User:Bermicourt/Card games/Kaisern
 The card deck for Kaiserspiel | |
| Origin | Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Type | Trick-taking |
| Players | 2, 4, 6 |
| Cards | 40 or 48 |
| Deck | Swiss deck (Kaiserspiel variant) |
| Play | Anticlockwise |
| Related games | |
| Karnöffel, Knüffeln, Watten | |
Kaiserspiel, also called Kaisern or Cheisärä, is a card game, usually for 4 or 6 players, that is played in parts of Switzerland using a variant of the standard 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[edit]
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[edit]
This variant is named after the village of Silenen in the Swiss canton of Uri.
Players[edit]
The game is played by 8, 10 or 12 players, divided into two teams, players from each sitting alternately at the table.
Cards[edit]
The 48 cards of a Kaiserspiel pack are used. If eight play, the 8s and 9s are removed.
Trick-taking powers[edit]
| # | * | Card | Description | Other names | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | T | Trump Bauer | beats all the cards | Trump Under | Trump Under, Trump Bower |
| (2) | T | Trump 7 | 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). | ||
| 3 | T | Trump 6 | beats all other cards apart from the two already mentioned. | jocularly also called the Sense (Scythe), if it e. g. takes the decisive trick. | Scythe |
| 4 | T | Trump Ace | beats all other cards apart from the three already mentioned. | ||
| 5 |  K
|
Blass | beats the Kings and all cards below it (even trump cards) as well as all other Kaisers. | Rosen-Kaiser (Rosen-Banner) | Rose Emperor, Rose Banner |
| The cards above are called Mann-beaters (Mann-Stecher) , because they are the only ones that can beat the higher-ranking Mann (the King). | |||||
| 6 | M | Kings | this Mann only has its trick-taking powers, if it is:
Exceptions:
(prerequisite is however that only the first led card.) |
Mann, König | Mann, King |
| 7 | T | Trump 3 | 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. | Oberstecher | Ober-beater |
| 8 |  K
|
Ober-Kaiser | beats the Ober and all cards below it as well as the Grün and Mugg. | Ober-Kaiser, Schilten-Kaiser (Schilten-Banner) | Ober Emperor, Shield Emperor, Shield Banner |
| 9 | M | Obers | this Mann beats all cards of lower rank in its suit with the same rules as for the King. | Mann, Ober | Mann, Ober |
| 10 | T | Trump 4 | 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 | Under-beater |
| 11 |  K
|
Grün | beats the Unders that are not trumps and all cards below it. | Grün, Eichel-Kaiser (Eichel-Banner) | Green, Acorn Emperor, Acorn Banner |
| 12 | Under | beats all cards of lower rank in its own suit (if this suit is not trumps), the Trump 5 and the Mugg. | Bauer, Jos or Joos | Bower, Jos or Joos | |
| 13 | T | Trump 5 | 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. | Farbstecher | Suit-beater |
| 14 |  K
|
Mugg | beats all empty cards as well as the Trump 9 and 8. | Mugg, Schallen-Kaiser (Schallen-Banner) | Mugg, Bell Emperor, Bell Banner |
| 15 | 9 and 8 | 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). | |||
| 16 | 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and Ace (2) | beat each other in this order from left to right, but only if the relevant suit is not trumps. | |||
| * card type: T = Trump, K = Kaiser, M = Mann | |||||
References[edit]
- ^ a b Kaiserspiel at www.pagat.com. Retrieved 4 Jun 2018.
External links[edit]
- Matthew Macfadyen and Kirsty Healey, rev. John McLeod. Kaiserspiel at www.pagat.com. Retrieved 4 Jun 2018.