Card games in Germany

This short survey of German games is at present arranged according to the type of cards used.

German suited cards (suits of acorns (Eichel, leaves (Graß or Grün), hearts (Herz or Rot) and bells (Schellen) are in gerneral use in the south and south-east (Bayern, Sachsen, Thüringen, parts of Baden-Württemberg). Each region has its own distinctive pattern, variously available in 32, 36, 24 and 48 card forms (the 48 card pack being a doubled 24 card pack).

In the north and west of Germany, German suited cards are practically unknown, and games are played with French suited cards, which come in packs of 32 cards, 24 cards or 52 cards plus jokers. The French suits have two sets of names in German - one derived from the French suit names and one purely German set. Bridge players tend to use the French derived names Pik, Coeur, Karo and Treff for spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs respectively. The corresponding German names are Schippen, Herz, Eckstein and Kreuz. Schippen and Eckstein are rarely used for spades and diamonds, though I have come across them in the Black Forest. The most usual set of names for the suits is a mixture: Kreuz for clubs, Pik for spades, Herz for hearts and Karo for diamonds.

Although the 36 card German suited pack is generally labelled Tarock, the traditional 54 card French suited Tarock pack is used in Baden for their national game Cego.

32 cards with German suits

Each suit consists of Ace (As), King (König), Over (Ober), Under (Unter), 10, 9, 8, 7. The cards which are now generally known as aces were originally twos and are still occasionally called Daus (Deuce).

These cards are used in Saxony and Thuringia for the national card game Skat. In Bavaria the games of Schafkopf and Watten are more popular. The Bavarian pattern is normally sold with 36 cards but the sixes are not used for these games.

36 cards with German suits

The composition is the same as for the 32 card pack, with the addition of a six in each suit. These cards are used for the now rare game of Bavarian Tarock and its relatives. The game itself is related to Tarot games but the pack does not have the special suit of trumps found in traditional Tarot cards.

24 cards with German suits

The composition is the same as for the 32 cards pack, but with eights and sevens omitted. It is used for the two-player game Sechsundsechzig (66). In Bavaria, Schafkopf is nowadays often played with this reduced pack.

48 cards with German suits

There are two forms of this. One is a doubled version of the 24 card pack, and is used for Doppelkopf, in south-east Germany, where German suited cards are in general use.

The second version has sevens instead of nines (two each of A K O U 10 7 in each suit). It is used in Württemberg for Gaigel and for Binokel (which is similar to the American game Pinochle).

32 cards with French suits

Each suit consists of Ace (As), King (König), Queen (Dame), Jack (Bube), 10, 9, 8, 7. These are the cards used in most of the country for the German national card game Skat. The same cards are used for other games, such as Schwimmen, Pochspiel, Mauscheln, Solo, Siwweschrööm, Klabberjaß and Fipsen.

Games played elsewhere with 52 cards are sometimes played with 32 cards in Germany - for example Mau-Mau (the German version of Crazy Eights) and even Poker.

24 cards with French suits

These are sometimes known as "Scharfe Karten" (sharp cards) and consist of only A K D B 9 in each suit. They are used for Sechsundsechzig (66), and the game Kujong, played in the Eifel region and across the border in Luxembourg, also uses this pack.

48 cards with French suits

This is a doubled form of the 24 card pack, used for Doppelkopf, which is popular thoughout northern Germany. Often it is played with only 40 cards, omitting the nines.

52 cards with French suits (plus jokers)

The international 52 card pack is used in Germany as elsewhere for Bridge. It is also used for the local versions of Rommé (Rummy) and Canasta, which generally require multiple packs with jokers. There is also now a local version of President under the name "Einer ist immer der Arsch". A pack with three jokers (55 cards) is used in Schleswig-Holstein for the local game Zwickern, and in the past packs with up to six jokers have been made for variations of this game.

54 card Tarock pack ("Cego")

This pack consists of 22 trumps (the Gstieß, which looks somewhat like a joker, and cards bearing large numbers from 21 down to 1), plus 8 cards in each of the four French suits. The suit cards are king, queen, rider, jack 10, 9, 8, 7 in the black suits, and king, queen, rider, jack, ace , 2, 3, 4 in the red suits. This is used in the Black Forest for Baedn's national card game Cego, which is a somewhat unusual Tarot game. It is also used in parts of the Black Forest for the gambling game Vier-anderle (also known as Strassenwart).

The World Casino Directory includes a listing of Casinos in Germany.