German Solo or just Solo is a German 8-card

plain-trick game A trick-taking game is a card or tile-based game in which play of a '' hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of that trick. The object of such ...

for 4 individual players using a 32-card, German- or

French-suited 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 ...

Skat pack German-suited playing cards are a very common style of traditional playing card used in many parts of Central Europe characterised by 32- or 36-card packs with the suits of Acorns (''Eichel'' or ''Kreuz''), Leaves (''Grün'', ''Blatt'', ''Lau ...

. It is essentially a simplification of

Quadrille The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six '' contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of opera melodie ...

, itself a 4-player adaptation of

Ombre Ombre (, pronounced "omber") or l'Hombre is a fast-moving seventeenth-century trick-taking card game for three players and "the most successful card game ever invented." Its history began in Spain around the end of the 16th century as a four-pe ...

.''Neuestes Spielbuch'' (1834), pp. 116–128. As in Quadrille, players bid for the privilege of declaring trumps and deciding whether to play alone or with a partner. Along with Ombre,

Tarock Tarot games are card games played with tarot decks, that is, decks with numbered permanent trumps parallel to the suit cards. The games and decks which English-speakers call by the French name Tarot are called Tarocchi in the original Italian, ...

and

Schafkopf Schafkopf (), also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German Trick-taking game, trick-taking card game of the Ace-Ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. It is still very popular i ...

, German Solo influenced the development of Skat.Hoffmann & Dietrich (1982). Parlett calls it a "neat little descendant of Quadrille" and "a pleasant introduction" to the Ombre family of games.

Name

The game is often called German Solo in English and German sources to distinguish it from other national games such as American Solo, Spanish Solo and

English Solo Solo Whist, sometimes known as English Solo or simply Solo, is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game for four players. Despite the name it is not related to Whist, but derives from an early form of Boston (card game), Boston played in the Low ...

. However, it was often known locally just as Solo or, in the Münsterland, as Sollo. Historically it was also referred to as German Ombre and some American publications actually call the game Ombre.

History

Different nations have card games called "Solo" which, although not identical, have a "common base". The German game, Solo, descends from the French

and has been described as "a pleasant introduction to games of the stock of Hombre."Parlett (1991), p. 204. The game is mentioned in the literature as early as 1776, being played for a 4 pfennig stake. In 1794, it is mentioned in the poem, '' Junker Kord'' by

Johann Heinrich Voss Johann Heinrich Voss (german: Johann Heinrich Voß, ; 20 February 1751 – 29 March 1826) was a Germans, German classicist and poet, known mostly for his translation of Homer's ''Odyssey'' (1781) and ''Iliad'' (1793) into German language, German ...

, where a footnote describes it as "a card game of the lower classes." In 1796, we learn that students, probably of Leipzig University, liked to repair to disreputable bars to play Solo or

for a couple of Dreiers. Its earliest rules appear in Hammer (1812), while, in 1820, Von Abenstein says it may be regarded as a German card game because it is frequently played by Germans (especially the middle classes) and with German-suited cards.von Abenstein (1820), p. 219. It goes back a long way, being mentioned, for example, in the ''Theater-Journal für Deutschland'' in 1779 and described in the ''Bavarian Courier'' in 1826 as being played at home around the table by the "master craftsmen, journeymen and apprentices", along with

Kreuzmariage () or Mariagenspiel is a German 6-card trick-and-draw game for two players in which players score bonus points for the "marriage" of King and Queen of the same suit. The game, first documented in 1715 in Leipzig, spawned numerous offshoots throu ...

Matzlfangen Matzlfangen is a traditional point-trick, card game for 4 players that originated in the Bavarian province of Upper Palatinate over 200 years ago and spread to Austria. It is still played in a few places today. The game is named after the Ten or '' ...

