KaiserspielTrick-taking |
Players | 2, 4, 6 |
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Cards | 40 or 48 |
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Deck | Swiss deck (Kaiserspiel variant) |
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Play | Anticlockwise |
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Karnöffel, Knüffeln, Watten |
Kaiserspiel, also called Kaisern or Cheisärä, is a
Swiss playing cards with 40 or 48 cards. It is a descendent of
Karnöffel, one of the oldest known card games.
[1] It is sometimes misleadingly called
Kaiserjass, although it has nothing to do with the
Jass family of games that are popular in Switzerland.
Cards
The Kaiserspiel pack comprises four suits: Shields, Roses, Bells and Acorns each of ten cards ranked as follows: King, Ober, Unter, Banner, (9), (8), 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (Deuce). The four Banners are normally part of the trump suit and are known as Kaisers, hence the name of the game. In the 40-card variants, the 8s and 9s are removed. There are no Aces.[1]
Kaiserspiel – Silenen variant
This variant is named after the village of
.
Players
The game is played by 8, 10 or 12 players, divided into two teams, players from each sitting alternately at the table.
Cards
The 48 cards of a Kaiserspiel pack are used. If eight play, the 8s and 9s are removed.
Trick-taking powers
#
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*
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Card
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Description
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Other names
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Translation
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1
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T
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Trump Bauer
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beats all the cards
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Trump Under
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Trump Under, Trump Bower
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(2)
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T
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Trump 7
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beats only, if it is led to a trick! The Trump 7 can then only be beaten by the Trump Bauer. Otherwise it is effectively worthless (see 16).
|
|
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3
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T
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Trump 6
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beats all other cards apart from the two already mentioned.
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jocularly also called the Sense (Scythe), if it e. g. takes the decisive trick.
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Scythe
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4
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T
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Trump Ace
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beats all other cards apart from the three already mentioned.
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|
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5
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K
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Blass
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beats the Kings and all cards below it (even trump cards) as well as all other Kaisers.
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Rosen-Kaiser (Rosen-Banner)
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Rose Emperor, Rose Banner
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The cards above are called Mann-beaters (Mann-Stecher) , because they are the only ones that can beat the higher-ranking Mann (the King).
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6
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M
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Kings
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this Mann only has its trick-taking powers, if it is:
- led to a trick
- played to a card of its own suit, referred to as "playing in the Mann" (in den Mann spielen).
Exceptions:
- the Kaisers cannot be beaten by any Mann (King or Ober). They do not "fall to the Mann" (nicht in den Mann gehen) as the phrase is.
- likewise the Trump 3, 4 and 5 cannot be beaten by a Mann. They also do not fall to the Mann!
- the Trump 8 and 9 fall to the Mann.
- a led Trump Ober can be beaten or overtrumped by the Trump King.
(prerequisite is however that only the first led card.)
|
Mann, König
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Mann, King
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7
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T
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Trump 3
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beats every Ober and all cards below them as well as the Ober-Kaiser, Grün and Mugg. A led Trump 3 does not fall to the Mann and cannot, therefore, be beaten by the Trump King.
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Oberstecher
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Ober-beater
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8
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K
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Ober-Kaiser
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beats the Ober and all cards below it as well as the Grün and Mugg.
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Ober-Kaiser, Schilten-Kaiser (Schilten-Banner)
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Ober Emperor, Shield Emperor, Shield Banner
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9
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M
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Obers
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this Mann beats all cards of lower rank in its suit with the same rules as for the King.
|
Mann, Ober
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Mann, Ober
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10
|
T
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Trump 4
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beats the Unders that are not trumps and all cards below it as well as the Grün and the Mugg. The Trump 4 does not fall to the Mann and can therefore not be beaten by the Trump King nor the Trump Ober.
|
Understecher
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Under-beater
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11
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K
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Grün
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beats the Unders that are not trumps and all cards below it.
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Grün, Eichel-Kaiser (Eichel-Banner)
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Green, Acorn Emperor, Acorn Banner
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12
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Under
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beats all cards of lower rank in its own suit (if this suit is not trumps), the Trump 5 and the Mugg.
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Bauer, Jos or Joos
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Bower, Jos or Joos
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13
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T
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Trump 5
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beats the Trump 9 and 8 as well as all lower-ranking cards that are not trumps and the Mugg. The Trump 5 does not goes fall to the Mann and so can neither be beaten by the Trump King nor the Trump Ober.
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Farbstecher
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Suit-beater
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14
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K
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Mugg
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beats all empty cards as well as the Trump 9 and 8.
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Mugg, Schallen-Kaiser (Schallen-Banner)
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Mugg, Bell Emperor, Bell Banner
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15
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9 and 8
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they have no greater trick-taking power as trumps. The Trump 9 and 8, however, fall to a Trump Mann if they are able to be led to a trick (see 6 and 9).
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|
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16
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7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and Ace (2)
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beat each other in this order from left to right, but only if the relevant suit is not trumps.
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* card type: T = Trump, K = Kaiser, M = Mann
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References
External links
- Matthew Macfadyen and Kirsty Healey, rev. John McLeod. Kaiserspiel at www.pagat.com. Retrieved 4 Jun 2018.