CUSTOMS |
Card Games of the Donauschwaben
in 18th- and 19th-century Hungary |
clarifications for the origins of Preferánsz on Wed Jan 25 19:56:41 UTC 2012 |
Piatnik version 1808 Ornament: Picture credit to Piatnik |
The Wilhelm Tell Deck
Images
of some of these cards may also be found on the website of
their most famous manufacturer,
Piatnik,
headquartered in Vienna, Austria with branches all over the world.
They call their deck "Doppeldeutsche 33 Blatt."
They are called Doppeldeutsch to distinguish
them from the older Einfachdeutsch (single German) cards, which are
still the main kind of cards used in Vorarlberg (extreme western
province of Austria) and can also be found in some parts of Tyrol.
Einfachdeutsch cards have just one copy of the picture and pips,
taking up the whole length of the card. Doppeldeutsch cards have the
design squeezed into half the length of the card and repeated upside
down at the other end. Doppeldeutsch cards began to be used in the 19th
century some time, and have steadily gained ground, but not yet quite
supplanted the single-ended ones. Of course, double cards are more
practical because you don't need to turn them around in your hand to see
what you have, but some people who are used to the single ended cards
don't mind the inconvenience, and find them more attractive.
Characters from the Tell legend on the cards are
You can read more information about the
William Tell legend and the 2004 bicentennial celebration.
Players: 3
The Deal:
The Bidding:
Legal bids are as follows:
After bids have been settled and all but one player has passed, the
dealer now reveals the two cards in the widow. If these cards are
of the same rank, the player who won the bid pays the dealer two
units for "Kunstwerk".
The player takes these two cards into his hand, discards two cards face down,
declares the game he intends to play, which may be any game so long
as it is as high or higher than his winning bid and play proceeds,
with Vorhand leading.
Should a player have such an extraordinarily strong hand that he feels
he may win without benefit of the widow he may, before bidding begins,
make a special bid, "aus den Händen" (playing out of the hand only).
This bid takes precedence over all other bids except for other aus den
Händen bids of higher value. An aus den Händen bidder does not
receive
the widow cards – they are set aside until the end of the hand. An aus
den Händen player must win one more trick than required if he bids 2 - 5.
The Play:
Players are not compelled to beat cards already played to the trick; they may
play a lower card if they wish.
Players are not allowed to communicate about what suits they may be out of.
The winner of each trick is the next to play.
In bettl, the player is attempting to win no tricks at all; there are no
trumps in this game.
The hand may terminate early in this case, i.e. as soon as the player
takes a trick.
In durchmarsch, the player is attempting to win all the tricks; there are
no trumps.
The hand may terminate early in this case, i.e. as soon as the player
loses a trick.
Scoring:
Should the player lose, he pays each of the other players the number of
the game, plus one more unit each for each trick short of the required
number for games 2-5.
After the player has announced his game, but before the first card has been
played, either of the other two players may say "Contra!", indicating a
strong disagreement with the player's ability to win that game. This
doubles the stakes for that hand for the player and the sayer of "Contra!".
The player is also allowed to say
"Re-contra!" in reply, thereby quadrupling the stakes for that hand
for those two players. There is only one such remark per player per hand.
After the hand is finished, the next deal passes to Vorhand. There is
no official end to play; games continue until the players agree to call
it quits.
These rules are also available in Russian.
A similar game, Marias, is also played in the Czech Republic.
One of the most popular games in Hungary now is Ulti, which is a
version of Talonmarias, for three players. The term "Ruf" from the
German word rufen, to call, is used
in Austria for call, in 4-player games where you call a card to
choose your partner. Thus, Rufmariasch is a 4-player version of Marias
with variable partnerships determined by the bidder calling a card.
In Hungarian, this game's name is spelled Ruffmáriás.
Here is
more information on the Marriage family of games.
Another related game is
Schnapsen so called because playing for money was illegal in Austria,
but playing for Schnaps was not.
Players: 4
The Deal:
The Call:
Melding:
Melding may occur at any time until the play of the fourth card in the
first trick; after that, it does not count.
The Play:
The winner of each trick is the next to play.
Scoring:
Strategy:
The tactic of der Spieler's partner is usually to lie in wait, throwing
in X's when der Spieler seems sure to take the trick, a process known
as "schmiering". While the partner is the only one in the know, he may
have a certain power over the opponents who are left to wonder what is
happening and cannot help one another.
