Dreierles
A trick-taking game of the Adler or Black Forest Cego cards | |
Rank (high→low) | Trumps: Gstieß, 21-1 ♣♠ K Q C J 10 9 8 7 ♥♦ K Q C J 1 2 3 4 [1] |
---|---|
Play | anticlockwise |
Playing time | 20 min/deal |
Chance | Moderate |
Related games | |
Tapp Tarock |
Dreierles is a three-handed,
Name
The origin of the name Dreierles and its alternatives, Dreierle and Dreier,
Another name for the game is Stroßewartscego (Straßenwartscego, literally "Roadworkers' Cego"),[2] the name implying that it is played as a substitute for Cego when a fourth player cannot be found; however, it is quite a different game from Cego. Stroßewartscego should not be confused with another regional game, Strassenwart or Vier-Anderle, which is also played with Cego cards but is not a true Tarock game.[1]
History
The earliest record for this game dates to 1917 when, as Dreierle, it is mentioned in a poem in a Baden trade journal alongside
Distribution
Baden is the only region of Germany where Tarock games are still played today. Dreierles is the less common of the two games played here, however, in central Baden around Rastatt, Cego cards are only used for playing Dreierles, while Cego itself is played in south Baden, south of the River Acher.[1] In recent years, Dreierles tournaments have been held in Bühlertal,[9] Iffezheim,[10] Steinmauern,[11] and Ottersdorf,[12] all in the county of Rastatt, as well as in Achern[13] in the county of Ortenau. The game is also known in Malsch near Karlsruhe and east of Rastatt.[14]
Cards
Dreierles is played with a 54-card
Both patterns have 22 trumps; all bar one numbered with Arabic numerals. The highest is the unnumbered Fool, called the Stiess (pronounced "shteess") or Gstiess, and the rest rank in numerical order from 21 (highest) to 1 (lowest). An individual trump is called a Trock, Drock or Druck in the Baden dialect. The Stiess, the 21 and the 1 are collectively called the Droll or Drull. In the plain suits there are 32 cards ranking from high to low as follows:[1]
- ♥ and ♦: King, Queen, Cavalier, Jack, Ace, 2, 3, 4
- ♣ and ♠: King, Queen, Cavalier, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7
Rules
McLeod states that the rules of Dreierles are simpler than those of comparable Tarock games and that it is therefore a good introduction to the family.[1]
Introduction
There are three players, the declarer playing alone against the two defenders. If four play, each player takes it in turn to deal and sit out. Dreierles is usually a
Auction
There are four positive bids which indicate how many cards the player will draw from the blind. In ascending order they are:
- Dreier (3 cards)
- Zweier (2 cards)
- Einer (1 card)
- Solo (none).
Beginning with
The declarer may announce an intention to take the last trick with trump 1 (pictured), the Pfeife ("fife" or "pipe"), by placing it face up on the table and leaving it there until it is played. This doubles the normal bonus of 1 game point for winning the last trick with it.[1]
Räuber
If all pass, the blind is set aside and a Räuber played. The player who scores the most points in cards loses. Beginning with forehand, players may knock to double the game value. Forehand leads to the first trick. The Pfeife must be played to the third trick if possible. Trump 21 may not be played to a trick to which the Stiess has been played unless its holder has no other trump. The loser pays the others 2 game points each x the number of knocks. If two tie with the highest points, they each pay 1 to the third player (x 2 for each knock).[1]
Play
The declarer leads to the first trick. Suit must be followed if possible; failing that a player must trump with a Druck if able. The trick is won by the highest trump or the highest card of the led suit if no trumps are played. The trick winner leads to the next trick. The declarer's tricks are stored with his or her discards; the defenders keep their tricks in a common pile with the unused blind cards.[1]
Scoring
Players tot up their
Contracts | ||
Contract | Meaning | Factor |
Dreier ("Three-er") | Declarer exchanges with top 3 cards of the blind. Remaining 3 go to the defenders. | x 1 |
Zweier ("Two-er") | Declarer exchanges with top 2 cards of the blind. Remaining 4 go to the defenders. | x 2 |
Einer ("One-er") | Declarer exchanges with top card of the blind. Remaining 5 go to the defenders. | x 3 |
Solo | No exchanging. Declarer plays without the use of the blind, all 6 cards of which go to the defenders. | x 4 |
