Objective
German Schafkopf is a traditional card game from Bavaria where the goal is to reach a certain number of points against the opposing team by winning tricks. The aim is to gather high-value cards through these tricks to score the majority of points.
Game Components
- A French deck with 32 cards (Skat deck): 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace in the suits of Clubs, Spades, Hearts, and Diamonds.
- Four players (can also be played with three players with slightly altered rules).
Card Values
- Ace = 11 points
- Ten = 10 points
- King = 4 points
- Queen = 3 points
- Jack = 2 points
- All other cards (9, 8, 7) = 0 points
Gameplay
- Dealing: Each player receives 8 cards, so all cards are dealt.
- Bidding: The player to the left of the dealer starts bidding. Each player can declare "to play", meaning they will play alone against the other three. Others may say "pass".
- Types of Games:
- Sauspiel: A player calls a suit as trump and plays with the partner who has the called Heart Ace.
- Solo: A player plays alone against the other three.
- Wenz: Only the Jacks are trumps.
- Suit Solo: A player chooses a suit as trump. This suit becomes the strongest.
- Playing Cards: The player to the left of the dealer plays the first card (forehand). Played clockwise. Other players must follow suit if possible. If they don’t have the led suit, they can play a trump or any other card.
- Winning Tricks: The highest trump wins the trick. If no trumps are played, the highest card of the led suit wins.
- Scoring Points: At the end of the game, the points of the won cards are counted. The goal is to score more than half the points (60 out of 120 total).
Strategic Tips
- Card Counting: Keep track of high cards already played to better strategize for winning tricks.
- Identifying Partner: In Sauspiel, it's essential to recognize your partner based on played cards.
- Courage to Declare: If confident, declare "100" or play "Tout", where your team must win all tricks.
German Schafkopf is a profound game requiring both strategic thinking and teamwork, especially in Sauspiel. Enjoy and have a great Schafkopf session!