Grünober Grasobern, Grasoberl, Grasoberln, Graseberla, Grünobern, Lauboberl or Laubobern is a card game that was once commonly played in Old Bavaria, especially in the old counties of Bad Aibling and Rosenheim, and is still popular in eastern Bavaria, esp ...

and others.''Der Bayerische Landbote''
(1826), p. 606. In 1839, it is described as the "German Hombre" and "with great cause" because it is really an emulation of French

or four-player Hombre. At that time it was popular with the middle classes, especially across the whole of north Germany down to the

River Lahn The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the States of Germany, federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). It ...

and

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

region. In

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

and the like it was usually played with German-suited cards and that factor alone – having 32 cards instead of 40 – made it simpler than Hombre._ (1839), pp. 119–120. In north Germany it was the most popular game in the period leading up to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

; afterwards it was superseded by Skat. As Grünberg notes in 1938 "before the war we mostly played Solo. Now everyone plays Skat. Only in the pub, when there is a lot of conversation is a social game of cards played, and that game is called '

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 ...

'".Grünberg (1938), pp. 27/28. The game is still recorded in modern Anglo-American and German games compendia.

Cards

Hierarchy Historically the game was played with a pack of 32

German-suited cards German-suited playing cards are a very common style of traditional playing card used in many parts of Central Europe characterised by 32- or 36-card packs with the suits of Acorns (''Eichel'' or ''Kreuz''), Leaves (''Grün'', ''Blatt'', ''Lau ...

. More recent sources vary, some using German- and others using

French-suited cards 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 ...

Ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

s rank high and Tens rank low. The top three cards, sometimes known as

matadors A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activity ...

, in descending order, are the Ober of Acorns,

trump Trump most commonly refers to: * Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) * Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank Trump may also refer to: Businesses and organizations * Donald J. T ...

7 and Ober of

Leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

, often known by names borrowed from

: ''Spadille'', ''Manille'' and ''Baste''. In German, they are also called the ''Alte'' ("Old One" or "Old Woman"), ''Spitz'' ("Top") and ''Bass'' (from ''Basta'' in Ombre). If French-suited cards are used, ''Spadille'' is the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

and ''Baste'' is the Queen of

Spades SPAdes (St. Petersburg genome assembler) is a genome assembly algorithm which was designed for single cell and multi-cells bacterial data sets. Therefore, it might not be suitable for large genomes projects. SPAdes works with Ion Torrent, PacBio ...

. Neither ''Spadille'' nor ''Baste'' count as members of their natural suits. Below the matadors, cards rank normally, except for omitting any Obers or Queens that are permanent trumps. Thus, depending on which suit is chosen, the trump suit will contain either 9 or 10 cards. In the Münsterland variant known as ''Sollo'', only 24 cards are used, the 8s and 9s being omitted.Münsterland Sollo
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. Retrieved 15 September 2021.

Rules

The following rules are based on the ''Erweitetes Spielregelbüchlein aus Altenburg'' (1988).''Erweitetes Spielregelbüchlein aus Altenburg'' (1988), pp. 186–191. A 32-card German-suited pack is used with cards ranking as above and the matadors are called ''Spadille, Manille'' and ''Baste''. First dealer is chosen by lot and play is clockwise. Dealer

shuffles Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome. __TOC__ Techniques Overha ...

, offers to the right for

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

and deals 8 cards each in batches of 3–2–3. The

declarer Card players are those participating in a card game. Various names are given to card players based on their role or position. Position Games of Anglo-American origin In games of Anglo-American origin played in English-speaking countries, ...

is determined by a

bidding Bidding is an offer (often competitive) to set a price tag by an individual or business for a product or service ''or'' a demand that something be done. Bidding is used to determine the cost or value of something. Bidding can be performed by ...

process described below. Declarer decides which suit will be trumps, and plays either in

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

with a

partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

or as a soloist.

Bidding

The following three bids can be made in ascending order.

''Frage''

In a ''Frage'', the declarer aims to take five of the eight tricks with the help of a partner. The declarer chooses the trump suit and names a plain suit Ace he or she does not have. For example, the declarer may say "Hearts with the Ace of Leaves" and whoever holds that Ace becomes the declarer's partner. The partner must not reveal this; instead their identity will become clear during play. If all four Aces are held, the declarer may call a King in one of the plain suits.

