The Book of Card Games: The Complete Rules to the Classics, Family Favorite and Forgotten Games (28 page)

TIME:
One hour +

PARTNERSHIP:
Sometimes

COMPLEXITY:
Medium

Sheepshead is an old middle-European card game that was developed by shepherds in the late 1700s. Sheepshead also goes by the name Schafkopf (German for “sheepshead”) or Shep and is similar in play to pinochle and euchre. With a challenging rule system, this game rewards those diligent enough to learn it. You can play Sheepshead with two to eight players although it’s most commonly played with three to five. If there are three or four players, they play for themselves, and if there are five players, they play in teams. The objective of Sheepshead is to win the most points by bidding and taking tricks with high-value cards.

The four queens and the four jacks make up the top eight trumps. They rank as Q♣ Q♠ Q♥ Q♦ J♣ J♠ J♥ J♦. The next highest in rank are the diamonds, which make up a suit of trumps—A♦ 10♦ K♦ 9♦ 8♦ 7♦. The other suits are equal in value, and the cards rank high to low in the same order.

The cards also have values associated with them. The ace is worth eleven, the ten is worth ten, the king is worth four, the queen is worth three, the jack is worth two, and the remaining three cards are worth zero. So even though the queens and jacks help you take tricks, they are worth fewer points than tens and aces.

Sheepshead opens with a random dealer being selected. When it’s your turn to deal, deal a group of three cards to each player, face down. Place two cards face down in the middle of the table to form the “blind,” which will be used in the next stage of play. Then deal another group of three cards to each player, face down. Deal passes to the left with each hand.

The player to the left of the dealer has the option to pick the blind. By picking up the blind, a player declares that she will win at least sixty-one points in captured cards during the hand. If she does not wish to take the blind, she says, “Pass.” If all players pass, the game is considered a misdeal, and that hand is over. (In one variation of Sheepshead, if all players pass, the game is a “leaster,” and the object is to take the fewest points. In order to qualify to win, you must win at least one trick. The winner receives a point from each player.)

If you’re the first player to pick up the blind, you become the “picker” or declarer. You add the two cards to your hand and discard two cards from those you were already holding. These cards will count toward your points at the end of the game, but they will not be used in play. If there are three or four players, you play by yourself. If there are five players, as the declarer you can go alone against the other players or “choose” a partner by declaring one of the nontrump suits. You must have at least one card in that suit, but it cannot be the ace. If you discard an ace after picking up the blind, you may not call that suit. The player who has the ace of that suit becomes your partner, but he does not say it out loud. You will not know who your partner is until he plays the ace on a trick.

The player to the dealer’s left leads the first card by playing any one card from his hand. Play continues clockwise around the table. When it’s your turn, you must follow suit if possible by playing one card from your hand in that suit. If you cannot, you may play any card from your hand. The player with the highest card in the suit led, or the highest trump, wins the trick and leads the next trick. When all six hands have been played, add up the points in the cards you have won based on their values given earlier.

In a five-player game, the hand is scored as follows. If you are the declarer and win a combined value of sixty-one points or more with your partner, you receive two points, and your partner receives one point. Each of your opponents loses one point. If your team wins a combined value of sixty points or fewer, you lose two points, your partner loses one point, and your opponents each receive one point.

In a four-player game, the hand is scored as follows. If you are the declarer and win a value of at least sixty-one points, you receive three points, and each of your opponents loses one point. If you win a value fewer than sixty-one points, you lose three points, and your opponents each receive one point.

In a three-player game, the hand is scored as follows. If you’re the declarer and win a value of at least sixty-one points, you receive two points, and your opponents lose one point each. If you win a value fewer than sixty-one points, you lose two points and your opponents each receive one point.

In all instances, if one team or player wins ninety-one points or more in one hand, the hand is a “Schneider” and the points are doubled. If one side or player wins all the tricks, the hand is a “Schwarz” and the points are tripled. The player with the most points after ten hands wins the game.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:
Three

EQUIPMENT:
One deck of thirty-two cards (A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7 of all suits)

TIME:
One hour +

PARTNERSHIP:
No

COMPLEXITY:
Medium

Skat was developed in 1811 in Altenburg, Germany, and today is the national card game in that country. The objective of skat is to win the most points by bidding and winning tricks with high-value cards.

