Dog (game)

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Dog is a card game that is particularly common in Silesia and is not very well known in Germany . It is played with a French hand (all cards from 2 to Ace, without joker) by four people. The aim of the game is to discard the cards distributed to the other players at the beginning of the game as quickly as possible. It is played until one player has all the cards in hand. This is then the loser, also known as the "dog". The game does not determine a winner, but rather a loser; in this respect it is related to the Russian card game Durak .

Rules of the game

• The aim of the game is to be the first to discard all cards.
• The player who has all cards in hand at the end is the loser.
• The player with the 2 of clubs must start and lock them out.
• The next player must play two cards: one with a higher value or, if he does not have it, take the cards in hand and then a second card of his choice.
• As higher card lady valid until playing the cross only one card of the same color ( Cross ♣ , spades ♠ , hearts ♥ , diamonds ♦ ), it will be so always has operated in the color or the stacks are made to the source.
• Cards are played in turn until one player has to take the stack in hand, after which the next player plays a card.
• As soon as the queen of clubs is played, that player has clubs as "trump" and, in clockwise order, the remaining three players have spades, hearts and diamonds. So there is a great tactical advantage in having the queen of clubs.
• From this point on, the personal trump trumps any other suit, but not a higher card of the same suit.
• The game is played until a player has all cards in hand, or it can be foreseen that a player will inevitably lose.
• The player who has lost three times in a row is, if he wants, the "dog".

Game flow

All cards are divided among the four players. These sort the cards in hand by suit and ascending by value (from 2 to Ace). The player with the 2 of clubs begins. He must play this card.

The next player must play a higher club card or take the card in hand. He is also allowed to voluntarily take the cards on the table. If he could or wanted to trump the 2 of clubs, he plays a card of his choice. This can also be of a different color than a cross. If he had to or wanted to take the card, it is the next player's turn to play a card of his choice. Cards are continuously played in a pile until a player picks them up in hand. If a player has taken the cards, the next player only plays one card and the next two again as described above.

This is repeated until a player leads the queen of clubs. From this point on, all players also have a "trump suit" which beats all other suits. In clockwise direction these are clubs for the player with the queen of clubs, spades, hearts and diamonds. Now the player with diamonds as trump z. B. trump a king of hearts with a 2 of diamonds, but not a king of diamonds with a lower diamond card.

The game allows the player many tactical moves. This begins with the choice of the cards to be played, through the attempt to find out in the first part of the game who has the queen of clubs (this player will try to get as many clubs as possible in hand and thus also take stacks that he has does not necessarily have to take or deliberately not do so) up to the choice of which deck of cards to take voluntarily or not.

example

Player 1: plays clubs 2	Stack: 1 card, 2 of clubs on top
Player 2: trumps with 7 of clubs and plays 2 of hearts	Stack: 3 cards, 2 hearts on top
Player 3: trumps with a 9 of hearts and plays (tactically rather unwise) ace of diamonds	Stack: 5 cards, ace of diamonds on top
Player 4: must take the stack in hand, as there are no trumps and Ace is the highest card	Stack: empty
Player 1: plays the diamond 2	Stack: 1 card, 2 diamonds on top
Player 2: trumps with the queen of clubs (from now on his trump, see above), and plays 2 of spades	Stack: 3 cards, 2 of spades on top
Player 3: voluntarily takes the cards in hand	Stack: empty
Player 4: plays the 7 of clubs	and so on, until one player has all the cards in hand

Game tactics

Dog requires tactical skills and a good memory from the player . Good memory is important to know which player has which important cards. The tactical skill is necessary for the implementation of this knowledge in advantageous moves.

Two cards are always played on every normal turn. The first card is a defensive card; it must be used to prevent having to take the cards on the table. Here the player is careful not to play a defensive card that is too high and to keep his own trump suit (as known) in his hand. At the same time, especially with small stacks, you should avoid giving the other players high cards in their trumps suits. It is generally as high as necessary, but as low as possible.

The second card to be played is the offensive card. It is used either to force the next player to take up the pile, or to force him to play a high card as a defensive card. This card can also simply be used to get rid of a low card. This option is particularly popular with small stacks. Only when there is a certain number of cards in the stack is it worth playing high attack cards.

The ability to take stacks voluntarily allows players to selectively put cards in their hand that are useful to them. Here you always have to weigh up the benefits of the good cards and the damage caused by unwanted cards in the pile. In general, it is worth taking a stack if it contains more cards of your own trump suit than cards of other colors.