''Grossfrage''

A ''Grossfrage'' must be announced by a player who is dealt both the ''Spadille'' and ''Manille'' unless they intend to call a ''Solo'' or a ''Solo'' has already been bid in which case they may pass. A ''Grossfrage'' is played as a ''Frage'', but is worth more. The declarer names a plain suit Ace and whoever holds that Ace will be declarer's partner. This time the partner must reveal this and choose the trump suit, which may not be the suit of the called Ace. During the bidding, a ''Grossfrage'' in Acorns has precedence over the same contract in other suits.

''Solo''

In a ''Solo'' the declarer chooses the trump suit and plays alone with the aim of taking at least five tricks. An Acorn Solo takes precedence over a Solo in other suits.

Bidding procedure

The procedure is bidding with immediate hold. First,

eldest hand Card players are those participating in a card game. Various names are given to card players based on their role or position. Position Games of Anglo-American origin In games of Anglo-American origin played in English-speaking countries, ...

bids "''Frage''" or passes. If eldest hand did not pass, the next player may pass or bid higher. Eldest hand must then respond with "pass", hold with "yes", or name an even higher game. The second player must now pass or bid even higher. Once one of the two players passes, the third player may will either pass or make an even higher bid. Finally, the fourth player bids, and after another player has passed the remaining player declares at least the mode of play which he or she bid.

''Mussfrage''

If all four players pass, then the player who holds the ''Spadille'' (O or Q) has to play a Force (''Mußfrage''). This is played like a ''Grossfrage'' but scores less than a ''Frage''.

Play

Trick play is as in

Whist Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play. History Whist is a descendant of the 16th-century game of ''trump'' ...

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 ...

leads to the first trick. Players must

follow suit A trick-taking game is a card or tile-based game in which play of a ''hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of that trick. The object of such g ...

if possible; if not, they can play anything. Whoever plays the highest trump or, if no trumps are played, the highest card of the suit led, wins the trick and leads to the next trick. The declaring party, i.e. the soloist or, in an alliance, the declarer declarer's partner, must win 5 of the 8 tricks. If declarer's party wins the first 5 tricks they can stop the game to get a

bonus Bonus commonly means: * Bonus, a Commonwealth term for a distribution of profits to a with-profits insurance policy * Bonus payment, an extra payment received as a reward for doing one's job well or as an incentive Bonus may also refer to: Plac ...

for ''prime''. Or they can continue playing: they cannot score prime but may be able to score a ''Durchmarsch'' (

slam Slam, SLAM or SLAMS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional elements * S.L.A.M. (Strategic Long-Range Artillery Machine), a fictional weapon in the ''G.I. Joe'' universe * SLAMS (Space-Land-Air Missile Shield), a fictional anti-ball ...

, lit. "all tricks") by winning all tricks.Pierer (1863), pp. 263–264. In a ''Frage'' or ''Grossfrage'', if the suit of the called Ace or King is led, the called card must be played. If that hasn't happened by the fifth trick, the declarer may ask "partner?" (''Helfer?'') and the partner responds "here" (''Hier!''). In this case, a slam is not permitted. A ''Frage'' with Acorns as the trump suit has precedence during the auction, but is played in the same way as a ''Frage'' in other suits.

Scoring

Scoring rules were relatively complicated and not uniform. The following simpler rules are from an anthology that appeared in the late 20th century, when the game had already largely fallen out of use. In this version, only declarer's party scores (positively or negatively). The base value of a declaration is 1 point for a Force, 2 for a ''Frage'' or ''Solo'', 3 for a ''Großfrage'' and 6 for ''Solo''. There is a bonus of 2 points for prime, 4 points for ''Tout'' (

, and 6 points for ''Tout'' if it was announced along with the declaration. There is also a bonus of 2 points in case the 3 highest trumps were all dealt to the same party. The bonus for ''Tout'' accrues if declarer's party continues playing after winning the first 5 tricks, whether they make it or not, and the bonus for ''Tout'' also accrues whenever it is declared. The bonus for prime only applies if declarer's party stops after the 5th trick. The base value plus any scores is added or subtracted to the scores of declarer and declarer's partner (if any), provided they achieve their objective, which is winning 5 or all tricks. If they do not meet their goal, it is subtracted from their scores.

