Let’s Play Schnapsen!

Schnapsen is a fun card game for two players. The goal is to score at least 66 points in order to win each round. You start with 7 points, and you’ll subtract the number of points you earn from that total each time you win a round. The first player to reach 0 points wins the whole game!

To win a round, you need to win tricks and score points. The magic number is 66! Once you reach that goal, you can call out “Going Out” and bring the round to an end, while tallying up your points.

Getting Set Up

Before you start playing Schnapsen, you’ll need a special deck of cards. You can use a 20-card French deck or modify a regular 52-card deck. If you choose the modified deck, just remove all the cards from 2 to 9, and you’ll be left with the 10s, picture cards, and aces – 20 cards in total. No matter which deck you use, you and your opponent can take turns being the dealer for each round.

So here’s how it works: The dealer gets the game started by shuffling the deck of cards and giving each player 3 cards. Then, they flip a card to determine the trump suit for the round. After that, two more cards are dealt to each player, so everyone ends up with a total of 5 cards. Don’t worry, there’s more! The remaining cards are placed face down, with the trump suit showing, at the bottom of the deck. These cards are called the Talon and will come in handy later.

Card Point Values

Now, let’s talk about points. Each card has a value, and when you win cards in tricks, these values add up to determine your score.

GAMEPLAY

When we play a card game, there are certain rules we must follow. Let me explain how it works. When we start a game, one person will take the lead in the first round. They can choose any card from their hand to play. The winner of the round will be determined by the highest card played, or if there is a trump card, the highest trump will win. The second player is not required to play a card of the same suit or try to win the round. Once both players have played their cards, the winner will collect them and score points. Then, the winner will draw a card from the talon, followed by the loser. The winner will also start the next round.

Now, let’s talk about something called a Trump Jack.

In certain games, there is a special card called the Trump Jack. The player who has the lowest trump card in their hand has the option to exchange it with the trump card at the bottom of the talon. However, they can only do this if they are leading the round before playing their card. It’s important to note that the talon cannot be closed, meaning the cards must stay in the talon.

Lastly, we have something called Marriages.

Hey there! Let’s talk about marriages in card games. A marriage happens when I have both a king and queen of the same suit. If those cards are from the trump suit, it’s called a royal marriage. Marriages give me extra points in the game.

To get those points, I need to meld the marriage when it’s my turn to lead the trick. I’ll declare that I have a regular marriage, which gives me 20 points, or a royal marriage, which gives me 40 points. Then, I need to play one of the cards from the marriage and show the other one. But here’s the catch – I can only score the marriage once I’ve already won a trick.

Talon

I’m sure you’re curious about the talon in this game. It’s actually a group of ten cards that aren’t given to players at the beginning. One of these cards is revealed and used to determine the trump suit. Throughout the game, you’ll have the chance to draw cards from the talon. If players don’t close the talon, they will eventually use up all the cards in it. This happens when the loser of the fifth trick draws the face-up trump card.

Once this happens, the rules for playing the remaining tricks become stricter. Players must follow suit and try their best to win each hand. This means playing a card of the same suit as the first card played, but higher if possible. If that’s not an option, they can play a lower card of the same suit. If no cards of the same suit are possible, players can play a trump card. And if no trump cards are available, any card can be played.

In Conclusion

When it’s my turn to lead, I have the option to close the talon. This is done by flipping the face-up trump card and placing it on top of the talon pile. From that point on, I can only use the cards in my hand to make the 66 points required to win. No more cards will be drawn from the talon for the rest of the round. We’ll proceed as if the talon is completely used up.

However, I can only close the talon after we’ve refreshed our hands and each player has five cards. This means we have enough cards to work with. And here’s an interesting twist: even after closing the talon, I can still meld a marriage! It’s not like other games where certain moves are no longer allowed once the talon is closed.

GOING OUT

The game ends when a player declares they’re “going out”, meaning they believe they have reached 66 points and can win. You can only declare this after winning a trick or forming a marriage. Once declared, the game stops and players check if the declaring player is correct.

If the declaring player has indeed collected 66 points, they will earn points based on the other player’s score. If the other player has 33 or more points, only one point is awarded. If the other player has less than 33 points and has won at least one trick, two points are given. If the other player hasn’t won any tricks, three points are awarded.

If the declaring player is incorrect, the other player earns points. The player who incorrectly declared will receive 2 points, or 3 points if they haven’t won any tricks yet.

If I don’t declare going out and we keep playing until the last trick is won, I earn one point if I have the highest score, no matter the other player’s points.

The points I earn are taken away from my starting total of 7 points.

END OF GAME

I win the game when I reach 0 points.

I win the game when I reach 0 points.