[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Re: Games of Volhynian Germans

[Stephen H Karlson]

Yes, it's astonishing how complicated a game you don't play with a full
deck can be.  There is a five-player game in which two players (who do not
know who they are until one picks up the blind) play as partner against
the other three; there is also a three player version in which the picker
plays against the other two.  And if nobody picks up ...

Queens, jacks, and diamonds are trump.

The game is very popular in Wisconsin

> If my husband, Gary, was reading this on the listserv he would have
> immediately written you all to say that his Dad, Fred Less, and many of the Volhyhian
> relatives (mostly the men) were always playing a game called Schafkopf
> (Sheepshead) when the family got together.  They were all good Lutherans but this
> never seemed to stop them from enjoying this particular game at family reunions,
> picnics and so on.  Whenever the Less-es played we women would always hear loud
> shouts at times when a winner made it - whatever.  At times they didn't even
> take time to come upstairs to eat (they played in a basement when inside).
>
> You can obtain the rules on a website by calling up Sheepshead.  At least
> that was what Gary did when this discussion was hot and heavy on the Ger-Rus
> website in 1996 about games our ancestors played.  The "Sheepshead"  website
> called this a "very cool card game similar to both pinochle and euchre.  It has a
> challenging rule system, the game rewards those diligent enough to learn it.
> (Gary said he never did learn how to play it so let his immigrant cousins,
> uncle and his Dad enjoy it.  He just watched.  His Dad arrived in the States in
> 1903 and cousins later in the 1920's as adults.  So they would have had to know
> all about it when living in Volhynia)
>
> It is a five-player game, using a thirty-two card deck containing the seven,
> eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, king and ace in each of the four suits.  One
> needs a pen and paper for scoring purposes.  More details on the website.
> Anyway, I do not know if this was a typical game from Volhynia but the website
> describing the game says it is an old German card game developed by shepherds very
> long ago.
>
> Look it up and try it.  Maybe it could be iintroduced at our next SGGEE
> convention!?!

Stephen Karlson               skarlson at niu.edu                 *-- 154393
(researching Stankevitz, Kalbes and variants, Samsell)