Schnapsen Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• The Playing Cards
  • Value of the Cards
• Objective of the Game
• Preparing to Play
• Course of Play
  • The Talon
• Marriage (Mariage) — Twenty and Forty
• Exchanging the Trump Card
• Closing the Talon (Zudrehen)
• Card Memory
• End of the Game
  • Saying "Thank You, Enough"
  • The Last Trick
  • Bummerl
• Playing Tactics
• Bauernschnapsen
  • Objective
  • Preparation
  • Course of Play
  • The Game Forms
    • The Simple Rufer
    • The Kontra
    • The Bettler
    • The Assbettler
    • The Schnapser
    • The Kontraschnapser
    • The Durchmarsch
    • The Zehnerloch
    • The Bauernschnapser
    • The Herrengangl
    • The Kontrabauernschnapser
    • The Herrenschnapser
    • Summary
  • Bidding — Order of Bids
  • End of the Game
• Schnapsen for Three — Keeping Score (Mitschreiben)
• Schnapsen for Three — Dreierschnapsen
  • Preparation
  • Course of Play
  • End of the Game
  • Playing Tactics
• Terminology

The Playing Cards

In Austria, depending on the region, Schnapsen is played either with French-suited cards or with double-German (Salzburg-pattern) cards.

There are four suit signs, or "colors" (the 4 symbols on the cards). For the French-suited cards these are:

HEARTS, DIAMONDS, SPADES, CLUBS

The double-German Schnapsen cards have the following symbols and names:

RED, BELLS, GREEN, ACORNS

(Hearts), (Diamonds), (Spades, Leaves, Foliage), (Clubs)

The suit signs ("colors") have no fixed ranking relative to one another in Schnapsen.

Within each suit there are five different cards, which are subject to a fixed ranking:

Ace, Ten, King, Queen, Jack (Highest) ... (Lowest)

The ranking of the double-German cards is as follows:

Ace, Ten, King, Ober, Unter

With the help of the suit signs one can tell Ober and Unter apart (since both are male figures): on the Ober, the suit sign is located at the top edge of the half figure; on the Unter, at the bottom edge of the half figure.

Value of the Cards

Each card rank has a fixed point value:

• Ace: 11
• Ten: 10
• King: 4
• Queen (Ober): 3
• Jack (Unter): 2

The card with the higher value beats a card of lower value in the same suit during play. In addition, the values of the cards are decisive for determining whether the game's objective has been reached.

Objective of the Game

The aim of Schnapsen is to be the first to reach 66 points by winning tricks. All the point values of the cards in one's own tricks are added up for this purpose. Added to these are the points earned through "melds" (Ansagen). Alternatively, the player who takes the last trick wins.

Preparing to Play

The cards are shuffled well. Then both players cut a portion of the deck and compare the bottom card of their portion. The player with the higher card becomes the first dealer. If both players cut cards of equal value, the process is repeated.

The dealer shuffles the cards again. Then the opposing player cuts a portion of the deck and places the bottom portion of the deck onto the portion they cut off. The cards are then dealt.

The dealer deals three cards at a time, first to the opponent and then to themselves. The opposing player always receives the first three cards, and is therefore called the elder hand (Vorhand).

The seventh card is placed face up on the table. This card shows which suit is stronger than the remaining suits in this game; it is called Atout or trump.

Dealing then continues: both players receive two further cards, again first the elder hand and then the dealer. Each player now holds five cards face down in hand — this is their "hand" (Blatt). The remaining nine cards are placed face down on top of the face-up trump card. They form the talon (stock).

Course of Play

Whoever is elder hand begins and leads a card: they place a card from their hand face up on the table. Which of their five cards they choose is entirely up to them; there are no restrictions on this at any point in the game.

The opponent (the younger hand, or Hinterhand) now also takes a card from their hand and places it face up next to the card that was led. These two cards, one from each player, form a trick.

Since at this point there is neither a requirement to follow suit nor a requirement to win the trick (see below), the younger hand has two options:

They can beat the card led with a higher card of the same suit, or with any trump card (if the card led is already a trump, it can only be beaten with a higher trump). In this case the trick belongs to the younger hand. They take both cards and place them face down in front of themselves. The points contained in this trick count for the younger hand.

They can also play any card of another suit that is not trump. This does not beat the card led. The trick belongs to the player who led, in this case the elder hand.

After a player has won a trick, they are "at the lead" (am Stich).

Before the player who is at the lead plays a new card and thereby begins the new trick, both players draw a card from the talon in order to hold five cards in hand again.

The Talon

After each trick, both players replenish their hand from the talon. The player who won the trick takes the top card of the talon into their hand; the other player takes the next card.

Once the talon is used up after the fifth trick (the face-up trump card is the bottom card of the talon), the rules change: from this point on, the requirement to follow suit and the requirement to win the trick apply!

The trump suit remains in force for the whole game, even once the last talon card has been drawn!

The requirement to follow suit means that the suit led must be followed if possible.

The requirement to win the trick demands that if one can beat the card led with a higher card of the same suit, one must do so. If one does not hold the suit led, one must, if possible, beat it with any trump.

Example: at this stage of the game a heart is led, and spades is trump. The opponent must beat this card with a higher heart, or play a heart if they hold no higher one. If they hold no heart at all, they must beat it with a spade (= trump). If they hold neither hearts nor spades, they must play any club or diamond.

At this stage of the game a revoke (Renonce) can occur. This means a violation of the rule described above. Whoever fails to follow the required suit, or fails to beat a led card although able to, has lost the game. The opponent wins three game points.

Marriage (Mariage) — Twenty and Forty

In Schnapsen, two melds of card combinations are possible, namely "Twenty" and "Forty."

"Twenty" can be declared by a player who holds the King and Queen of a suit in hand.

"Forty" can be declared by a player who holds the King and Queen of the trump suit in hand.

The declared points are immediately added to the points from tricks. If a player already had 46 points or more, then declaring "Twenty, thank you, enough" is sufficient to win the game.

When a player wishes to make a meld, the following rules apply:

• The meld can only be made when one is "at the lead," i.e., about to play a card — including on the very first lead of the game.
• If a meld is made by the elder hand on this very first lead, the points only count once the elder hand player has won a trick. If they remain without a trick, the meld does not count.
• To make a meld, one shows the opponent the relevant "Twenty" or "Forty." One then leads either the King or the Queen; the other card remains in hand.

Exchanging the Trump Card

The trump Jack plays a special role in Schnapsen: whoever is at the lead and holds the trump Jack in hand may exchange it for the face-up bottom talon card that indicates trump. This serves to improve one's own hand: instead of the trump Jack (worth only 2 points), one receives a higher trump card — perhaps even the very card needed to form the "Forty"!

The elder hand, however, may also make this exchange before the very first lead, since this situation is equivalent to "being at the lead."

If, on the other hand, the younger hand wishes to make the exchange, they can only do so once they are at the lead (after they have won a trick and both players have drawn).

Once the last talon card (the face-up trump card) has been drawn, there is no more talon, and at that point the exchange can no longer be made!

There is no obligation to exchange.

Closing the Talon (Zudrehen)

An essential feature of Schnapsen is the so-called "closing" (Zudrehen).

Closing means that the player who is at the lead, after drawing, turns the face-up bottom talon card that indicates trump face down onto the talon.

This makes the talon inaccessible, and play continues under the requirement to follow suit and the requirement to win the trick, as though the talon were used up. The trump suit, however, remains in force! One can only close after the first trick.

A strong hand can be used to best effect this way, since the opponent no longer gets a chance to draw good cards, nor does one risk drawing bad ones oneself.

Note that even after closing, 66 points must still be reached. Here, taking the last trick is not a way to win. If the player who closed reaches fewer than 66 points, they lose the game, and the opponent scores game points.

For calculating the game points, only the number of points that the opponent of the player who closed had in their tricks at the time of closing is decisive. If the opponent had 33 points or more in their tricks, the player who closed scores one game point. If it was fewer than 33, they score two game points. If the opponent was without a trick before the closing, then the player who closed scores three game points.

This scoring is referred to as "Viennese closing" (wienerisch Zudrehen) or "closing in the dark" (Zudrehen finster), but this is not handled the same way everywhere.

If the player who closed is unable to reach 66 points, then their opponent wins the game regardless of how many points the player who closed has taken in. The opponent of the player who closed scores three game points if they were without a trick at the time of the closing, otherwise two game points. The player who closes must therefore be aware that they risk losing two or even three game points if they fail to reach 66.

Here are some examples of hands with which closing is very likely to succeed (spades trump):

Spade Ace, Spade Ten, Heart Ace, Heart Ten, Diamond Ace

or

Spade Ace, Spade Ten, Club Ace, Diamond King, Diamond Queen

or

Spade Ace, Spade King, Spade Queen, Diamond Ten, Diamond King

Sometimes it is better to wait one more trick before closing, in order to reach more points.

