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Drużbart or Druzbart is an extinct Polish
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 ...
of the
Bruus Bruus, formerly Brausebart or Brusbart, is a north German card game for four players in two teams of two. It was once highly popular but has since died out except for a few pockets in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. As Brusbart, it was the anc ...
family.Smith (1997), pp. 45-51. The game is descended from the oldest known card game in Europe,
Karnöffel Karnöffel is a trick-taking card game which probably came from the upper-German language area in Europe in the first quarter of the 15th century. It first appeared listed in a municipal ordinance of Nördlingen, Bavaria, in 1426 among the games ...
, a fact testified by its unusual card ranking and lack of a uniform trump suit.McLeod (1996), pp. 54–55. Drużbart is designed for four players and is played with 36 cards of a German pack, each of the four suits comprising the cards 7–10, Unter, Ober, King, and Ace.


Background

Drużbart is one of a family of games descended from
Karnöffel Karnöffel is a trick-taking card game which probably came from the upper-German language area in Europe in the first quarter of the 15th century. It first appeared listed in a municipal ordinance of Nördlingen, Bavaria, in 1426 among the games ...
, the oldest European card game with a continuous tradition of play to the present day. These games are characterised by "the wildly disturbed ranking order in the
chosen 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 ...
and particularly by the special role of the chosen Seven." It is one of the Brusbart family of games whose progenitor was the German game of Brusbart. Other members of the family include Russian Bruzbart or Dulya, Livonian Brusbart, Swedish
Bräus Bräus (or Brus) is an old Swedish card game from the island of Gotland that differs from all others in that not all cards are actually playable.Smith (1993), pp. 36/37 The game is descended from the oldest known card game in Europe, Karnöffel, a ...
, Danish and Estonian
Brus Brus ( sr-cyr, Брус, ) is a town and municipality located in the Rasina District of southern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the population of the town is 4,183, while the population of the municipality is 13,594. It is located at above ...
, and Greenlandic Voormsi. More distant cousins include Faroese Stýrivolt and Schleswig
Knüffeln Knüffeln is a very old trick-taking game, 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 identi ...
. The game was widespread in Poland during the 18th century, one account describing how ladies in an upper-class house played it as an after-dinner game along with
Zwicken Zwicken is an old Austrian and Germany, German card game 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 of card games characterised by allowing players to drop out of the cur ...
. In the 19th century it is recorded as being played "by the lower classes or children"Gołębiowski (1831), pp. 45–46. and in 1840 as being "in vogue among the common people." However, there are only two imperfect descriptions of its mode of play, dating to 1831 and 1888.Stary Gracz (1888), pp. 31-33. Druzbart was the favourite game of Count
Henryk Rzewuski Henryk Rzewuski (3 May 1791 – 28 February 1866) was a Polish nobleman, Romantic-era journalist and novelist. Life Count Henryk Rzewuski was a scion of a Polish magnate family in Ukraine. He was the son of Adam Wawrzyniec Rzewuski, a Russian ...
, the Polish journalist, novelist, and poet who was a master of the Polish '' gawęda szlachecka'',
Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...
, the Polish poet and scholar, was also a player and enjoyed Drużbart during his stay in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
in 1828.Giżycki & Wood (1972), p. 224. Druzbart appears to be extinct, although it was included in a 2012 reprint of the 1930 card game compendium by Gracz.Wytrawny Gracz (1930), pp. 31-33.Wytrawny Gracz (2012), pp. 31-33.


Cards

A
German-suited 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 suit (cards), suits of Acorns (suit), Acorns (''Eichel'' or ''Kreuz''), Leaves ( ...
,
Polish pattern Polish playing cards () have been manufactured since the 15th century and include both French-suited cards, French- and German-suited cards. Polish playing cards may also refer more narrowly to the Polish pattern: traditional playing cards, packs ...
pack of 36 cards was used. In the 1831 account the ''beaters'' rank as follows, from highest to lowest (D = Deuce, O =
Ober Ober may refer to: * Ober (playing card), court card in the German and Swiss styles of playing cards * Ober, Indiana, an unincorporated community in Washington Township, Starke County * Oberek (also ''ober''), a lively Polish dance in triple metre ...
, U = Unter): * 8 – ''Dola'' * K – ''Drużbart'' * 9 – ''Starka'' * 9  9  9 * D D D D * O O O O * U U U U * 6  6  6 6 Cards of the same value (e.g. the four Obers) ranked among one another in the suit order shown above: Acorns, Leaves, Hearts, Bells. The three highest cards are called matadors (''matedorami''), and their names appear to derive from the German words ''Toller'' ("the mad one"), ''Brusbart'' ("bushy beard"), and ''Starker'' ("the strong one"). Sevens were unbeatable when led. The remaining cards—the Eights, Kings, and Tens—were 'duds', only fit for discarding.


Rules

The following outline of the rules is based on Gołębiowski (1831) and Stary Gracz (1888). The 1930 rules by Wytrawny Gracz are largely a reprint of the 1888 rules. A 32- or 36-card German-suited, Polish pattern pack was used. Gołębiowski uses 36 cards; Stary Gracz omits the 10s. The aim is to win the most tricks and achieve certain feats. Four players form two teams of two (having drawn cards to decide partnerships - Gracz), with partners sitting opposite one another and sharing a common trick pile. There are no trumps and, at each card rank (excepting matadors and duds), suits have the following order of precedence:
Acorns Acorns may refer to: * Plural of acorn, the nut of the oak tree * Acorns (company) Acorns is an American financial technology and financial services company. Based in Irvine, California, Acorns specializes in micro-investing and robo advice ...
,
Leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
, Hearts, and Bells. The dealer (the one who drew the lowest card - Gracz) deals 9 cards (8 cards - Gracz) to each player, presumably clockwise and in packets of three, but the sources are silent on the exact procedure.
Forehand The forehand is a shot used in most racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and pickleball, where the palm of the hand precedes the back of the hand when swinging the racket. In tennis, except in the context of the phrase ''forehand volley ...
leads with any card. Players need not follow suit, but must head the trick to win it. Sevens are unbeatable when led (variation: except by the matadors – Gracz), but otherwise worthless and cannot beat any other card. Eights, Tens, and Kings are of no value, with the exception of those that are matadors. The player who has played the highest card wins the trick and leads to the next. If four duds are played, the player who led the first dud wins the trick and leads to the next. Nine tricks are played and there are penalties for losing four tricks in a row, losing the first five tricks or losing all nine.


Scoring

Two different scoring systems are described, neither of which is totally clear.


Gołębiowski (1831)

Players draw a scoring diagram at the start of the game. Gołębiowski's example is in the form of a vertical 'S' with 5 horizontal lines. The team scoring the most tricks erases a line or, if they take the first four, two lines. The team that erases their lines first, records "as many sticks" for their opponents as they have left. If the ''Druzbart'' is captured by the ''Dola'', the capturing team awards 'spectacles' (''okulary'' ) to the side that lost the ''Druzbart''; if the ''Druzbart'' is lost to one's partner, 'scissors' (''nożyczki'' ) are awarded. Various penalty symbols are awarded for other feats. A team losings all its tricks receives a "whip" (''biczyk''); a team losing the first five tricks receives a "cat" (''kota'') and a team losing having taken only one trick chalks up a "dagger" (''rożen'').


Gracz (1888)

According to Stary Gracz, players chalk a number of lines on a slate, known as clubs (''palek''), sticks (''kijów''), canes (''rózg''), broomsticks (''ożogów''), etc. A line is erased for each deal won and an extra line for taking four tricks in succession. Losing a matador, now including the ''Starka'', results in 'spectacles' being awarded; losing one to a partner results in 'scissors' being chalked up for that side. A 'dagger' is drawn for the side that fails to erase more than one line during the game. A team winning all nine tricks chalks a 'cat' for their opponents. A team with a
run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...
of cards e.g. 6-7-8-9, chalk up a 'gypsy' (''cygana'') for their opponents and if a team has the ''Dola'' and ''Starka'', their opponents receive a 'Jew' (''żyda''). If the sequence includes the ''Druzbart'', a 'goat' (''kozę'') is drawn. "The variety and originality of these drawings depend on the players' sense of humour and imagination" and result in "endless laughter and mirth".


Clock Druzbart

Gołębiowski describes a three-hand game known as Clock Druzbart (''Zégarek drużbart''). Here, players play for themselves and lines are chalked up in the form of a tripod with one line erased for each trick taken. Otherwise the rules are the same as in the four-player game.


Footnotes


References


Literature

* Doroszewski, Witold, ed. (1960), ''Slownik języka polskiego'', p. 396. *
Dummett, Michael Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett (; 27 June 1925 – 27 December 2011) was an English academic described as "among the most significant British philosophers of the last century and a leading campaigner for racial tolerance and equality." H ...
(1978). Reviews of "Der Nidwaldener Kaiserjass Und Seine Geschichte" and "Der Kaiserjass, Wie Er Heute in Nidwalden Gespielt Wird" in ''The Playing Card'', Vol. 9, No. 4, May 1981. * Forster, Charles (1840). ''Pologne''. Paris: Didot Frères. * Giżycki Jerzy and Baruch Harold Wood (1972). ''History of Chess''. Abbey Library. * Gołębiowski, Łukasz (1831)
''Gry i zabawy różnych stanów w kraju całym, lub niektórych tylko prowincyach''
Warsaw. * Gracz, Stary tanislaw Kozietulski writing under the pseudonym of “Old Player”(1888)
''Gry w karty dawniejsze i nowe''
Warsaw: S. Olgebranda Synów. pp. 31–33. * Gracz, Wytrawny Consummate Player"(1930, reprinted 2012). ''Gry w karty polskie i obce''. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Xeein. * Heraty, J. (1981). ''New Catholic Encyclopedia'', Volumes 1-19. * McLeod, John (1996). "Styrivolt, Vorms and Cicera" in ''The Playing Card'', Volume 25, No. 2. * Miłosz, Czesław (1983). ''The History of Polish Literature'', 2nd edn. Berkeley/LA/London: UCP. *
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. Life David Sidney Parlett was bo ...
(2008). ''The Penguin Book of Card Games'', Penguin, London. * Siodmy, Tom (1861). ''Encyklopedyja Powszechna''. Vol. 7. Den. – Eck. Orgelbrand, Warsaw. p. 503. * Smith, Anthony (1997). "Voormsi: A Greenlandic Descendant of Karnöffel" in ''The Playing-Card'' with which is incorporated ''Playing-Card World''; Journal of the International Playing-Card Society, Vol. 26, by Beal, ed. George, July/August 1997 - May/June 1998. Published by The International Playing-Card Society, ISSN 0305-2133. * 1835 Trojański, Józef Kajetan (1835). ''Dokładny polsko-niemiecki słownik z dodatkiem, zawieraiącym spis form nieregularnych'', Volume 1, A – P, p. 142 * Ward, Sir Adolphus William, George Walter Prothero, and Stanley Leathes (1909). ''The Cambridge Modern History'', Volume 11. Catholic University of America: University Press.


External links

* Gloger, Zygmunt (1901)
"Drużbart"
in ''Encyklopedja starapolska ilustrowana'', Volume 2, Laskauer. Largely a copy of Gołębiowski's text. {{Historical card games Polish card games German deck card games Four-player card games Karnöffel group 18th-century card games