Lorum
Lorum is a card game for 4 people. It is played with a German hand (32 cards; acorn, green, red, bells; sequence: seven, eight, nine, ten, under, over, king, ace) and consists of a sequence of 8 different individual games. Each of these single games is played four times (single game round). A round of Lorum thus comprises 32 individual games and takes around 1½ hours if the game is fast. Deal and play (first play) go in turn. The one who takes a trick then leads. The color required when playing is to be used; if you don't have the required color (anymore), any other card can be discarded. Taking into account the operating rule, the player can freely decide which card to play or add. In each game, points are awarded in different ways, which are added up individually for each player. The winner is whoever has the fewest points at the end. A common variation doesn't count for points, but plays with beans and pennies (or other small coins).
If only 3 people play, the bells seven and eight are set aside and each player receives 10 cards instead of 8. The overall game is then reduced to 3 single game rounds, i.e. 3 × 8 = 24 single games. In Lorum itself (game 8), the two occupied cards are placed next to the cards already laid out or inserted if they fit accordingly.
Single games
1. Red
When playing (first trick), no red card may be played (unless the person playing has only red cards); It is forbidden to throw a red card in the first trick (unless the person throwing it has only red cards). In the following tricks, however, the throwing of red cards is not prohibited if you cannot use the required suit. Each red card in the trick counts for the player 1 point.
2nd upper
Each waiter in the trick is worth 2 points. In the first trick, no waiter may be laid out or added, unless the player included (not laying out) only has the waiter in the suit played ("has the upper blank"). In the further stitches it is not forbidden to throw tops if you cannot use the required color.
3. stitches
Each trick is worth 1 point.
4. First and last stitch
Only the first and the last (eighth / tenth with 3 players) trick each count 4 (variation: five) points. Short version: After very good shuffling, only two cards are dealt to each player and the remaining deck is passed on to the next dealer without further shuffling. The player playing for the first trick plays one of the two cards. The one who takes the trick then leads to the "last" trick. Of course, you have to be served when you can. Again, each trick counts 4 (or 5) points.
5. Fifth stitch (variation: sixth stitch )
Only the fifth (sixth) trick after which the game is abandoned is worth eight (five) points.
6. Red King (Variation: The blind man )
Only the red king in the trick counts:
- 16 points in the first trick
- 8 points from the second to the seventh stitch
- 32 points in the last trick
- 64 points announced for the last trick before playing
In the "blind" variation, the cards are not revealed and only seen one after the other when being played. Whoever has the red king in the trick gets 5 points. If a player looks at the cards, he gets an additional 5 points, and it is shuffled and dealt before the game.
7th quart (el)
In face-up successes, the 3 cards of the color required when the card was played must be added to the played card, unless there are no more subsequent higher cards in play. The trick is taken by the person who placed the last card in the sequence; he then plays off. If a player who is entitled to lead has a currently highest card in hand (regularly all aces, but also a seven if the eight of the same suit has already been played), he can put it away as "high" ("clear"). The game ends as soon as the first player - not necessarily the current player - has discarded his last card. The cards remaining in the hand of the other players each count as 1 point.
8. Lorum - the eponymous game
The player who is playing begins by laying down any card (variation: must be an under). Then the next players each lay out another card of the same color of a different color or lay the next card on top of the cards already on the table (variation: lay down from the bottom upwards (upper…) or downwards (ten…)). The ace is followed by the seven (with the sub-variation the series ends with ace up and seven down). If a player cannot place anything and no longer has a suitable card to display, he passes; Voluntary suspension is not permitted. Each suspension ("pushing") costs one point. As soon as the first player has put down his last card, the remaining cards in the hand are each rated with 1 point for all other players. (Variation: The game continues until the next player has put down his last card; the remaining cards then add up to 2 points each. If the third player has also put down his last card, the remaining cards of the last player each count an additional 3 points.)
Points and beans
The game can either be scored with points or, alternatively, can be won in the classic way by acquiring / losing beans.
If beans are used, each player initially receives 20 beans and a penny (or other equivalent coin). There is also a cash register that starts empty. Instead of writing down points, beans are paid either to the cashier or to winning players. The red king, the first and last trick, and the fifth (or sixth) trick are paid into the cashier. If there are one or two players among the reds and the top who had no reds or top in the trick, or had no trick in the tricks, these players receive the 8 beans correspondingly (i.e. either 1 player receives all 8, or 2 players 4 beans each); otherwise the beans are paid into the till. The quart and the lorum are paid out to the winning player, with the lorum this also receives the contents of the cashier. If a player runs out of beans, he can buy 20 beans for the penny from another player or from the cashier (the sale cannot be refused if the other player or the cashier has enough beans). In the end, the winner is the player (or players) who has the most beans.