Card Memory

Remembering the cards already played, as well as keeping count of the points each player has already brought to their account, plays an extremely important role in Schnapsen.

To make this easier, in ordinary Schnapsen every player is permitted to look at their own tricks at any time. It is not permitted, however, to look at the opponent's tricks. One only has the right to have the two cards of the opponent's first trick shown.

Remembering the cards played is purely a matter of practice. If you play often, "remembering cards" and keeping count of the points will become second nature!

Having an overview of the state of play brings many advantages. The further the game has progressed, the better one can picture what the opponent's hand looks like. One becomes aware of which Twenties or Forties are still possible, and which Queens are better kept in hand. One can also identify bare Tens in the opponent's hand — for example the trump Ten, if the opponent has just exchanged it for the trump Jack. A "bare Ten" is a Ten that is not "accompanied" by any card of the same suit, i.e., the hand contains, for example:

Spade Ace, Spade King, Heart Ten, Diamond Queen, Club Jack

The Heart Ten is "bare."

Facts of this kind are of decisive importance especially when closing, since a bare Ten must be played to a same-suited Ace when forced to follow suit!

End of the Game

Saying "Thank You, Enough"

The player who is first to reach at least 66 points wins the game. Once a player reaches this point total, they may say "Thank you, enough" (Danke genug). The game then ends. "Thank you, enough" may only be said by a player who is at the lead.

If a player ends the game without having reached 66 points, then they have lost the game, and the opponent scores the number of game points that the game would have earned had they won it.

When a player has "had enough," it is the point total reached by the opponent that determines how many points the game is worth.

If the opponent has taken no trick, the game counts 3 game points.

If the opponent has taken at least one trick but fewer than 33 points, the game counts 2 game points.

If the opponent has at least 33 points, the game counts 1 game point.

The Last Trick

Since all the cards together are worth 120 points in total, it is possible that neither player reaches 66. If, by the last trick, neither player has reached 66 points, or neither has noticed, then the player who takes the last trick wins.

Bummerl

The expression "Bummerl" comes from a time when people played for a "Bummerl" (an old term for a beer keg).

Today a Bummerl consists of several games, until one player has played their way down from 7 to 0 points. This works as follows: if, for example, the elder hand wins a game and the opponent has fewer than 33 points, the elder hand crosses out the 7 on their scoresheet and writes 5 instead. If a player reaches 0 or fewer, the other player has lost the Bummerl.

The loser receives a Bummerl (since in game jargon, Bummerl also means a bad mark). If the loser still has 7 points at that time, they receive a so-called Schneider-Bummerl, which counts as two Bummerl. The Bummerl are recorded as large points next to the players' names on the scoresheet.

Playing Tactics

Although the game consists of only twenty cards, it is rich in variety and by no means a pure game of chance; over a longer run, the better player will always beat a weaker one.

What makes a "good" player?

• Concentrate on the cards that have already fallen, and keep count of your opponent's points. Above all, watch whether your opponent might hold a meld, since this plays a decisive role in Schnapsen. For this reason it is also not advisable to lead Queens or Kings early in the game.
• Don't hoard your trumps, since it could happen that your opponent reaches 66 in the meantime! If you hold the trump Ace and trump Ten but no usable side suit (if you had one, you would close!), and the "Forty" is still outstanding, then play the highest cards you can, to force your opponent to break up their "Forty"!
• Don't leave a Ten bare in a suit if the Ace of that suit has not yet fallen! You might otherwise be forced, once the requirement to follow suit takes effect (through closing or the talon running out), to play that bare Ten onto your opponent's Ace, which considerably increases the opponent's point total.
• Never forget that a good opponent, once the talon is used up, knows exactly which five cards you hold in hand and will plan their play accordingly.

Bauernschnapsen

Bauernschnapsen has achieved great popularity and reach because it is a simple and entertaining game that is equally well suited to an evening at the ski hut or a rainy holiday afternoon.

Objective

The aim of the game is to play down from 24 points to 0. The losing team receives a Bummerl, or a Schneiderbummerl (which counts as two Bummerl) if it has won no games at all.

Preparation

Bauernschnapsen, like ordinary Schnapsen, is played with 20 cards. Whether it is played with French-suited or double-German cards depends on the region. The suit and card names, as well as the point values of the cards, are identical to those of ordinary Schnapsen.

Two partnerships play against each other. The partnerships are usually determined by drawing lots, but may also be formed according to social preference. When drawing lots, each of the 4 players cuts a card. The two who cut the highest cards form one side. Players on the same side sit opposite each other at the table. The first dealer is again determined by lot (cutting the highest card). Cards are dealt clockwise, with the player to the dealer's left (the elder hand) receiving the first cards. Each player receives 3 cards first, then 2 more. In Bauernschnapsen, all 20 cards of the deck are dealt in this way; there is no talon.

Wins are scored in Bauernschnapsen the same way as in ordinary Schnapsen. However, it is not each player who scores individually, but rather the side — that is, two players jointly.

Course of Play

The elder hand has the right and the duty to determine the trump suit. To do this, they pick up the 3 cards they received first and choose a suit as trump. Naturally, one will choose the suit best represented in one's hand. Should the choice be difficult — for example, if the first 3 cards consist of a Jack and two Queens of different suits — the elder hand may instead turn up one of the following two cards. The suit of that card then becomes trump.

If the first three cards dealt to the elder hand are three Jacks, the elder hand may demand a new deal.

Once the trump suit has been determined by the elder hand in one way or another, each player in turn, beginning with the elder hand, may make a bid (Ansage).

The bids announce game forms (Spielformen) of differing value. The game with the highest value is the one that is played.

The Game Forms

In Bauernschnapsen there are game forms that do not occur in ordinary Schnapsen. These game forms must be announced before the game begins. The following game forms are possible:

• Simple Rufer (ordinary game)
• Bettler (Beggar)
• Assbettler (Ace Beggar)
• Schnapser
• Kontraschnapser
• Durchmarsch (Gangl, Ringerl)
• Zehnerloch (Ten-Hole)
• Bauernschnapser
• Kontrabauernschnapser
• Herrengangl
• Herrenschnapser

The Simple Rufer

If no player makes a bid, a simple Rufer is played. In a simple Rufer, the elder hand leads. Here too the objective is to reach 66 points. A side that succeeds in doing so may say "thank you, enough," just as in ordinary Schnapsen.

Should neither side reach 66 points, then the last trick decides who wins the game. Game points are awarded as in ordinary Schnapsen. If the losing side took no trick, the winner scores 3; if it had fewer than 33 points, the winner scores 2 game points; otherwise 1 game point.

The Kontra

If a player on the dealer's side believes that the elder hand's side cannot win the game, they may double (kontrieren — also called spritzen, flecken, schießen).

In Bauernschnapsen, any game can be doubled, which always doubles the value of the game. A "Zruckspritzen" (redouble) is also possible, which quadruples the game's value. Even that can still be answered, giving the game eight times its value.

Doubling may take place during the bidding (Lizitation, see below), but also afterward, as long as the first card has not yet been led.

The reason for a Kontra is not always the strength of one's own hand — it is often doubled entirely independent of one's own hand, "on the score" (auf den Stand). This means that the side making the bid would win the Bummerl anyway if the game succeeds; the extra points make no difference to them. If they lose, however, the doubling side closes the gap through the doubled points, or may even win outright.

The Bettler

As Bettler, one attempts to take no trick at all. Games in which one attempts to take few or no tricks are called negative games. In negative games, it is not the elder hand who leads, but the player who made the bid.

There is no trump, and the requirement to follow suit and the requirement to win the trick both apply.

The Bettler counts five points; if doubled, ten.

Furthermore, in a Bettler the bidder's partner does not take part in the play! They place their card face down in front of themselves and cannot influence the course of play. This means five cards are effectively "missing." So, for example, when a Ten is led, one cannot be certain of being overtaken, i.e., whether the matching Ace is not in the partner's hand.

The Assbettler

The Assbettler works exactly like the Bettler, except that the bidder announces that they hold exactly one Ace in hand. This naturally makes it harder to take no trick, so the game is worth 6 points.

As with the Bettler, the partner does not take part in play in an Assbettler either.

The Schnapser

Whoever is elder hand may bid a Schnapser (also: three-trick Schnapser). This means that one intends to reach at least 66 points by the third trick. If the elder hand succeeds, their side scores 6 game points. If they fail to reach 66 within three tricks, or if one of the first three tricks is won by another player (even their own partner!), then the elder hand has lost the Schnapser, and the opposing side scores 6 game points. The first lead always belongs to the elder hand. If a Schnapser is doubled, the winning side scores not 6 but 12 game points. The requirement to follow suit and the requirement to win the trick both apply.

