Objective of the Game
Siebenschräm is a traditional card game popular in some regions of Germany, particularly the Black Forest. The objective is to collect as many points as possible by winning tricks. The player with the most points at the end wins the game.
Game Materials
A Skat deck with 32 cards is used for playing. This consists of eight cards in each of the four suits: Clubs, Spades, Hearts, and Diamonds. The cards are ranked in descending order: Ace, Ten, King, Queen, Jack, Nine, Eight, Seven.
Setup
- The minimum number of players is four.
- The cards are thoroughly shuffled and evenly distributed among the players, giving each player 8 cards.
Gameplay
- Announcements: Before the actual game starts, players decide whether they want to play or pass. The player who makes the highest bid becomes the "Declarer". The other players form the opposing team.
- Declaration of Trump Suit: The Declarer decides on one of the four suits as the trump.
- Playing: The player to the left of the dealer starts the first trick by playing a card face-up. The other players follow in clockwise order.
- Players must follow suit if possible. The highest card of the leading suit wins the trick.
- If a player cannot follow suit, they can play a card of any suit, possibly a trump, to win the trick.
- Collecting Tricks: All cards played form the trick and are collected. The winner of the trick leads the next round.
Scoring
- Card Values: Ace = 11 points, Ten = 10 points, King = 4 points, Queen = 3 points, Jack = 2 points, all others = 0 points.
- After eight rounds, players count the points in their tricks.
- The Declarer must score more points than the opposing team to win.
Strategic Tips
- Watch the Trump Suit: Be aware of the trump suits your opponents might have and play them strategically to win key tricks.
- Focus on High-Value Cards: Aim to win tricks that contain high-value cards to maximize your score.
- Bluffing with Declarations: Sometimes it can be strategically beneficial to make a high declaration as the Declarer to pressure the opponents.
Enjoy playing Siebenschräm!
