History of the game of skat
The history of the game of Skat began in Thuringia at the beginning of the 19th century . The game has since spread quickly in the German-speaking area and is now one of the most popular card games in Germany.
history
The beginnings
The early history of the game of Skat has not been fully researched. Many anecdotes about the beginnings cannot be substantiated and are more likely to be regarded as legends. What is certain is that the game was developed from older card games between 1810 and 1817 in the Thuringian city of Altenburg . The basis was the Dreiwendsch , which is a variant of the Wendish sheep head . The bidding was taken over from L'Hombre and its simplified version German Solo , and the concept of two cards put aside was adopted from the Tarock . Doppelkopf is not one of the forerunners but, like Skat, is a further development of the Schafkopf .
The Altenburg dignitaries, high school professor Johann Friedrich Ludwig Hempel (1773–1849), medical advisor Dr, are considered the first Skat players and "inventors" of the game. Hans Carl Leopold Schuderoff, court advocate and notary Friedrich Ferdinand Hempel (1778–1836), councilor Carl Christian Adam Neefe (1774–1821) and chancellor Hans Carl Leopold von der Gabelentz (1778–1831). Another participant in the game was the well-known publisher Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus .
The game accounts of Herr von der Gabelentz have been preserved and are in the Thuringian State Archives in Altenburg. In the notebook he listed his gambling debts and winnings in detail from 1798 to 1829, so that his gambling results can still be traced today. On September 4, 1813, the term scat appeared for the first time in this account. Another verifiable written mention of the new game can be found in an article about Osterländische Spiele in issue no. 30 of the weekly "Osterländische Blätter" published in Altenburg on July 25, 1818 under the heading "Das Skadspiel".
In the following years the game became more and more popular, especially among students from Thuringian and Saxon universities, and it was soon popular in large parts of the German-speaking area.
Although Johann Friedrich Ludwig Hempel published the first rule book about the game of Skat in 1848, shortly before his death, more and more varieties and regional characteristics of the game emerged. In 1864 the " Skatia von 1864 zu Bremen " was founded in Bremen , which is the oldest skat club in Bremen and the oldest known skat club in Germany.
Due to the poor economic conditions and the political lack of freedom in many German states, Germany was a classic emigration country in the 19th century . Many emigrants took the game with them to their new home.
The first skat congresses and the foundation of the German Skat Association
The first 70 years were a success story. The game spread and gained more and more supporters from all social classes, but suffered from a jumble of regional special rules. There was a risk that Skat would break down into many new games.
In the 1870s, decisive new movements began which resulted in the rules being unified and later simplified. The establishment of the empire accelerated this process in many ways. In the booming early days , the game was able to spread across Germany without the barriers of the previous borders, which, however, also encouraged the wild growth. In the rapidly growing cities and the huge factories, many people from different parts of the empire met and got into social contact. In addition, supra-regional player associations could be formed in the unified state, which ultimately led to the establishment of the German Skat Association.
In 1884 Freiherr von Hirschfeld published an illustrated scat book . A year later, the Illustrated Textbook of Scat Game rules from District Court Judge Karl Buhle followed. On the occasion of an industrial fair in Altenburg, a large skat tournament was held in 1886. The event led to the first skat congress . About a thousand participants decided on the General German Skat Ordinance , which was based on the book by Karl Buhle mentioned above. At this point there were two fundamentally different playing methods. One variant was referred to as Altenburger Farbreizen and the other as Leipzig number stimulus . The participants of the first skat congress could not agree on an acceptable compromise between the two types of play, which is why an association was not founded. The second Skat Congress also failed because of this problem.
On March 12, 1899, the German Skat Association was founded in Halle (Saale) at the Third Skat Congress . The participants still couldn't agree on a final game variant. Color stimulation was declared the official type of game, but number stimulation is still allowed. The congress chose Altenburg as the headquarters of the association.
A year earlier, a comparable association, the North American Skat League, was founded in the USA . Skat had been played in the US since at least 1876.
Up to the outbreak of the First World War , seven more Skat congresses followed, at which further rules, such as e.g. B. zero games were defined. However, two points of contention could not be resolved: The problem of the stimulus method remained acute, which even a price advertised in 1907 could not change. The second problem was that they couldn't agree on a uniform Skat sheet .