Hands suitable for a Schnapser with hearts as trump:

Heart Ace, Heart Ten, Spade Ace, Diamond King, Diamond Jack

or

Heart Ace, Heart King, Heart Queen, Club Queen, Diamond Jack

The Schnapser's partner will of course support the player by playing high cards (Aces and Tens) into the tricks, as far as the requirement to follow suit allows. This is called "feeding" (Schmieren).

A Schnapser can also be played by the partner of the player who determined trump. This player must announce it with the words "Herz schnapst" ("hearts schnapst") as soon as it is their turn. In this case the elder hand still leads, but it is their partner who must win the first three tricks and reach 66 points while doing so. Since one must assume that a player only schnapst when they hold the highest trump values, it is advisable, as elder hand, to lead a trump, so that the partner gets to the lead.

As with a normal Schnapser, "Twenty" or "Forty" may also be declared here to reach 66 points, but a declaration of "Forty" only counts if made by the player who is schnapsing themselves. A declaration of "Forty" by the leader — i.e., the one who determined trump — does not count!

This way of playing counts the same as a Schnapser played by the elder hand themselves, namely 6 game points.

The Kontraschnapser

If the elder hand has determined the trump suit and a player on the opposing side believes they can reach 66 points with the first three tricks (though it is not they but the elder hand who leads), they may play a Kontraschnapser.

The elder hand leads, and the bidder must win that trick and, together with the next two tricks, reach 66 points. A Kontraschnapser counts 12 game points.

This game is relatively rare, since it requires a very strong hand. The leader is not obliged to lead trump. On the contrary, they will try to lead a card that their opponent cannot beat, for example an Ace.

If the trump-determiner has set hearts as trump, then the following hands allow you to play a Kontraschnapser:

Heart Ace, Heart King, Heart Queen, Club Ace, Spade Ace

or with

Heart Ace, Heart Ten, Diamond Ace, Diamond Ten, Spade Ace

As you can see, these hands are very strong; nevertheless, the second hand carries the risk of not reaching enough points. With it, you would be better off playing a "Gangl."

The Durchmarsch

This game is also called "Gang(l)" or "Ring(erl)" and similar names.

There is no trump here, but the requirement to follow suit applies.

The bidder must take all the tricks themselves, with their partner supporting them by discarding their high cards while observing the requirement to follow suit. If the player succeeds in taking all the tricks, their side scores 9 game points. If the Gangl is "stopped" — whether by the opponent or by the player's own partner (which sometimes happens, without the partner being able to help it) — then the opposing side scores 9 game points.

"Laid-open" Durchmarsch hands (meaning a hundred-percent chance of winning):

Club Ace, Club King, Club Queen, Club Jack, Heart Ace

Heart Ace, Spade Ace, Spade Ten, Spade Queen, Diamond Ace

Riskier Durchmarsch:

Heart Ace, Heart Ten, Diamond Ace, Diamond Ten, Spade Ten

The Zehnerloch

The Zehnerloch is very similar to the Durchmarsch, except that the Ace changes from the highest to the lowest card. The ranking of the cards is therefore now Ten, King, Queen, Jack, Ace.

The requirement to follow suit and the requirement to win the trick both apply, and the Zehnerloch counts 10 points.

The Bauernschnapser

In this game, as with the Durchmarsch, the goal is to take all the tricks, but here the trump suit applies!

The player, usually the one who determined trump, needs absolute superiority in trump and a suitable side suit for this, for example:

Heart Ace, Heart Ten, Heart Jack, Spade Ace, Spade Ten

Heart Ace, Heart Ten, Heart Jack, Diamond Ace, Diamond Queen

Like a Schnapser, a Bauernschnapser can also be played by the partner of the trump-determiner, in which case the elder hand leads.

A Bauernschnapser counts 12 game points for the bidding side if the bidder succeeds in taking all the tricks themselves with the determined trump. If they do not succeed, the opposing side scores these 12 game points.

The Herrengangl

This game form is also called "Farbenringerl," though this is not used everywhere.

A Herrengangl can only be bid if one is not elder hand and holds all five cards of a single suit that is not the trump suit.

A Herrengangl counts 18 game points.

If two players both hold five cards of one suit, the Herrengangl counts for whichever of them gets to bid first.

The Kontrabauernschnapser

If an opponent of the trump-determiner has a hand so strong that they believe they can take all the tricks with it (with the determined suit as trump and the elder hand leading), they announce a Kontrabauernschnapser. This game counts 24 game points and therefore decides the win or loss of a Bummerl outright.

A hand for this game would be (with hearts as trump):

Heart Ace, Heart Ten, Heart Jack, Spade Ace, Diamond Ace

The Herrenschnapser

This is the highest and also the rarest game. It can only be played by the elder hand, since it requires all five trump cards (the elder hand player must always hold at least one trump, which means an opponent can never hold all five).

This game counts, like a Kontrabauernschnapser, 24 game points and decides the Bummerl immediately.

Summary

• a) Simple Rufer — 1, 2, or 3 points
• b) Bettler — 5 points
• c) Assbettler — 6 points
• d) Schnapser — 6 points
• e) Durchmarsch (Gangl, Ringerl) — 9 points
• f) Zehnerloch — 10 points
• g) Kontraschnapser — 12 points
• h) Bauernschnapser — 12 points
• i) Herrengangl — 18 points
• j) Kontrabauernschnapser — 24 points
• k) Herrenschnapser — 24 points

The more highly valued game always takes precedence over a lower-valued one. Games "g" and "h," as well as "j" and "k," cannot occur simultaneously in a single deal. If "c" and "d" are both bid in one round of bidding, the game that was bid first is the one played.

Games "a" through "h" can be doubled, which always doubles the value of the game.

Games "i" and "k" cannot be doubled, since the opponent holds five cards of one suit and the game is always "laid open" already. Doubling games "j" and "k" is pointless, since they decide the Bummerl outright even without a double.

Bidding — Order of Bids

Once all the cards have been dealt and trump has been fixed, either by calling or by turning up a card, the elder hand player must state what they intend to play. They say either "Herz spielt" ("hearts is played"), or "Herz schnapst" ("hearts schnapst"), or "Durchmarsch," or "Herz bauernschnapst." After them comes the dealer's partner. They may accept the bid made by the elder hand, double it, or overbid it. The two remaining players do the same in turn, clockwise, with the understanding that one cannot double one's own partner. If the bid made is doubled or overbid, the other three players may respond either with a further double or by overbidding again. As soon as none of the following three players responds further to a bid, that bid stands and can no longer be overbid, even by the bidder themselves.

If we label the players A (elder hand), B, C, and D (dealer), it might go like this:

A (has determined diamonds as trump): "Diamonds schnapst." B: "Good." (They could also double, or bid Durchmarsch.) C: "Good." (They could also bid Durchmarsch.) D: "Durchmarsch." A: "Bauernschnapser." B: "Doubled." C: "Good." D: "Good." A: "Good."

If player A bids Durchmarsch and player B would also like to play a Durchmarsch, they will not say so. Since player A made the bid first, they have the right to play that game. Player B will not reveal this information about their hand; instead, if their hand allows, they will bid a Bauernschnapser, double player A, or simply try to stop them.

If a player has doubled an opponent's Rufer, their partner may play a Durchmarsch; however, they may not do so if their partner has doubled a Schnapser (a doubled Schnapser is worth 12, a Durchmarsch only 9 game points).

End of the Game

The team that first reaches 0 points wins. If the other team is still at 24 points at that time, they receive a Schneider-Bummerl; otherwise, a simple Bummerl.

For the simple Rufer, the same rules apply regarding "thank you, enough" and the last trick as in two-handed Schnapsen.

Schnapsen for Three — Keeping Score (Mitschreiben)

Schnapsen for three is not really an independent game in itself, but rather a two-handed Schnapsen game in which three people take part.

The dealer shuffles the cards, has the player to their right cut, and deals as in two-handed Schnapsen, but receives no cards themselves. The elder hand is the player seated to the dealer's left; they lead to the first trick. Otherwise the game proceeds as in two-handed Schnapsen.

As the name suggests, the dealer always keeps score for the winner's points.

If we assume that A has dealt, and B beats C by two game points, then C stays at 7, while A and B each write down 2, bringing them to 5.

The resting player is entitled to watch one of the two players (to "kibitz"), but must refrain from any comments or criticism.

Schnapsen for Three — Dreierschnapsen

In Dreierschnapsen, as in Bauernschnapsen, a game form is determined through bidding — "bids" (Geboten) of announcements.

