The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (51 page)

points as possible: this is cal ed winning the party. For this purpose

each Ace counts 4, King 3, Queen 2, and Jack 1 point. Secondary

objects are:

to discard the J when another suit is led of which you have

none, and,

whenever possible, to discard an Ace when unable to fol ow

suit to the card led.

Alternatively, given a suitable hand, it is either to win every trick

(the reversis) or to lose every trick (the espagnolet e).

Play Eldest leads. Players must fol ow suit if possible, otherwise

may play any card. The trick is taken by the highest card of the suit

led, and the winner of each trick leads to the next. There are no

trumps.

Pay-of The party is normal y won by the player who took fewest

card-points and is lost by the player who took most. A tie, in either

case, favours the player who took fewest tricks. If stil tied,

preference goes first to the dealer, then passes to each succeeding

player to his left.

The value of the party – that is, the amount paid by the loser to

the winner – is 4 plus the card-point value of any counters in the

talon. For example, if it contains a King and a Queen, the payment

is 4+3+2 = 9 chips. (By some accounts, A counts 5 in the talon,

and J counts 3.) If the loser is sit ing opposite the winner, he pays

double.

Side payments These occur whenever an Ace or Quinola is placed

(thrown to a trick when unable to fol ow suit), or forced (played to

the lead of its suit), or led to a trick.

Anyone who places an Ace or Quinola is paid by the winner

of the trick.

Anyone forced to play the Ace of the suit led pays the leader

of the trick.

If anyone plays Quinola to a heart lead, the leader of the trick

If anyone plays Quinola to a heart lead, the leader of the trick

is paid by al three opponents.

If anyone leads an Ace or Quinola at any time, the eventual

winner of the hand may claim the appropriate payment in

addition to his other winnings (provided he remembers to do

so before the next deal).

The appropriate payments are:

event

J A

A

placed: trick-winner pays holder 5 2 1

forced: holder pays leader

10 2 1

others pay leader

5 0 0

led:

holder pays winner

10 2 1

others pay winner

5 0 0

These amounts are doubled as between players sit ing opposite

each other, and doubled as between everyone if occurring in either

of the last two tricks. Thus a player who leads a heart to the last

trick, and is lucky enough to draw the Jack from the player sit ing

opposite, wil receive 40 from the Quinola player and 10 from each

neighbour.

Quinola and the pool Whoever plays Quinola to a trick not only

wins or loses the side-payments detailed above but also either

winsor enlarges the pool.

If Quinola is forced, or is led to a trick, its player pays a remise.

This is an amount equivalent to the latest (most recently formed)

pool. The first remise that occurs is used to double the only pool

there is. The second and subsequent remises go to form new pools,

which are kept separate from one another. The dealer always adds

his 5 to the latest pool, which is therefore also the largest.

The latest pool is won by the Quinola holder when he succeeds

in placing it on the lead of another suit. If at this time no pools

remain, a new one is formed by the contribution of 5 from each

player, and 10 from the dealer, as at the start of the session.

Optional rule Once a remise has been paid, everyone is obliged

Optional rule Once a remise has been paid, everyone is obliged

to discard and draw before the first trick is played, and it is il egal

to discard Quinola. This rule (if agreed) applies until al pools have

been won and a new one started, when it is held in abeyance until

a remise is paid.

The reversis To make the reversis, a player must win al eleven

tricks. A player who wins the first nine is held to have undertaken

the reversis and may not renounce it. No further payments may be

made for aces or Quinola, and al payments between the players or

to or from the pool which may have been made during the first

nine tricks are returned. The only payments that apply relate to

what happens in the last two tricks, as fol ows.

If successful, the reversis player receives 16 from each

neighbour and 32 from the player opposite. If he played

Quinola during the first nine tricks, he also wins the Quinola

pool.

If unsuccessful, he pays 64 to the player who broke the

reversis by first taking a trick against him, and if he played

Quinola during the first nine tricks, he also pays a remise.

If the reversis is broken, and the breaking trick is taken by

Quinola, the reversis player pays his 64 as above, but receives

the appropriate side-payment for forcing Quinola, though

nothing is paid either to or from the Quinola pool.

Espagnolet e This later addition to the game is a sort of misère

contract, but may be undertaken only by a player who holds al

four Aces, or Quinola and at least three Aces. Throughout the first

nine tricks this player need not fol ow suit but may renounce at

wil . Having done so, he has automatical y contracted to lose every

trick, and is obliged to fol ow suit in the tenth, if possible. (If in fact

he fol owed suit throughout, he is held not to have undertaken the

bid of espagnolet e.)

The espagnolet e player wins if he loses every trick – even if a

bet er-placed player also took no tricks – and provided no one else

makes the reversis. Besides winning the party, heal so gains the

makes the reversis. Besides winning the party, heal so gains the

appropriate amounts for the Aces he placed and, if he held and

therefore placed Quinola, the amount for that and the pool as wel .

If he loses by taking a trick, he must return, doubled, al the side

payments he received for the placement of Aces and, if he placed

Quinola, for that too, together with double the pool he won. He

also loses the party, in place of the player who took most card-

points, and pays the player who took fewest in the usual way.

Ifhelosesbecauseanotherplayermakes the reversis-anoccupational

hazard of undertaking the espagnolet e – he pays the reversis

winner 64 chips and the others pay nothing. If, however, he breaks

the reversis himself by taking either of the last two tricks, he is

absolved from al penalty, as the reversis at empt cancels al side

payments to or from the pool, and there is no payment as between

winner and loser.

Schieberamsch

3 players, 32 cards

Skat-players wil know Ramsch – meaning ‘junk’ – as the game