Kaiser
BGG rank
BGG #16,971
BGG rating
6.8

Kaiser

1965

Rules assistance for Kaiser

Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

  • 4 players
  • 60 min
  • Complexity 1.8/5

For 4 players

Rules assistant for Kaiser

What would you like to know?

Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.

Kaiser is a board game released in 1965 for 4 players and 60 minutes per game. Its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, Team-Based Game, and Trick-taking.

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About the game

Kaiser is a Canadian trick-taking card game for four played in partnerships. The game uses a 32-card French-suited deck with a tweaked distribution: AKQJT98 in all suits, plus 7♣, 7♦, 5♥, and 3♠. Bids are made for how many tricks will be taken, and the winner names the trump suit. Points are added or subtracted depending on whether the bid is made. Each trick is worth a point. Winning the 5♥ or 3♠ is worth +5 or -3, respectively. The game has been around for at least 40 years and it is often believed that it has its origins in the Ukrainian culture, possibly being brought over by immigrants to Canada. The Pagat database and newer research indicate that it was introduced in the 1920s or 1930s and is a version of the traditional card-games Three-spot and Troika, but was re-named with the influence of the card game Joffre that was originally called "Shoo le Kaiser". Re-implementation of: Joffre Lost Heir (Kaiser has absolutely no connection with the ancient Swiss card game called Kaiserspiel or Kaiserjass.)

Categories

Publishers

  • (Public Domain)
  • The United States Playing Card Company

Questions and answers

Kaiser supports 4 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.