Schafkopf
BGG rank
BGG #5,207
BGG rating
7.4

Schafkopf

1780

Rules assistance for Schafkopf

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

  • 4 players
  • 30 min
  • 7+
  • Complexity 2.8/5

For 4 players

Rules assistant for Schafkopf

What would you like to know?

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

Schafkopf is a board game released in 1780 for 4 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 7 and up. Its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, Team-Based Game, and Communication Limits.

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About the game

Traditional German card game played with a Bavarian 32 card deck. Similar to Skat but simpler bidding and scoring rules. Can also be played with a traditional French-suited 52 card deck by removing the 2-6 of each suit. Players either play in teams ("I'll play with the Ace of Leaves"), or one player decides to play a solo (worth more points) against the other 3 players. Typically played for money. Sheepshead The Americanized version is known as Sheepshead. This is one of the few traditional card games with a hidden partner. There are two well known variants with devotees of each. Jack of Diamonds is a random partner method where the picker receives a partner without needing to call or lead a suit. The picker can still choose to "go it alone", but needs to declare before the hand begins. In Called Ace, the picker calls out a suit before the hand begins. Who ever has the ace of the called suit becomes the partner and can play appropriately. However, when the called suit is lead both the picker and the partner must play the called suit. Because of this the picker can only call a non-trump suit they have in their hand. A large glossary of terms accompanies the game. Terms like smear, leaster, schneider, burying the called suit/ace, etc. Yahoo games includes free online play for those interested in learning the game.

Categories

Publishers

  • (Unknown)
  • ASS Altenburger Spielkarten
  • Piatnik
  • F.X. Schmid
  • (Public Domain)
  • Berliner Spielkarten
  • Pelikan
  • Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag

Questions and answers

Schafkopf 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.