Blüchern is a simple

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...

for any number of players that is played either with a pack of 52

French playing cards French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are playing cards, cards that use the French Playing card suit, suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains th ...

or with a pack of 32 French or

German playing 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 ...

History

As a

game of chance A game of chance is in contrast with a game of skill. It is a game whose outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device. Common devices used include dice, spinning tops, playing cards, roulette wheels, numbered balls, or in the case ...

, Blüchern is only of historical significance; today it is played as a social game. It was named after the Prussian General Field Marshal,

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (; 21 December 1742 – 12 September 1819), ''Graf'' (count), later elevated to ''Fürst'' (prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal). He earned his greatest ...

, who is supposed to have liked playing it.

Playing

The game is played by any number of players against a bank. In the centre is a betting board, on which the numbers 1 to 13 are marked and on which the players place their stakes. The banker shuffles the pack and allows a player to cut it. He then places the cards down as a talon. All the players place their bets on the corresponding fields of the betting board. After all players have laid their bets, the banker draws 13 cards, one after another, from the talon, counting aloud and turning them face up. Each time the value of the draw card matches the announced number, he takes all the placed bets from the corresponding field on the board as winnings for the bank. When all 13 cards have been faced, if no cards matched the announced number, the banker doubles all the stakes and the players may now claim their winnings, stick or re-bet. The game ends after four rounds when the talon has been exhausted.

References

Literature

* * , pp. 12–13. * . * * * {{Banking games Banking games Historical games German gambling games