Zwicken is an old

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 to 6 players, which is usually played for small stakes and makes a good party game. It is one of the

Rams group Rams is a European trick-taking card game related to Nap and Loo, and may be played by any number of persons not exceeding nine, although five or seven make a good game. In Belgium and France, the game of Rams is also spelt Rammes or Rems, in Germ ...

of card games characterised by allowing players to drop out of the current game if they think they will be unable to win any tricks or a minimum number of tricks.''Card Games: Rams Group''
at www.pagat.com. Retrieved 16 Oct 2018

History

Zwicken is an old game, first recorded in Austria in 1783 in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

as a game of chance.. ''Salzburger Landesarchiv'' (SLA), Hofrat Generale Nr.39 The game was banned in

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

in the late 1780s and in

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

and

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

in the 90s. This ban was extended to the whole of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

by 1807. Nevertheless it continued to be played and its rules published during the course of the 19th century. In 19th-century

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 ...

it was nicknamed Hombeschen icafter state minister von Hompesch introduced financial reforms that saw many pensions withdrawn or cut back.

Cards

Zwicken is played with 32 cards of a

William Tell 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 ...

(especially in Austria) or a

Piquet pack Piquet (; ) is an early 16th-century plain-trick card game for two players that became France's national game. David Parlett calls it a "classic game of relatively great antiquity... still one of the most skill-rewarding card games for two" but ...

. The suits are illustrated in the table below. Card ranking is: Sow/

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 ...

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/

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 ...

> Unter/

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

> Ten > Nine > Eight > Seven. However, as the permanent, second highest trump – the 7/7 – outranks all cards except for the Trump Sow.

Description

Zwicken is a very common Austrian and German gambling game that is usually played for small stakes and makes a good party game. It is like a more intense version of the German game of

Tippen Tippen, also known as Dreiblatt, Dreikart, Drei Karten, Dreekort, Kleinpréférence or Labet, is an historical Germany, German 3-card, plain-trick game which was popular as a gambling game for three or more players. The Danish version of the game w ...

– the general rules and mode of play are much the same – but there are significant differences, especially its permanent trump, the 7, and its 'hop and jump' (''Hupf und Sprung'') element, in which, like

Kratzen Kratzen is an Austrian card game for three to six players that is played for small stakes usually using a 33-card William Tell pack. It is a member of the Rams group of card games characterised by allowing players to drop out of the current game ...

and Austrian Lampeln, the role of dealer may 'hop' to the next player or 'jump' over one or more players as a result of the cut. As in all games of the

, players may always drop out of a particular deal at the start. The main differences from Tippen are outlined below and are based on Katira, except where stated. * Permanent Trump. 7 / 7 is the permanent, 2nd-highest trump, ranking just below the Trump Ace / Sow. * Hop and Jump. Between shuffling and dealing, the player sitting to the right of the dealer (

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, ...

) cuts the cards and reveals the lowest card. If it is an Ace / Sow or Seven, the deal passes to the next player without playing, but the dealer's stake remains in the pool and the next dealer also pays 3 units . If it is the 7 / 7, the deal passes to the

in clockwise order and both he and all the players in between pay the basic stake of 3 units. * Trump Ace. The player with the Trump Ace / Sow, must play it the first time he is leading to a trick.

Play

The aim is to win as many tricks as possible. After the dealer has been decided, taking account of any 'hop' or 'jump' as described above, he antes 3 chips to the pot and deals 2 cards to each player, turns the next for trumps and then deals a third card to each player. At this point, beginning with forehand, players may exchange up to 3 cards with the

talon Talon or talons may refer to: Science and technology * Talon (anatomy), the claw of a bird of prey * Brodifacoum, a rodenticide, also known as the brand Talon * TALON (database), a database maintained by the US Air Force * Talon, an anti-vehicle- ...

or announce that they will "pass" and drop out of the current deal. Forehand leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit if possible, otherwise must trump and must head the trick if they can. The winner is the player with the most tricks.

Scoring

Players earn a third of the pot for each trick taken. In addition a player is ''gezwickt'' (i.e. has lost) and pays a basic stake if: * he plays and fails to take a trick * as the dealer, he fails to check the lowest card * he has the Trump Ace and does not lead it to a trick at the first opportunity * he has the 7 / 7 and loses it to the Trump Ace.

Anbieten, Freibieten and Sticheln

An historical variant of Zwicken was played in which only the last trick counted. This was variously known as Anbieten, Freibieten or Sticheln, and was banned, for example, in Upper Austria as in 1825 because it was "very similar to the forbidden card game of Zwicken and belongs to those games in which winning and losing depend more on the luck of the cards than on the skill of the player" and "because the stake could be increased time and again by the declarer" (''Freibieter''). It was probably also played in

as it is mentioned in the Bavarian Dictionary in 1836. This variant should not be confused with Sticheln, another Austrian game which resembles

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'' ...

Footnotes

References

Literature

* * * * * * * *

External links

''Zwicken – Spielregeln des Kartenspiels Zwickern''

{{Trick-taking card games Austrian card games French deck card games Gambling games German card games German deck card games Multi-player card games Rams group