Mariáš or Mariasch a three-player, solo

trick-taking 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 g ...

of the King–Queen family of

Ace-Ten games An Ace-Ten game is a type of card game, highly popular in Europe, in which the Aces and Tens are of particularly high value. Description Many of Europe's most popular card games feature the Ace-Ten scoring system, where the cards count as Ace = ...

, but with a simplified scoring system. It is one of the most popular card games in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, but is also played in

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 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

as well as in

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 ...

. The Hungarian national card game

Ulti Ulti or Ultimó, is Hungary's national trick-taking card game for three players. It is virtually unknown outside its home borders. History Its name derives from the winning of the last trick with the lowest trump, a feature derived from several g ...

is an elaboration of Mariáš.

Variants in former Czechoslovakia

* ''Lízaný mariáš'' (Draw Mariage) - trick-and-draw game, two players, very similar to old German card game, Mariage and Polish Tysiąc (one thousand) * ''Volený mariáš'' (Called Mariage) - three players, no drawing,

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, ...

determines the trump suit, the other players defend together in partnership * ''Křížový mariáš'' (Cross Mariage) - four players, 8 tricks, elder hand sets up the trump suit and calls (chooses) one trump honour card to be in partnership, two others are defenders) * ''Licitovaný mariáš'' (Auction Mariage) - three players, ten tricks bidding phase like in the contract bridge, the strongest player chooses the contract, the other two players become the defenders * ''Hvězdicový mariáš'' (Star Mariage) - five players , six tricks, bidding phase and contractor calls the trump honour, the other three players become the defenders

Basic rules

* only 32 playing cards: A, 10, K, O, U, 9, 8, 7 in four suits (card 10 is higher than King, except Betl and

Durch 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), ...

contracts) * follow the suit in the trick (like bridge) * necessity play higher card (override) to kill (take) the trick (unlike bridge) * if unable to follow suit, necessity play trump card (unlike bridge) * if unable to kill the trick, smaller card is possible

No shuffling

The winner of the trick places the cards played to own winning stack on the table (and begin a new trick). Some deals are played only a few tricks and the declarer resigns or shows a winning hand. The score is calculated by adding the counters in all the stacks, but these cards stay in order. The card sequence in the tricks must be conserved. Dealer collect all stacks together without shuffling and offers the opportunity to cut the cards before a new deal. The players can use the information about following "cards in a row" in previous deal, if the cards were shown. This aspect boost the calculations in the next deals, some hands look strong enough, but the reality is different due to odd distribution of honours or suits that are too long or too short in the hands of other players.

Cutting

Cutting is necessary (note that cutting just one card, or all bar one card, is forbidden) and especially the powerful finesse cause the strong cards can be sent to the cutter´s hand in next deal. Dealer has some possibilities to prevent, he could collect all the stacks in the right way before the cutting. Dealing is ordered by a scheme, after the cutting... ''alea iacta est'')

Dealing

* 7-5-5-5-5-5 in Volený mariáš (the elder hand sets up the trump suit when he has seven cards in hand, after the setting he takes the second part - another five cards, then chooses and puts two cards aside) * 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 in Křížový mariáš (elder hand set-up trump when he has four cards in hand) * 5-5-5-2-5-5-5 in Licitovaný mariáš (the winner of bidding process can take two cards left on the table (talon) and put off another two cards and then he pronounces the commitments in his contract).

Scoring

* Ace = 10 points, 10 = 10 points, last trick (ultimo) = 10 points (summarised 90 points) * Marriage (K+Q in the same suit in one player´s hand) trump suit 40 points, other suits 20, 20, 20 points (100 bonus points, 190 maximum score) * draw-game (the same score) is not possible

Special contracts with bonuses

* Betl (win 0 trick) or Durch (win all tricks) are special plain-trick games incorporated (escape from point-trick game, good chance to win against strong cards) * 7 – play the smallest trump card in the last trick (need to win this trick) * 100 – score 100 points or more (90 points lost the game, need 60+40 with trump marriage or 80+20 with no-trump marriage, each overtrick adds payment bonus) * 2x7 – need win no-trump suit 7 in the penultimate trick, trump 7 after that in the last trick (requirement: two long suits in hand) '' "Flek!"'' (reply by defenders after the contract announcement) doubles the stake. The declarers can reply with ''"Re"'', etc. Hearts set up as trump suit - double payments.

Rufmariasch

Rufmariasch is a

Danube Swabian The Danube Swabians (german: Donauschwaben ) is a collective term for the ethnic German-speaking population who lived in various countries of central-eastern Europe, especially in the Danube River valley, first in the 12th century, and in grea ...

variant of Marias for 4 players with variable partnerships. 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 ...

of 32 cards is used with Aces ranking high and the usual four suits:

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

(''Grüne''), Bells (''Schelle''), Acorns (''Eichel'') and Hearts (''Herz''). The dealers shuffles and has the cards cut before dealing 4 cards each.

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 ...

in this game is 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, ...

(''Spieler'', lit. "player") must now "call" by naming any card in the pack. The called card determines trump and its holder becomes the declarer's secret partner. The dealer now deals the remaining packet of 4 cards to each player."Rufmariasch"
in ''Card Games of the Donauschwaben in 18th- and 19th-century Hungary'' at rick-heli.info. Retrieved 8 June 2023. Players may score bonus points by melding the

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 ...

and Ober of the same suit. This may be done before play begins and up to the play of the last card of the first trick. A player melds by laying both cards on the table. Provided the melder takes at least one trick during play, this scores 20 points that team. A trump meld scores 40. The declarer 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 able; otherwise must trump if possible. Subject to those rules, players must also

head the trick 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 (card game), Bridge, Hearts ...

if they can. The highest trump takes the trick or the highest card of the

led 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) ...

if no trumps are played. The trick winner leads to the next trick. Teams score 10 points for each Ace and Ten taken in tricks; in addition there are 10 points for winning the last trick. Melds are added to the score if the melder took at least one trick. The team with the higher score wins and the losers pay the difference to the winners.

References

External links

*
Czech Mariáš Association - Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marias 18th-century card games Czech card games Three-player card games Solo card games King-Queen games Point-trick games German deck card games