German Whist
Schnapsen
Measure and TempoRules summary
Goal
Win at least 7 of the 13 tricks played after the stock runs out. The tricks before that don’t count.
Cards
Use a standard 52-card deck without Jokers.
Ranking
In each suit the Ace is highest and the 2 is lowest. Any trump beats any card of another suit.
Starting hand
Deal 13 cards to each player.
Setup
Put the other 26 cards face down as the stock and turn its top card face up. That card’s suit is trumps for the whole deal.
Play
- The non-dealer leads the first trick. The winner of each trick leads the next.
- Follow suit if you can. If you can’t, play any card. You never have to beat the card led or play a trump. The higher card of the suit led wins, unless a trump is played, and then the trump wins.
- Stage 1: play for the face-up card. While the stock lasts, the winner of each trick must take the face-up card from the stock. The loser takes the next card face down without showing it. Then turn the next card of the stock face up.
- Stage 2: play out your hand. After 13 tricks the stock is empty. Play out the 13 cards in your hand, still following suit.
Scoring
The tricks of stage 1 score nothing. Whoever takes 7 or more of the 13 tricks in stage 2 wins the game, so the game is decided as soon as a player has 7 of them.
Variants
Honeymoon Whist is Jonny Groves’ variant. It changes four things.
- Two Jokers are added as the highest trumps. The High Joker beats the Low Joker, which beats the Ace of trumps. They count as trumps for following suit. If a Joker is turned up to set trumps, spades are trumps. The stock is 28 cards, so stage 1 has 14 tricks.
- In stage 1 you may play any card. You don’t have to follow suit until stage 2.
- Every trick counts. The player who takes 14 or more of the 27 tricks scores 1 match point for each trick over 13.
- Play several deals. The deal alternates, and the first player to 14 match points wins.
Playing with your own deck
For Honeymoon Whist, you need paper and a pencil to keep each player’s match points.
Strategy tips
- Stage 1 is where you choose your stage-2 hand. Its tricks score nothing. They decide which cards you hold for the 13 that count, so judge each prize by what it does for that hand.
- In stage 1, win only the tricks whose face-up card you want. If it’s a dud, throw your lowest card of the led suit: the loser still draws the hidden card underneath.
- Win cheaply. A prize taken with your Ace spends a card that was going to win a stage-2 trick anyway. Take it with the lowest card that still wins.
- Trumps are stage-2 cards. Every trump spent on a stage-1 prize is one fewer for the 13 tricks that count.
- Build one long suit. Stage 2 still follows suit, so a five-card suit headed by two winners runs and drags their small cards out. Four scattered Kings win one trick each at best.
- Fight for prizes late in stage 1. Every card drawn face up stays in the Seen row until it’s played, so by the last few tricks you can name most of what they hold and judge what a prize does to your stage-2 hand.
- Count to 7, not 13. Stage 2 needs 7 of the 13 tricks, and the 7th ends the game on the spot. In Honeymoon Whist every trick counts toward the margin, so keep taking tricks even after the 7th.
- Play stage 2 with both hands face up. Every card is accounted for by then, so the game opens the hands: count their trumps, work out which of your suits runs, and lead accordingly. There’s nothing left to guess, only to calculate.