Bolachen

Bolachen (the emphasis is on the second syllable, the e is also spoken) is a card game for 3 people. The exact origin is not known, but today's, only sparse distribution is mainly to be found in southern Upper Bavaria . Bolachen, like the somewhat larger gelding , is rarely played these days and is therefore threatened with extinction.

Game material

Card deck with Bavarian image required for Bolachen (including the 6s)

Bolachen is played just like Schafkopf with German playing cards with a Bavarian picture. Playing cards with the imprint Tarock / Schafkopf , which consist of 36 sheets, are common. As in many Bavarian card games, the sixes are removed for gelding.

Colors of the German paper
Ring	heart	grass	Acorn

Goal of the game

There is no set goal in Bolachen. Just like geldings, it is usually played for money, which allows for example a money limit to determine the winner.

Ranking of the card values

The ranking of the card values when playing is: Ace> King> Upper> Under> 10s> 9s> 8s> 7s In descending order, the following colors apply when selecting the player: Heart> Bells> Grass> Acorn.

Game flow

Hand out

Dealer changes clockwise after each game. He shuffles the cards and then deals each three, then four and then three more cards. After the first three-way deal, two cards are set aside as doubles .

The three ways of playing and determining the end of the game

There are basically three different ways in which the end of the game tries to win the current game.

The fire: Here the end of the game must take at least six tricks. Here, a color as a trump is determined by the player himself (value: one monetary unit).
The beggar: The end of the game may not take a trick (value: two monetary units).
The murder: In this way, all tricks must be taken (value: three monetary units).

The first player to the left of the dealer declares “what he wants to play” or that he is not playing anything. The next player does the same, the dealer has to play himself in case no one else wants to play. The following rules apply:

Only one person plays at a time, and that is the one who chooses the most valuable game. The following sequence applies: murder> begging> heart fire> bells fire> grass fire> acorn fire.
If two people want to play a game of equal value, the one who would play this first (i.e. in the order from the left of the dealer) plays.
Normally, a player only has to determine the trump suit for a fire once he has seen the dopper. But if more players want to try a fire, the trump must be determined beforehand, after which the player can only switch to a higher trump or game (begging or murder).

The start of the game and the process

As soon as the end of the game has been determined, he may view the dopper and, if necessary, exchange one or both cards from it for one or two of his own cards. At the start of the game, however, the hand must always contain 10 cards. An exception to peer review occurs when a murder or begging is played out. Then the end of the game is allowed to call a card before viewing, which the corresponding owner must exchange with the end of the game for a card from the player. Only then may cards be exchanged with the dopper.

Now a usual round of playoffs begins, as in watten or other games, until all cards are "used up". Of course, the previous player always starts a new round, or at the end of the first round. However, there are important peculiarities in bolaching:

There are only trumps in the fire, otherwise the first card played wins.
The color must be known: if a grass has been played, a grass must also be added (unless the person to be played does not have any).
The rule just mentioned only applies as long as the card has not yet been stabbed. If it has already been stabbed by the teammate with whom you are playing against the player, so to speak, the color no longer needs to be known (in order not to have to waste any trumps).

If all cards are "used up", then if the player wins, ie if he complies with the rules of the respective game path, the other player must pay the value of the game path, and vice versa if the player fails.