Project Schachett:
Reviving a controversial old German card game of the Fuhs Family
Vincent.Bruno.1229@gmail.com
UPDATE: THE LOST PAGES OF THE MANUAL HAVE BEEN FOUND!
NOW THE MANUAL IS COMPLETE!
Schachett: A Controversial German Game of the Fuhs Family
I had a German great-grand-aunt of the Fuhs family who possessed this German card game, Schachett. It is old and rare and, until this blog, was unknown to both the internet and AI. The game is a mixture of a German trick-taking game and chess. The game is highly controversial because the cards themselves show a civilizational battle between the White Northern Europeans (white pieces) and the non-White world [Africans, Arabs, East Asians, Gypsies] (black pieces).
Translating the Schachett Manual
Below you will find a now complete manual on how to play in old German, which has been translated by AI. Because it is an AI translation, I have created this blog to reach out to anyone in the German-speaking world who is interested in old German card games and who would be interested in trying to check the manual for accuracy, and learn to play and teach others.
Revival and Modernization
Once we know how to play, I would like to have an artist touch up the cards and have them printed on cardstock so we can play. I would also like to print a new race-neutral version of the deck so it can be played by the masses without raising tensions. My project is ambitious; it is a 4- or 3-player game, and I would like to develop two-player and solitaire versions, as well as more-than-4-player versions with multiple decks. I’d also like to make online ways to play. The cards are toward the bottom. If you can help me, please contact me.
Vincent.Bruno.1229@gmail.com
Schachett Card Package
Complete Manual
Translation Page by Page
Pages 4–5 – Translation
…found game. As in chess, so also in Schachett there exist not only white and black officers of different rank and different sphere of action—namely King, Dame (Queen), Rook, Bishop and Knight—but also white and black pawns, to which the suit cards join as a third and lowest class, whereby the game gains in liveliness and variety. Quite as in chess, checkmate, stalemate, self-mate, castling and the promotion of the lowest elements to officers appear here. As in chess, so also in Schachett the life and death of the King always play the principal part; the rules of the game display a very simple, uniform and unchanging connection. Although the many echoes of chess will exercise a special charm upon the friend of that noble game, knowledge of it by no means affords any facility for Schachett; on the contrary, the latter is equally accessible to the non-chess-player. Whoever, therefore, has mastered the following rules of play
and has tested their practical execution will be entitled to regard himself as familiar with the development of Schachett and—it is to be hoped!—will derive from the new game, with pleasure, intellectual charm and many virtues of entertainment. In this sense we beg a place for Schachett!
Hans Schöffl and R. S.
(End of the Foreword.)
Ready for the next pages whenever you are.
Pages 6–7 – Translation
§ 1. Schachett
is a card game which is played either by 4 persons or by 3 persons with a dummy, and in which 2 persons sitting opposite one another play jointly against the other two. For every player, therefore, the person sitting opposite is the “Partner.”
The game, consisting of 52 cards, contains:
- 16 Officers (marked with 0), namely 8 white (wO) and 8 black (sO).
The 8 officers of each colour are:
1 King (K)
1 Dame (D)
2 Rooks (T)
2 Bishops (L)
2 Knights (S)
wK means the white King, sD the black Dame, and so on.
- 16 Pawns (= B), namely 8 white (wB) and 8 black (sB).
These bear in the corners of the cards the Arabic numerals 8, 7, 6 down to 1. B5 means the (white or black) Pawn 5, w6 means the white Pawn 6, s1 means the black Pawn 1.
- 20 Suit Cards (= F), namely 10 white (wF) and 10 black (sF).
These bear in the corners of the cards the Roman numerals X, IX, VIII down to I.
FVI means the (white or black) Suit Card VI, sIII means the black Suit Card III, wX means the white Suit Card X.
§ 2. Order of Rank in Taking Tricks
D, T, L, S, K, B8, B7 down to B1, F8, F7 down to F1. The D (Dame) therefore takes all Rooks, Bishops, and in general all other Officers, Pawns and Suit Cards.
Every S takes the K, all Pawns and Suit Cards. Every K takes all B and F.
The B and F can be taken only by the higher B and F of the same colour. If, for example, the player (that is, the one who leads first for the trick) plays s6, then this Pawn can be taken by the second player
(Text continues on the next page.)
Ready for the next pages.
Pages 8–9 – Translation
…ler, for example with s7, but not with w8; rather, w8 in this case would only be a “discarded” card.
