Herzla or Herzl'n is a

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n, reverse

trick-taking 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 ...

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 ...

for 4 players in which the aim is to avoid taking any Hearts. There is a simpler variant for children and adults that may be played by 3-8 players.

History

Herzla is reported as being popular in the Austrian state of

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label=Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is ...

around 1900 and later, alongside '' 's Dappa'', Spitzramsen, Mariaschen, 66 and ''Lügo''. It is still played there today''Alle Vorarlberger Jass-Arten einfach erklärt!''
at jassa.at. Retrieved 25 September 2022. as well as in Bavaria.

Rules

The following rules are based on Sirch (2008).Sirch (2008), pp. 80–81.

Cards

Bavarian pattern 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 ...

of 32 cards is used. Typically the Sixes are removed from a

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 ...

pack. Alternatively any German-suited pack may be used. The cards rank in their natural order: Sow (''Sau''),

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, Ober, Unter, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven.

Dealing

Dealer shuffles the cards and offers to

rearhand 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, ...

cut Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut (ea ...

. Each player is then dealt 8 cards, either in two packets of 4 or four packets of 2 cards. Dealing and play are clockwise.

Bidding

Players may bid for the following contracts: * ''Beddl'' - to take no tricks * ''Mord'' - to take all tricks If no-one bids for a contract, a normal game is played as described below. If two players bid, positional priority applies. The successful bidder becomes the declarer and plays against the 3 'defenders'.

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 ...

leads to the first trick. There are no

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 ...

s. Hearts may not be led to either of the first two tricks. Players must follow suit (''

Farbzwang 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 ...

''), but there is no compulsion to win the trick (i.e. no '' Stechzwang'').

''Beddl''

''Beddl'' is Bavarian for Bettel, i.e. a contract in which the declarer undertakes to win no tricks. If they do have to take a trick, the hand ends immediately and the declarer loses. Hearts become irrelevant.

''Mord''

''Mord'' literally means "murder", but is the equivalent of a

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 ...

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

(''Durchmarsch''), a contract in which the declarer undertakes to win every trick. As soon as an opponent wins a trick, the hand ends and the declarer loses. Again, who wins which Hearts is irrelevant.

''Schleichermord''

A ''Schleichermord'' or "sneaky Mord" is when a player decides to play a ''Mord'' without announcing it and aims to win all the tricks.

Scoring

In a normal game, players pay 10c for every Heart captured to the player who has avoided taking any. If 2 players are void in Hearts, they each receive 40c. If a player captures all 8 Hearts, they pay 80c to the ''stock'' ( pot). If a ''Beddl'' or ''Mord'' is won, the losers pay the declarer 80c each. If the declarer loses, he pays 80c to each opponent. A ''Schleichermord'' is worth 80c if won; if it is lost no-one will know anyway!

Variant

A simple variant, suitable for children as well as adults, is to play the normal game. Any number of players from 3 to 8 may play; a Bavarian-pattern

pack is used, 36 cards are dealt accordingly and any leftover cards put to one side, face down. Players only play a 'normal game' and score penalty points for each Heart taken. Players may agree to play a set number of rounds and the winner is then the one with the fewest points. Alternatively they may choose to play until the first person reaches an agreed total e.g. 50 points.

References

Literature

* Sirch, Walter (2008). ''Vom Alten zum Zwanzger - Bayerische Kartenspiele für Kinder und Erwachsene - neu entdeckt.'' Bayerischer Trachtenverband. {{Trick-taking card games German deck card games Bavarian card games Four-player card games Trick-avoidance games Vorarlberg card games