Variations

* There is a preferred suit (''couleur favorite''), e.g. clubs or the suit of the first contract that was satisfied. A contract in the preferred suit ranks higher than the same contract in a different suit but lower than the next higher contract in a different suit. A declarer who at some point during the auction bid the preferred suit, must in every case play in the preferred suit. Games in the preferred suit score double. * ''Mediateur'' is a contract that ranks between big beg and solo. Declarer demands the ace of a specific suit and receives it from the opponent who holds it. Declarer returns any other card face down. * There are numerous relatively complicated scoring variants that involve a pot and side-payments. * The three ''matadors'' (''Spadille'', ''Manille'' and ''Baste'') may be reneged under when a lower trump is led. More precisely, if a player holds no other trumps than matadors and the card led to the current trick is a trump which is not a matador or lower than the matadors held by the player, then the player may discard a non-trump instead of following suit.

Notes

References

Literature

* Sintenis, Christian Friedrich (1776). ''Veit Rosenstock, auch genannt Rosenbaum, Rosenstrauch, Rosenthal, Rosier.'' Part 1. Frankfurt and Leipzig. * _ (1779)
''Theater-Journal für Deutschland''
Vol. 12. * _ (1826)
''Der Bayerische Landbote''
* _ (1834)
''Neuestes Spielbuch''
Vienna: Haas. * _ (1839)
''Neuestes Spielbuch.''
2nd improved and expanded edn. Vienna: Carl Haas. 205 pp. * _ (1988). ''Erweitertes Spielregelbüchlein aus Altenburg'', 8th edn.

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...

: Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik. * Grünberg, Peter (1938). "Knüffeln" in '' Die Heimat'', Vol. 48, No. 1. Heimat und Erbe, Flensburg, pp. 27/28. * Hammer, Paul (1811). ''Die deutschen Kartenspiele''. Weygand, Leipzig, pp. 25–192. * Hoffmann, Detlef and Margot Dietrich (1982). ''Das Skatspiel: Geschichte – Bilder – Regeln''. Lucerne: Bucher. * Mannhalt, T. (1830). ''Gesetzbuch für Spielgesellschaften oder die vier interessantesten Kartenspiele: Whist, Solo, Boston und L'Hombre, in allen ihren Umrissen formell und intellectuell dargestellt etc.'' Berlin: Schüppel. *

Parlett, David David Parlett (born 18 May 1939 in London) is a games scholar, historian, and translator from South London, who has studied both card games and board games. He is the president of the British Skat Association. His published works include many pop ...

(1991). ''A History of Card Games'', OUP, Oxford. *

(2008). ''The Penguin Book of Card Games'', Penguin, London. * Pierer, H.A. (1863)
"Solo"
in ''Pierer's Universal-Lexikon'', Vol. 16. Altenburg. pp. 263–264. * Von Abenstein, G.W. (1820). ''Neuester Spielalmanach für Karten-, Schach-, Brett-, Billard-, Kegel- und Ball-Spieler''. Berlin: Hann. * Voss, Johann Heinrich (1796). ''Gedichte'', Vols. 1-2. Frankfurt and Leipzig.

External links

US version of German Solo
at

pagat.com Pagat.com is a website containing rules to hundreds of card games from all over the world. Maintained by John McLeod, it contains information for traditional, commercial, and newly invented card games from all over the world. It has been described ...

Münsterland Sollo
Variant played in the Münsterland. {{Historical card games German card games Four-player card games Ombre group German deck card games French deck card games