Furthermore, the officer played first takes the one played later of otherwise equal rank. If, for example, the first player plays wS and the second player sL, then this sL has been taken by the wS; if the third player now plays wL, the trick still belongs to the second player, since the L played first takes the one that follows.
§ 3. Following Suit and Taking
1. Rules when an Officer is led.
If an Officer is led (by the first player), each player must follow with any white or black Officer, higher or lower. If no other Officer than the K is present, this must be followed with.
If no Officer is present, a B or F of the colour of the led Officer must be played (thus discarded, since these do not take the Officer), and only when no such card is present may a B or F of the other colour be discarded.
2. Rules when a Pawn is led.
If a B is led, each player must follow with any (higher or lower) B of the same colour. If none is present, an F of the same colour must next be played. If none of these is present either, one may either take with any (white or black) Officer, or discard a B or F of the other colour. If, for example, w7 is led and one has no wB and no wF, one could discard s8, which does not take that w7 because it is of the other colour. (Cf. also § 2.)
3. Rules when a Suit Card is led.
If an F is led, each player must follow with any F of the same colour. If none is present, one must take with any B of the same colour. Only when no B of the same colour is present either may one either take with any white or black Officer, or [discard] a B or F of the other
(Text continues on the next page.)
Ready for the next pages.
Page 10 – Translation
…other colour be discarded. If, for example, wV is led and one has no wF and no wB, one could play s8, which B however does not take that card wV, because it is of the other colour (see also § 2).
- If anyone takes incorrectly or fails to follow suit, he must, if the trick has not yet been gathered, pay 25 points penalty to each of the opposing party and take the card back. If the trick has already been gathered, the game is first played to the end, but the party which made the error scores no points for the whole game, and only the points of the other party count.
(End of § 3.)
Ready for the next page(s).
Page 11 – Translation
A. The Game with 4 Persons.
§ 4. Arrangement of the Players. Dealing.
- At the beginning of the game the two Kings (wK and sK), one white and one black card are drawn by lot. The one who draws the wK takes any seat at the table; to his left sits the player with the sK, to the left of the latter the player with the white card, and finally (thus to the right of the wK) the player with the black card.
If the player who drew the wK is called A, the one with the sK: B, the one with the white card: C, the one with the black card: D, then they sit in the following order and (sK) B □ D play (see § 1) A and C together against B and D; thus A is the partner of C, C the partner of A. A (wK)
- A, who first drew the wK, remains, as long as the game is played at all,
(Text continues on the next page.)
Ready for the next page.
Page 12 – Translation
…at the place chosen by him. With B, C, D this is not always the case (see below § 13).
- The first 4 games played form the 1st Round, the following 4 games the 2nd Round, and so on.
In all 4 games of the same Round the players remain seated as they sat in the 1st game of that Round.
- In the 1st game of each Round, A, before cards are dealt, always receives the wK, and the player following him (sitting to his left) the sK.
In every subsequent game the two Kings move one place further to the left.
If, for example, the 4 persons sit in the 1st game in the following position: D □ C
A
then, before cards are dealt,
in the 1st game A receives the wK, D the sK
in the 2nd game D receives the wK, B the sK
in the 3rd game B receives the wK, C the sK
in the 4th game C receives the wK, A the sK
Which places the 3 players B, C, D occupy in each following Round is determined by § 13 (see below).
The one who, in any game,
(Text continues on the next page.)
Ready for the next page.
Page 13 – Translation
…received the wK before the dealing may be designated W₁, his (opposite-sitting) partner W₂, the one who received the sK S₁, his partner S₂.
In the 1st game the players sit S₁ □ S₂ as in the adjoining 1st figure, A = W₁; in the 2nd game as in the adjoining 2nd figure, and so on. W₁ □ W₂ A = S₂
- In every game the one who, according to the foregoing determination, received the wK deals the cards.
- Still before the shuffling and dealing of the cards, W₁ lays the wK, S₁ the sK face up before himself. Both Kings are therefore not shuffled and dealt by the dealer.
- The dealer shuffles the 50 cards and has the one sitting to his right cut. The latter may divide the cards into only 2, not too unequal, parts. Cutting must always take place.
- The dealer then deals to the left: 2, 2, 2, 3, 3 cards, so that each now has 3 cards, since W₁ and S₁ already received the Kings beforehand. Thereupon
(Text continues on the next page.)