For this reason, der Spieler usually does not lead trump so as not to
expose the partner.
This is especially the case when der Spieler winds up being his own
partner by calling a card which he subsequently receives in the second
half of the deal. In this case, der Spieler should usually try to keep
his plight as secret as possible unless the hand is very strong.
Variant:
Players: 2-6
The Deal:
Bidding:
If the dealer is the knocker, he may, if he chooses to do so before any
other player, knock on the actual trump card, giving him the right to take
this card into his hand as his own.
If the dealer does not take the trump card, any player holding the 7 of
the same suit may exchange it for the trump card.
If no player chooses to knock, a second card is turned up as trump from
the top of the deck. If this card is of the same suit, another card is
turned up immediately – players are never given the chance to knock
more than once on a suit. If three cards go without a knocker, the hand
fails and deal passes to the player on dealer's left.
If the dealer chose the trump card from the bottom of the deck, he must
knock on this card.
If no other players are willing to play along, the knocker wins the kitty
outright and the deal passes to the next player.
If there are only four units in the kitty, the game is a "muss" (must) and
each player must play. The suit used is always the first card turned up.
Any player may knock, but a knock is not required and is of no particular
use except perhaps for the dealer.
Further Deals:
The Play:
Scoring:
To prevent the kitty from becoming too large, players may agree to set up
a bank. The bank is used to hold funds whenever the kitty exceeds a
particular pre-set level (which should be a multiple of four). When after
payments the kitty is below this level, it should be supplemented with
funds drawn from the bank.
After the hand is over, the player to the dealer's left becomes the new dealer.
The Deal:
During the first hand only, follow the special procedure described in the
following paragraph to assign suits.
During subsequent rounds, keep the same trump
suits which were assigned in the first game.
The first player to the left of the dealer turns up one of his
cards at random. The suit of this card is his "trump" for the rest
of the evening. The second player to the left turns up a card.
If it is a different suit from the one already turned up, it becomes
his "trump" for the rest of the evening. If this suit has already
been seen, keep turning up cards until a new suit is found, which
becomes the trump suit. If all 5 cards are turned up and no unique
suit is found, the player may choose any trump suit he likes other
than those already revealed. The third player to the left chooses
his suit in the same way. The dealer automatically receives as
trump the last unchosen suit.
Finally, the dealer places the pack at the center of the table and
turns up the top card and places it beside it.
The Play:
Each player in turn must "beat" the current up card, either by
playing a higher card in the same suit.
If he cannot beat it this way, he may play one of his trump cards.
The trump cards beat cards of any other suit. If
the up card is one of his own trumps, the player must play a higher
trump.
Then, in addition to this card, the player plays one more of his
cards onto the stack of up cards.
Finally, if there are any cards left in the deck the player takes the top one into his hand.
If the player cannot beat the up card, of if he chooses not to, he
takes the entire stack of up cards into his hand. In this case he is not allowed
to play one more card or to take a card from the deck.
Note that the up card stack must be kept square and is not inspectable
during play.
Winning the Game:
This game is in the
Dudák
family.
Players: 4
The Deal:
The Play:
Scoring:
The dates given by the Card Games Site are not correct. Preference probably
arose around 1815/1820 (in Vienna?), not earlier.
I have made an extensive research into the history of European card games.
And I have published many articles and books (including a book on the
history of Bridge).
Preference is derived from Boston (Boston Whist), a game for 4 players
and 52 cards (like Whist, of which it is a variation). Boston is not an
American game – in spite of its name (this is quite a frequent feature:
card game names are tricky): it's a French game probably born in Versailles
around 1780.
Boston became a craze all over Europe (I mean continental Europe since
Britain ignored it): the German states and the Netherlands were quick to
adopt it, then the Scandinavian countries, Central Europe and Russia, as
early as 1789 (my dates are dates of manuals).
The earliest occurrence of Preference is a book printed in Vienna (Austria)
in 1829. It is the Austrian form of the game of course. I infer that the
game was known earlier and think it emerged in the same city some decades
earlier. This is why I suggest "around 1815/1820".
It is a fact that all Eastern-European countries knew and still know
Preference, while the Western Europeans have *never* heard of it. It is
simple to prove: no card game manual published in the West mentions
Preference (save some German ones). I have published a bibliography of
French card game books prior to 1850, and I can say they say nothing on the
game of Preference. The English books have nothing too.
Now, why an obvious French word is used for a game that is popular in
Russia, Austria and all Eastern-European countries?
First, I must remind you that French had for long been an international
language. Russian aristocrats as well as German Junkers, Romanian princes
and Greek diplomatists used French as a common language. In the
German-speaking countries, German itself has long been considered as a
'vulgar' tongue while French was THE 'good' language. Not only were many
French words borrowed by most European languages in the 18th and early 19th
century but it was smart to use French words to designate fashionable
things like a new card game. There are other examples, e.g. in the game of
Tarot.
'Preference' was used in French in the meaning of a 'preferred' suit. For
instance, in Boston a card was drawn before the deal, and this card
determined a 'preferred' suit called 'favorite' or 'préférence'. The player
who chose it had a bonus.
As I said Boston became extremely popular in Europe. When some people (in
Vienna?) designed a new game, which was related to an advanced form of
Boston (with suit ranking, bidding, misére, etc.) they used a word they
knew from the game of Boston: Preference.
For reasons which I don't know the new game spread to the East, not to the
West. It was never known in Alsace, a region I know well (I have published
two articles on the cardmakers of Strasbourg and Colmar).
A last word about the date 1802. It was taken from Parlett's History of
Card Games (to which I contributed) who in turn found it in Michael
Dummett's The Game of Tarot (1980). I got suspicious since I knew
Preference was precisely derived from Boston de Fontainebleau – a
variation of Boston Whist with a complete suit ranking – which arouse
around 1815 only. So I asked Michael Dummett the same question you are
asking me: "What would be your evidence/sources on this one?"
I was right: Dummett made a confusion between two game books. Finally it is
in the 1829 edition that the first rules of Preference are printed.
Preference probably arose around 1815/1820 (in Vienna?), not earlier.
Well, I have now found some references to Preference as early as in 1801
(in Brno, Bohemia, now the Czech Republic), then Vienna (1803, 1805, 1807,
etc.). There is even a possibility that the game was known in Russia
before 1800, but this has to be checked and would not match my own theory
that the game sprang up in Austria around 1800, or a little earlier."
Source: http://www.rick-heli.info/gene/cards.html
Card Games of the Donauschwaben
Preferánsz
Rufmariasch
Ramsli
Pacal
Esel
Old Maid
Purchasing Decks On-line:
Amazon in various versions:
Ornament
·
Karo
·
Blitz
Carte Karuta:
Cards with Hungarian labels (1812)
TaroBear's Lair:
Cards with German labels (1808)
Other Card Games
If you are looking for a card game not listed here, try the
Card Games of the World website.
See also
Card Games of Hungary.
Other Links
Piatnik samples
Tarock.net
Learn more at Mikko Saari's site
The Wilhelm Tell Deck
The Wilhelm Tell deck of cards became popular in Hungary in the
19th century. Perhaps the Tell legend struck a chord with Hungarian
nationalists, as a symbol of resistance to Austrian domination.
The deck consists of 32 cards ranking Ace, King, Ober, Unter, X, IX, VIII,
VII in suits of Grüne (Greens), Schelle (Bells), Eichel (Acorns) and Herz
(Hearts).
There are
pictures of each card at the website of Tom Leihn.
In addition, the Aces each represent one of the seasons.
Other cards depict scenes from the Tell legend:
You can read and see more about this type of deck at
Andy's Playing Cards.
Preferánsz
History:
This idea that this game is derived from a French game
has been disputed.
See also these rules for
Austrian Preference.
Deck: The German Wilhelm Tell pack of 32 cards ranking A (high), K, O, U, X, IX, VIII,
VII in suits of Grüne (Green), Schelle (Bells), Eichel (Acorns) and Herz
(Hearts).
After shuffle and cut, dealer deals five cards to each player including
himself and then lays two cards aside, unseen, to form the widow. Five
more cards are dealt to each player to exhaust the pack.
The player to the dealer's left is the first player or Vorhand. He must
make the initial bid. Bidding proceeds clockwise around the table, each
succeeding player having the right to make any bid, so long as it exceeds
the previous one. Vorhand alone has the ability to say "Dass kann ich"
and therefore duplicate the previous bid without exceeding it.
Bid/Value Suit/Contract Required Number of Tricks 2 Grüne 7 or more 3 Schelle 6 or more 4 Herz 6 or more 5 Eichel 6 or more 6 Bettl 0 (exactly) 7 Durchmarsch 10 (i.e. all)
Play is always characterized by the player (he who won the bid) contesting
the other two.
When playing any of games 2-5, the corresponding suit becomes the trump
suit. (Cards of a trump suit defeat all other cards except for other trumps,
which take precedence in normal order.) A player must always
attempt to follow the suit of
the first card in each trick played, including trumps, and may not
play a trump unless without any of the suit required, in which case
a trump must be played. If trumps are also not available, any card may
be played.
The player is considered to have won if he wins all the required tricks.
In all games, he is paid the number of the game being played by each of
the other players. In addition, for games 2-5, he is paid one extra for
each trick he takes in addition to the number required.
Rufmariasch
History:
In the 17th century or earlier, there was a French game called Mariage.
As you might expect, Mariage
means "marriage" which occurs in the game by the combination of
king and queen. In Rufmariasch, the marriage or meld is not with
king and queen, but with king and ober, showing that the game was
originally played using French cards.
Deck: The German Wilhelm Tell pack of 32 cards ranking A (high), X,
K, O, U, IX, VIII, VII in suits of Grüne (Green), Schelle (Bells),
Eichel (Acorns) and Herz (Hearts).
After shuffle and cut, dealer deals four cards to each player including
himself and pauses. During this time, the player immediately to the
dealer's left, known as "der Spieler", must "call". Following the call,
the dealer distributes the rest of the cards to each player, four at a time
to exhaust the pack.
The player to the dealer's left is "der Spieler" and must make "the call"
based only on the information from the first four cards dealt. The call
is the naming of any one card in the deck, although probably not one already
in his hand. Some groups permit this however (and it is anyway difficult
to verify). The naming of the card has two results: all cards of the
same suit are now trump and the person who is dealt this card is,
secretly, the partner of "der Spieler".
Melding occurs at the start of the game and only if a player holds the
King and Over of the same suit. When this occurs, the player lays both
cards on the table to declare the Meld. As long as the player takes at
least one trick during play, this player earns 20 points for his team.
If the melded cards happen to be of the trump suit, the value is
doubled to 40 points.
Play is begun by "der Spieler" who plays out first. Players must
attempt to follow suit of the first card in each trick played and may
not play a trump unless he no longer has any of the suit required, in which case
a trump must be played. In addition, if a player is
holding a card which is able to take the trick as it currently stands, it
must be played, excepting the rules about following suit.
At the end of the game, each player examines the stack of tricks they
have taken. Each Ace and X taken in trick counts 10 points. Being the
player to take the last trick also counts 10 points. Players who had
melds receive their points for them now if they took at least one trick
during the course of play. The players add their scores and the team
with the higher total is considered the winner. The losers pay the
winners an amount equal to the difference in scores.
There is much discussion around the tactic of the call. Traditional
theory is that if one has only low cards, the Ace of the most prominent
suit held should be called. If one has the Ace, then tradition has it
that one calls for the X. If both of these are held, one is thought to
call the King, etc. Some players value melds highly however and
angling for the 40 points which are provided by a trump meld, always
call a King, who is therefore called "der Vierziger" (the fortier).
Some groups permit two calls, one for the match card and another a call
of the trump suit. Some groups force these two calls to be of
differing suits.
Ramsli
History:
This game may derive from the similar French game Rams, etymology uncertain.
The -li suffix appears to signify a diminutive as in German "-lein".
Deck: The Wilhelm Tell pack of 32 cards ranking A (high), K, O, U, X, IX, VIII,
VII in suits of Grüne (Green), Schelle (Bells), Eichel (Acorns) and Herz
(Hearts).
The dealer places four units into the center of the table, to form
the kitty. After shuffle and cut, dealer examines bottom card on the
deck. He then deals two cards to each player including himself and
then either turns up the top card in the deck or turns up the bottom
card in the deck. Then two more cards are dealt to each player.
