How to Play Ramsen

Ramsen is a Bavarian trick taking card game designed for three to five players. The game is also sometimes called Ramsch, but should not be confused with the special contract type in other German games Skat and Schafskopf also called Ramsch.

Ramsen is traditionally played with the 32 card German deck. This deck is similar to the more widely known French deck, but has several differences. First, the German pack uses a different set of suits, those of Acorns, Leaves, Hearts and Bells. In addition, the specific ranks of cards are different, with the German pack using the following ranks (listed in normal order from highest to lowest ranking): Sow, King, Ober, Unter, 10, 9, 8, 7. The ranking in the trump suit will be different.

If such a traditional Bavarian styled German deck is not at hand, a standard French deck can also be used, by first removing all cards lower than rank 7 from that deck. The ranking of the remaining cards as found in that deck are as follows (shown from high to low): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7.

A special feature of Ramsen is the fact that in addition to the normal cards of the selected trump suit, there are four permanent trump cards, which will always considered part of the trump suit, regardless of which of the four normal suits is actually set as the trump suit for that hand. These four cards (nine of diamonds (♦), seven of diamonds (♦), Queen of clubs (♣) and Jack of clubs (♣)) rank immediately below the Ace of the selected trump suit (which is thus set as the highest ranked card in the trump suit). Because of this, the composition and ranking of the cards in the selected trump suit will be different dependent on the selected suit. The following are the specific cards and the rankings of those cards based on the suit selected as trump for that hand:
Spades as the trump suit in Ramsen
It should be noted that if the suit of diamonds or clubs is the selected trump suit, the trump suit will consist of two fewer cards, and if spades or hearts are selected the off suits will have fewer cards. It must be remembered also, that the four permanent trump cards are considered, for all purposes, to be a member of the selected trump suit for the hand, and should be played any time a card of the trump suit is required or expected to be played. The cards of the non-trump suit will have the standard ranking as described further above, although that suit may be missing two cards, due to those cards inclusion in the trump suit, for some specific trump suit selections.

Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be performed using a variety of methods, with draw for high cards a common such method. Using this method, each player draws a card from the shuffle pack, with any players drawing cards of equal value required to discard that card and draw another, continuing this until drawing a card that no other player has drawn. The players then seat themselves at the table, each taking the seat of his choice in the order of cards drawn from highest to lowest. The player drawing the highest card becomes the dealer for the first hand. Thereafter, the role of dealer rotates around the table in a clockwise direction.

Once the players are seated and the first dealer selected, the dealer should thoroughly shuffle the deck to be used for the game. He then offers it to the player at his right (called, in many German games, rearhand) to cut. After the cut, this cutting player is permitted to look at the bottom card of the top portion of cards as used for this cut. If he prefers to take this card he may do so, indicating this by calling "Schleken". If he thus calls "Schleken", this bottom card of the top portion as used in the cut is given to this player but it should be done carefully such that no other players see this card and that no other cards are exposed to any of the players during this procedure. If the rearhand player does not opt to Schleken, the dealer then begins dealing the cards, in small packets, face-down to each player. He starts with the player at his right usually dealing first a 3 card packet to each player and then a 2 card packet, which should then leave each player with five total cards. If a player opted to Schleken, the deal is the same except as each other player is dealt the first three card packet, the rearhand player who called "Schleken" receives only two cards in that packet, such that each player still only receives a total of five cards. After the cards have been dealt, the dealer then deals the next card face-up. The suit of this card designates the trump suit for the hand. If the card is one of the four permanent trump cards, the actual suit as marked on that card still determines the trump suit for this hand. After exposing the trump determination card, he then places the remainder of the pack next to the trump card (and partially covering that card) as the talon.

Card exchanges in Ramsen After the deal the players then examine the hands. The players then, each in turn, in a clockwise direction starting with the player to the dealer's left (called the forehand), has the option to exchange cards with the talon (he is not obligated to exchange any cards and may exchange up to as many as five). If the rearhand player has elected to call "Schleken" he may not exchange cards during this exchange. The cards exchanged are set aside, out of play and the cards to be exchanged for are dealt from the top of the talon by the dealer, and the player will not know the identify of these new cards until they are dealt to him. The dealer also has the option, before exchanging any other cards, of exchanging any one of his cards with the face-up, exposed trump card. Each player only has this option to exchange cards one time. Once they have exchanged any cards, they do not get another opportunity to do this during the current hand.