Ready for the next page.
Page 14 – Translation
…he gives each 2 cards, then each 3, then 2, and finally again 3 cards.
- Whoever has not dealt in this manner, or has turned up a card while dealing, pays each 5 points penalty and deals once more.
§ 5. Castling (Rochade).
The exchange of the King for an Officer of the partner, to be effected immediately after the dealing, is called Castling. If, namely, W₁ finds it advantageous to castle, he announces this to W₂ with the words: “I propose castling.” He then gives his partner W₂ the wK and receives from him in return an Officer which W₂ selects at will from his cards. W₁ thereupon takes this Officer, which must be shown to the opponents, into his cards. However, W₂ may also refuse the wK with the words: “I decline castling.” In the same way S₁ may also castle, that is, offer the sK to S₂.
If a player does not offer his K to the partner for castling, this is done with the words: “I do not castle.”
(End of the visible text on this page.)
Ready for the next page.
Page 15 – Translation
The player who is in possession of a King must leave it lying face up before him until it must be played in the course of the game.
Immediately after the castling the game begins (§ 10).
§ 6. Object of the Game.
Each party seeks to obtain as many points as possible, which result from the operations contained in §§ 7–9 and § 12 (checkmate, self-mate, stalemate, and the O and B contained in the tricks).
In checkmate, self-mate and stalemate the number of remaining cards is decisive, that is, those cards which each still had in hand before the trick was played by which the special King chance was brought about.
§ 7. Checkmate.
The party which checkmates the enemy K, that is, captures this K with one of its tricks, receives 100 points more than six times the remaining cards. This applies to the K which is first
(Text continues on the next page.)
Ready for the next page.
Pages 16–17 – Translation
…captured. For the 2nd King captured later only six times the remaining cards (without the 100 points) are counted.
§ 8. Self-Mate.
If any player has won a trick in which the K belonging to his partner is also contained, this is called self-mate.
For the opposing party of this King this counts, for the 1st K, 50 points more than four times the remaining cards; for the 2nd K only four times the remaining cards.
§ 9. Stalemate.
If the K is the highest card of the trick, and the trick is therefore won by it, it is stalemate. This counts for the party of this King, for the 1st K: 25 points more than double the remaining cards; for the 2nd K only double the remaining cards.
§ 10. Beginning and Course of the Game.
- In every game the one sitting to the left of the dealer leads.
- Whoever plays a card prematurely, that is, follows earlier than his partner who should properly follow first, or who leads when his partner should lead, pays each of the two opponents 25 points. At the same time the wrongly played card must be taken back and played correctly.
- Every player may look at, besides the current trick, only the preceding one, but not one of the earlier tricks. Whoever violates this rule pays each player 25 points.
§ 11. Promotion of the 4 Lowest Suit Cards in the Last Trick.
In the last trick the FI counts as a D,
the FII as a T,
the FIII as an L,
the FIV as an S.
§ 12. Calculation of the Winnings after Conclusion of the Game.
The B and Officers contained in the tricks (but not the F) still count a certain number of points. Every B counts as
(Text continues on the next page.)
Ready for the next pages.
Pages 18–19 – Translation
…many points as its number indicates, e.g. B3 = 3 points, B8 = 8 points. Furthermore every S (thus also F₄ in the last trick, see § 11) = 9, every L = 10, every T = 11, every D = 12 points. The K does not count here, since it already counted in §§ 7–9.
If now W₁ and W₂ together (according to §§ 7–9 and the counting cards in the tricks) have 190 points, S₁ and S₂ 68 points, and one is playing for quarter-pfennigs, then both W₁ and W₂ have won:
190 – 68 = 122 / 4 = 31 pfennigs.
§ 13. Order of Play after the 1st Round.
Before the beginning of the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th… Round the one sitting after A changes places with his left neighbour; before the beginning of the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th… Round the one sitting opposite A changes places with his left neighbour.
The 4 players A, B, C, D therefore sit in the
1st Round: 2nd Round: 3rd Round:
(diagrams as printed)
4th Round: 5th Round: 6th Round:
(diagrams as printed)
These 24 games (of the 1st to 6th Rounds) form the 1st Cycle.
In the 2nd Cycle (7th to 12th Round) the players sit as in the 1st, in the 8th Round as in the 7th, in the 9th Round as in the 2nd, and so on.
The game can always be ended only after the 24th game of a Cycle.
(End of the visible text on these pages.)
Ready for the next pages.
Pages 20–21 – Translation
B. The Game with 3 Persons.
Except for the following deviations the game is entirely the same as the game with 4 persons.
§ 4 and 13. Arrangement of the Players. Dealing.
§ 4,1. For the drawing by lot only the wK, the sK and any black card are used. The player A who has drawn the wK chooses any place at the table; the player B who drew the sK sits to his left, the player C with the black card to the right of A. Each of the 3 players is “Kaiser” for 2 Rounds (8 games), plays jointly with a dummy against the other two players allied among themselves, and retains the same place throughout his entire period as Kaiser.
§ 4, 2 and 3; § 13. During the first 8 games A is Kaiser. In the first
Round B sits to the left, C to the right of him; for the second Round B and C change places.
After these 8 games B is Kaiser. He sits in the place previously occupied by A. A sits in the first Round to the right, C to the left of B. For the second Round A and C change places.
Finally C is Kaiser. He likewise sits in the place which A occupied as Kaiser. In the first Round A sits to the left, B to the right of C. For the second Round A and B change places.
Opposite the respective Kaiser is the place for the cards of the dummy, so that each of the four places at the table, quite as with four persons, receives 13 cards.
§ 4,4 and 6. In the 1st game the Kaiser receives the wK, his left neighbour the sK. After every game the two Kings move one place to the left.
§ 4,5. For the first game of the two Rounds of each Kaiser the Kaiser himself deals; in every following game always the one sitting to the left of the previous dealer.
§ 4,8. The dealing of the two Kings
(Text continues on the next page.)
Ready for the next pages.
Pages 22–23 – Translation
…not containing [the Kings] takes place entirely as with four persons (see above section A). Therefore the place opposite the Kaiser also receives the cards (of course for the time being face down) just as with four persons the player sitting opposite the wK.
§ 5. Castling (Rochade).
The Kaiser may castle only after the first trick (after which the cards of the dummy are laid face up — see below § 10). If, however, with this 1st trick the K belonging to the Kaiser or his dummy is checkmated or self-mated, the Kaiser can extend the castling already to the 1st trick itself by taking the captured K out of this trick and exchanging it with an Officer of that card which lies opposite the King card. — The one sitting to the left of the Kaiser may, however, still castle before the beginning of the game with the one sitting opposite him. The Kings are to be laid face up as with four players.
§ 10. Beginning and Course of the Game.
The cards of the dummy are laid face up only after the first trick. In every game the player sitting to the left of the dealer leads; in the first game therefore the one sitting to the left of the Kaiser (even if he should have castled), in the 2nd game the dummy (for whom of course the Kaiser plays), and so on. If the one sitting to the left of the Kaiser or the dummy leads, the Kaiser must first look only at the card of the dummy and only then, when he has played for the latter, may he look at his own card (the hand card). If, however, the Kaiser himself or the one sitting to his right leads, he may look at the card of the dummy only after playing from the hand card.
§ 12 and 13. Conclusion of the Game. Calculation of the Winnings.
The 24 games of the three Kaisers form one Cycle. The game can always be ended only after the 24th game of a Cycle.
(End of the provided pages of the manual.)
All pages 3–23 have now been translated individually. Let me know when you would like the full, smooth, coherent English version of the entire manual compiled.
Back Page – Translation
Julius Mäser, Roudnitz.
(Printer’s imprint / publisher’s mark.)
Translation of Full Manual
All In One Go
Plug Into AI To Ask Questions
SCHACHETT
A Card Game
Foreword
A new card game? Indeed! — And they look upon the newcomer with bewilderment, even indignation: the aristocratic Whist, the elegant Piquet, the bourgeois Skat, equipped with all the ease and comfort of a national favourite; even the modest Schafkopf shakes its head in doubt. And yet! And the newcomer is so presumptuous as to declare that only a well-disposed examination of its qualities and a thorough grasp of its particular character may decide upon its right to exist — to such a judgment it submits itself, it is true, with modesty, but also with bold confidence in the spirit of its originators: Hans Schöffl of Saaz and R. S. (a mathematician). The name Schachett is derived not so much from an inner as from a figurative kinship with the most ingenious of all ever-found games.
