The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (76 page)

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, or by the highest trump if any are played, and the winner of

each trick leads to the next.

In a partnership game, whoever holds the cal ed Ace:

must play it when its suit is led, or

must lead it the first time he chooses to lead from its suit,

unless he holds at least four of that suit, and

(in some circles) may not discard it when unable to fol ow

suit.

Set lement A typical tarif of ‘10 and 50 Pfennig’ yields the

fol owing basic results, which wil be increased by as many doubles

as may have been applied.

1. Cal -Ace. Each member of the losing side pays a dif erent

member of the winning side a basic 10pf, or 20pf if

schneidered, or 30pf if schwarzed.

2. Suit-Solo or Wenz. The soloist wins or loses 50pf from or to

each opponent, or 60pf for schneider, 70pf for schwarz.

3. Tout. Win or lose double, i.e. 100pf per opponent.

4. Sie. Win or lose quadruple, i.e. 200pf per opponent.

Runners (Laufende) Runners – the equivalent of honours in Whist

and Bridge – are the top three trumps held in one hand, or by one

partnership (of two in a Cal -Ace or three in a Solo), together with

any further trumps held in downward succession. They are paid at

the rate of 10pf each, increased by any relevant doubling.

Examples. In a Cal -Ace or Suit Solo, a player or side holding Q-

Q- Q but not Q may claim 30pf; holding Q but not J40pf, and

so on to a maximum of 80pf in a Suit Solo or 140pf in a Cal -Ace.

A soloist winning Tout with three runners would gain 100 for the

A soloist winning Tout with three runners would gain 100 for the

contract plus 60 for the runners.

Variations The fol owing is a list of bids and contracts expanded by

the addition of local and regional variants. They are listed from

lowest to highest, and include the standard bids in order to show

the order of priority. Unless otherwise stated, the set lements are

the same as for a Suit-Solo (base value 50pf).

1. Hochzeit (Wedding). A player who has been dealt only one

trump – whether a Wenzel or a heart – may, before the

bidding begins, lay it face up on the table and ‘Cal a

wedding’. Any other player may then take that trump in

return for any card passed face down from his own hand,

thereby forming a partnership with the cal er which cannot be

overcal ed by any higher bid. Its base value is 20pf. If no one

takes it, bidding continues.

2. Cal -Ace. Standard bid.

3. Bet el (Misere). A bid to lose every trick. There are no trumps

or Wenzels, and cards rank AKQJT987 in each suit. Wins or

loses 30pf.

4. Farb-Dame or Farb-Geier. There are 11 trumps: the four

Queens, fol owed by ATKJ987 of a nominated trump suit.

Jacks rank between Kings and Nines of their nominal suits.

5. Farb-Wenz. There are 11 trumps: the four Jacks, fol owed by

ATKQ987 of a nominated trump suit. Queens rank between

Kings and Nines of their nominal suits.

6. Wenz. Only the four Jacks are trumps. Queens rank between

Kings and Nines of their nominal suits.

7. Geier. Only the four Queens are trumps. Jacks rank between

Kings and Nines of their nominal suits.

8. Farbsolo. Same as solo in the standard game.

9. Farb-Dame(Geier)-Tout, Farb-Wenz-Tout, Dame(Geier)-Tout,

Wenz-Tout, Farb-Solo-Tout, Sie. As above, but bidding to win

al eight tricks. These pay double (100pf).

If al pass without bidding, it may be agreed that the fourth

If al pass without bidding, it may be agreed that the fourth

player can demand either a sweetener (Stock) or a round of

Ramsch. A sweetener is an agreed amount that everyone pays into a

pot. The hand is annul ed, the next player deals, and the pot goes

to the next player to win a bid. Or:

Ramsch Each plays for himself and the aim is to take as few card-

points as possible. Wenzels and hearts are trumps, as in a Cal -Ace.

Whoever takes most points pays 20pf to each opponent. If equal,

the loser is the tied player who took the most tricks; or, if stil

equal, the most trumps; or, if stil equal, the highest trump (sic.

Presumably the Q).

Comment With trumps accounting for half the cards in play, you

need at least four to cal an Ace, as there is no guarantee that the

Ace-holder wil have any. In practice, the number of trumps held is

less significant than their power (three Queens is bet er than five

low hearts), the relative positions of the partners (whether

crosswise or adjacent), and how they are distributed among the four

hands. In a cal ed game, it is usual to lead trumps if you are the

soloist or a cal ed partner, otherwise the cal ed suit, in order to

clarify who the partners are. The soloist should make early trump

leads in order to clarify the trump distribution and to draw adverse

trumps to clear the way for side-suit Aces. With only six cards in a

plain suit it is likely to go round only once, if that. Partners wil

seek in play to throw high-scoring cards on tricks being, or likely to

be, won by their own side. It is theoretical y possible to capture 44

card-points in a single trick, and to make or defeat the contract by

winning three or even two of the eight tricks played.

Sjavs

(3–4p, 20c) The Danish equivalent of Schafskopf]. A four-player

version is popular in the Faeroes. Kl⊘rsjavs – kl⊘r = ‘clubs’ – is

played with a 20-card pack ranking and counting as fol ows: