 The top trumps in the original Schafkopf game | |
| Origin | Germany |
|---|---|
| Type | Point-trick |
| Players | 4 |
| Cards | 32 |
| Deck | German or French |
| Rank (high→low) | (J) A K Q 10 9 8 7 |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Related games | |
| Doppelkopf • Schafkopf • Sheepshead • Skat | |
German Schafkopf (German:Deutscher Schafkopf) is an old German,ace–ten card game that is still played regionally in variant form today. It is the forerunner of the popular modern games ofSkat,Doppelkopf andBavarian Schafkopf. It originated inLeipzig in theElectorate of Saxony.[a] Today it is hardly ever played in its original form, but there are a number of important national and regional derivations.
The word, variously spelt Schafkopf, Schafskopf, Schaffskopf, Schafskopff, Schaafkopf and Schaafskopf, appears as early as the 16th century and meant "sheephead" or "sheep's head", but was also a pejorative term for a "fool". An early example is in the 1676 German-Italian dictionary, where "Schafskopff" is equated to "Dumshirn" i.e. "dumb head".[1] In 1777,Adelung's dictionary records "Schafskopf" as the head of a sheep, but also as "Schafskopf or Schafkopf, an abusive term for a stupid, simple-minded person", but there is no reference to the game.[2]
The card game of Schafkopf dates to the 18th century or earlier and is the oldest member of its eponymous family.[3] It emerged in Leipzig, virtually all early references being published in that city. It first appears in Hartmann's playDie dankbare Tochter (1780) where Platz says "I think we'll play a Schaafkopf".[4] A 1783 novel published inLeipzig describes the scene after a wedding dinner as the dining tables were cleared away and replaced by games tables: "here stood anOmbre table, there a noble Schafkopf was played, over there a game of forfeits, soon everybody was busy playing when suddenly the sound of the strings announced the arrival of the dance band..."; the fact that the author felt no need to explain what Schafkopf was suggests it was already well known at that time.[5] According to a 1789 journal, Schafkopf was played inSchweidnitz in theDuchy of Silesia and may have derived its name from being played while drinking non-local beer which went under the name ofSchöps in the 17th century, Schafkopf and Schöps being synonyms for a fool.[6][7] In 1796, we learn that students atLeipzig University liked to repair to disreputable bars to playSolo or Schafkopf for a couple ofDreiers.[8] In 1803, it is described as "a cute little game [played] with chalk andcollection bag pennies".[9]
In 1811, the rules of Schaafkopf are recorded for the first time by Paul Hammer who notes that it has several regional names includingSocietätsspiel ("social game"),Konversationsspiel ("conversation game") andDenunciationsspiel ("announcement game"), the latter "because originally the trump suit and number of trumps had to be announced for each game."[b] Hammer says that the game is generally presumed to be called Schaafkopf ("sheep's head") because, as games were won, lines were drawn in the form of a head with horns. He recognises that the word means a naive and stupid person but argues that this name is quite inappropriate because there are few social games as enjoyable and uplifting as Schaafkopf. He goes on to describe in detail no less than nine variants of 'Schaafkopf', but states that the original one (his Type A) was a four-hand, point-trick, team game with 4 Unters as top trumps, known as Wenzels[c] and a trump suit nominated by the bid winner. The game was normally played for beer. There were other variants for four, six or eight players with varying numbers of Wenzels. Some variants had Bells as the permanent trump suit and one was a plain-trick game; the rest beingace–ten games with the tens ranking low. The variants (denoted by their original letters) are tabulated below. Except where indicated, they are played by teams of two in fixed partnerships:[10][11] Von Alvensleben (1853) largely reprints Hammer, but adds a tenth, quite different, version calledWendish Schafkopf which includes a three-hand variant.[10]
| Players | Cards | Wenzels | Trump suit | Plain/Point trick | Variant | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 32 |  U U U U | Any | Point | A | Urschafkopf orUr-Schafkopf[d] |
| 4 | 32 | OOUUUU | Any | Point | C | |
| 4 | 32 | OOOOUUUU | Any | Point | D | cf.Bavarian Schafkopf |
| 4 | 32 | UUUU | Bells | Plain | B | No teams –Schellen-Schafkopf[e] |
| 4 | 32 | OOUUUU | Bells | Point | E | cf.Wendish Schafkopf |
| 6 | 36 | OOUUUU | Bells | Point | F | |
| 4 | 2 x 24 | 2 xOOUUUU | Bells | Point | G | cf.Doppelkopf |
| 6 | 2 x 24 | 2 xOOUUUU | Bells | Point | H | |
| 8 | 2 x 32 | 2 xOOOOUUUU | Bells | Point | I | |
| 4 (3) | 32 | OOOOUUUU | Bells | Point | Wendish | O andO form a team. Solo and call-Ace options. |
Variant D has the same configuration as modern BavarianSchafkopf, although the latter has Hearts as permanent trumps in the 'normal game',alliances rather thanpartnerships and varioussolo contracts. MeanwhileDoppelkopf looks like a merger of G, taking it from 12 to 16 Wenzels, and Wendish Schafkopf, with partnerships decided by theO andO. As early as 1840 there were two Doppelkopf clubs inChemnitz, perhaps playing a game related to variants G, H and I.[12] The calling of an Ace, probably originated inGerman Solo, but had been adopted in Bavarian Schafkopf and its siblingObsern by the 1840s, before von Alvensleben published the first rules for the variant ofWendish Schafkopf in 1853.
In the 1830s it was confirmed as being "a card game common in Saxony".[13] In 1831,Schafskopf was also very much in vogue in several parts of rural Thuringia,[14]
In 1835,Skat inventor, Johann Friedrich Ludwig Hempel (1773-1849) fromAltenburg, records a brief entry in Pierer'sUniversal-Lexikon in which Schafkopf is described as a game played with the German pack, usually by four players in partnership, the partners sitting opposite one another. It was named after the scoring system which involved chalking a sheep's head on the table. The first team to complete the head received the amount agreed by the players. Alternatively each hand was paid immediately after its completion. There were manifold variations which Hempel does not describe, but a common feature was that the game was won by the team with the mostcard points. He also describes the earliesttwo-handed variant of Schafkopf.[15]
By 1836 it had reachedMecklenburg where "Schafskopf" was played by the lower classes exclusively withFrench-suited cards alongsideDreikart,Fünfkart andSolo, thedignitaries playingWhist,Boston,Ombre,Faro and, less often, Solo as well.[16]
In 1853Von Alvensleben reproduces Hammer's rules and describes Schaafkopf as being very common especially among the lower classes perhaps due to its ordinary name ("sheep's head").[17] In 1882 Georgens & Gagette-Georgens claim that the original form of Schafkopf is Wendish Schafkopf, but this is clearly a misreading of von Alvensleben.[18]
In 1867, Schafskopf or Schafkopf was reported to be "especially popular in Saxony and further south."[19]
An 1888Mansfeld dialect dictionary listsSchôfkopp as a four-hand card game in which Bells are trumps and the four Obers and Unters are matadors. The players with theO (de Ole) and theO (de Paste orPaster) play together. The game was also known asWendsch (= Wendish Schafkopf). However, inHesse, Schafkopf was another name for the children's game ofBlack Peter.[20]
John McLeod notes that many German game books include rules for German Schafkopf based on the original, but he is not aware of anywhere that it is still played. However his research has uncovered two descendants of the game lingering on in thePalatinate region of western Germany. One is Bauernstoss which is played inErfweiler and the other is Alter Schoofkopp played inNiederhochstadt, around 30 kilometres to the east.[21]
The Palatinate is also home toBauerchen or Bauersches, a four-player, partnership game in which the four Jacks are top trumps in the usual Skat/Schafkopf order. It is played with a short pack (20 cards), forehand calls trumps and leads to the first trick. Melds for a King-Queen pair earn extra points.[22]
Another game which appears to be a cross between German SchafkopfGerman Solo is the north German game ofScharwenzel, played by four or six players in fixed partnerships with four Wenzels but also the♣Q, trump 7 and♠ as top trumps. It is a plain trick game in which players bid the number of potential trumps they have.