After cards have been exchanged, there is one simple round of bidding, in which each player elects to either "Play" or "Pass". Any player who exchanged one or more cards must opt to Play, and may not Pass. After passing, the player discards his cards and takes no further action during the hand (thus earning no points but also incurring no penalties during the current hand). If every player passes or every player but one passes, the hand is not played and no scoring occurs for that hand.

After the bidding, the first active player, in a clockwise direction from the dealer who elected to "Play", leads the first card to the first trick, and each other active player, in a clockwise direction adds one card still remaining in his hand to the trick.

In leading the first card to a trick, a player may play any card still remaining in his hand. If playing to an existing trick, the player must play a card of the suit originally led to the trick if he has one. If has no cards of the suit originally led to the trick, but does have cards in the trump suit he must play such a card. Furthermore, in playing a card of the same suit or the trump suit, the player must attempt to play a higher card of the led suit or the trump suit if able, in an attempt to win the trick, if able (called heading the trick). If he is unable to win the trick with the cards in hand, he is still obligated to play the proper card but is not required to play his highest such card in that suit. If he has no cards of the suit originally led to the trick or the trump suit, he may play any card from his hand to the trick.

After each player has played one card to the trick it is determined who won that trick. The highest card in the trump suit played to the trick wins it. If no card in the trump suit was played to the trick, the highest card of the suit originally led to the trick wins the trick. The leader of each trick sets the cards in the trick aside, in a face-down pile. The leader of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.

Initial scorecard for one person in Ramsen One completed scoring X in Ramsen The game continues until all five tricks have been played and won. After this, scoring occurs for the hand. The scoring in this game is recorded using a rather unusual method. Before the start of each game, two large capital X characters are drawn on the score sheet, one pair for each player. Each of these X's represents five tricks. Thus, for each trick a player manages to win during the hand, he is entitled to place a bar or line at end of one of the lines in an X. After placing four such marks on the X, he places a last bar in the middle of the X character to complete that X. Thus, for each trick a player wins during that hand, that player is entitled to place one mark on one line of that X. However, if a player elected to "Play" the hand but yet does not manage to win at least one trick, an additional full X is added, for which that player must win five additional tricks to complete. Whichever player manages to complete all his X's is declared the winner of the game.
       

Variations and Optional Rules




Mönch: Mönch (or Junk) is another variation of Ramsen which is also Bavarian in origin. It is played almost identically to the standard game as described above with just a few differences.


Rams: Rams appears to be the root game from which all the games considered part of the Rams family (such as Ramsen) are derived. The main distinguishing feature of these games is the capability for players to drop from the game before play which will allow that player to potentially prevent earning any penalty points on that hand if the player feels they have not been dealt a suitable hand.

The first published rules for games of this type are reported to be from around 1820, in France. The game or similar variants of the game were also reported in Austria and other locations shortly thereafter.

The game can be played by from two to five players. Before the start of the game each player should be provided with an equal number of tokens or chips (such as ten, seven, or 5). The object of the game is to be the first player to deplete his supply of tokens through the winning of tricks during a series of hands. Rams is usually played using one standard deck reduced to 32 cards. This deck can be created by removing all cards lower than the seven from a standard deck. The ranking of the cards in this deck is as follows (from highest to lowest): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7.

Deal of a hand in Rams Determination of seating positions and the first dealer can be performed in the same method as Ramsen, with draw for high cards a common method. The role of dealer passes in a clockwise direction after each hand. After the dealer has been determined, this player would then deal five cards to each player. These cards are usually dealt in packets to the players, first a packet of three cards to each player and then a packet of two to each player. In addition to each player, an additional five card widow should be dealt to, just as if there was one extra player in the game. The five cards of this widow hand should be dealt face-down to the center of the table, usually receiving it's cards on each dealing round right before the dealer. After the cards have been dealt, the dealer then turns up the next card from the deck and lays it face-up on the table. The suit of this card is set as the trump suit for this hand.

If any player, in any order, believes he can win all five tricks, that player should immediately shout "General Rams". If this is called by multiple players, the first player to make this call is considered the declarer. Once this is called, no players may then opt to drop out and no bidding round occurs as would otherwise occur in a normal hand.

If no player has announced "General Rams", one round of bidding occurs, starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer and proceeding in a clockwise direction around the table. The allowable calls during this bidding round are "Drop", "Play" or trade. A call of "Drop" indicates that a player does not intend to play in the hand, and he simply sets his cards aside, face-down and out of play. A player who drops will not have the opportunity to win any points during the round but will also not be faced with any possible penalties for failing to win at least one trick during the hand. A call of "Play" indicates the player intends to play the hand, attempting to score points during the hand by winning at least one trick during the hand. A trade indicates that the player indicates he will trade, and that player need not make any verbal call but simply discards his own hand to the side and takes the face-down widow hand as a replacement. Only the first bidder (player to the immediate left of the dealer) may trade for the widow hand in this way, all subsequent players having only the options to Pass or Play.

If every player passes up to the player to the immediate right of the dealer, that player must elect to Play as must the Dealer. In addition, if all but one other player has passed, the dealer must also elect to play. However, in all other case, players are free to pass or play as they see fit.

Before the start of the hand, the dealer, if he elected to Play the hand, may opt to take the exposed trump card into his hand, exchanging it face-down to the table, for any other card from his hand.

As mentioned previously, if any player had declared "General Rams", no bidding round occurs, with each player required to participate in the hand. The player who first declared "General Rams" leads the first card to the first trick. However, if "General Rams" was not declared, the player to the immediate left of the dealer plays the first card to the first trick. After the lead to any trick, each other player (who did not drop) plays one card to the same trick in a clockwise order around the table.

In leading to a trick, the leading player may play any card remaining in his hand to that trick. However, in following to a trick led by another player, they must play a card of the same suit as originally led to the trick if they have one. Furthermore, they must attempt to win that trick if possible, if they have a card in that suit that can currently win the trick. If a player has no cards of the suit originally led to the trick, he must play a card in the trump suit to the trick if he has one and also attempt to win that trick by playing a higher card in the trump suit than any so far played to that trick. If the player does not have a card of the suit originally led to the trick or a card of the trump suit, he may play any card remaining in his hand to the trick.

The trick is won by the player of the highest trump card played to that trick. If the trick contains no cards from the trump suit, the trick is won by the highest card of the suit originally led to the trick. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.

Scoring: If any player declared "General Rams" and that player manages to successfully win all five tricks, that player is entitled to remove five of his counters or tokens and each other player is required to take five more from a common pool of such tokens. However, if the declarer of "General Rams" was unable to win all five tricks during the hand, that player must take five more from the common pool, and each other player is entitled to remove one counter from his stock for each trick won during the hand. If any other players, in the case of a "General Rams" call, failed to win any tricks during that hand, they are not required to take any additional tokens.

If "General Rams" was not called for this hand, each player is entitled to remove one token or counter from his pile for each trick he won during the hand. However, if a player plays and fails to win even one trick, that player must take five more tokens from a common pool of such tokens.

The first player who manages to remove the last of his tokens through the winning of tricks during the hand is declared the game winner.

Raub: Raub is a game of the Rams family which is played by individuals in the United States, but often by individuals of Croatian descent.

Despite the most common audience for this game being from the United States, Raub is usually played using a traditional German pack of cards. If such a deck is not at hand however, it can be played using a standard 52 card deck in which all cards lower than rank seven have been removed. The ranking of the cards in this deck are as follows (from high to low): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7.

The game is commonly played by 2, 3 or 4 players. At the start of the game, each of these players is set with 21 points on a paper score sheet. The object of the game is, during the course of a number of hands, be the first player to reduce this total to 0 or below.

Opporunity for dealer to declare Stih Determination of seating positions and the first dealer can be performed using a variety of methods, with draw for high cards a common method. Once this first dealer has been determined, the deck shuffled and cut, the dealer may begin the deal of the cards. The deal is in a clockwise direction and proceeds as follows. First, each player, starting with the player at the immediate left of the dealer receives two face-down cards, one card is dealt face-up to the center of the table, and each player receives an additional packet of two face-down cards (for a total of four cards to each player). The dealer sets the remainder of the deck near the center of the table as the stock pile. The card dealt face-up to the table during the deal sets the trump suit for the hand. That card, and all others of that same suit are part of the trump suit for the hand.

At any time after the dealer has dealt the face-up trump suit indicator to the table, and before seeing any of the cards in his face-down hand, the dealer may declare "Raub", which instantly makes him the declarer for that hand. In doing this, the dealer may later (see below) add the face-up trump card to his hand, and discard any other card from the hand, face-down to the side, in which it will not be used in further play of this hand. In doing this, however, the dealer is required to win at least two of the four tricks during this hand. Similarly, if the dealt trump card is any seven, the dealer may, before viewing any of card from his hand, he may declare "Stih". If he does this, he may also later, after the defenders round of bidding, elect to take the face-up trump card into his hand and discard any other card from the hand, out of play. In this particular case the dealer is required to win at least one trick during the hand.

If the dealer has not declared either "Raub" or "Stih", the players pick up the hands for examination and a round of bidding begins, starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer and continuing in a clockwise direction around the table. Each player in turn, has one of two options: Automatic Refa If every other player has passed and the bidding round comes to the dealer, he also has these same options, as well as one additional option. If the dealer elects to Pass, all the cards are thrown in and a new hand is dealt by the next dealer in turn. This is called a Refa, and causes all scoring on the next hand to be doubled. If the dealer calls "I Lead" he is set as the declarer and the game proceeds as normal. However, the dealer also has one additional option. If he elects, he may choose to draw a new card from the stock, setting this card as the trump suit. If this second card drawn is of the same suit as the first card he draws another card. If this third card is also of the same suit, this automatically results in a Refa and redeal by the next dealer. If the second (or as necessary, the third card) is of a different suit, a new round of bidding occurs, using this new suit as the trump suit for the hand. If all players again Pass (including the dealer), the cards are thrown in for a Refa. The dealer may not call a "Raub" or "Stih" on these second or third trump cards, and if all players pass on the newly drawn trump suit, a Refa automatically occurs.

Once a player declares "I Lead", the bidding for declarer ends, and the defenders then have another round of bidding in which they indicate their intentions during this game. This bidding also occurs in a clockwise direction, starting with the player to the immediate left of the player declaring "I Lead". The declarer, of course, does not bid as he has already been set as the declarer and must play the hand. The allowable calls during this second bidding round are as follows: If every player called Nejdem (pass), the declarer wins (and scores for) four tricks during the hand, with no additional play necessary.

After both rounds of bidding, each player who opted to play in this hand (including the declarer) may opt to discard from 1 to 4 cards from his hand and draw the same number of new cards from the face-down stock pile. A player is never required to discard any cards if he chooses not to. This discarding starts with the nearest active player to the dealer's left and continues in a clockwise direction. The dealer, in the event of a "Raub" or "Stih" then takes the exposed trump card and exchanges it for any other card currently found in his hand, setting that card face-down and out of play.

Once the bidding rounds have completed, the declarer plays the first card to the first trick. After the leader leads to a trick, each active player, in a clockwise direction around the table plays one card to the same trick.

The leader to a trick may play any card of choice still remaining in his hand to the trick. The subsequent players to the trick must play a card of the same suit as led to the trick if they have such a card. In addition, the player must attempt to win the trick with the card if able. If the player does not have a card of the suit led to that trick but does have a card of the trump suit, he must play such a card, and if possible, play a card in the trump suit higher than any other trump card previously played to that trick. If the player has no cards of the suit led and no cards in the trump suit, he may play any card of choice from his hand.

Each trick is won by the player of the highest card in the trump suit found in the trick. If the trick contains no cards in the trump suit, it is won by the highest card of the suit originally led to the trick. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.

Scoring examples in Raub Scoring: If the declarer for the round managed to win at least two tricks, that player is entitled to subtract one point for each trick he won during the hand. However, if the declarer wins one or fewer tricks during the hand he must add four points to his current ongoing total score. In the case of "Stih" call by the dealer, if he wins at least one trick, he is entitled to subtract one point for each trick won during the hand. If he wins no tricks during that hand he must add four points to his total. Each active defender can also add or subtract points during the hand. If a defender who opted to play the hand, manages to win at least one trick during the hand, that player may subtract one point for each trick won during the hand. If, however, that defender wins no tricks during the hand, he must add two points to his current total.

Additional Rules:

If any player's score is 9 or lower at the beginning of a hand, the current dealer may announce "Muss". He must do this, however, before turning up the trump card during that deal. In doing this, the dealer is set as the declarer and entitled to trade any card in his hand with the face-up trump card (which occurs after the dealer has the opportunity to draw replacement cards for his hand). In addition, each other player must remain in the game (no dropping from the hand). The dealer is required to win two or more tricks during the hand.

If the current dealer prefers not to be the dealer, he may simply pass the deck to the next player in proper order, with this resulting in an automatic Refa, doubling all scores added or subtracted on the next hand.

It is possible to have multiple Refas before a hand is played. In that case, each Refa will result in one upcoming normal hand having the score doubled. A Refa is indicated by drawing a horizontal line under each player's current score.

If an unintentional misdeal is performed, this also results in an automatic Refa. If an intentional misdeal is performed, this results in a Refa, and the misdealing player is forced to add four points to his current total.


The game continues until one or more players, at the end of a hand, manage to subtract enough points from their ongoing score to reach 0 or below. This (or these) players are declared the winner of the game.

Zwanzig: Zwanzig is another German game of the Rams family of games. Zwanzig is the German word for Twenty, which is the English word for this game. The game is sometimes also called "Zwanzig Ab" or "Twenty Down" and has recently grown significantly in popularity, particularly as played online. The game is traditionally played with the 32 card German suited pack, however, is such a pack is not at hand, it can be readily played with a standard French deck in which all cards lower then 7 have been removed. The ranking of the cards in this deck are as follows (from highest to lowest): Ace, 10, King, Queen, Jack, 9, 8, 7.

Zwanzig is designed for four players, each playing independently. At the start of the game, each player is set with a score of 20, and the object of the game is to be the first player to deplete his score to 0 or less. Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be determined using a number of methods, with draw for high cards the most common method. After each hand the deal rotates in a clockwise rotation around the table from player to player.

Initial deal in Zwanzig Once the cards have been shuffled and cut, the dealer then first deals a packet of two face-down cards to each player, starting with the player to his immediate left and continuing in a clockwise direction. Each player then picks up his initial two cards for examination. The player to the immediate left of the dealer (called the announcer) after reviewing his two cards must announce a trump suit of his choice. After this player makes his announcement of the trump suit for the hand, the dealer then deals another three-card packet face-down to each player starting with the player to his immediate right, such that each player ends up with a total of five cards.

After the deal, starting with the announcer, each player has one opportunity (but is not required) to exchange up to three cards from his hand for the same number of cards the dealer will provide from the top of the remaining stack. The cards to be replaced are set face-down out of play, no longer to be used during the current hand. The announcer has this first opportunity to so exchange cards, as does each player in a clockwise direction around the table.

After each player has this opportunity, in turn, to exchange cards (including the dealer), a round of bidding occurs in which each player indicates whether he will stay or drop from the hand. The player to the immediate left of the dealer (the announcer) must remain in the game, thus, this round of bidding continues from the immediate left of the announcer and continues in a clockwise direction around the table. Each player indicates whether he will Play in the hand or Drop. If a player elects to Drop, after stating this intention, he then places his cards, face-down to the side and no longer takes any further part during this hand. A special rule in this game is that, if the announcer announced diamonds as the trump suit for the hand, no player may elect to Drop from that hand. If all players except the original announcer drop from the hand, the announcer automatically wins all five tricks during the hand (and thus entitled to subtract the applicable number of points from his current score).

After the bidding round, play of the hand begins by all players who elected not to drop from the hand. The announcer in this hand plays the first card to the first trick, and each other active player, in a clockwise direction adds one card to the same trick.

The leader to a trick may play any card of choice from his hand to start the trick. Each subsequent player must then play a card of the suit originally led to the trick if he has one. If he has no such card, but has cards he must play a card from the trump suit to the trick. If he also has no cards from the trump suit, he may play any card remaining in his hand to the trick. The trick is thus won by the player of the highest card in the trump suit played to the trick. If the trick contains no cards of the trump suit, it is won by the player of the highest card of the suit led to that trick. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.

Special suits in Zwanzig After all five tricks have been played and won, scoring for the hand begins. Each player that dropped does not score in the round (either adding or subtracting points from his current total). Each player that did not drop from the hand is entitled to subtract one point from his score for each trick he managed to win during the hand. However, if a player did not drop from the hand and won zero tricks during that hand, he must add five points to his current ongoing score. If the suit of hearts was announced as the trump suit for the hand, each player is entitled to subtract two points per trick won on that hand, but a player failing to win any tricks on that hand (that did not elect to drop during the bidding on that hand) adds ten points to his current score.

The game continues in this manner for the first eight hands. However, on the ninth and subsequent hands, the announcer does not declare the trump suit for the hand (but is still not allowed to drop from that hand) and Hearts is always set as the trump suit for the hand (which also doubles all scoring for those hands).

If, at the end of any hand, one or more players have managed to reduce his score to 0 or fewer points the game ends. The player with the smallest (or highest negative) score is declared the game winner.

Fünf dazu!: Fünf dazu! (German for Five to it!) is a game of the Ramsen family which is played somewhat similarly to Zwanzig. It uses the same 32 card deck as does that game, but is designed for 2 to 4 players.

Before the game begins, each player is provided a score of 15, and during the course of the game, over multiple hands, players attempt to deplete this number to zero or less.

During the deal, each player is dealt five total cards and the remaining cards are set to the side and not used for the remainder of that hand. There is no trump suit used in Fünf dazu! and thus no announcer. The player to the left of the dealer plays the first card to the first trick.

The leader to a trick may play any card from his hand to start the trick. Each other player, in a clockwise direction then plays one card to the trick, in turn. If the player has a card of the same suit as led to the trick, he must play it. Furthermore, if the player can play a card which would win the trick, as it currently stands, he must so play that card.

After each player has played one card to the trick, it is determined who won the trick. The player of the highest card in the suit originally led to the trick wins it. The cards from the trick are set aside out of play. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.

Each player is entitled to subtract from his current score, at the end of the hand, a total equal to the number of tricks won during that hand. However, if the player won zero tricks during that hand, he must instead add five points to his current ongoing score.

The first player to reduce his ongoing score to zero or less is declared the winner. If multiple players manage this on the same hand, the player with the lowest score is declared the game winner.

Example card ranking in Bohemian Watten Bohemian Watten: Bohemian Watten is another game which plays similarly to Zwanzig but which also has a number of features which make it a significantly different game as well. Bohemian Watten uses the 32 card German suited pack. However, if such a deck is not at hand, a standard French deck can be used with all cards lower than rank 7 removed. Bohemian Watten can be played by 2, 3, or 4 players, and each player plays independently (no partnerships). At the start of the game each player is given a score of 20 points, and during the course of the game the players attempt to subtract points from this score to be the first player to manage to drop their score to exactly 0 points. Although the game includes "Watten" in the name, the game is more related to the Ramsen family of games than it is to Watten, although it also has certain features reminiscent of games of the Watten family as well. This game is also played under the names Bohemian Ramsen, Hudln, Böhmisch Watten, and Kuddeln.

One of the unique features of Bohemian Watten is that this game features both a trump suit AND a trump rank (the cards in the trump rank are called the strikers). Thus, the ranking of the cards in this game is as follows: To start each hand, each player is dealt a hand consisting of five total cards. First, a packet of three face-down cards is dealt to each player and then a packet of two such face-down cards to each player. However, after every player has received his packet of three cards, the next card in the deck is dealt face-up to the center of the table. The suit of this card sets the trump suit for the hand and the rank of that card sets the trump rank for the hand. For example if the ten of diamonds was dealt, the trump suit for the hand would be diamonds, and the trump rank for the hand would be 10. The remainder of the deck is then set in a face-down pile in the center of the table as the talon. Starting with the forehand player (player to dealer's immediate left), each player has the option to exchange up to three cards from the hand, discarding these cards to the side and being dealt an equal number of replacement cards from the deck by the dealer. The dealer has this same option (after the other players have exchanged cards if wanted), however his options are slightly different. He can exchange any one card from his hand for the exposed trump suit/rank card and also may exchange two other cards from his original hand with the talon as normal. All exchanges cards are set aside, face-down and out of play.

After each player has had the option to exchange cards, if they prefer, play of the hand can begin, with the forehand player leading the first card to the first trick.

The leader to each trick can play any card from his hand to start the trick. Each other player, in a clockwise direction around the table then also plays one card to that same trick. In playing to an existing trick, if a player has a card of the same suit as led to the suit, they must play it. If they have no such card, the player may play a card of any suit, including from the trump suit or trump rank. In addition, if a player can win the trick as it currently stands, with a legal play from their hand, they must attempt to play such as to win that trick. Each trick is won by the player of the highest card from the trump suit played to that trick. If the trick contains no cards from the trump suit, the trick is won by the player of the highest card in the suit originally led to that trick. The winner of each tick leads the first card to the next trick.

At the end of each hand, each player is entitled to subtract one point from his ongoing score for each trick he has won during the game. If a player does not manage to win any tricks during the hand, he must instead add five points to his current, ongoing score. If the suit of hearts ends up becoming the trump suit for the hand, all scores are doubled for that hand. If any player, at the end of a hand manages to bring his score to exactly zero, he is immediately declared the winner. If a player reduces his score below zero, any points that player would have been entitled to subtract from his score are then added to his score after he reaches zero in that point count.

Schnalzen: A 33 card deck is used for Schnalzen Schanalzen is a game of the Ramsen family which is played similarly to Bohemian Watten and is common in numerous states within the country of Austria and has also recently spread to some areas of Germany. Schnalzen is specifically designed for play by 4 participants. It is traditionally played with the German suited deck, but a regular deck can also be used if such a German deck is not available. The game thus uses this 32 card German pack with the addition of one more card, the WELI. In the German deck, the six of bells (diamonds) is often used to represent this WELI with this card set as a permanent member of the designated trump suit for each hand. The ranking of the cards in the deck used for this game is as follows, from highest to lowest; Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7. The WELI is considered the second highest card in the game regardless of which suit ends up as the trump suit for the hand. Schnalzen is designed for play by four players, each playing independently.

The game begins with each player having a score of 20. Throughout play of the game, the players attempt to be the first to decrease that score to a value of zero or less.

Once the players are seated and the first dealer selected, the dealer thoroughly shuffles the deck and offers it to the player at his right to cut. After the cut, the dealer then deals the cards, first dealing a packet of three cards to each player and then a packet of two. These cards are dealt face down, and are dealt in a clockwise direction around the table starting with the player at his left. However, after the dealer deals out the initial packet of three cards to each player, and before dealing the two card packets, he deals the next card from the stock face-up to the center of the table. The suit of the card so dealt determines the trump suit to be used for that hand. If the WELI is the card so exposed, no trump suit is used for that particular hand. If the exposed trump card is any 10, players may not drop from this hand (see below).

After the deal, each player then, after examining his hand, in a clockwise direction starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer, than announces whether they intend to play or drop ("stay at home"). If a player elects to "stay at home" one point is automatically added to that players current score, however the player does not run the risk of earning additional penalty points during that hand. The dealer may never drop from the hand, and if the exposed trump suit was of rank 10, no players may elect to drop from that hand. A player may also not drop if his current score is five or less. If all players save the dealer drop from a hand, the dealer automatically is entitled to subtract five points from his current score.

Once each player has had the opportunity to play or drop, play of the hand begins. The player to the immediate left of the dealer plays the first card to the first trick.

In leading to a trick, a player may play any card still remaining in his hand to that trick. Each other player, in a clockwise direction from the leader to the trick then plays one card to the trick as well. If the player has a card of the same suit as led to the trick he must play it. If he has no such card, he may play any card from his hand to the trick, including a card of the trump suit.

Once each player has played a card to the trick, it is determined who has won the trick. If the trick contains any cards from the trump suit, the highest such card in the trump suit wins the trick. If the trick does not contain any cards from the trump suit, the highest card of the suit originally led to that trick wins the trick. The winner of each trick leads the first card to start the next trick.

After all five tricks have been played and won, scoring for the hand occurs. Each player is entitled to subtract one point from his current ongoing score for each trick won during the hand. However, if one player manages to win every trick during a hand, that player is entitled to subtract ten points from their score, and each other player (that did not drop during that hand), must add ten points to their score. In a hand in which more than one player won at least one trick, a player who elected to play but did not manage to win at least one trick during that hand must add 10 points to his current ongoing score.

If, at the end of any hand, a player manages to decrease his ongoing score to zero or less, that player is declared the game winner. If two or more players manage to so bring their score to zero or less, the player who has the current lowest score is considered the game winner.

Mulatschak: Mulatschak is another game of the Ramsen family which is very commonly played in Austria. The game is also known as Fuchzenawa which translates to "Fifteen Down" in Hungarian. Mulatschak is played by four players, each playing independently. The game is traditionally played using a 36 card German suited deck. If such a deck is not at hand, a standard French deck can also be used. The ranking of the cards in this deck are as follows (from highest to lowest): Ace (Sow), King, Ober (Queen), Unter (Jack), 10, 9, 8, 7, 6. The WELI, which is the six of bells (diamonds), is considered a permanent member of the trump suit. Thus, if any other suit (other than bells) is set as the trump suit, the suit of bells will only contain 8 cards, while the other suits will each have 9, as the WELI will be set as the lowest card in the trump suit (whatever suit is determined as trump for the hand). At the start of each game, every player is provided with a score of 15 points which he tried to decrease over the course of several hands to zero or less.

After the players have been seated and the first dealer selected, the dealer thoroughly shuffles the cards and offers the pack to the player at his immediate right to cut. After the cut, this player may look at the bottom card from the top packet of the cut. If this card is the WELI, he may (but is not required to) take this card, adding it to his hand. If he does so, he must show the card to the other players before so adding it to his hand. If the card is not the WELI, the player does not take the card nor show it to the other players, simply completing the cut as normal. After the cut, the dealer then begins dealing the cards in a clockwise direction around the table starting with the player at his immediate left. He first deals a face-down packet of three cards to each player, followed then by a two card packet. If the cutter had taken the WELI, that player only receives two cards in the first round of dealing such that he ends with the same number of total cards (5) as the other players. After the deal, the players then pick up their cards and examine them. If any player finds that his hand contains no cards of rank King, Queen, or Jack, he may (but is not required to) announce this (called a whiteout) and all the cards are thrown in with no scoring for the hand. The same dealer deals again, however, all scoring for the next hand is worth twice the number of points.

After the deal, there is then one round of bidding. Each player, starting with the player to the left of the dealer, makes a bid of the specific number of tricks he plans to win during the hand (from 0 to 5). Each player, in a clockwise direction around the table must make a higher bid than the previous player or pass. The dealer, however, who will be the last player to bid, is not required to make a higher bid than the current high bid and may simply say "hold" which indicates he bids a number equal to the current highest bid. A player, during his turn to bid may also bid "Mulatschak" which is a bid to win all five tricks with no exchanging of cards (for that player). The player making the highest bid (with Mulatschak set as the highest bid), or the dealer if he elected to hold (tied with the previous highest bid) is the winner of the bidding (the "Declarer") and announces the trump suit to be used for the hand.

Exchanging three cards in Mulatschak Before play of the hand, a round of exchanging then begins. The declarer has the first option to exchange. He may exchange from one to five cards. He places these cards face-down on the table in a row. The dealer then deals an equal number of cards from the stock face-up on the table in front of that player, in front of each discarded card. That player then has the choice to either take the newly dealt card or take the original card as part of his hand. If the card dealt-face up ("on sight") is any card from the announced trump suit, he may take this card, and a new face-up card is dealt to replace it. If this card is yet another card from the trump suit, he may take that card as well, continuing until he has five cards in his hand, elects not to take the card of the trump suit, or the card taken is not a card from the trump-suit. He repeats this procedure for each card discarded. The cards exchanged for are set aside ad out of play. After the dealer has so completed his exchange, the remaining players, in a clockwise direction from the declarer, then each announce whether they intend to play the hand or "Stay at home" (Pass). If the player elects to "play", the player may also, if any cards remain in the stock, discard a number of cards up to the total number exchanged by the dealer or the total number of cards remaining in the stock, whichever is smaller. If a player has 3 or fewer points remaining in his hand, he may not exchange any cards. If a player drops, the cards from his hand are discarded to the side, out of play, and that player takes no further part of play, and must add one point to his current ongoing score. However that player also does not risk losing points during this hand. A player may never elect to pass if any player has bid Multaschack, that player has five or fewer points, or the trump suit selected for the hand is hearts. If all other players pass, the dealer automatically wins the hand, entitled to subtract 5 points from his current ongoing score.

The declarer then starts play by playing any card from his hand as lead to the first trick. The leader to a trick may play any card of choice from his hand. Each other player in turn, in a clockwise direction then plays one card of choice remaining in their hand. If that player has a card of the suit led to the trick he must play it, and if he has a card in that suit that can win the trick, in it's current state he must play that card. If he has no card in the suit led to the trick, but had a card of the trump suit he must play that if he has a card in the trump suit that could currently win the trick. If the player has no cards in the suit led to the trick, and no cards in the trump suit that could win the trick, he may play any other card from his hand.

After each player has played a card to the trick, it is determined who has won the trick. The highest card of the trump suit played to the trick is the winner of that trick. If there are no cards of the trump suit in the trick, the trick is won by the player of the highest card played to the trick in the suit originally led to that trick. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.

After all five tricks have been played and won, scoring for the hand occurs. Each player is entitled to subtract from his current ongoing score a number of points equal to the number of tricks he won during that hand. If a player bid and made Mulatschak, that player is entitled to subtract 10 points from his current ongoing score. If a player bid Mulatschak but failed to win all five tricks, that player must add 10 points to his current score, and each other player is entitled to subtract 10 points from their score. If the declarer failed to win at least as many tricks as bid, he must add 10 points to his current ongoing score. If a player that participated in the hand wins 0 tricks during the hand, that player must add 5 points to his current ongoing score. As noted previously, if the selected trump suit is hearts, all scoring for the hand is doubled.

The game continues over the course of several hands until one or more player manages to reduce their score to zero accumulated points or less. At that time the player with the lowest score (zero or a negative score) is declared the game winner.

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