Skærvindsel is a Danish

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 four players that is a member of the

Schafkopf Schafkopf (, lit. 'sheep's head'), also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German Trick-taking game, trick-taking card game of the ace–ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. ...

family. Today it is mostly played in

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

and is therefore often spelled Sjervinsel, but was previously widespread throughout Denmark. It was the first Danish game where the winner of the

auction An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...

, 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, ...

, could choose a partner by calling an

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

. This principle has since been transferred to Call-Ace Whist (''Esmakkerwhist'').

History

Skærvindsel came to Denmark over 200 years ago and is probably a Danish version of the old

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

n 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 pl ...

which spread to Denmark during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. Scherwenzel was certainly played in harbour town of

Porsgrunn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Porsgrunn (town), city ...

in southern Norway, in 1790 and is known in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

from around 1800. Skærvindsel was the first ordinary card game in Denmark where one choose a partner by calling an Ace. It was popular in Denmark until around 1950.''Kortgruppe holder liv i historisk spil - nu kalder de på nye makkere''
at tv2east.dk. Retrieved 18 June 2022. The game is still regularly played, for example, at Nyvang near

Holbæk Holbæk () is a town in Denmark and the County seat, seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 30,903 (1 January 2025).''Scherwenzel''
at ordnet.dk. Retrieved 18 June 2022. The game is also known as Jutish Whist because it is similar to Whist and is still played in

Objective

To win the auction, choose the

trump suit A trump is a playing card which is elevated above its usual rank in trick-taking games. Typically an entire suit is nominated as a ''trump suit''; these cards then outrank all cards of plain (non-trump) suits. In other contexts, the terms ''trump c ...

, and then take at least 4 tricks either alone or with a partner. The declarer decides the trump suit (except in a ''Malør'') and calls an Ace he doesn't have to choose a partner. The partner must play the called Ace the first time its suit is played.

Short Skærvindsel

Skærvindsel used to be played with 36 cards ranking from 6 to Ace, but today it is usually played with a shortened pack of only 28 cards''Card games in Denmark''
at

pagat.com Pagat.com is a website containing rules to hundreds of card games from all over the world. Maintained by John McLeod, it contains information for traditional, commercial, and newly invented card games from all over the world. It has been describ ...

. Retrieved 18 June 2022. – 7s + 9s to Aces – and sometimes with even fewer cards. In Danish packs, the Aces are marked with an "E" (Es), Queens with a "D" and Jacks with a "Kn" (Knave). There are 12 trumps in the red suits and 11 in the black suits. The trumps rank in descending order as follows: Q, 7, Q, J, J, J and J, A, K, (Q), 10, 9. The 7 highest trumps (from the Q down to and including J) are called matadors if the declarer and, in a partnership game, the partner have an unbroken sequence (1-7) of these trumps from the top. For example, if the declarer and partner have between them the Q, trump 7, Q, J and trump A, they have 3 matadors, while with the trump 7, Q, J, J, J and J no matadors are reckoned. If the opponents have a sequence of trumps from the top, they are not called matadors.

Deal

The

dealer Dealer may refer to: Film and TV * ''Dealers'' (film), a 1989 British film * ''Dealers'' (TV series), a reality television series where five art and antique dealers bid on items * ''The Dealer'' (film), filmed in 2008 and released in 2010 * ...

deals 7 cards each in 3 rounds.

Contracts

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 ...

opens the

bidding Bidding is an offer (often competitive) to set a price tag by an individual or business for a product or service ''or'' a demand that something be done. Bidding is used to determine the cost or value of something. Bidding can be performed b ...

by passing or naming one of the following

contracts A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

. Players then call in turn; they may only make one bid and must overcall all earlier bids or pass. The contracts in ascending order are: * ''Longest suit'' (''Længdemelding''): This is the normal game in which the declarer undertakes to make at least 4 tricks together with a partner. Players may bid any number from "1" to "7", but the maximum allowed bid is the number of trumps (including permanent trumps) that the player has in hand if this suit is entrumped. The trump suit is only announced when the auction is over. * ''Better'' (''Bedre''): a bid to play with the same number of trumps but in

Clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands a ...

. Clubs is thus a preference suit. * ''Malheur'' (''Malør''): A player with both black Queens may bid "''Malheur'' with .g.the Ace of Hearts". This means that the player with that Ace determines the trump suit. The bid corresponds to a ''Halve'' in Acemaker Whist. There is another expression for "''malør''" which is especially common in the countryside: ''"A groser te 'ru'er ess"''. * ''Solo'': The declarer undertakes to take at least 4 of the 7 tricks without the aid of a partner. * ''Solo Couleur'' (''Solo Kulør''): A ''Solo'' in Clubs. In addition, the declarer's team (or declarer alone in a ''Solo'') may announce a ''Tout'' which is an undertaking to take all the tricks. This may be announced during play, but no later than after the play to the second trick. A ''Tout'' may also be announced by saying "I'm/We're playing through" (''at spille igennem'') or "A through player" (''en gennemspiller''). In north

they say "We're playing to ''jan'' everything" (''A spiller ijannem!'').

Play

Forehand leads to the first trick and the winner of a trick leads to the next one. 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 suc ...

if able; otherwise may trump or discard. Because trumps are the declarer's long suit, the

side 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), ...

s are of minor importance. When the declaring side or the opponent have taken 4 tricks, the game is over. However, in partnership games, the declarer's partner must always have been revealed by playing the called Ace before the game can be confirmed as over. If the winners take the first 4 tricks in a row, the opponents are "janned" (they are '' Jan''), which costs extra. It is thus irrelevant whether, for example, the declarer won the auction with a bid of "2" or a "6". Four tricks must be taken to win. An exception is occurs when a ''Tout'' is announced. In this case all 7 tricks must be taken by the declaring side or the game is lost.

Scoring

The losers pay the winning player(s) according to the following rules and tariffs: Simple win: 2

jeton Jetons or jettons are tokens or coin-like medals produced across Europe from the 13th through the 18th centuries. They were produced as counters for use in calculation on a counting board, a lined board similar to an abacus. Jetons for calcul ...

s (2

øre Øre (plural ''øre'', , ) is the centesimal subdivision of the Danish and Norwegian krone. The Faroese division is called the ''oyra'', but is equal in value to the Danish coin. Before their discontinuation, the corresponding divisions of the ...

in former times) Win with ''Jan'': plus 2 jetons. Win if Clubs are trumps: x 2 Each matador held: 1 jeton The highest payout for a game is thus 15 jetons (øre) for a win with Clubs, 7 matadors, game and ''Jan'' (''Spil og Jan''). If the declarer loses, the payout is doubled, but the opponents do not receive anything for matadors. The largest payout for a lost game is 16 jetons for losing with Clubs, where the opponents take the first 4 trick winning the game and ''Jan''. In a Solo, this increases to 3 x 16 = 48 jetons for a losing player.

Footnotes

References

External links

''Card games in Denmark''
at

.
''Scherwenzel''
at ordnet.dk. Dictionary entry. {{Trick-taking card games Danish card games French deck card games Four-player card games 19th-century card games Schafkopf group