There are two types of bonus: those for combinations held in the hand at the start and those for winning the last trick with the Pfeife. The hand bonuses are personal: they are won by the individual holding that combination. The Pfeife bonuses can be team bonuses i.e. if the declarer loses the Pfeife in the last trick or fails to win an announced Pfeife, the bonus is won by both defenders. They score as follows:[1]
Bonuses | ||
Bonus | Meaning | Value |
Ten Trumps (Zehn Druck) | Declarer holds ten or more trumps (Drucks) in the hand at the start | 1 |
Trull (Drull or Druckrolle) | Declarer holds all 3 Trull cards i.e. Stiess, 21 and 1 in the hand at the start | 1 |
Four Kings (Vier Könige | Declarer holds all 4 Kings in the hand at the start | 1 |
Silent Pfeife | Player takes last trick with trump 1. | 1 |
Announced Pfeife (Pfeife 'raus) | Declarer announces he or she will take the last trick with trump 1 by laying it on the table, face up. | 2 |
Example: Anna, Bernd and Catrin have agreed a basic tariff of 10¢. Anna plays an Einer (value: x3), lays down the Pfeife (hoping for a 20¢ bonus if she wins the last trick with it), wins the game with 43 card points and claims a bonus for Ten Trumps, but loses the Pfeife in the last trick. Bernd claims 4 Kings. So Anna earns 60¢ for the win (20¢ for the 8 card points over 35 multiplied by 3 for the Einer) and 10¢ for the Ten Trump bonus making 70¢ in all. However, she has to pay out 20¢ for the lost Pfeife, so she only receives a net 50¢ from each opponent and has to pay Bernd 10¢ for his bonus making her total winnings 2 x (60¢ + 10¢ - 20¢) - 10¢ = 90¢. Meanwhile Bernd receives 10¢ from each of the other two for his Four Kings bonus, but has to pay Anna 50¢ so ends up with a net -30¢. Meanwhile Catrin earns nothing, but has to pay Anna 50¢ for her win and Bernd 10¢ for his bonus finishing with -60¢.[d][1]
Ending
A session may be played for an agreed number of rounds (a round being three deals). The last round is often played as a "Räuber or Solo" i.e. if no-one wants to play a Solo, a Räuber is played which may, by agreement, be valued at 4 game points instead of 2. Once a Solo is bid, only an opponent who hasn't yet bid may knock.[1]
Variations
Local variations to the nomenclature, scoring and other rules are described on the Dreierles page at pagat.com.[1]
Footnotes
- ^ Blinder is an adjectival noun in German, so it is often rendered der Blinde, presumably short for "the blind man". But since it is pronounced "Blinder", this spelling is used here.
- ^ Such as doubling and the Räuber contract.
- ^ The blind is called the Tappen in Hornung's rules - see External Links.
- ^ Note that the scores or payments for all 3 players always add up to zero.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Dreierles at pagat.com. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ a b Blümle (2018), p. 12
- ^ a b c d Martin and McLeod (2018), pp. 81–84.
- ^ Cego - das Kartenpiel des Schwarzwalds [Cego - the Card Game of the Black Forest] at schwarzwald-geschichte.de. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ Badische Gewerbe- und Handwerkerzeitung. 6 January 1917, p. 48.
- ^ Der Führer. Rastatt edition. 15 February 1944. p. 3.
- ^ Schlager (1951), pp. 293–307.
- ^ Michael Dummett: The Game of Tarot: from Ferrara to Salt Lake City (Duckworth, 1980), page 451
- ^ Dreierle-Turnier der Alten Herren at svbuehlertal.de. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ Zweites Dreierle Turnier ging im Vereinskelle über die Bühne at cdn.website-editor.net. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ Dreierles Cup präsentiert Männerabend Deluxe live at Preis-Dreier der Seniorengemeinschaft Steinmauern. at dreierles.thfaller.de. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ Rund Um, 14 Nov 2008, p. 3.
- ^ Spiele Club Achern at spieleclub-achern. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ Dreierles - Ein Badisches Kartenspiel at heimatfreunde-malsch.de. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
Literature
- Blümle, Gerold (2018). "Das badische Nationalspiel Cego" in the Wirtschaftliche Freiheit, 30 July 2018.
- Martin, Ulf and John McLeod (2018). "Playing the Game: Dreierles" in The Playing-Card, Vol. 47, No. 2, 81–84.
- Schlager, Friedrich (1951). "Das badische Nationalspiel "Zego" und die andern in Baden und an Badens Grenzen volksüblichen Kartenspiele." In Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft und Volkskunde: Festschrift für Ernst Ochs. Lahr (Schwarzwald): Moritz Schauenberg, 293–307.
External links
- Dreierles rules in English at pagat.com.
- Dreierles rules in German by Karlheinz Hornung.
- Dreierles - Ein Badisches Kartenspiel. Rules as recalled from her childhood by Walburga Rademacher.