 The Matzln in a William Tell pack | |
| Origin | Bavaria |
|---|---|
| Type | Point-trick |
| Players | 4 |
| Cards | 32 |
| Deck | William Tell |
| Rank (high→low) | A 10 O U 9 8 7 |
| Play | Clockwise |
Matzlfangen ("catching tens") 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.
Matzlfangen is an old Bavarian card game, being recorded as early as 1809 as Mätzelfangen, a game that was played "only in the Upper Palatinate and usually in the countryside." [1] In 1826 it was reported in the Bavarian Courier being played at home around the table by "master craftsmen, journeymen and apprentices", along with Solo, Schafkopf, Kreuzmariage, Grasobern and others. [2] In 1827 we read that Mätz is a contemptuous word for "woman" and, again, that Mätzlein fangen is a card game popular in the Upper Palatinate. [3] Grimm (1885), however, records that Metzlein or Mätzlein is simply a maiden and that "around Straubing it is term of endearment for a girl." [4] [lower-alpha 1]
It is named after the ten, which is known colloquially as the Matzl or Matz ("hussy"). [6] It is a pub game that still belongs to the village culture of Austria, having been brought to Hackenbuch in Upper Austria by peat cutters around a century ago and spread outwards from there to the northern Flachgau. For around 100 years it has been Hackenbuch's "standard game". [7] [6] It may be ancestral to catch the ten which is mentioned as early as 1779.
The rules that follow are based on Daglinger. [7]
Matzlfangen is a four-hand game, played with a pack of 32 Double German cards. The aim of the game is to score more than 65 points.
| Ranks and card-point values of cards | ||||||||
| Rank | Sow | 10 | K | O | U | 9 | 8 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | 11 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | ||
The cards rank and score as follows:
Winning the last trick scores 10 points, bringing the total points available to 130, hence 66 or more are required to win the game.
Dealing and play are clockwise. The dealer deals eight cards each in batches of four. The last card dealt (to the dealer) is flipped to determine the trump suit. If the player to the dealer's right knocks on the pack of cards, all eight cards to each player are distributed in one batch.
All players in turn starting with forehand announce if they want to play a contract higher than Rufen. A player is only allowed to speak once in the bidding. Any bid must be higher than previous bids. A player who doesn't want to make a bid says "weiter". If everyone says "weiter", a Rufen is played. There are five contracts which, from lowest to highest, are:
Players/teams may raise (spritzen) alternately, each announcement adds 1 stake or game point to the game value (N.B. unlike other games there is no doubling, redoubling, etc.). Players are only allowed to announce a raise or reraise before a card has been lead to the first trick. Raising is done by announcements in the following order: Schuß, Re, Sub, Dut, Hirsch, Gams, Jager, Gweih, Auffi, Drauffi. [8]
In Durch and Trumpf-Durch, the declarer leads; otherwise forehand is on lead. Players must follow suit and head the trick if possible. A player who is unable to follow suit must trump or overtrump if a trump has already been played. In other words, Farbzwang, Trumpfzwang and Stichzwang apply. A player who has no card of the suit led and no trumps may play any card. The trick is won by the highest trump in it, or if it contains no trump by the highest card of the suit led. The winner of each trick leads to the next. [8]
If a team wins the trump Matzl from their opponents, they are automatically absolved from paying the stake for the game including any additional penalties ("no water" or "double"). If they then also win the game they score an extra bonus point. However, this is not paid automatically by the losers and has to be claimed.
At the end of each deal, the card points are added up as per the schedule above plus 10 points for the winner(s) of the last trick.
The game is usually played for stakes. The basic stake (Einsatz or Spieleinsatz) being agreed beforehand. In Rufen and Treiben, a straight win is worth 1 stake or game point. If the losers have "no water" (kein Wasser), i.e. score less than 30, the game is worth double If the losers fail to take a trick, the game is worth treble. A Durch scores 6 stakes or game points. [8]
A card game called Zehnerfangen or Zehner-Fangen ("catching tens") is recorded in Austria and Bavaria in the mid-19th century, but no details of play are given. [9] [10] It has the same meaning as Matzlfangen.
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."
Catch the ten, also called Scots whist or Scotch whist, is an 18th-century point-trick ace–ten card game that is recorded as being played only in Scotland, although evidence suggests a possible German origin. Unlike standard whist, it is played with a pack of only 36 cards, the fives and below being omitted. In the trump suit, the jack is the highest card. Despite its alternative name, it has nothing to do with standard whist.
Elfern or Elfmandeln, is a very old, German and Austrian 6-card, no-trump, trick-and-draw game for two players using a 32-card, French-suited Piquet pack or German-suited Skat pack. The object is to win the majority of the 20 honours: the Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten in a Piquet pack or the Ace, King, Ober, Unter and Ten in a Skat pack. Elfern is at least 250 years old and a possible ancestor to the Marriage family of card games, yet it is still played by German children.
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.
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.
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. There are several local variations of the game, which differ mainly in the number of cards revealed or hidden and the calculation of points.
Gaigel is a card game from the Württemberg region of Germany and is traditionally played with Württemberg suited cards. It is a Swabian variant of Sechsundsechzig and may be played with 2, 3, 4 or 6 players. However, a significant difference from Sechsundsechzig and other related games like Bauernschnapsen is the use of a double card deck. The four-player game is usually called Kreuzgaigel. The game emerged in the early 19th century.
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."
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.
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".
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.
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."
Bauerchen, also Bauerchens, Bauerspiel, Bauersche or Bauersches, is a trick-taking card game of the ace–ten family for four players that is played in the Palatinate region of Germany, especially around the city of Kaiserslautern, as well as in south Hesse. It is often played during leisure times as an alternative to well known games such as Schafkopf or Skat. Regular Bauerchen tournaments also take place. The game is named after its four permanent trumps or "Bowers".
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.
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.
1001 is a point-trick card game of German origin for two players that is similar to sixty-six. It is known in German as Tausendundeins and Tausendeins ("1001") or Kiautschou. The winner is the first to 1001 points, hence the name. Hülsemann describes the game as "one of the most stimulating for two players", one that must be played "fast and freely".
