Binoculars

Binocle (also Binocle , in the USA Pinochle , Swabian: Benogl ) is a regional card game from the Württemberg region and is therefore usually played with a Württemberg hand . It can be played with 2 to 8 players. Mostly it is played by three or four people. In a three-player game, everyone plays against each other, while in a game of four, two parties can be formed, with the players sitting opposite each other playing together (cross binoculars). Two parties are also formed in a game of six, so there are three parties.

Binoculars come from the family of trickling games . In contrast to other trickery games, special card combinations (family, 4 of a kind, etc.) give additional points. After the deal, the dabb (stack of undistributed cards, see Skat) is bid. The irritation values are the eyes of the expected stings and reporting images. The party that bid the highest must then also win the game, i.e. receive more points from tricks and reported pieces than they bid.

origin

The game emerged from the French card games Bézique and Cinq-Cents . It is also played in the United States, where it is known as Pinochle and has different rules or 2 times 32 cards of the French hand instead of 2 times 20 or 24 cards of the German hand.

The name probably comes from the Italian bin oculi (= two eyes) because a double hand is played.

cards

Cards are used for the game, which are called Gaigel / Binokel in trade and contain a double set of playing cards . The designation of the game colors varies regionally and is typically called acorn (cross ), scoop (leaf, spade , green, grass, foliage) , heart and bells (bolls, diamonds ) . The card values in descending order are called: sow (old, ace), tens, king, upper (queen), lower (jack) and mostly sevens (empty, nixle, dis) . However, the binoculars can be played without a “seventh”, unlike the Gaigeln.

Stabbing power

The ranking of the card values is always the same within the four colors : Daus ( ace , old , pig )> tens> king > upper > lower > sevens

Hierarchy of card values
Württemberg colors
Acorn	leaf	heart	Ring
A 10 K O U 7	A 10 K O U 7	A 10 K O U 7	A 10 K O U 7
French colors
cross	Spades	heart	Diamonds
A 10 K D B 7	A 10 K D B 7	A 10 K D B 7	A 10 K D B 7

Since every playing card is available twice, the one of two identical cards that was played first in a trick generally wins. If, for example, both acorn aces fall in one trick, the trick belongs to the player who played his acorn ace first (provided that nobody has trumped).

regulate

There are some local peculiarities in the card game played across different regions and borders. There are clear differences in the rules in particular for:

Order of priority when playing (trick or trump requirement )
Who comes out ; see Special Games
Special Games score
Playing with and without shouting

Course of the game

Give

Binoculars can be played with or without sevens, whereby 48 or 40 cards are played. The respective number of cards per player and in the so-called dabb is (number of cards: player / dabb ):

Number of players	3	4th	5	6th	8th
without sevens (40 cards)	12/4	9/4	7/5	-	-
with sevens (48 cards)	14/6; 15/3; 16/0	11/4	9/3	7/6	6/0

A game of five is conceivable, but is usually rejected.

It is given in a counterclockwise direction ( So, wia mân'd Baggâ nââschleed. So, like you miss a slap in the face.) To all players and the covered dabb on the table. Due to the different game options (three / four, with / without sevens), no exact number of cards to be dealt one after the other is specified. The only important thing here is that the dabb is neither the first nor the last. With 3 players with 40 cards typically: 4 (to the 3 players) - 2 (in the Dabb) - 4 (players) - 2 (Dabb) - 4 (players).

Usually the deck of cards is held out to the player to the left of the dealer so that he can withdraw cards. This is done to make sure there was no cheating in the mix. Instead of taking off, the player can also knock . The dealer must then deal all cards to the players and to the dabb in one go. The dabb must not be put down as the last one.

Stimulating

In the first phase of the game, the dabb (the face-down cards on the table) is bid ("raised"). You try to estimate how many eyes (points) you will at least achieve by reporting and playing. The aim of the provocation (as Increase called) is the game to get, d. H. Record the dabb and announce the trump suit.

The player starts right from the donor to the stimuli (is front ) and screams his right neighbor to . This then typically responds with a stimulus 10 eyes higher and the first increases again until one of the two says away (not like in Skat , where one screams and the other only hears!). After that, the giver can also bid if he wants / can. In the case of the Kreuzbinokel, after the first one is gone , the game partner continues to bid. At the end of the game, you have to bid with your own playing partner, whereby an agreement should be reached as quickly as possible in your own interest. In some regions the bidding is strictly counter-clockwise, so that your playing partner is yelled at before the second opponent.

The stimulus is noted to prevent future disputes.

Then the dabb is revealed for all to see and whoever has the game picks it up.

Going off

If the person who stimulated the most does not see any possibility of achieving his stimulus even after taking up the dabb , he can leave . When it comes to the cross binoculars, it is important to weigh up how much your partner can report before you leave or dare to play. It is not allowed to ask the partner if he can report something. The player chooses the trump suit, in which he depart wants (z. B. "Ab in shoveling"), and notify the same time revealing his cards (not mandatory) with.

Regulations for reporting:

For each player, 10 points are added to what is reported (e.g. 40 with 4 players).
The player who has left (and also his teammate in the case of the crossed binoculars) is not allowed to report and leaves / leaves the number of auctioned points; thus its appeal is simply subtracted from its score.

Example: Ab in Schellen (Swabian: I gang ab en Schellâ ).

For the other players this means that bells would have been trump card in the game. The opponents can still report and get another 30 with 3 players . With 4 players there are 40 with , etc.

To press

The one in the game (playmaker) must, before determining the same number of recorded cards from the Dabb again press (Swabian drugga ) to get the same number of cards as his teammates. If this is forgotten or if the wrong number of cards is pressed, the game is lost. In this case the player goes twice (double the bid value is deducted from the score). This is also the case if a reported card was accidentally pressed .

Special rules when pressing: The dissle (trump sevens) may be reported and pressed. However, the player must inform the other players. In part, when the player presses cards of the trump suit, he also has to say how many trump cards he has pressed.

Call

Whoever has the game can call out a card that is still missing . The card must then be given to him by the owner, who receives another card from the caller's possession. However, this rule variant is only used very rarely. In the case of a game for two, where cards can still be drawn from a supply pile during the game , there is no calling in any case, as the called card can still be in the pile (see below)

Report

The player who has the game (bid the dabb) reports first and on this turn also indicates the trump suit.

Combinations

Combinations that make up part of the achievable points are now reported . The following messages are possible:

Binoculars (bells-under and shovel-upper) 40 points; double binoculars also called "Dreihunder" or "Karle" (two bells-under and two shovel-upper) 300 points.
Four of a kind (one card of the same value of each suit): four aces are worth 100, four kings 80, four over 60 and four under 40 points. The tens or sevens do not count here.
Eight of a kind (two cards of the same value of each suit) always counts 1,000 points. Whether the tens and sevens count is handled differently from region to region.
A family is all five different card values of the same suit except the sevens. The family counts 100 points, with Trumpf 150 points. The pair of king and waiter contained therein cannot be reported additionally.
A double family is all 10 cards of the same suit except the sevens and is worth 1500 points.
King and Ober of a suit form a pair ( â Bärle ) and give 20 points, with trump 40 points.
The stocking sevens , the DISS (of French. Dix = Ten) is called, is 10 points.

Cards can also be used multiple times for reports: With a Schippen-Ober, a Schippen-König and a Schellen-Unter, for example, a binoculars and a pair of Schippen can be reported. This means that four of a kind , one of which is part of a family , can be reported. On the other hand, with a single superior or king, no pair can be formed with the cards of a family , just as one cannot, for example, report two pairs with a king and two superiors of one color .

The reported points only count if at least one trick has been taken!

tour

If you have a pair of each color, you can report a so-called tour. It is not a real combination, so there are no special points for it, in contrast to other combinations such as the double binoculars (two single binoculars give 80 <300). However, the experienced player automatically knows that there are 240 points for the tour: four kings give 80, four upper give 60 and the trump pair and the three other pairs give 100. If a family is reported at the same time as the tour, the tour counts only 200 points, since the couple made up of a king and a waiter in the family are already valued with the family. (In another version of the rule, the tour always gives 250 points, regardless of whether it is connected to a family or not.)

Play off

After reporting, the game is played and tricks are taken. As with bidding, the game is played counter-clockwise. The one who started the bidding starts , only not in the special games through and through ( begging ); see also there.

The following applies in descending order:

Compulsory color: The displayed color must be used.
Compulsion to stab: whoever can, has to stab; d. H. place a higher card than has already been played.
Mandatory trump: If the led suit cannot be used, trump must be played.
Z'erschd g'schbielt, z'erschd g'schdochâ (first played, first taken): If cards are of the same value, the first played wins.

A trump card automatically tricks all cards of the other suits.

Trumps and trumps are essential differences to Skat and Schafkopf / Doppelkopf.

Special features when playing for two

In a two-player game, not all cards are dealt; Dabb is also omitted. The remaining cards are placed face down on a pile from which each player draws a replacement card for each card played . Thus, except for the final phase, the players always have the same number of cards in hand. Dapp and shouting are omitted; A report can also be made during the game, as some card combinations can only result from drawing missing cards.

counting

In the fourth phase, the number of stitches achieved is counted. Whoever takes the last trick receives 10 points extra. The count values achieved can be rounded up to the next 10 digit from 5 eyes or down to 4 eyes. If you round up or down, this rule counts for all games. In the case of the cross binoculars, the points of the two partners add up (it is therefore advisable to only make one pile for the cards per team in the game).

It is also checked whether the playmaker has reached the bidding value with the sum of the reported points and the points from the game (every eye counts!). If the bid value has not been reached, the playmaker declines twice the bid value or increases the bid value by 100 and his reported points expire.

If you write down the score, which is common in a normal game, players can also go into the red ("go downhill") by losing games (including going away). So the score 0 is just the starting condition for everyone, not a lower limit. The game only ends when a player has reached the agreed number of points, e.g. B. 1500, has reached or exceeded; It doesn't matter how many points (or minus points) other players have.

values

The eye values when counting correspond in their traditional form to those which are also used in many other card games, e.g. B. Skat , can be found. However, for the sake of simplicity, other counting methods are also used in which only the most valuable cards are counted. With the 10 eyes for the last stitch, however, there are always 250 eyes.

An overview of the points for the most common counting variants:

Aces	Tens	king	Upper	Under	Sevens
11	10	4th	3	2	0
10	10	10	0	0	0
10	10	5	5	0	0
15th	15th	0	0	0	0

When writing down, there are different options, whether the results are noted down to the point or rounded to ten and added together. This must be agreed among the players before starting.

Special games

Special game variants are through or through (begging) . They are not common or recognized everywhere and are written down separately.

The through (d'r Obârom)

The aim of the game is to take all the tricks. A trump color is neither chosen nor reported and whoever has the game starts ( comes out ). Depending on the region, the color of the first card played is also determined as the trump color.

The through played counts 1,000 points and laid up (i.e. the end of the game puts his cards face up on the table before the 1st trick because it is clear that no trick is lost) 1,500 points. The rarest form is the hand applied through . This is a put through that is played directly without revealing the dabb. He has 2,000 eyes. However, there are also other, region-dependent, similar points of the through.

The underneath / Bettel (d'r Onnârom / d'r Ondârom (regional))

The aim of the card game is not to take a trick. No trump suit is chosen or reported, and depending on the area, either the one who has the game or the one who is ahead starts . Depending on the region, the begging counts 1,000, 1,500 or 500 eyes. However, the "bottom through rule" is not very common, as the probability of a bottom is much lower than that of a through.

When it comes down to it, there is still a compulsion to stab: if you can, you have to stab!

target

The goal is set beforehand by all players together. Usually you agree on a fixed value, which is a multiple of 500; z. B. 1000, 2000, 2500. The game ends as soon as a player reaches or exceeds the selected limit with a game. However, it has to be a successful game, so it cannot be achieved by losing an opponent.

Game tactics

If the outcome of the game is foreseeable close, it makes sense for the two opponents of the player or the pair to pass the high cards to each other, which will in no case be tripped. This is called smearing .
In a tight game, the playmaker tries to save a trump card or other high card for the last trick if possible, as the additional 10 points for the last trick can sometimes be decisive and decisive in the game.
If it is evident when stimulating that the other person wants the dabb and will stimulate high, it makes sense to stimulate beyond your own possibilities. This is of course associated with the risk of receiving a game that you do not want and then possibly cannot play.
If you have overstimulated yourself and have to go away, it makes sense to choose a suit as a trump in which probably no pair can be reported (e.g. if you own both upper hand: off in hand).
Two-tone: Experience has shown that as a playmaker it makes sense to have as few colors as possible in hand. Therefore, when pressing, you should try to dispose of individual cards of colors. Since the opponents do not immediately know which colors are not remaining in the playmaker's hand, the player can quickly reach the trump card in favorable cases and surprise the opponent with it.
Blank sow: If you are not in front , you should avoid holding an ace as the only card of a suit, or you should try to bring this ace into play as quickly as possible. There is a risk that the bare pig will become worthless due to the first game rule and must be given up.
Bare sows in their own game and in front : If you got the game when bidding and if you are also in front , it can be very useful to keep the bare sows in your hand and not to press them. Since you have the right to the first cards, the sows can be played immediately and are - as a rule - safe points.

literature

Claus D. Grupp: Doppelkopf - Schafkopf - Tarock. Original edition. Falken, Niedernhausen / Ts. 1997, ISBN 3-635-60223-X

Claus D. Grupp: Card games in family and friends. Revised and redesigned edition. Original edition. Falken, Niedernhausen / Ts. 1996/1997 , ISBN 3-635-60061-X

Binoculars . In: Spielkartenfabrik Altenburg (Hrsg.): Extended game rule book from Altenburg , Verlag Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik, Leipzig 1983, p. 43ff