| "A delightful GermanNap equivalent"[1] | |
 The top card when Clubs are trumps | |
| Origin | Germany |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Brandle |
| Family | Trick-taking |
| Players | 4 |
| Cards | 28 |
| Deck | French or German |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Chance | Easy |
| Related games | |
| Nap | |
Brandeln is an historicalcard game for three or four players; in which the winning bidder plays alone against the rest. It is one of the earliest games to use the termsBettel – a contract to lose every trick – andMord - a contract to win every trick. One of several card games mastered byMozart,[2] Brandeln is still current inAustria andGermany today. It has been described as having a "civilized, refined and ingenious character" and "one of the most pleasant card games".[3]
Parlett Anglicized the name toBrandle and agrees that it is "a delightful GermanNap equivalent".[1]
Brandeln simply means "playing [the game of] Brandel". Historically the game was also referred to asBrandl,Brändeln,Stichbrändeln,Stichbrandl,Brandelspiel,Brannten,Bränteln or evenBetteln.[4] According to Schmid,Brandeln was "a certain card game" andbräntelen orbräselen meant to smell of fire or to be suspicious.[5] Schmeller confirms thatbrändeln means to smell of fire, but adds that it also means to make money or to "play a type of card game" and gives the alternative name ofstichbrändeln.[a][6]Brand is, of course, German for "fire".
Rulemann tells us that Brandeln was played by troops during theThirty Years' War (1618–48) and by soldiers underFrederick the Great during theSeven Years' War (1756–63).[7] In 1722,Johann Nikolaus Weislinger makes an apparent reference to it in his workFriß Vogel oder stirb!, published inStrasbourg.[4]
It was certainly widespread enough to be banned as a gambling game in 1765[8] and 1851[9] (asBrannten) in theAustro-Hungarian Empire. In 1770,Bränteln was brought toVienna by theBavarians orSwabians and, by 1772, had become the most popular game in the taverns there. However, in the land "above theEnz, in Bavaria and Swabia, it had been around for a long time."[10]
It is recorded in a 1795 Swabian dictionary[11] and its popularity is also suggested by an 1805 musical play, where it is the chief pastime of the princess, Antiope, who likens the game to love,[12] but in another contemporary account it is scorned as a "game for tailors".[13] Other sources confirm that it was played by farmers, peasants and coachmen.[14][15]
Schmeller's 1827 Bavarian Dictionary tells us thatBrändeln orStichbrändeln is a "type of card game in which you announce the number of tricks you want to take".[16] However,Stichbrändeln may refer to a variant in which there were only three active players; the dealer, the "King", sat out, but could take on the others if they all passed.[10]
Johann Siegmund Popowitsch published the earliest known description ofBränteln in 1772, at which time it was a three-hand game.[10] However, the first complete ruleset is recorded in the 1829Neuestes Allgemeines Spielbuch which states that its origin is uncertain, but that it is a thoroughly German game whose features were adopted by some of the "newer French and English games" and even byOmbre.[17] Despite this claim of German origin, all the earliest references to it are Austrian. The game is the earliest record of the contracts known asBrand,Mord andBettel, which found their way into the three-hand games ofBolachen andWallachen, which may be derivatives. The termsMord and/orBettel also appear in other Bavarian card games, such asGrasobern,Herzla andSchafkopf. At least one source refers toPréférence being played with Bettel and Mord.[18]
In 1847, in an Austrian dialect dictionary for the Lower Enns,Brandln is described as a card game with four contracts:Bråndl (3 tricks),Brånd (4 tricks),Moardbrånd (all tricks) andBedldutti (no tricks).[19]
In 1849, we hear that, at the ball, the ladies ofLinz will "playTarock or Brandel and drink punch,"[20] but by 1908 it was "very rarely played."[7] Nevertheless it must have been still popular in Bohemia because from 1895 to around 1920 German-suited, Bohemian Brandl cards (Böhmische Brandl Deutsche Karten Nr. 61) were produced,[21] the known manufacturers beingPiatnik and Glanz. These double-headed cards came in 36-card packs, presumably to give them a more universal appeal.[22]
Brandeln has been regularly published in German and Austrian games compendia from 1829 until the present. The game is still found in parts of Austria, for example, inKoglhof.[23]
In the earliest description, written by Popowitsch in 1772, we learn that the game was brought to Vienna either by Bavarians or Swabians two years earlier, but had been established in Bavaria, Swabia and the "land above the Enz" for a long time.
The game was played with French- or German-suited cards. Three players were dealt 7 cards each and the rest were set aside. Players bid to become the declarer and play their chosen contract. The lowest bid was aBrant which required the declarer to take 3 tricks. Players could bid a higher number, but were then committed to taking the additional tricks. In aMord, which paid double, the declarer had to take all tricks. The highest contract was aBettel in which the declarer had to lose every trick[10][b]
If four played, the dealer or "King" sat out, but if everyone else passed could announce aStockbrant, picking up thestock, selecting 7 cards and playing for five tricks.Favori (Hearts) was apreference suit and a player could outbid a contract at the same level if intending to play in that suit.[10]
Popowitsch lists the suits in the order:Hearts,Leaves,Acorns,Bells; however, it is not clear if, apart from Hearts, the suits had an order of preference. He gives the card ranking as:Ober, Seven,Sow [Ace],King,Unter and Nine.[10][c]
The game is played with 28 cards from a 32-card deck ofFrench-suited playing cards with the 8s removed. The earliest rules mention that either French orGerman-suited cards may be used.
In thetrump suit the Jack and the Seven are the highest trumps; the ranking runs thus: Jack > Seven > Ace > King > Queen > Ten > Nine
In the othersuits the ranking of card values for taking tricks is in theirnatural order: Ace > King > Queen > Jack > Ten > Nine > Seven
Cards may be drawn to determine seating[d] and then again to determine first dealer; the player drawing the lowest card dealing first. Dealing, bidding and playing are all in clockwise order. Each player is dealt seven cards in packets of two, three and two again.
The early rules are imprecise about whether the bidding is withimmediate ordelayed hold. They also seem to imply that onlyforehand can hold, whereas later rules make clear that any earlier player may hold a higher bid by a later player. However, in general the following apply:
The player who has announced the highest bid wins the auction and leads to the first trick.
The sources give three different rules of play:
Anton says the requirement to head the trick means that the game loses its refinement. In a Bettel contract, in which there are no trumps, players must play a higher card if they can.
There have been two common scoring schemes. In the original one, points or stakes for winning started at 3 for a Brandle and there was no Herrenmord option. In 1830, Tendler added a Herrenmord which scored 18–24 points, with a Mord scoring 12, by pre-agreement. Otherwise he retained the original scoring. From at least 1882,[25] a revised scoring scheme appeared alongside the old one; the new scheme starting with just 1 point for a Brandle. The old scheme is not recorded after 1909.
| Scoring in Brandeln | |||||
| Bid | Aim | Trumps | Early Scheme (1829–1909) | Tendler (1830) | Later Scheme (1882-present) |
| Brandle | Take three tricks | Yes | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Four Tricks | Take four tricks | Yes | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Five Tricks | Take five tricks | Yes | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Six Tricks | Take six tricks | Yes | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Bettel | Take no tricks | No | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Mord | Take all tricks | Yes | 8 | 12 | 6 |
| Herrenmord | Take all tricks | No | – | 18 or 24 | 7 |
If the game is won, the declarer is paid its game value by each defender; if it is lost, the declarer pays each defender the same amount. Over- and under-tricking does not count. Examples:
