Karnöffel
 | |
| Origin | Germany |
|---|---|
| Type | Plain-trick |
| Players | 4 |
| Cards | 48 |
| Deck | German |
| Rank (high→low) | U (7) 6 D 3 4 5 (chosen) K O U X 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 D (side) |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Related games | |
| Alkort • Kaiserspiel • Karniffel • Knüffeln • Styrivolt • Treikort | |
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 that could be lawfully played at the annual city fête.[2] This makes the game the oldest identifiable European card game in the history of playing cards with a continuous tradition of play down to the present day.[3]
History
[edit]The earliest substantial reference to Karnöffel is a poem by Meissner, written in or before 1450. Historically karnöffeln meant "to cudgel, thrash or flog",[4] but in medieval times, a Karnöffel was also the word for an inguinal hernia.[5]
Karnöffel had a suit, the 'chosen suit', in which some cards had a higher priority than cards in other suits, which indicates that it might be a possible precursor to the trump suit of Tarot. The earliest forms of Karnöffel utilized a deck of 48 cards, Aces having been removed from German and Swiss playing cards during the 14th or early 15th century.[6]
Descendants
[edit]Karnöffel has a number of descendants that are still played today including Swiss Kaisern or Kaiserjass,[7] Schleswigian Knüffeln and Bruus, Danish Brus, Icelandic Brús, Gotlandic Bräus and Greenlandic Voormsi.
Rules
[edit]There is no detailed record of the early rules for Karnöffel. It is known that it was played with a 48-card, German-suited pack, that there was one chosen suit and that the cards of the chosen suit probably ranked as follows: U, 6, D, 3, 4 and 5. The chosen Six was known as the Pope, the Unter as the Karnöffel and the other beaters of the chosen suit were Emperors (Kaiser). The chosen 7 was the Devil and had no value except when led.[8]
By the late 18th century, there was a 36-card variant of Karnöffel. 36- and 48-card variants are still played today.
The rules here are taken from a reconstruction by von Leyden and Dummett, based on von Leyden's discovery of the little-known Swiss game of Kaisern or Kaiserspiel which appeared to have similar characteristics to the original Karnöffel.
Players
[edit]Karnöffel was played by four players in two teams of two. The partners sat opposite one another.
Cards
[edit]There was one chosen suit. In the unchosen suits, the card ranking was as follows:
- King, Ober, Unter, Banner, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (Deuce)
Card powers
[edit]| No. | * | Card | Description | Name | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | T | Trump Unter | beats all cards | Karnöffel | |
| (2) | T | Trump 7 | beats all cards apart from the Karnöffel, but only if led to a trick. In all other circumstances it is only a 7. It may not be played to the first trick. | Teufel, Böse 7 | Devil, Evil/Bad/Naughty 7 |
| 3 | T | Trump 6 | beats all other cards apart from the aforementioned two. | Papst | Pope |
| 4 | T | Trump Deuce | beats all other cards apart from the aforementioned three. | Kaiser, Hochkönig | Emperor, High King |
| The Karnöffel, Papst and Kaiser are also known as King-beaters (Königstecher), because they are the only ones that can beat a King. | |||||
| 5 | Kings | König | King | ||
| 6 | T | Trump 3 | beats all other cards apart from the aforementioned trumps and the Kings. | Oberstecher, Barde | Ober-beater |
| 7 | Obers | ||||
| 8 | T | Trump 4 | beats all other cards apart from the aforementioned trumps and King and Ober. | Understecher, Herzog | Unter-beater, Duke |
| 7 | Unters | ||||
| 8 | T | Trump 5 | beats all other cards apart from the aforementioned trumps and King, Ober and Unter. | Farbstecher, Ritter | Suit-beater, Knight |
| The King, Ober, Banner, 9 and 8 of the trump suit have no trump powers. | |||||
Play
[edit]- The first dealer deals 5 cards to each player, one at a time. The first card is placed face up in front of the respective player, the remaining four cards stay face down.
- The lowest of the face up cards determines the trump suit for this deal. If 2 cards have the same rank, the first to be dealt decides the trump suit. Thereafter the players pick their cards up.
- The player left of the dealer leads to the first trick. The other players play in clockwise order.
- There is no requirement to follow suit. The player with the highest card of the led suit or the highest trump wins the trick and leads to the next.
- This continues until one team has taken three tricks and so won the deal.
- Players may talk to one another during the game. Mutual support is actually encouraged.
- The player who led to the first trick becomes the next dealer.
References
[edit]- ^ Parlett 2020.
- ^ Dummett (1980), p. 184
- ^ Dummett (1978), p. 130.
- ^ Wieland, Christoph Martin, ed. (1783). "Beytrag zur Geschichte der Kartenspiele" in Der Teutsche Merkur, Vol. 58, First quarter 1783, pp. 62-87, Weimar.
- ^ von Leyden, Rudolf. (1978). Karnöffel: Das Kartenspiel der Landsknechte. Vienna.
- ^ Dummett, Michael (1980). The Game of Tarot. London: Duckworth. p. 24. ISBN 0-7156-1014-7.
- ^ Kaiserspiel Card Game - Oxford Dictionary of Card Games, David Parlett, pg:139
- ^ von Leyden (1978), p. 18.
Literature
[edit]- Dummett, Michael (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.
- Dummett, Michael (1980). The Game of Tarot. Duckworth, London. ISBN 0715610147
- Parlett, David (2020). "Karnöffel". Historic Card Games. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
External links
[edit]- Karnöffel Group
- 600 Jahre Karnöffelspiel
- Imperatori decks, Karnöffel and others
- Karnöffel by Fontanera.
