Jass is a family of trick taking, Ace-Ten card games and, in its key forms, a distinctive branch of the Marriage family. It is popular in its native Switzerland as well as the rest of the Alemannic German-speaking area of Europe, Italian South Tyrol and in a few places in Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Oregon and Washington USA.
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.
Hucklebuck, also known as Huckly Buck and sometimes as Sputnik, is an American trick-taking card game of the Rams group for three to seven players. The game is native to the states of Nebraska and Iowa, although a variant called Huckley Buck is recorded in Nevada. The game appears to have arisen in the early 1900s in the Midwestern United States and may be based on Bourré, a Louisiana member of the Rams group. The rules given here are based on McLeod.
Bieten, Laubbieten, Lab bietn or Labbieten or Bavarian Poker is a card game that is popular in the Austrian Tyrol and the Bavarian Prealps. It used to be a game frequently played by timber rafters and muleteers. It can be seen as a precursor to the traditional Tyrolean game of Perlaggen. The unusual feature of Bieten is the nature of the competition. The players have the option, even if they have a poor hand, of persuading their opponent(s) to cave in through skilful bidding (Bieten) and bluffing.
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."
Perlaggen, formerly Perlagg-Spiel, is a traditional card game which is mainly played in the regions of South Tyrol in Italy, the Tyrolean Oberland and the Innsbruck areas of Austria. It is the only card game to have been recognised by UNESCO as an item of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Dobbm or Tappen is a card game played in the Stubai valley in Austria and is one of a family of games derived from the Tarot game of Grosstarock by adapting its rules to a regular, shortened pack of 36 cards. The ranking and point value of the cards in Dobbm is typical of the family and, like its other members, one player always plays as a soloist against all the others. It is highly popular in the Stubai valley among card players of all generations, but is unknown in the surrounding regions.
Bohemian Watten, sometimes called Bohemian Ramsen, is a trick-taking card game for two to four players. The biggest differences 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. In fact, Bohemian Watten bears more resemblance to Zwanzig ab, Ramsen and Schnalzen than Watten itself.
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."
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. Like Wallachen, Bolachen is threatened by extinction.
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.
Mauscheln, also Maus or Vierblatt, is a gambling card game that resembles Tippen, which is commonly played in Germany and the countries of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Mulatschak or Fuchzenawa is an Austrian card game for two to five players that comes from the Salzburg area and is considered the quintessential game of the region. Although Mulatschak has been called the national card game of Salzburg, its rules were almost certainly unpublished before 2004. Mulatschak 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. There is a variant known as Murln or Murlen, which is played in Vienna and the Styria.
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.
Jaggln or Jaggeln is an historical Tyrolean card game designed for five players that used to be played purely as a winter pastime by farming folk. An unusual feature are its three highest trumps known as Jaggl, Zanggl and Buggl. The aim is to win the majority of Gewisses – i.e. the four Sows, the four Tens and the Jaggl. So, for example, if a player holds all three top trumps, he is certain to win 3 tricks. And if, in doing so, he captures the four Sows, he has won because he has five of the nine Gewisses.
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.
Zehnerlegen, Zehneranlegen or Zehner-Auflegen is a card game of the Domino family that is usually played with German-suited cards of the Bavarian pattern, the aim of which is to be first to shed all one's cards. It is thus a shedding-type card game. The name means "laying tens" and refers to the Tens (Zehner) which are the first card in each suit to be played to the table. It is played in Bavaria and in the Austrian state of Burgenland.
