from a menu of 29 called Großer Rumpel.
Kein Stich is a card game, which is well known in the German-speaking parts of the world under various regional names such as Herzeln, King Louis, Kunterbunt ("Multicoloured"), Schwarze Sau, Fritz, Brumseln, Fünferspiel ("Fives"), Lieschen, Lizzy or Pensionisteln ("Pensioners").
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. 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 Ramsen in Austria, but is played with a Piquet pack, does not have permanent trumps and has a different card ranking.
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.
Schnalzen is an Austrian card game for 4 players and a member of the Rams group of games 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 is, broadly speaking, Ramsen with the Weli as the second-highest trump. Players are dealt 5 cards and may not exchange. The Weli is the second-highest trump and game is 20 points.
Kratzen is an Austrian card game for three to six players that is played for small stakes usually using a 33-card William Tell pack. It is a member 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. The game is related to the Swiss Jass form, Chratze and has been described as "fun" 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.
Lorum or Lórum is an old, Hungarian, compendium card game for 4 players. Although it is the ancestor of the French game, Barbu, it is still played today. It uses a German-suited pack of 32 cards and comprises 8 individual contracts, each with different rules, each of which is played four times so that a session consists of a total of 32 individual games and lasts about 1½ hours.
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".
