Rosbiratschka
 The suit of Leaves in a William Tell pattern German-suited pack | |
| Origin | Germany |
|---|---|
| Type | Trick-taking |
| Players | 3 or 4 |
| Cards | 24 or 32 |
| Deck | German pack |
| Rank (high→low) | A K O U 10 9 8 7 |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Playing time | 30 minutes |
| Related games | |
| Quodlibet, Rumpel, Herzeln, Kein Stich, Barbu | |
Rosbiratschka is a trick-taking card game for three or four players that is played with a German-suited pack of 32 or 24 cards.
Aim
A full game involves a partie of six different contracts and the aim is to score as few penalty points as possible.
Rule for four players
A 32-card pack is used with German suits i.e. Acorns, Leaves, Hearts and Bells. The ranking of the cards in each suit is Ace, King, Ober, Unter, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven. Each player is dealt 8 cards. The player to the left of the dealer (forehand) leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit (Farbzwang) and the highest card wins the trick. If suit cannot be followed, a player may discard a card of his choice. Six individual contracts are played:
No Tricks!
In No Tricks! (Keinen Stich!) each player attempts to avoid taking any tricks as in the game of Ramsch. Every trick taken scores one penalty point. If a player takes no tricks, each trick counts 2 points. If a player takes all 8 trick (Durchmarsch i.e. 'slam'), he receives 8 minus points.
No Hearts!
In No Hearts! (Keine Herzen!) each player aims to take as few Heart cards as possible in his tricks. Each Heart card taken scores a penalty point. If a player takes no Hearts at all, each Heart card counts 2 penalty points. If a player gets all the Heart cards, he scores 8 minus points.
No Unters!
In No Unters! (Keine Unter!) each player aims to take as few Unters in his tricks as possible. For every Unter captured, 2 penalty points are scored. If a player has no Unters, then each Unter is worth four penalty points. If a player gets all 4 Unters, he receives 8 minus points.
No King of Hearts!
In No King of Hearts! (Achtung, Herz-König! i.e. "Beware the King of Hearts") each player tries not to capture the King of Hearts. If the King of Hearts is player, the deal ends and the player who has captured him receives 8 penalty points.
Hundred!
In Hundred! (Hundert!) the aim is play cards so as not to be the first to exceed a given number. For this purpose the cards count as follows: Ace 11, King 4, Ober 3, Unter 2, Ten 10, Nine 0, Eight 0, Seven 0. Everyone lays a card in the middle and counts its collective value aloud e.g. "Ten, 10!" "Ace 21!" etc. Whoever is the first to exceed 25 gets a penalty point, whoever is first to exceed 50 gets 2 penalty points and whoever is first to exceed 100 receives 5 penalty points.
Rosbiratschka!
Rosbiratschka! involves melding and laying off cards to the table. Forehand must lead with an Unter. If he does not have one, the next player must lead and so on until someone is able to meld an Unter. As soon as an Unter is melded, the next player must lay off a card of the same suit that ranks one above or below it. If a player is unable to do this, he must meld another Unter. If a player cannot meld or lay off a card, he says "pass!". When just one player is left with cards in his hand the others shout "Rosbiratschka! and the player receives 8 penalty points.
Rules for three players
The rules only vary in that, before the game, all the Sevens and Eights are removed from the pack.
Literature
- Rosbiratschka. In: Spielkartenfabrik Altenburg (publ.): Erweitertes Spielregelbüchlein aus Altenburg, Verlag Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik, Leipzig, 1983, pp. 173ff
- Manuela Berthold (2014-03-01). "Die tollen Sechs". Neues Deutschland. Retrieved 2015-01-01.