The ranking of the cards depends on the game the declarer chooses to play after winning the bidding process (described below). If the declarer chooses a suit game, the four jacks are the top four trumps, no matter what suit is picked as trump. They rank as J♣ J♠ J♥ J♦. The next highest in rank are the seven cards in the trump suit in the order of ace, ten, king, queen, nine, eight, and seven. The other suits are equal, and the cards rank high to low in the same order. If the declarer chooses a grand game, the four jacks are the only trumps and rank in order from J♣ J♠ J♥ J♦. The four suits are all equal, and the cards rank from high to low as ace, ten, king, queen, nine, eight, and seven. If the declarer chooses a null game, there are no trumps, the four suits are all equal, and the cards rank in each suit from high to low as ace, king, queen, jack, ten, nine, eight, and seven.

When playing suit and grand games, the cards each have values. The jack is worth two, the ace is worth eleven, the ten is worth ten, the king is worth four, the queen is worth three, and the remaining three cards are worth zero. The total value of the cards is 120 points.

Skat opens with a random dealer being selected and dealing a group of three cards face down to each player, a group of four cards face down to each player, and a final group of three cards face down to each player. The remaining two cards are placed face down on the table and form the “skat,” which will be used below. In the game of skat, the dealer is called Rearhand (or Posthand), the player to his left is called Forehand, and the player to his right is called Middlehand. Deal rotates to the left for each hand.

After the cards have been dealt, you pick up your cards and determine if you want to bid for a suit, grand, or null. Each bid is equal to a possible value that can be taken in a game of suit, grand, or null. Bidding a number means you are prepared to play and take that many points. The explanation of scoring is below, but the possible values to be bid are eighteen, twenty, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-seven, thirty, thirty-three, thirty-five, thirty-six, forty, forty-four, forty-five, forty-six, forty-eight, fifty, and so on.

Middlehand starts by bidding with Forehand. As Middlehand, you can either pass or make a minimum bid of eighteen points. If you do place a bid, Forehand can either say, “Pass,” or compete for the bid by saying, “Yes.” If Forehand says, “Yes,” you can either say, “Pass,” or say a higher bid, turning the bidding back to Forehand. This continues until one of you passes. The bidding then moves to include Rearhand and takes place in the same fashion with the winner of the previous bidding. As the junior player, Rearhand must bid higher than the previous bid or pass the hand. If he bids higher, the other players can compete for the bid or pass. The winning bidder becomes the “soloist,” and the other two players become the “defensive” partners. If all three of you pass, the cards are thrown in, and the deal passes to the player on the left for a new hand.

After the bidding is over, if you’re the soloist, you must determine if you want to pick up the two skat cards to see if they add value to your hand. If you do, the game is a skat game; otherwise, you’re playing a hand game. If you picked up the skat cards, you must discard two cards so that your total hand still has ten cards. You must then announce the game by saying it is a grand game, null game, or suit game and declare the trump suit. If you choose grand or a suit game, your goal is to take at least sixty-one points in playing the tricks. If you choose null, your goal is to lose every trick. If you opt to play null ouvert (open null), your goal is to lose every trick, but all of your cards are exposed to your opponents. If you have not looked at the skat cards, you can also choose one of three points to increase the value of the game. You can say “Schneider,” which means your goal is to win at least ninety points, “Schwarz,” which means your goal is to take all of the tricks, or “ouvert,” which means your goal is to win all the tricks with your cards exposed.

The player to the dealer’s left then leads the first card by placing it face up on the table. Play continues to the left and each player plays a card. The player with the highest card in the suit led, or the highest trump, wins the trick. If either of the defensive partners wins the trick, it goes in a communal pile. The soloist keeps his own pile in front of him. The winner of the trick leads the next one. When all ten hands have been played, the players add up their points, and a new hand is played.

To obtain the value of a suit or grand game, multiply together the base value and the multiplier as follows: