Bräus (or Brus) is an old Swedish

card game A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ...

from the island of

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

that differs from all others in that not all cards are actually playable.Smith (1993), pp. 36/37 The game is descended from the oldest known card game in Europe,

Karnöffel Karnöffel is a trick-taking card game which probably came from the upper-German language area in Europe in the first quarter of the 15th century. It first appeared listed in a municipal ordinance of Nördlingen, Bavaria, in 1426 among the games ...

, a fact testified by its unusual card ranking and lack of a uniform trump suit.''Bräus regler''
at kortspelonline.se. Retrieved 21 May 2019. Bräus is designed for four players and is played with 36 cards of a

French pack French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. I ...

, each of the four suits comprising the cards 6-10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. However, only 22 of these cards may be played.

Background

Bräus is one of a family of games descended from

, the oldest European card game with a continuous tradition of play down to the present day.Dummett (1981), p. 130 These games are characterised by "the wildly disturbed ranking order in the

chosen suit The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to Bridge, Hearts, Poker or Rummy) ...

and particularly by the special role of the chosen Seven." Close relatives include German Bruus or Brusbart, Russian Bruzbart or Dulya, Livonian Brusbart, Polish

Drużbart Drużbart or Druzbart is an extinct Polish card game of the Bruus family.Smith (1997), pp. 45-51. The game is descended from the oldest known card game in Europe, Karnöffel, a fact testified by its unusual card ranking and lack of a uniform trum ...

, Danish and Estonian

Brus Brus ( sr-cyr, Брус, ) is a town and municipality located in the Rasina District of southern Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the population of the town is 4,572, while the population of the municipality is 16,293. It is located at above ...

and Greenlandic

Voormsi Voormsi or Vorms is an old, Greenlandic, trick-taking card game of the Brusbart family designed for four players. History Voormsi is "reputed to be ancient", possibly dating to the Whaling Period before 1721, between the late 15th century disa ...

. More distant cousins include Faroese Stýrivolt and Schleswig

Knüffeln Knüffeln is a very old trick-taking card game for four players, playing in pairs, that is still played in North Germany. Once considered the national game of Frisia, Knüffeln is a descendant of Karnöffel, the oldest identifiable European card ...

.Smith (1997), pp. 45-51 Gotland is a Swedish island in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

that has been ruled at various times in history by the Danes and the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

, among others. It has been Swedish since 1645. The game of Bräus is one of a family of games played in the Baltic region and Scandinavia that descend from Karnöffel, a card game that has been recorded since 1426. Gotland is the only place in Sweden where Bräus is still played. It underwent a brief revival in the 1980s possibly due to the "touristic rediscovery of folklore and customs", and has remained popular enough that an annual Bräus

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

is still held. It is still being actively taught.''Bli bekant med Bräus’n''.
Retrieved 24 May 2019.

Cards

A French-suited, Swedish-pattern pack is normally used with the Twos, Threes, Fours and Fives removed. Not all the cards are playable. The playable cards rank as follows, from highest to lowest: * - ''Spit'' or ''Spiten'' * - ''Dull'' or ''Dullen'' * - ''Bräus'' or ''Bräusen'' * Nines * Aces * Jacks * Sixes The three highest cards—''Spit'', ''Dull'' and ''Bräus''—are called matadors (''makdoros''). The Nines, Aces, Jacks, and Sixes rank among themselves in suit order, for example the beats the , , and , but any Ace is beaten by any Nine. The Sevens only have power if they are led, when they count individually as a trick. The remaining 14 cards are 'unplayable cards' or 'duds'—they serve to pad out the players' hands but have no value or to "randomise the distribution of playable cards." The is known as the ''plågu'' or "torment" because it may force an opponent to play a matador rather than hold it back. The is called ''grodballen'' or "frog's testicles."

Rules

In Bräus, there are always two teams. If four play, partners sit opposite one another; if six play, the team players sit alternately. The overall aim is to win six 'strokes' (game points) for the game. In each deal the aim is to win six tricks.

Dealing

The dealer shuffles the cards, offers them to the right for cutting and deals the cards individually and in clockwise order. If four play, each receives nine cards; if six play, each player gets six cards.

Playing

Forehand The forehand in tennis and other racket sports such as table tennis, squash and badminton is a shot made by swinging the racket across one's body with the hand moving palm-first. In tennis, except in the context of the phrase ''forehand volley ...

(the player to the left of the dealer) begins by laying out any Sevens held, each Seven counting by itself as a trick. Forehand then leads a playable or 'live' card. The other players follow in clockwise order by playing a higher card if possible; otherwise they pass. They may never discard. The player who has played the highest card wins the trick. The trick winner then plays any Sevens held and leads a playable card. If unable to do either, the player passes and the lead rotates to the left. Play continues until one team takes six tricks. If a team has five tricks and the King of Clubs, they may count it as a sixth trick. If neither side takes six tricks, it is a draw and the same dealer deals again.

Scoring

One point is scored for winning six tricks. If the winners score 6–0, they have made ''

Jan Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

'' and score 2 points. Game is six points.

Footnotes

References

Literature

* *

Dummett, Michael Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett (27 June 1925 – 27 December 2011) was an English people, English academic described as "among the most significant British philosophers of the last century and a leading campaigner for racial tolerance and ...

(1978). Reviews of "Der Nidwaldener Kaiserjass Und Seine Geschichte" and "Der Kaiserjass, Wie Er Heute in Nidwalden Gespielt Wird" in ''The Playing Card'', Vol. 9, No. 4, May 1981. * * * McLeod, John (1996). "Styrivolt, Vorms and Cicera" in ''The Playing Card'', Volume 25, No. 2. * * Smith, Anthony (1993). "The Game of Brus" in ''The Playing Card World'', No. 74, November 1993. * Smith, Anthony (1997). "Voormsi: A Greenlandic Descendant of Karnöffel" in ''The Playing-Card'' with which is incorporated ''Playing-Card World''; Journal of the

International Playing-Card Society The International Playing-Card Society (IPCS) is a non-profit organisation for those interested in playing cards, their design, and their history. While many of its members are collectors of playing cards, they also include historians of playing car ...

, Vol. 26, by Beal, ed. George, July/August 1997 - May/June 1998. Published by The International Playing-Card Society, ISSN 0305-2133.

External links

''Brus''
at www.pagat.com. {{Trick-taking card games Swedish card games French deck card games Four-player card games Six-player card games Karnöffel group