As in chess, so also in Schachett there exist not only white and black officers of different rank and different sphere of action—namely King, Dame (Queen), Rook, Bishop and Knight—but also white and black pawns, to which the suit cards join as a third and lowest class, whereby the game gains in liveliness and variety. Quite as in chess, checkmate, stalemate, self-mate, castling and the promotion of the lowest elements to officers appear here. As in chess, so also in Schachett the life and death of the King always play the principal part; the rules of the game display a very simple, uniform and unchanging connection. Although the many echoes of chess will exercise a special charm upon the friend of that noble game, knowledge of it by no means affords any facility for Schachett; on the contrary, the latter is equally accessible to the non-chess-player. Whoever, therefore, has mastered the following rules of play and has tested their practical execution will be entitled to regard himself as familiar with the development of Schachett and—it is to be hoped!—will derive from the new game, with pleasure, intellectual charm and many virtues of entertainment. In this sense we beg a place for Schachett!
Hans Schöffl and R. S.
§ 1. Schachett
Schachett is a card game which is played either by 4 persons or by 3 persons with a dummy, and in which 2 persons sitting opposite one another play jointly against the other two. For every player, therefore, the person sitting opposite is the “Partner.”
The game, consisting of 52 cards, contains:
- 16 Officers (marked with 0), namely 8 white (wO) and 8 black (sO).
The 8 officers of each colour are:
- 1 King (K)
- 1 Dame (D)
- 2 Rooks (T)
- 2 Bishops (L)
- 2 Knights (S)
wK means the white King, sD the black Dame, and so on.
- 16 Pawns (= B), namely 8 white (wB) and 8 black (sB).
These bear in the corners of the cards the Arabic numerals 8, 7, 6 down to 1. B5 means the (white or black) Pawn 5, w6 means the white Pawn 6, s1 means the black Pawn 1. - 20 Suit Cards (= F), namely 10 white (wF) and 10 black (sF).
These bear in the corners of the cards the Roman numerals X, IX, VIII down to I.
FVI means the (white or black) Suit Card VI, sIII means the black Suit Card III, wX means the white Suit Card X.
§ 2. Order of Rank in Taking Tricks
D, T, L, S, K, B8, B7 … B1, F8, F7 … F1.
The D (Dame) therefore takes all Rooks, Bishops, and in general all other Officers, Pawns and Suit Cards.
Every S takes the K, all Pawns and Suit Cards.
Every K takes all B and F.
The B and F can be taken only by the higher B and F of the same colour. If, for example, the player (that is, the one who leads first for the trick) plays s6, then this Pawn can be taken by the second player, for example with s7, but not with w8; rather, w8 in this case would only be a “discarded” card.
Furthermore, the officer played first takes the one played later of otherwise equal rank. If, for example, the first player plays wS and the second player sL, then this sL has been taken by the wS; if the third player now plays wL, the trick still belongs to the second player, since the L played first takes the one that follows.
§ 3. Following Suit and Taking
1. Rules when an Officer is led.
If an Officer is led (by the first player), each player must follow with any white or black Officer, higher or lower. If no other Officer than the K is present, this must be followed with.
If no Officer is present, a B or F of the colour of the led Officer must be played (thus discarded, since these do not take the Officer), and only when no such card is present may a B or F of the other colour be discarded.
2. Rules when a Pawn is led.
If a B is led, each player must follow with any (higher or lower) B of the same colour. If none is present, an F of the same colour must next be played. If none of these is present either, one may either take with any (white or black) Officer, or discard a B or F of the other colour. If, for example, w7 is led and one has no wB and no wF, one could discard s8, which does not take that w7 because it is of the other colour. (Cf. also § 2.)
3. Rules when a Suit Card is led.
If an F is led, each player must follow with any F of the same colour. If none is present, one must take with any B of the same colour. Only when no B of the same colour is present either may one either take with any white or black Officer, or discard a B or F of the other colour. If, for example, a white suit card is led and one has no white F and no white B, one could play s8, which B however does not take that card, because it is of the other colour (see also § 2).
4. Penalties for incorrect play.
If anyone takes incorrectly or fails to follow suit, he must, if the trick has not yet been gathered, pay 25 points penalty to each of the opposing party and take the card back. If the trick has already been gathered, the game is first played to the end, but the party which made the error scores no points for the whole game, and only the points of the other party count.
A. The Game with 4 Persons
§ 4. Arrangement of the Players. Dealing.
- At the beginning of the game the two Kings (wK and sK), one white and one black card are drawn by lot. The one who draws the wK takes any seat at the table; to his left sits the player with the sK, to the left of the latter the player with the white card, and finally (thus to the right of the wK) the player with the black card.
If the player who drew the wK is called A, the one with the sK: B, the one with the white card: C, the one with the black card: D, then they sit in the following order and A and C play together against B and D; thus A is the partner of C, C the partner of A.
- A, who first drew the wK, remains at the place chosen by him as long as the game is played at all. With B, C, D this is not always the case (see below § 13).
- The first 4 games played form the 1st Round, the following 4 games the 2nd Round, and so on.
In all 4 games of the same Round the players remain seated as they sat in the 1st game of that Round. - In the 1st game of each Round, A, before cards are dealt, always receives the wK, and the player following him (sitting to his left) the sK.
In every subsequent game the two Kings move one place further to the left.
Example of seating and King placement (1st game of a round):
D C
A
Then before dealing:
- 1st game: A receives wK, D receives sK
- 2nd game: D receives wK, B receives sK
- 3rd game: B receives wK, C receives sK
- 4th game: C receives wK, A receives sK
Which places the 3 players B, C, D occupy in each following Round is determined by § 13.
The one who received the wK before the dealing may be designated W₁, his (opposite-sitting) partner W₂, the one who received the sK S₁, his partner S₂.
- In every game the one who, according to the foregoing determination, received the wK deals the cards.
- Still before the shuffling and dealing of the cards, W₁ lays the wK, S₁ the sK face up before himself. Both Kings are therefore not shuffled and dealt by the dealer.
- The dealer shuffles the 50 cards and has the one sitting to his right cut. The latter may divide the cards into only 2, not too unequal, parts. Cutting must always take place.
- The dealer then deals to the left: 2, 2, 2, 3, 3 cards, so that each now has 3 cards, since W₁ and S₁ already received the Kings beforehand. Thereupon he gives each 2 cards, then each 3, then 2, and finally again 3 cards.
- Whoever has not dealt in this manner, or has turned up a card while dealing, pays each 5 points penalty and deals once more.
§ 5. Castling (Rochade)
The exchange of the King for an Officer of the partner, to be effected immediately after the dealing, is called Castling. If W₁ finds it advantageous to castle, he announces this to W₂ with the words: “I propose castling.” He then gives his partner W₂ the wK and receives from him in return an Officer which W₂ selects at will from his cards. W₁ thereupon takes this Officer, which must be shown to the opponents, into his cards. However, W₂ may also refuse the wK with the words: “I decline castling.” In the same way S₁ may also castle, that is, offer the sK to S₂.
If a player does not offer his K to the partner for castling, this is done with the words: “I do not castle.”
The player who is in possession of a King must leave it lying face up before him until it must be played in the course of the game.
Immediately after the castling the game begins (§ 10).
§ 6. Object of the Game
Each party seeks to obtain as many points as possible, which result from the operations contained in §§ 7–9 and § 12 (checkmate, self-mate, stalemate, and the Officers and Pawns contained in the tricks).
In checkmate, self-mate and stalemate the number of remaining cards is decisive, that is, those cards which each still had in hand before the trick was played by which the special King chance was brought about.
§ 7. Checkmate
The party which checkmates the enemy K, that is, captures this K with one of its tricks, receives 100 points more than six times the remaining cards. This applies to the K which is first captured. For the 2nd King captured later only six times the remaining cards (without the 100 points) are counted.
§ 8. Self-Mate
If any player has won a trick in which the K belonging to his partner is also contained, this is called self-mate.
For the opposing party of this King this counts, for the 1st K, 50 points more than four times the remaining cards; for the 2nd K only four times the remaining cards.
§ 9. Stalemate
If the K is the highest card of the trick, and the trick is therefore won by it, it is stalemate. This counts for the party of this King, for the 1st K: 25 points more than double the remaining cards; for the 2nd K only double the remaining cards.
§ 10. Beginning and Course of the Game
- In every game the one sitting to the left of the dealer leads.
- Whoever plays a card prematurely, that is, follows earlier than his partner who should properly follow first, or who leads when his partner should lead, pays each of the two opponents 25 points. At the same time the wrongly played card must be taken back and played correctly.
- Every player may look at, besides the current trick, only the preceding one, but not one of the earlier tricks. Whoever violates this rule pays each player 25 points.