If the dealer chose the trump card from the top of the deck, each player,
starting with the deal has the opportunity to become the player. This is
denoted by knocking. The knocker commits to winning at least two tricks
in the coming hand. At this time, all other players in turn, starting with
the player to the knocker's left, have the right to play along, thereby
committing to winning at least one trick.
Each player, starting with the knocker, is given the chance to receive
more cards. The players discards the number he does not want and receives
this number from the pack. A player may request an all new hand by
discarding all four of his cards and receives four cards face down and one
face up. A player may request "eins auf"; in this case, he need not
discard any card, but receives one face up which he may exchange for a
card in his hand.
The knocker plays out first. Play proceeds clockwise, with the trump
suit taking precedence over all other suits. A players must follow suit
if they are able, playing trump if all cards of the required suit have
been exhausted from his hand. The winner of the trick plays first in
the next round.
After the four trick have been played, payment and winnings occur. Payment
must come from each player who failed to win the committed number of tricks.
Knockers who fail to take two tricks must pay twice the amount that was
in the kitty. Others who fail to take a single trick must pay the amount
which was in the kitty. At the same time, the existing kitty is divided
four ways and each player payed a share for each of the four tricks he won.
Pacal
Players: 4
Deck: The Wilhelm Tell Deck
Deal out 5 cards face-down to each player so that no player can
see them.
Play begins with the player to the dealer's left and proceeds
clockwise around the table.
The goal of the game is to get rid of all one's cards and, in
particular, not be the last one holding cards. The person who thus
loses must deal the next hand.
Esel
A game for children.
Deck: The Wilhelm Tell pack of 32 cards
in suits of Grüne (Green), Schelle (Bells), Eichel (Acorns) and Herz
(Hearts).
Shuffle, cut and deal out 8 cards to each player.
The first player to the left of the dealer chooses one of his cards and
passes it to the player on his left, without letting any of the other
players see it. Upon receiving the card, this player in like fashion
passes any of his cards to the player on his left. This continues
around the table until any player manages to collect all 8 cards of a single
suit. Upon achieving this, the player passes a card and then immediately
throws down his hand and shouts "Esel!"
When a player shouts "Esel", all other players must also throw down their
cards and do the same. The last player to do so is designated the Esel (ass)
and must deal the next hand, unless the first player to do so actually failed
to collect all 8 of the cards of the same, in which case he instead is the Esel.
Old Maid
A version of
Old Maid
also was played. A game for children.
Players: 2-6
Deck: The Wilhelm Tell pack of 32 cards in suits of Grüne (Green), Schelle (Bells), Eichel (Acorns) and Herz (Hearts).
The Deal:
Remove from play one of the Unter cards, but not the Schelle (Bells) Unter.
Shuffle, cut and deal out 5 cards to each player. Place the remaining cards
in the middle of the table as a deck.
The Play:
Play begins with the first player left of the dealer. Perform the following:
Play continues clockwise around the table, each player discarding any
pairs and then drawing a card from the player to the right who replenishes
from the deck.
Once the deck is empty, if you get rid of all your cards you are safe and
you take no further part. The turn passes to the next player to your left.
Eventually all the cards will have been discarded except the Schelle Unter.
Scoring:
The final holder of the Schelle Unter loses. All other players win. If you
need to have a sole winner, for example, to decide what the next game is,
the player who discarded the most pairs wins.
Note: The Schelle Unter is colloquially called something like the
Batzeknippel (spelling uncertain).
It's unclear what the meaning of this term is, but after the game
the loser is called by this derogatory term.
Dissent on the Origin of Preferánsz/Preference
By author/researcher Thierry Depaulis, 1998:
In spite of its French name Preference is not a French game, and it has
been constantly ignored in Western Europe (including Germany and of course
Alsace and the Rhineland) and still is. It has
always been strictly limited to the eastern part of Europe
(former Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russian Empire, and the Balkans), from
Poland to Siberia, from Latvia to Greece.
In fact the "Donauschwaben" must have found the game there.
Further comments from author/researcher Thierry Depaulis, 2012:
I must however correct one statement I made in 1998. I wrote:
This page
created Mon Aug 17 15:07:01 PDT 1998.
Information from Thierry Depaulis, John McLeod and Erich Scholz has been incorporated here.
Thanks also for the suggestions of Maxim Sobolev.
Send comments via e-mail to
Richard Heli