GRASOBERN

Welcome to Grasobern, an exciting trick-taking game with a twist! In this German game, players engage in bidding for contracts, each with its own unique gameplay. As we navigate through the game, there will always be three players teaming up against one – the Declarer. Keep your wits about you and see if you can outsmart your friends!

SETUP

To set up the game, start by removing all cards from the deck except for the sevens, eights, nines, tens, Jacks, Queens, and Kings. These cards will be used in the game, and their rank ranges from low to high. Next, determine the seating positions and the first dealer by drawing for the high card.

The way we decide the seating order is by drawing cards, and the highest card holder becomes the first dealer. The dealer role then goes around the group in a clockwise direction. Next, the dealer shuffles the deck and gives each player eight cards, dividing them into two sets of four.

Once everyone has their cards, the bidding phase begins. It starts with the player to the left of the dealer and continues clockwise. Each player has one opportunity to either pass or play. To play, players announce one of three contracts: Mord, Bettel, or Herren.

Mord is the most powerful contract, followed by Herren, and finally Bettel. The player with the highest-ranking contract becomes the Declarer, and their bid becomes the contract for the hand.

Let’s take a closer look at the different types of contracts.

So here’s the deal, folks: I’m gonna break it down for you. We’ve got this game called Bettel. It’s a tricky one. You see, when a player says “I won’t win any tricks,” that’s called bidding Bettel. And get this, if that bid is the highest, well then, things get interesting.

The player who bids Bettel becomes the declarer. Now, the declarer’s ultimate goal is to lose every single trick. That’s right, they want to fail. But hold on, there’s some opposition! The other three players, they’re gonna do their very best to stop the declarer from losing all the tricks. It’s like they have a mission to block the failure, you know?

Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how the game is played. First off, the declarer leads with the first card. From there, each player has to play a card from the same suit if they have one. And here’s the thing, folks: if a player has a card from that suit and they can win the trick, well, they gotta do it. No questions asked.

But here’s where it gets interesting. If the declarer manages to win even just one measly trick, they lose a whopping nine points. Talk about a major setback! And guess what? The other three players, they each gain three points. So it’s a real hit to the declarer’s ego, you know?

Now, let’s move on to the next bid. We’ve got something called Herren. This time, the player declares that they won’t win any tricks. Kinda similar to Bettel, right? Well, there’s a little twist. After the first trick is played, the highest bidder, yeah, they gotta reveal their whole hand. It’s like opening up a book for everyone to see.

And get this, folks: from that point on, they have to play every single card face up. No secrets, no surprises. It’s all laid out in the open. Now, how’s that for transparency?

If I, as the Declarer, don’t manage to win any tricks, I will earn 18 points. However, if I do win a trick, each of the other players will win six points. The game follows the same rules as Bettel, but it ends immediately if the Declarer does win a trick.

Now, let’s talk about Mord. If a player declares Mord, it means they aim to win every single trick. The three opponents will do their best to prevent the player from achieving this. To start, the Declarer calls for a card that they don’t have in their hand. They must pass it to the dealer and take any other card in exchange.

Once the game starts, the Declarer will lead the first trick. Then, each player must try to play a card of the same suit as the leading card. If they don’t have a card of the same suit, they can play any card they want.

If I don’t win any tricks, the hand is over. Everyone else gets four points and I lose twelve. But if I manage to win every trick, I score twelve points and each opponent loses four.

ENDING THE GAME

The players get to decide when the game is over. We can play as many hands as we want or choose to play up to a certain number. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins!

The players get to decide when the game is over. We can play as many hands as we want or choose to play up to a certain number. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins!