Objective of the Game
In Sticheln, the objective is to collect as few negative points as possible by carefully managing your card play and avoiding collecting cards of an unfavourable color.
Setup
You'll need a special trick-taking card game deck specific for "Sticheln". It involves six colored suits, each with various face values. Shuffle all the cards thoroughly. Players are dealt a certain number of cards depending on the number of participants: - With 3 players, each gets 15 cards. - With 4 players, each gets 14 cards. - With 5 players, each gets 13 cards. - With 6 players, each gets 12 cards.
Determine Your "Pain" Color
Each player selects one card from their hand secretly to serve as their personal "pain" or "trump" color. This determines which color will negatively affect their score.
Game Play
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Select Pain Color: Each player secretly picks a card that determines their pain color; collect as few of these as possible.
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Playing Tricks:
- The start player leads a card of any color.
- Unlike other trick-taking games, there is no requirement to follow suit. You can play any card.
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The highest card of the color led wins the trick.
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Collect Tricks:
- When you win a trick, you collect the cards and place them face up in front of you.
- Be strategic to minimize taking cards of your pain color.
Scoring
- Each card of your pain color is worth its face value in negative points.
- Cards of other colors are worth zero points.
Strategy Tips
- Manage Your Cards: Pay attention to what cards you and others have played to avoid taking your pain color.
- Force Others: If you deduce other players' pain colors, try to force them to take cards of these colors.
- Balance Risk and Reward: Sometimes taking a trick can be beneficial if you're sure it won’t harm your score negatively.
Ending the Game
After all tricks are played, points are tallied. The player with the least negative points wins the game.
