Schnapsen

Schnapsen is an intense trick-taking card game played by two people.

It belongs to the bézique, or ace–ten, family of games. This means the card values focus on high-ranking cards like Aces and Tens. The game is a national pastime in Austria and Hungary. It is also very popular in Bavaria and former Austro-Hungarian territories. Many players find the game requires deep concentration. Because it demands such focus, it is often played in silence rather than for socializing. However, the strategic interest of the game remains constant for many years.

The primary goal is to collect 66 card points, known as Augen, as quickly as possible. Players earn these points by winning tricks. A trick occurs when each player plays one card faceup in the center. The game is categorized into two subtypes. One is the point-trick subtype, where specific cards determine points. The other is the trick-and-draw subtype. In this version, a new card is drawn from the deck after every trick won. This keeps the players' hands replenished until the deck is empty.

Players use a specialized 20-card deck. This differs from the similar game Sixty-Six, which uses 24 cards. In Schnapsen, the 9 is not used. Depending on the region, players use French suits or Double German suits.

The French suits are Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, and Clubs.

The Double German suits are Hearts, Bells, Leaves, and Acorns. Each suit contains five cards with specific values. The Ace (Ass or Daus) is worth 11 points. The Ten (Zehner) is worth 10 points. The King (König) is worth 4 points. The Queen (Dame or Manderl) is worth 3 points. The Jack (Bube or Unter) is worth 2 points.

To begin, the dealer shuffles, cuts, and deals the cards. The Forehand player receives three cards, followed by the Dealer receiving three. A seventh card is then flipped to determine the trump suit, or Atout. Finally, each player receives two more cards for a total hand of five. The remaining nine cards form the talon. The talon is placed facedown, with half of the trump card visible. Players must follow specific rules once the talon is exhausted. These include Farbzwang, or following suit, and Stichzwang, or winning the trick if possible. Failing to follow suit is called revoking and results in a penalty.

Strategy also involves the use of marriages, or melds. A marriage occurs when a player holds a King and an Ober (or Queen) of the same suit.

If the marriage is in the trump suit, it is a Vierziger, worth 40 points. If it is not in the trump suit, it is a Zwanziger, worth 20 points. Players can announce these melds to gain bonus points. However, if a player melds a marriage but fails to take any tricks, the points do not count. Players may also choose to "close" the talon. This happens if a player believes they can reach 66 points without drawing more cards.

Schnapsen has deep historical roots. It is a descendant of a 32-card game called Mariage. The earliest written description of Mariage appeared in 1715. The name Schnapsen might come from the word "schnappen," meaning to trump. Another theory suggests the name refers to playing for schnaps, a type of drink. In the 1800s, Professor Johann Georg August Galletti noted the game's difficulty. He famously claimed that while history could be learned in an hour, Schnaps requires years of study.

Matches are organized into sets called Bummerls. A Bummerl ends when one player reaches seven game points. Interestingly, players count "from seven downwards." This means they record how many points they still need to win. If a player wins 7–0, it is a Schneiderbummerl, and the loss is doubled. A larger set of Bummerls is called a rubber, or Partie. In modern times, the game is played in large-scale tournaments. One popular format is Preisschnapsen, where players compete for prizes through skill and intense concentration.