§ 11. Promotion of the 4 Lowest Suit Cards in the Last Trick
In the last trick:
- FI counts as a D
- FII counts as a T
- FIII counts as an L
- FIV counts as an S
§ 12. Calculation of the Winnings after Conclusion of the Game
The B and Officers contained in the tricks (but not the F) still count a certain number of points. Every B counts as many points as its number indicates, e.g. B3 = 3 points, B8 = 8 points. Furthermore every S (thus also F₄ in the last trick, see § 11) = 9, every L = 10, every T = 11, every D = 12 points. The K does not count here, since it already counted in §§ 7–9.
Example: If W₁ and W₂ together (according to §§ 7–9 and the counting cards in the tricks) have 190 points, S₁ and S₂ 68 points, and one is playing for quarter-pfennigs, then both W₁ and W₂ have won:
(190 – 68) / 4 = 122 / 4 = 31 pfennigs.
§ 13. Order of Play after the 1st Round
Before the beginning of the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th… Round the one sitting after A changes places with his left neighbour; before the beginning of the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th… Round the one sitting opposite A changes places with his left neighbour.
The 4 players A, B, C, D therefore sit in successive rounds according to the following pattern (diagrams as printed in the original).
These 24 games (of the 1st to 6th Rounds) form the 1st Cycle.
In the 2nd Cycle (7th to 12th Round) the players sit as in the 1st, in the 8th Round as in the 7th, in the 9th Round as in the 2nd, and so on.
The game can always be ended only after the 24th game of a Cycle.
B. The Game with 3 Persons
Except for the following deviations the game is entirely the same as the game with 4 persons.
§ 4 and 13. Arrangement of the Players. Dealing
§ 4,1. For the drawing by lot only the wK, the sK and any black card are used. The player A who has drawn the wK chooses any place at the table; the player B who drew the sK sits to his left, the player C with the black card to the right of A. Each of the 3 players is “Kaiser” for 2 Rounds (8 games), plays jointly with a dummy against the other two players allied among themselves, and retains the same place throughout his entire period as Kaiser.
§ 4, 2 and 3; § 13. During the first 8 games A is Kaiser. In the first Round B sits to the left, C to the right of him; for the second Round B and C change places.
After these 8 games B is Kaiser. He sits in the place previously occupied by A. A sits in the first Round to the right, C to the left of B. For the second Round A and C change places.
Finally C is Kaiser. He likewise sits in the place which A occupied as Kaiser. In the first Round A sits to the left, B to the right of C. For the second Round A and B change places.
Opposite the respective Kaiser is the place for the cards of the dummy, so that each of the four places at the table, quite as with four persons, receives 13 cards.
§ 4,4 and 6. In the 1st game the Kaiser receives the wK, his left neighbour the sK. After every game the two Kings move one place to the left.
§ 4,5. For the first game of the two Rounds of each Kaiser the Kaiser himself deals; in every following game always the one sitting to the left of the previous dealer.
§ 4,8. The dealing of the cards not containing the two Kings takes place entirely as with four persons (see above section A). Therefore the place opposite the Kaiser also receives the cards (of course for the time being face down) just as with four persons the player sitting opposite the wK.
§ 5. Castling (Rochade)
The Kaiser may castle only after the first trick (after which the cards of the dummy are laid face up — see below § 10). If, however, with this 1st trick the K belonging to the Kaiser or his dummy is checkmated or self-mated, the Kaiser can extend the castling already to the 1st trick itself by taking the captured K out of this trick and exchanging it with an Officer of that card which lies opposite the King card. — The one sitting to the left of the Kaiser may, however, still castle before the beginning of the game with the one sitting opposite him. The Kings are to be laid face up as with four players.
§ 10. Beginning and Course of the Game
The cards of the dummy are laid face up only after the first trick. In every game the player sitting to the left of the dealer leads; in the first game therefore the one sitting to the left of the Kaiser (even if he should have castled), in the 2nd game the dummy (for whom of course the Kaiser plays), and so on. If the one sitting to the left of the Kaiser or the dummy leads, the Kaiser must first look only at the card of the dummy and only then, when he has played for the latter, may he look at his own card (the hand card). If, however, the Kaiser himself or the one sitting to his right leads, he may look at the card of the dummy only after playing from the hand card.
§ 12 and 13. Conclusion of the Game. Calculation of the Winnings
The 24 games of the three Kaisers form one Cycle. The game can always be ended only after the 24th game of a Cycle.
Printer’s imprint: Julius Mäser, Roudnitz.
No comments:
Post a Comment