Ace-Ten games

An Ace-Ten game is a type of card game, highly popular in Europe, in which the Aces and Tens are of particularly high value.[1]

The Ace (Deuce) and Ten of Bells from a Bavarian pattern, German-suited pack

Description

Many of Europe's most popular card games feature the Ace-Ten scoring system, where the cards count as Ace = 11, Ten = 10, King = 4, Queen or Ober = 3, Jack or Unter = 2. Pip cards below the Ten generally have no card point value and the pack is often shortened by removing the lower pip cards or 'non-counters'. This means that, in a typical shortened pack of between 20 and 36 cards, there are 120 card points and thus a winning total is typically 61 points. Wins are doubled for scoring three-quarters of the total points and trebled for winning every trick, a scoring system known as the Skat schedule after its "most illustrious" example, the German national game of Skat.[1]

There are 3 branches of the Ace-Ten family:[2]

  • Schafkopf group. Here the trump suit is bolstered by the promotion of all Unters (Jacks) or all Obers (Queens) or both to be permanent top trumps.
  • Marriage group. Bonuses are added for melding a 'marriage' or 'pair' comprising a King and Queen or King and Ober of the same suit and, in many cases, for winning the last trick.[lower-alpha 1]
  • Jass group. Has the features above; in addition the trump Jack and trump Nine are permanent top trumps, known as Jass and Nel.

The historical English game of Losing Lodam also uses an Ace-Ten scoring system, but the courts are worth one point less i.e. the King is 3 points, the Queen 2 and the Knave 1.

History

Although the origin of Ace-Ten games is uncertain, it is most likely to have been invented by users of French cards in the Netherlands area, a hypothesis supported by the Dutch origin of the Swiss national game of Jass.[3]

The earliest record of the Ace-Ten scheme dates to 1718 and the French game of Brusquembille.[1]

Games with national or regional status

Many Ace-Ten games have achieved national or regional status. They are usually played with cards typical of their particular country or region. These include:

Other Ace-Ten games

Other well known Ace-Tenners include:

See also

Footnotes

  1. In Schnapsen and Bavarian Sixty-Six, the last trick wins the game rather than a bonus

References

  1. Parlett 2008, p. 211.
  2. Parlett 1991, p. 263.
  3. Dummett, pp. 561-2.
  4. Parlett 1991, p. 297.
  5. Binokel - Die Spielregeln I at www.schwaebisch-schwaetza.de. Retrieved 16 Sep 2018
  6. Parlett 1991, p. 281.
  7. Jass at www.learn-swiss-german.ch. Retrieved 16 Sep 2018
  8. Parlett 1991, p. 295.
  9. Parlett 1991, p. 285.
  10. Schafkopf at www.pagat.com. Retrieved 16 Sep 2018
  11. Tompa 2015, p. 1.
  12. Parlett 1991, p. 271.
  13. Sueca, the most famous Portuguese card game at everybodylovesportugal.com. Retrieved 16 Sep 2018
  14. Parlett, p. 285.
  15. Parlett 1991, p. 287.
  16. Parlett 1991, p. 266.
  17. Parlett 1991, p. 282.

Bibliography

  • Parlett, David (1991). A History of Card Games, OUP, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-282905-X
  • Parlett, David (2008). The Penguin Book of Card Games, Penguin, London. ISBN 978-0-141-03787-5
  • Tompa, Martin (2015). Winning Schnapsen. ISBN 978-1515377368
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