Introduction of the modern standard skate
In the First World War, the number stimulus spread among the German soldiers. More and more variants developed. Men of various regional and social origins met in the trenches. If they wanted to play together, they had to find compromises between their domestic rules, which led to new varieties. In view of the situation that you might not be able to see the settlement of the next round, the game increasingly took on the characteristics of a game of chance with ever higher stakes.
The conservative Skat players, who clung to the color stimulus, disparagingly referred to the value-stimulating Skat of the common soldiers as trench skat .
Nevertheless, the codification of the basic rules of numerical stimulus is due to a declared supporter of the classic Altenburg color stimulus. The author of numerous Skat books and bookkeeper for the German Skat Association, Artur Schubert, published fixed rules for Gucki-Skat based on value stimuli in 1924. Schubert still refused to bid with numbers in 1922 because the distribution of the cards and the position of the jacks can already be guessed at when bidding. He described the rules of the unpopular game variant in order to forestall further diversification.
In 1927 and 1928, two skat congresses were held in Altenburg after an 18-year break. The rule changes decided are, apart from details, the basis of today's game. At the 11th Skat Congress, number bidding was determined to be the official and only game method, which finally settled the 40-year-old dispute. Another important decision was the setting up of a committee for disputes, from which the German Skat Court subsequently emerged. At the 12th Skat Congress in the following year, the New German Skat Ordinance was adopted. After the 12th Skat Congress, the basic rules of the game were only changed in detail, such as special basic values and accounting.
Further progress until today
The game values of the zero and normal grand games that are still valid today were set at the two following congresses. It was also decided that hand games would not be penalized twice and that the basic value of the grand ouvert was 36. Another innovation was the regulation introduced in 1936 at the suggestion of Otto Seeger that every game won is rewarded with a bonus of 50 points.
At the first skat congress after the Second World War, the Altenburg-based President Erich Fuchs was confirmed in his office. When he left the GDR in 1953, Bielefeld became the central seat of the German Skat Association. The following congresses brought further refinements such as B. the extended accounting system according to Seeger and Fabian .
Since there was also a desire in the GDR for a central authority to settle disputes, the Skataktiv was formed in Altenburg in 1963 to replace the Skat court. The Altenburgers then adopted the western rule changes, so that despite the division of Germany there was a common rule base in East and West.
At the beginning of the 1970s, the International Skat Players Association (ISPA) was founded, which interpreted some rules differently than the German Skat Association . The two competing associations could not agree on a consensus. The conflict escalated when the German Skat Association banned its members from double membership in both associations in 1978. Since then, the ISPA has been primarily responsible for the organization of the world and European championships , which take place alternately every year , but with its subdivision ISPA-Germany, like the DSkV, organizes its own German individual and team championship and organizes a league operation, among other things.
In 1980 Novag Industries Ltd. launched the world's first electronic skat computer on the German market with the Skat Champion . The device was programmed strictly according to the rules of the German Skat Association. The skat computers could not establish themselves permanently.
After German reunification in 1990, the GDR associations rejoined the German Skat Association. The Skat Association tried to find a compromise to resolve the old dispute with a new paper .
The conflict between the German Skat Association and the ISPA was also amicably resolved in 1998. Both players' associations adopted the International Skat Rules . Since then, hand games have been punished twice and the basic value of the Grand Ouvert is 24. In 2001, the players' associations jointly formed the International Skat Court , which is based in Altenburg.
In 2005, in accordance with the resolutions of the 28th Skat Congress, the office of the German Skat Association in Bielefeld was closed and relocated to the historic headquarters in Altenburg.
Overview of the skat congresses
Between 1886 and 2018 there were 32 skat congresses. The German Skat Association was founded at the third Skat Congress. Important congresses are marked in bold :
| year | place | Important decisions and events | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. | 1886 | Altenburg | The General German Skat Ordinance is adopted. No association is founded because there is no agreement between the Altenburger Farbenreizen and the Leipziger numbersreizen . |
| II | 1887 | Leipzig | The controversial point of the stimulus method cannot be resolved. |
| III | 1899 | Halle (Saale) | The German Skat Association is founded. The seat is Altenburg. The color stimulation prevails. The numerical stimulus is retained as an alternative. The Deutsche Skatzeitung is founded as the official newsletter. |
| IV | 1901 | Magdeburg | A statute formulated by Artur Schubert is accepted. There is no agreement on which sheet to use . |
| V | 1902 | Leipzig | The General German Skat Artur Schubert is as valid provisionally accepted. Neither the irritation problem nor the question of the sheet used is decided. |
| VI | 1903 | Altenburg | Values for zero play are specified. |
| VII | 1906 | Dresden | |
| VIII | 1907 | Hall | A price is advertised. The aim is to find a compromise between color and number stimuli. Even so, no acceptable compromise is found. |
| IX | ? | ? | ? |
| X | 1909 | Leipzig | The majority of the board insists on color stimulation. The members favor numerical stimulation. No compromise can be found. |
| - | Dresden | The originally planned 11th Congress is canceled because there is no agreement on the bidding. The outbreak of World War I prevented further discussions for the time being. | |
| XI | 1927 | Altenburg | The numerical stimulus prevails. A committee is formed for disputes, which is the nucleus of the German Skat court. |
| XII | 1928 | Altenburg | The New German Skat Richard Burkhardt is accepted. |
| XIII | 1932 | Altenburg | The zero games receive the game values that are still valid today. The base value of the Grand is set at 24. The grand ouvert has a basic value of 36. Lost hand games are not penalized, so they are simply calculated negatively. In open games, all ten cards must be shown immediately. |
| XIV | 1936 | Altenburg | According to a suggestion by Otto Seeger, every game won is rewarded with a bonus of 50 points in addition to the game value. |
| XV | 1950 | Bielefeld | Although the congress takes place in the western part of the divided country, the former President Erich Fuchs , who is based in the GDR , is confirmed in office. The Presidium will initially remain in Altenburg in the GDR. In 1953 Fuchs left the GDR. The seat of the association also changes to the west. Between 1953 and 2002 the headquarters of the German Skat Association is in Bielefeld. |
| XVI | 1954 | Bielefeld | |
| XVII | 1958 | Bielefeld | The German Skat Association is registered in the association register of the Federal Republic of Germany . |
| XVIII | 1962 | Bielefeld | The extended system according to Seeger and Fabian is decided. As an extension of the Seeger points introduced in 1936, opponents also receive a bonus if they lose games. The inventor of the new accounting system, Johannes Fabian, is elected President of the German Skat Association. Skataktiv , formed in Altenburg in 1963, takes over the rule changes from the west . In both German states, uniform rules continue to be used. |
| XIX | 1966 | Bielefeld | |
| XX | 1970 | Bielefeld | |
| XXI | 1974 | Bad Oeynhausen | |
| 1975 | Cologne | Extraordinary Congress. | |
| XXII | 1978 | The conflict with the International Skat Federation escalates. Congress prohibits double membership in both associations. | |
| XXIII | 1982 | Munich | |
| XXIV | 1986 | Cologne | |
| XXV | 1990 | Hamburg | The German Skat Association is restructured. The regional associations of the former GDR join the German Skat Association. There are initial proposals to solve the problem of playing cards, which was not solved at the 4th Skat Congress, by compromising with French symbols and German colors . |
| XXVI | 1994 | Schneverdingen | It is decided to negotiate with the International Skat Federation to standardize the rules. An association agreement with the Polish Skat Federation is adopted. |
| XXVII | 1998 | Hall | The currently valid International Skat Regulation is decided together with the International Skat Association. Lost hand games are penalized. The base value of 36 for a grand overture is reduced to 24. |
| XXVIII | 2002 | Papenburg | The most important decision is the relocation of the association's headquarters to Altenburg. |
| XXIX | 2006 | Altenburg | |
| XXX | 2010 | Hanover | |
| XXXI | 2014 | Berlin | |
| XXXII | 24/25 November 2018 | Bonn |
Basic development of the Skat rules
Early development
In the first variants of the game, the dealer always received the two surplus cards and became the solo player. The trumps are made up of the jacks and the trump suit as in a modern game of suits. However, the player could not choose the color freely. It was similar to the Wendische sheepshead and in most games of modern double-head on clamps ( Karo set). The solo player's only privilege was that he could press two uncomfortable cards. Otherwise the dealer was forced to play and had no influence on the type of game. Under this rule it could even happen that declarer did not have a single trump or ace in hand. Of course, most of the solo games were lost.
In the next step, the color of the card on the bottom after lifting was chosen as the trump card. So the dealer / solo player had at least one trump card. To determine the trump card, the bottom card had to be revealed so that the other players knew at least one card of the soloist.
Since this solution was not satisfactory either, the solo game and the trump suit between the players were auctioned, i.e. maxed out, based on an idea by Carl Christian Adam Neefe. However, through the stimulation, further game genres beyond the color games became possible.
Early forms of zero and grand were played as early as the 1840s. The zero was a pure trickery game from the start and was basically similar to the modern game. The forerunner of the Grand was called the ace game , was the counterpart to zero and also had no trumps.
Color stimuli
The main difference between the Altenburger color stimulus and the number stimulus commonly used today was that the color stimulus only offered the basic values of the games. Except in special cases, a player could not overstrain himself with an unfavorable jack in Skat, since the position of the jacks was not taken into account when bidding. The tips ( matadors ) were only taken into account after the game.
In addition, the game genres differed from today's:
| game | description |
|---|---|
| question | The question game corresponds to today's normal color game. The solo player picked up the skat, pressed two cards and then announced the trump suit. Zero and Grand were not intended for the question game. The basic values of the games were: 1 for question in bells , 2 for question in red , 3 for question in green and 4 for question in acorn . |
| Tourné (reversing game) | There is no longer any equivalent to this game in modern Skat. The solo player turned over one of the two cards on the skate and showed it to the other players. The suit of the card became the trump suit. If the card was a sub (Wenzel, Bube), the soloist could choose whether to play the color of the sub or to declare a Grand Tourné . If a seven was revealed, the declarer could sometimes choose between the color and a zero tournament . The basic values were: 5 for Schell tourné , 6 for red tourné , 7 for green tourné , 8 for acorn tourné and 12 for grand tourné . |
| solo | The solo corresponds to today's color hand game. The solo player announced the trump suit without looking at the Skat. The basic values were: 9 for Schell solo , 10 for red solo , 11 for green solo and 12 for acorn solo . |
| Grand Solo and Grand Ouvert | There was a grand solo that corresponds to a modern grand hand. Just like today, the grand ouvert was also a handball and included a trendy black. The basic values were 16 for the grand solo and 24 for the grand ouvert . |
| Zero and zero overt | The zero was basically a zero solo and therefore corresponds to today's zero hand. The zero ouvert corresponds to a modern zero ouvert hand. There were no counterparts to the modern simple zero with skat mount and the modern zero ouvert with skat mount. The basic and at the same time play values were: 20 for the zero solo and 40 for the zero ouvert . |
Numerical stimuli
Little is known about the early history and origin of the numerical stimulus. The first Skat Congress failed when the attempt to found an all-German Skat Association because the participants could not agree on a compromise between color and number stimuli. This suggests that numerical stimulation was widespread as early as 1886. In the Skat rules of the first Skat Congress, under §26, the number bidding is dealt with in two sentences:
By agreement or local usage, it can also be determined that starting from the solo (i.e. when playing out of hand) when bidding is made, it is not the ranking of the games but the value to be calculated for each individual game that should be decisive (bidding according to value). The provisions in Section 23, Paragraphs 3 to 5 apply analogously. [sic]
From this rule today's color values (9, 10, 11 and 12) can be explained, because these were the basic values of the color solo games.
The next step was to extend the stimulus to the other games. The tourné then made no sense, because its play value was not predictable.
Further simplifications ultimately led to modern Skat.
Philatelic appreciation of the game of Skat
In 1967, a four-part series of special stamps, German Playing Cards, with images of the Buben / Unter des Deutschen and Altenburger papers appeared in the 1967 postage stamp year of the GDR's Deutsche Post . In 1986 the Deutsche Bundespost issued a special stamp to mark the 100th anniversary of the German Skat Congress. On September 5, 2013 , Deutsche Post AG issued a special stamp worth 90 euro cents with the motto 200 years of Skat . The design comes from the graphic artist Christoph Niemann from Berlin.
attachment
Individual evidence
- ↑ German team and individual champions of the ISPA ( Memento of the original from December 31, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Championships & tournaments in the DSkV
- ↑ Operating Instructions Skat Champion. Edited by Novag Industries Ltd., Hong Kong (1980), p. 1.
Web links
- Altenburg and the card game - the passion of Altenburg citizens and farmers in the 19th century
- The history of Skat on the homepage of the German Skat Association ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Chronology of the history of the Skat game on the homepage of the German Skat Association
- History of the game of Skat on Skatfuchs.com
- 120 years of Skat at WDR
- Ulli Kulke: In the world wars, skat was considered important for the war effort. www.welt.de, June 8, 2013 (accessed October 19, 2015)
- Image by Johann Friedrich Ludwig Hempel