The following rules appear to be based on Grupp (1994) and resemble those of the original Schafkopf game, i.e. von Alvensleben's Type A above.[23]
German Schafkopf is played with 4 players and 32 cards which, depending on the region, may beGerman orFrench packs. The players form 2 permanent partnerships.[24]
| French suits | |||
| Diamonds | Hearts | Spades | Clubs |
 | .svg) |  |  |
| German suits | |||
| Bells | Hearts | Leaves | Acorns |
 |  |  |  |
| French pack | German pack | |||
| Card | Symbol | Card | Symbol | Points |
| Ace | A | Deuce | A/none | 11 |
| Ten | 10 | Ten | 10 | 10 |
| King | K | King | K | 4 |
| Queen | D | Ober | O | 3 |
| Jack | B | Unter | U | 2 |
| Nine | 9 | Nine | 9 | 0 |
| Eight | 8 | Eight | 8 | 0 |
| Seven | 7 | Seven | 7 | 0 |
The ranking of cards within the individual suits is as follows (highest to lowest):Ace (Deuce) >King >Queen (Ober) > 10 > 9 > 8 > 7
The hierarchy of the cards and their sequence within thetrumps are similar to those in Bavarian Schafkopf and Skat. However, in German Schafkopf the 10 ranks between the Queen or Ober and 9, in all suits even though it is worth ten points.
| German deck | |||
| Permanent trumps | |||
 U U U U | |||
| Additional variable trump suits | |||
| Acorns | Leaves | Hearts | Bells |
| AKO10987 | AKO10987 | AKO10987 | AKO10987 |
| French pack | |||
| Permanent trumps | |||
| JJJJ | |||
| Additional variable trump suits | |||
| Clubs | Spades | Hearts | Diamonds |
| AKQ10987 | AKQ10987 | AKQ10987 | AKQ10987 |
As in Skat, the highest trumps are the 4Jacks orUnters in the sequenceClubs,Spades,Hearts andDiamonds orAcorns,Leaves,Hearts andBells. The remaining trumps are specified by the player who is the declarer by naming the trump suit at the outset. The cards of the trump suit then follow in the aforementioned sequence (seeabove).
German Schafkopf is a partnership card game, but unlike Bavarian Schafkopf or Doppelkopf partners are not announced during the course of the game, but are permanent as inBridge: the players facing one another are automatically partners. The seating order is determined by the drawing of playing cards before the game begins: the players who have picked the two highest cards are partners and sit opposite one another. In another variation, the players with the two black queens (or Ober of Acorns and Ober of Leaves) form a partnership (seebelow).
After the cards have beenshuffled andcut, each player is dealt a total of eight playing cards (in two sets of four) inclockwise fashion.
After the deal, starting clockwise each player announces the maximum possible number of trumps in their hand by adding the jacks and the longest suit ("I declare x trumps").
The player with the highest number of possible trumps takes the lead in the game and names the trump suit.
If two players announce the same number of possible trumps, then the one with the higher number of trump points wins ("I declare x trumps with y points"); if this number is also the same, the higher trump wins (usually the higher jack).
If none of the players can declare at least five trumps, the player with the Jack of Clubs (Unter of Acorns) must take the lead; if he loses, it only counts as single (i.e. he doesn't lose double or quadruple) game points.
As in Bavarian Schafkopf and Doppelkopf, solo games are also possible in German Schafkopf. Here, a solo player plays against the other three players.
Players mustfollow suit. If a player cannot do so, any card may be played.
There are three types of games won:
In a forced game, however, a winner who did not choose trumps gets the same as one who did.
For each game point won, the winner draws a line on a sheet of paper. The game is won by the first player to complete draw nine dashes in the shape of a sheep's head, theSchafkopf: four dashes arranged in a rectangle form the shape of the head, two dashes form the eyes, two more the horns and a single dash in the middle represents the nose. Presumably the losers buy the beer.
The game described is the earliest form of German Schafkopf. Apart from Bavarian Schafkopf, Doppelkopf and the other early variants mentioned above, further variants have been developed, some in different regions. These include:
In anEast German book of game rules[27] there are the following variations of German Schafkopf which appear to reflect, in part, Hammer's variants:
There are numerous European relatives of the family:
