Grobhäusern is an historical
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 ...
vying game in which players bet and then compare their 4-card combinations. It is played by two to eight players using a 32-card
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" b ...
. The game was illegal in most places.
It was popular in rural
Upper Saxony {{short description, Historic lands in Central Germany
Upper Saxony (german: Obersachsen) was the name given to the majority of the German lands held by the House of Wettin, in what is now called Central Germany (''Mitteldeutschland'').
Concept ...
in the late 18th century.
[
]
History
Grobhäusern and Trischak are described as "similar", but nevertheless "different" from Scherwenzel by Adelung in 1780. As of the late 18th century, Grobhäusern was played in rural Upper Saxony {{short description, Historic lands in Central Germany
Upper Saxony (german: Obersachsen) was the name given to the majority of the German lands held by the House of Wettin, in what is now called Central Germany (''Mitteldeutschland'').
Concept ...
, and Scherwenzel was played in rural areas of Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
, Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
, Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is spli ...
and Bohemia.["Scherwenzel"]
Adelung, Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, Volume 3. Leipzig 1798, p. 1427. The use of Jacks (and to a lesser extent 9s) as wildcards in Scherwenzel may be related to the elevation of Jacks (and to a lesser extent 9s) to trumps in various European card games. Adelung suggested that Scherwenzel is the origin of the designation ''wenzel'' for Jacks as highest trumps.["Wenzel"]
Adelung, Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, Volume 4. Leipzig 1801, p. 1492.
Rules
For the first phase each player is dealt 2 cards. 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, ...
is obliged to bet the minimal wager, then all other players in turn may either call or fold. Calling means to increase one's bet to the maximum bet so far, and folding means leaving the game and forfeiting one's bet. The last player who calls has the right to raise the stakes, starting a new round of calling or folding, etc. The first phase is over once everybody has called and nobody raises any more. The cards of those players who folded are shuffled together with the remaining stock.["Grobhäusern"]
Pierer's Universal-Lexikon, Volume 7. Altenburg 1859, pp. 658f.
For the slightly different second phase, each player is dealt 2 more cards for a total hand of 4 cards. First eldest hand, then the dealer (if still in play), then the player sitting in turn before the dealer etc. may raise the stakes and thereby start a new round of calling or folding. The second phase is over once everybody has called and nobody raises any more.
Once betting is over, all players display their cards, and the player with the best hand wins the pot. In descending order the possible combinations are
;Quartet (four of a kind):All four cards of the same rank. When comparing two such hands, aces are high and tens low.
;Four Card Flush:All four cards of the same suit. To compare two such hands, card-points are counted.
;Prial (three of a kind):Three cards of the same rank.
;Three Card Flush:Three cards of the same suit. To decide ties, card-points are counted.
;Pair:Two cards of the same suit. To decide ties, card-points are counted.
When there is a tie even after counting card-points, the player who sits earliest in the direction of play wins, starting with eldest hand.
In the event that nobody raises in the second phase, players do not show their cards. In this case all players who folded in the first round must raise their stakes retroactively and the pot is held in abeyance.
Variations
There is a variation in which the following is added as the highest combination.
;Krikelkrakel:Four cards of consecutive rank, each in a different suit.
The lowest Krikelkrakel consists of 7, 8, 9, 10, no two of them being of the same suit.
Related games
Färbeln or Einunvierzig
Färbeln or Einunvierzig is a more complex, Danubian (Austro-Hungarian), variant. Färbeln is recorded as early as 1756.
Scherwenzel
Scherwenzel or Scharwenzel was a form of Färbeln played in Bavaria in which the Unters were variously known as ''Scharwenzels'', ''Scherwenzels'', ''Scherers'' or ''Wenzels''. They, and to some extent also the Nines, functioned as wildcards. According to Adelung, Grobhäusern was "far simpler than Scherwenzeln".[Grimm (1893), p. 2229][Adelung (1796), pp. 807–808] In a 1711 French-German dictionary, it is recorded that a ''tricon'' is a triplet in the game of Scherwenzel.
This variant should not be confused with the north German game of Scharwenzel
Scharwenzel, formerly also called Schipper-Schrill, is a traditional north German plain-trick card game of the Schafkopf family that is played by two teams with two to four players on each team. The game is at least three centuries old and is pla ...
, in which the Jacks have no special role, but the top trumps, like those in Hombre
Hombre, the Spanish word for " man" and sometimes used informally in English, may refer to:
* ''Hombre'' (novel), a 1961 novel by Elmore Leonard
* ''Hombre'' (film), a 1967 motion picture based on the novel starring Paul Newman, directed by Mart ...
and Solo
Solo or SOLO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Comics
* ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series
* Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics
Characters
* Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character
* Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ' ...
are the black Queens and the trump 7.
Gråpojs
Gråpojs (also spelled Grospojs or Grospois) is a Swedish version of the game. The Swedish name is a corruption of the German "Grobhäuser".
References
Literature
* _ (1756). ''Die Kunst die Welt erlaubt mitzunehmen in den verschiedenen Arten der Spiele'', Volume 2, Georg Bauer, Nuremberg.
* Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Wilhelm Carl Grimm (also Karl; 24 February 178616 December 1859) was a German author and anthropologist, and the younger brother of Jacob Grimm, of the literary duo the Brothers Grimm.
Life and work
Wilhelm was born in February 1786 in Hanau, i ...
(1893)
''Deutsches Wörterbuch''
Vol. 8 (R–Schiefe). Leipzig: S. Hirzel.
* Marstaller, Christoph (1563). ''Der Welt Urlaub von den Menschen Kindern.''
* Rondeau, Pierre (1711). ''Nouveau Dictionnaire françois-allemand et allemand-françois'', Volume 1. Leipzig: Fritschen.
* Schmeller, Johann Andreas (1836)
''Bayerisches Wörterbuch''
Part 3 (R and S). Stuttgart and Tübingen: J.G. Cotta.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grobhausern
18th-century card games
German card games
Multiplayer games
Comparing card games
Gambling games
French deck card games