The following game forms exist:

• Simple Rufer (ordinary game)
• Bettler
• Assbettler
• Schnapser
• Kontraschnapser
• Durchmarsch (Gangl, Ringerl)
• Zehnerloch
• Bauernschnapser
• Kontrabauernschnapser

Preparation

The dealer deals counterclockwise, giving each player three cards first, sets two cards aside face down as the talon, and then gives each player three more cards. Unlike in Bauernschnapsen, the hand thus consists of six cards. This is also the reason why the bids Herrengangl and Herrenschnapser do not exist in Dreierschnapsen — a hand simply cannot consist of only the five cards of one suit.

Course of Play

The elder hand, who always sits to the dealer's left, determines the trump suit from the first three cards they receive. Here too it is possible to turn up one of the three cards from the second round of dealing in order to determine trump.

If the first three cards are all Jacks, the elder hand may demand a new deal.

The subsequent bidding proceeds the same way as in Bauernschnapsen, with the elder hand beginning again, except that now each player plays for themselves alone and has no partner.

The player whose announced game form is played may, as an aid, take the two talon cards into their hand and exchange them for any two cards, so that they again hold six cards in hand in the end. The discarded cards do not count toward the bidder's points!

Exempt from this are the negative games, namely Bettler and Assbettler, in which the talon remains untouched and face down.

In all games except the Rufer, the requirement to follow suit and the requirement to win the trick apply! All games can be doubled!

End of the Game

A Bummerl is again worth 24 game points, from which players play down. Note that if, for example, a player plays and wins a Zehnerloch, they subtract 10 points from their own score. If they lose, however, both other players subtract 10 points each — not 5 points each.

In a lost game, it can therefore happen that two players score, but only one of the two reaches 0 points or below. If two players reach 0 points at the same time, only the third player receives a Bummerl.

Playing Tactics

In the simple Rufer, the elder hand usually has an advantage in the number of trump cards. If one leads trump right at the start, there is a chance of forcing many or all of the opponents' trumps into tricks through the requirement to follow suit. As a result, Aces played later can no longer be beaten by opponents' trumps, while one still has that option oneself.

If you hold few trump cards, lead a few times from a long suit, in the hope of drawing out as many of the opponents' trump cards as possible.

Besides the simple Rufer, the most frequent games will be Durchmarsch and Zehnerloch. For a Schnapser, one normally needs the trump Ace, the Forty, and one further Ace. Otherwise you will not succeed in reaching at least 66 points within the first three tricks, since there is no partner to "feed" you high cards, and you receive only two further cards for each card led.

Terminology

• Karten (Cards): All the playing cards used in the game.
• Blatt (Hand): The cards that a player holds in hand (in Schnapsen, that is five).
• Farben (Suits): Clubs, Spades, Diamonds, Hearts, or Leaves, Acorns, Bells, Hearts.
• Stich (Trick): A unit consisting of one card from each player. The highest card wins the trick.
• Atout, Trumpf (Trump): A preferred suit, determined or chosen according to the rules. A trump card can win a trick even if one of the cards in the trick is a higher card of another suit.
• Talon (Stock): The cards lying face down on the table. In two-handed Schnapsen, the face-up card indicating trump is also considered part of the talon.
• Vorhand (Elder hand): The player who receives the first cards when dealing. They have certain privileges (e.g., the first lead).
• Hinterhand (Younger hand): In the two-handed game, the player who is not elder hand, i.e., the dealer.
• Bummerl: The match, which consists of a varying number of individual games.
• Schneider: If a player wins a Bummerl without the opponent scoring any points, the opponent is "Schneider," and the Bummerl won counts double.
• Ansagen (Melds/bids): Twenty and Forty. In Bauernschnapsen and Dreierschnapsen, the announcement of the game form one wishes to play.
• Zwanziger (Twenty): Queen and King of a suit that is not trump.
• Vierziger (Forty): Queen and King of the trump suit.
• Mariage: The card combination Queen-King.
• Zudrehen (Closing): A special feature of two-handed Schnapsen, in which a player can put stricter rules into effect.
• Farbzwang (Requirement to follow suit): When this requirement is in force, the suit led must be followed if possible.
• Stichzwang (Requirement to win the trick): When this requirement is in force, one must win the trick if possible, while observing the requirement to follow suit.
• Renonce (Revoke): Loss of the game due to a violation of the rules.