Mauscheln
German-suited pack | |
Rank (high→low) | A K O U 10 9 8 7 or A K Q J 10 9 8 7 |
---|---|
Play | Clockwise |
Related games | |
Features: pot, 4 cards, optional special trumps |
Mauscheln, also Maus or Vierblatt,
Background
Origin of the name
The name Mauscheln means something like "(secretive) talk". According to Meyers Konversationslexikon of 1885 to 1892 the word Mauschel is derived from the Hebrew word moscheh "Moses", in Ashkenazi Herbrew Mausche, Mousche, and was a nickname for Jews; in Old German mauscheln means something like "speak with a Jewish accent" or haggle".[2] The word first surfaced in the 17th century.[3] Today mauscheln is a synonym for "scheme", "wheel and deal", "wangle" or "diddle".[4]
Other names for the game include Anschlagen (in Tyrol and Lower Austria
The 3-card game,
History
Mauscheln was clearly current in the early 19th century because it is banned in the
Mauscheln is one of the most popular games in Austria and is commonly played everywhere except in the states of Vorarlberg in the west and Burgenland in the east.[12] One modern source describes it as little more than an excerpt of Ombre and Boston and "so simple and mindless that anyone can learn it in five minutes." The game clearly revolves around money, resulting in attempts to classify and ban it as a game of chance. However, it is not a gambling game in the legal sense.
Basic rules
Players and cards
Like
Dealing
The
Bidding
If all the others fold, the sneaker (Mauschler) claims the pot without play. If at least one other player joins in, all active players, in order, may exchange up to 4 hand cards with the
Playing
The sneaker leads to the first
Scoring
Scoring is as follows: [14][13]
- For every trick taken a player wins 1/4 of the Pinke
- A player who 'joins in' but fails to take a trick pays a bête into the pot i.e. an amount equivalent to that in the pot; as does the sneaker if he or she only succeeds in taking one trick.
- A sneaker who remains trickless is Mauschelbete and pays a "sneaker bête" (double bête) into the pot.
Variations
In addition to variations in cutting and dealing, the following other variations are recorded:[14]
Knocking
If the dealer turns up a high trump such as the Sow (= Ace/Deuce), and before looking at his cards, he may 'knock' (klopfen) which in effect means he will become the sneaker. He takes over the game and has to take at least 2 tricks. If one or more of the others choose to play, the dealer looks at his cards, discards any he deems unfavourable and exchanges them with the trump turnup and fresh cards from the talon, without viewing them. Once the other active player(s) have exchanged, the dealer may pick up his new cards together with the 'knocked' trump.
Quartets
If anyone is dealt a
Belli
The ♦7 or 7 is the permanent, second-highest trump after the trump Ace or Sow. It may incur a penalty payment if lost to the Ace.[13]
Weli
The Weli (6) may be added to the pack as the 33rd card and permanent, second-highest trump
See also
- Dreiblatt
Footnotes
- ^ Parlett translates mauscheln as "diddle" which is its modern meaning, but "sneak" conveys its older sense, not least as a way of sneakily dodging the gambling ban on Dreiblatt by adding an extra card.
References
- ^ a b c d Grupp 1975–1979, p. 20.
- ^ Meyers Konversationslexikon: Mauscheln
- De GruyterOnline).
- ^ "Wortschatz Uni Leipzig". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
- ^ a b Geiser 2004, pp. 58–61.
- ^ Although Kratzen is usually played with 'hop and jump' and the Weli, unlike Mauscheln.
- ^ Jungbauer, Dr. Gustav. Sudetendeutsche Zeitschrift für Volkskunde, Prague: J. G. Calve. p. 279.
- ^ Kastner & Folkvord 2005, p. 63.
- ^ _ (1832), pp. 370-371.
- ^ Ulmann 1890, p. 260/261.
- ^ Hülsemann 1930, p. 237.
- ^ Geiser 2004, p. 40.
- ^ a b c d e f Parlett 2008, p. 119.
- ^ a b c d Grupp 1975–1979, p. 21.
Literature
- _ (1832). Österreichische Zeitschrift für Rechts- und Staatswissenschaft. Vol. 3. Vienna: J.P. Sollinger.
- Althaus, Hans Peter (2002). Mauscheln: Ein Wort als Waffe. Berlin: de Gruyter.
- Geiser, Remigius (2004). "100 Kartenspiele des Landes Salzburg" (PDF). Talon (13). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2018.
- Grupp, Claus D. (1975–1979). Kartenspiele. Wiesbaden: Falken-Verlag Erich Sicker. ISBN 3-8068-2001-5.
- Grupp, Claus D. (1976). Glücksspiele mit Kugel, Würfel und Karten, Falken Verlag, Wiesbaden.
- Grupp, Claus D. (1996/97). Kartenspiele im Familien und Freundeskreis. Revised and redesigned edition. Original edition. Falken, Niedernhausen/Ts. ISBN 3-635-60061-X
- Hülsemann, Robert (1930). Das Buch der Spiele. Leipzig: Hesse & Becker.
- Kastner, Hugo; Folkvord, Gerald Kador (2005). Die große Humboldt-Enzyklopädie der Kartenspiele. Baden-Baden: Humboldt. ISBN 978-3-89994-058-9.
- Parlett, David (1992). The Oxford Dictionary of Card Games, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- ISBN 978-0-141-03787-5.
- Ulmann, S. (1890). Das Buch der Familienspiele. Vienna, Munich and Pest: A. Hartleben.