Bauernschnopsn — Bauernschnapsen Online

Bauernschnapsen is the four-handed version of Schnapsen, the Austrian pub classic. Two teams of two sit facing each other and play a twenty-card pack — Ace, Ten, King, Ober and Unter in four suits, worth 11, 10, 4, 3 and 2 card points, 120 in all. Everyone is dealt five cards, one player names the trump suit, and the first side to 66 card points wins the deal. What makes Bauernschnapsen a game of its own is the ladder of announcements above the ordinary deal: a Schnapser, a Gang, a Zehnerloch, a Bauernschnapser, a Bettler, a Farbengang or a Herrenschnapser — each a bolder promise, each worth more, and each one the other side can double with a Kontra. Bauernschnopsn brings all of it to your phone for free, with the doppeldeutsch cards you know from the table at home or a French pack if you prefer that, in public and private rooms or on your own in training. There is a three-handed version too, where one soloist takes on the other two and picks up a two-card talon.

Also known as: Bauernschnopsn, Bauernschnapser, Schnapsen zu viert, Viererschnapsen, Schnapsen for four, Austrian team Schnapsen, Schnapser

Features

• Free to play — free to download, free to play, with credits topped up every day.
• Four-handed Bauernschnapsen — you and your partner against the other two.
• Three-handed Bauernschnapsen — one soloist against two opponents, with a two-card talon.
• The whole ladder of calls — Kontra, Schnapser, Gang, Zehnerloch, Bauernschnapser, Bettler, Ass Bettler, Farbengang and Herrenschnapser, plus Kontraschnapser and Kontrabauernschnapser in the three-handed game.
• Online multiplayer — public rooms put you at a table with real players in seconds.
• Private rooms — set up a table for your own circle.
• Training — play a hand on your own, at your own pace.
• Doppeldeutsch or French cards — the Austrian pack from the pub table, or the international one.
• Three tables — green felt, blue cloth or wood.
• Sort your hand by suit or by value.
• Chat and emojis at the table.

How to play

1. The pack. Bauernschnapsen is played with twenty cards: Ace, Ten, King, Ober and Unter in four suits, worth 11, 10, 4, 3 and 2 card points — 120 points in all.
2. The teams. Four players form two teams of two, sitting opposite each other, so your partner is the player across the table. In the three-handed game one soloist plays alone against the other two.
3. Trump. Every player is dealt five cards and one player names the trump suit. Trumps beat every other suit.
4. Following suit. You must follow the suit that was led. If you cannot, you must play a trump, and whenever you are able to you also have to beat the highest card already on the table.
5. Marriages. King and Ober of the same suit — the Queen in the French pack — are worth 20 points together, or 40 in trumps. You announce one by leading either of the two cards.
6. Winning the deal. The side that reaches 66 card points first wins it, and what it is worth depends on the losers: 1 point if they reached 33 or more, 2 if they stayed under 33, 3 if they took no trick at all. If nobody reaches 66, the winner of the last trick scores 1 point.
7. Announcements. Instead of the ordinary deal a player can announce a stronger contract, and a higher announcement — or a Kontra from the opposing team — multiplies the stake.
8. Schnapser. Reach 66 points inside your first three tricks (four in the three-handed game) while the opponents win no trick at all. A Kontraschnapser is the same goal announced by the other side, with the trump caller leading the first card.
9. Winning every trick. A Gang takes all five tricks without trump, a Bauernschnapser does the same with trump, and a Zehnerloch does it without trump but with the Ten ranking as the highest card and the Ace as the lowest. A Farbengang means you hold five cards of one suit, a Herrenschnapser that you hold all five trumps.
10. Bettler. The opposite promise: lose every single trick, with no trump in play. An Ass Bettler is the same while you also hold an Ace, which is harder. In the four-handed game your partner sits the hand out.
11. What the calls are worth. Bettler 4, Ass Bettler 5, Schnapser 6, Gang 9, Zehnerloch 10, Bauernschnapser 12, Kontraschnapser 12, Farbengang 18, Herrenschnapser 24, Kontrabauernschnapser 24.

Frequently asked questions