Troccas
Troccas is a card game belonging to the Tarock family. It was included in the list of living traditions in Switzerland . It is played in the Romansh- speaking part of the canton of Graubünden , namely in the Surselva around the towns of Sedrun , Disentis , Medel , Sumvitg , Trun , Breil / Brigels , Dardin , Tavanasa , Andiast , Rueun , Pigniu , Ilanz , Laax , Falera and Domat / Ems . How the tarot game came to Switzerland is not known. It is assumed, however, that it found its way to Switzerland via Italy in the 17th century .
Troccas means tarot . And on the one hand this means the game, but on the other hand it is the name of the individual trumps . Of these, there are 21 in the card set.
This game is still actively being played. There are tournaments, and in January 2018 the 13th Bündner Troccas Championships took place in Schluein . Tournaments are organized by the individual clubs or by the Bündner Troccas Association. There are game variations from three to six players. Usually Troccas is played in groups of four, two players as a team against the other two.
In contrast to the Jass game , when the cards are being dealt , the other players are told in coded form (“chintschar”) what they are holding in their hands and whether another deal would be worthwhile. If no one is satisfied with the cards received, they can be redistributed again. Basically, the game is played in the same way in all areas, but the terms of the Tschintschars vary from area to area, from village to village, from inn to inn and from community to community of players.
The cards
The game is played with cards that contain pictures from the 19th century and were designed in the workshop of the card maker Johann Georg Rauch around 1831–1838. These cards are available in specialist shops under 1JJ-Tarot or Swiss Tarot and have evolved from the Tarot de Besançon . These in turn emerged from the Tarot de Marseille . The trump cards Jupiter and Juno appear in the 1YY Tarot and the Tarot de Besançon . The cards are still available in stores, as they are also used in esotericism for card reading. However, unlike many new types of tarot cards, they are not designed by occultists and supplemented with esoteric symbolism. Nevertheless, unlike cards in other tarot games, e.g. B. Königruf , the classic motifs.
A Troccas card set consists of 78 cards with 21 trump cards and four suits of 14 cards each and a joker . The colors are divided into coins, sticks, swords and goblets. There are number cards from 1 to 10 and figure cards king, queen, knight and jack. The trump cards are numbered in Roman numerals from 1 to 21. The jester can be used as a joker, but has no cut-off value.
There are the following troccas ( trumps ):
| number | German name | Romansh names | German translation to alternative names |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. | The magician | il bagat | The magician |
| II | Junon | la gaglina, la biua | the chicken, the chicken (children's language) |
| III | The ruler | l'imperatura | The ruler |
| IIII | The ruler | igl imperature | The ruler |
| V | Jupiter | il da Cuoz, il Diu lazy | that of Cuoz (a quarter in Disentis), the false god |
| VI | The loving ones | ils inamurai | The loving ones |
| VII | The car | il carr, la Catrina en crotscha | The carriage, Katharina in the carriage |
| VIII | justice | la giustia, la stadera | justice, the scales |
| VIIII | The hermit | il pader | The monk |
| X | Wheel of fortune | la roda dalla fortuna, la ventira | The wheel of fortune, luck |
| XI | force | la forza | The power |
| XII | The hanged man | il pendiu | The hanged man |
| XIII | The death | la mort | The death |
| XIIII | Moderation | la tempronza, igl aunghel | the temperance, the angel |
| XV | The devil | il giavel, il da cornas, il naucli, il bab dallas femnas | the devil, the horned, the evil one, the father of girls |
| XVI | The tower | la casa da Diu, il tiaratriembel, il cametg, la Cadi, la claustra barschada | The house of God, the earthquake, the lightning, the church, the burned monastery |
| XVII | The star | las steilas | The stars |
| XVIII | The moon | la glina | the moon |
| XVIIII | The sun | il sulegl | The sun |
| XX | dish | la dertgira, ils bluts, ils bluts digl aug rest, la giuventetgna | The court, the naked, the naked of Uncle Christian, the youth |
| XXI | The world | il mouth, la vaca, la biala, il min, il miau, la ferma | the world, the cow, the beautiful, the cat (children's language), the cat, the beautiful |
These trump card pictures have no meaning for the game. The numbers indicate the order of the digits: A trump with a higher number trumps a lower one. It should be noted that in most other tarot games the moon does not mean XVIII, but XXI. The reason for this naming is the fact that earlier cards were written in French. Map XXI ( The World ) is called "le monde" in French (or "il mund" in Romansh). "Le monde" became "moon" in the German-speaking world.
Rules of the game for four players
Lineup
The game is played with four players, with two players each forming a team. The team is determined as follows: The cards are shuffled by one player and one card each is dealt to the right to the right. If someone receives a trump, he no longer receives a new card. It is distributed around the clock until everyone has a trump card in front of them. The two lower trumps form a team against the two higher trumps. If necessary, the players now have to move around so that partners sit opposite one another. The player with the lowest trump is the first dealer.
Value of the cards
| map | Points |
|---|---|
| Troccas XXI, Troccas I, fool, kings (= ils honors) | 5 points |
| Queens | 4 points |
| Knight | 3 points |
| Boys | 2 points |
| all remaining cards | 0 points |
There are a total of 72 points in play, but counted in tricks (4 cards played in a joint round). If a card with a count is in the trick, the trick counts as much as this card. If there are two cards with a count in the trick, these two values are added together, whereby one point must be counted away. If there are three cards with a count, two points are deducted. If there are four cards with a count, three points are deducted. If there are no cards with a count in a trick, the trick is marked with a point. With 36 points the target of a team is reached. If a team can now, for example, score 41 points, it has 5 good (5 buns), while the other team counts 5 bad (5 schliats).
Game round
A total of four game rounds are played, the good or bad are added after each round. These game rounds are divided into two phases: The first phase is giving . The second phase is the picking round . The first dealer is the one who got the lowest trump in the drawing. Then the role of the dealer goes counterclockwise around the table.
1st phase: giving
Step 1: The dealer shuffles the cards and deals six cards counterclockwise to each player. The player to his right receives the first cards. Each player looks at his cards and tries to describe his cards with coded expressions. The first and second players to the right of the dealer describe their cards or immediately order another round of deal. The third player can now decide whether he wants to have cards dealt again. He can order the giver to do this ( cumandar ). However, he cannot decide that the entire game should be reshuffled, but must leave the decision to the fourth player in this case. He is the only one who can collect all the cards that have already been dealt and who can shuffle and deal them again. However, if at least one player wants to continue to be dealt, this request must be complied with, as the fourth player is allowed to decide last and until then no one has ordered.
Step 2: Now it goes into the second dealer's round: The dealer deals six more cards clockwise. Again the cards are given in turn. The procedure of the 1st round is repeated.
Step 3: The next round is similar, only the dealer now distributes seven cards to each, whereby the last can be placed face up. The dealer receives the last nine cards at the end. Here, too, the cards are communicated again (“advice held”), the procedure is repeated.
These steps can also be modified: If a team is already nine or more points in the red, it can request that it be dealt in only two steps. In the first round nine cards for each player and in the second round ten cards per player. If the team is 18 points or more behind, they can request that all 19 cards per player be dealt in a single step.
At the end of the deal, the dealer must put two cards away from his hand so that he has as many cards in hand as the other players. These two cards are called Scart and are added to the points at the end (if the other team does not play a match). The 5-point cards (ils honors) may not be placed in the Scart.
2nd phase: stitch round
The player to the right of the dealer opens the game. He puts a card in the middle of the table. In a counter-clockwise direction, each player must now place a card from his hand on the table. The rule here is that the color must be known, or there is a color requirement . (Ie if the player has now placed a coin card, all three players must play a coin card if they hold at least one coin card in their hand. However, a color is only ever confessed to the color of the card that is designated as first is on the table.) If the player cannot confess his color, he must play a trump. But if he has no trump in hand, he is free to choose which card to play.
For the jump-off the following applies in this order: A higher trump trumps a lower trump. A trump trumps a payment card or figure card. The color that is played first trumps all other colors. The higher number or figure cards triumph the lower number or figure cards of the same color. The fool doesn't stab a card.
At this moment, discarding the dealer's two cards (= scart) makes sense. The dealer must try to cause a lack of a suit in his cards. Only if he does not have the color can he play trump and thus has the opportunity to steal a piece with a count value from the opponent.
The value of the payment cards is different for the colors: (left card stands out, right card)
| For goblets and coins: | king | queen | Knight | Jack | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 |
| For staffs and swords: | king | queen | Knight | Jack | 10 | 9 | 8th | 7th | 6th | 5 | 4th | 3 | 2 | 1 |
There is therefore always a clear value within the four cards on the table. The team that placed the card with the highest value takes all cards. These four cards are also called the trick . The stitches are pooled and collected in a pile by each team.
The fool has a special position: he does not stab a card. It can always be played, even if there is a compulsory color or trump requirement. If the fool is played as the first card, the second card played determines the compulsory color. The fool always belongs to the team that played it. If a trick goes to the other team, a 0-point card from an earlier trick (from your own pile) is exchanged with the fool so that it can be added to the pile again. (This swap can also take place later in the game or at the end of the count.) If a team takes all the tricks, the fool belongs to the winning team.
If someone plays a king as the color-determining card, he can demand the jack after the trick. If you have the jack of the same color in your hand, you have to play it at the end of the round and take a 0-point card of the same color from the table. If the person who is holding the jack has played the queen or knight beforehand, he exchanges the jack for this (higher value) card. The figure can be left in the lurch in front of the boy if the boy is called instead of “Buob” with “Buob sche” (“Boy, if you haven't already played a figure”).
There are also special regional rules:
- One says that whoever holds the highest trump (first, that's the world ) may knock on the table once. When this has been played, the one who now has the highest trump knocks on the table. (Now the court is the highest trump.) This rule is no longer allowed, neither in regional tournaments nor in the championship.
Counting out
There are a total of 72 points in play, but counted in tricks (4 cards played in a joint round). If a card with a count is in the trick, the trick counts as much as this card. If there are two cards with a count in the trick, these two values are added together, whereby one point must be counted away. If there are three cards with a count, two points are deducted. If there are no cards with a count in a trick, the trick is marked with a point. With 36 points the target of a team is reached. If a team can now, for example, score 41 points, it has 5 good (5 buns), while the other team counts 5 bad (5 schliats).
The whole game is worth 72 points. The number of points above or below half (36 points) are now decisive. E.g. a team has reached 40 points, then that is four points more than half. This team is now assigned four points (+4) and the opposing team minus four (-4). In the next round this number will be added to the new result. Has z. For example, in the second round the leading team only made 30 points, that is minus six (-6), so a total of minus two points (+4 + -6 = -2). The other team has the mirrored result again, i.e. plus two (+2).
For three to six players
If there are three or five players, the dealer deals 25 or 15 cards to each and, after the deal, discards three instead of two of his cards. Everyone plays for himself. When counting, the cards are counted in groups of 3, otherwise the same procedure as in the game of four. The mean measure for each player with three players is now 26.
If there are six players, three play together and form two teams. The dealer does not have to discard any of his cards and each player is only dealt thirteen cards.
Tschintschar
In addition to the game, there is a component called chintschar or cantar in Romansh. (Translated: talking or singing.) The idea of this talking is to provide the partner with information about their own cards after the individual phases of giving. Addressing the cards directly is prohibited. However, it is allowed to speak about the cards in a specific and traditional secret language . The cards are cleverly rewritten. For example, a family denotes e.g. B. all figure cards of one color. Regional conditions are also discussed. People from Disentis used to be considered noble and rich. Cards from Disentis thus mean figure cards , as the king , queen , knight and jack are shown dressed in elegant clothes.
A selection of chintschar terms and phrases:
| Romansh | German | meaning | comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| jeu sun da Medel | I have a Medel (place in Graubünden) | i have a trump card | |
| duas da Medel | two medels | i have two trumps | |
| Tschéc da Medel | lots of medels | I have a lot of (high) trump cards | |
| gnanc tochen Sogn Gion | not to Sogn Gion (mountain in Graubünden) | I have only weak assets | outdated |
| ei va encunter Salvaplauna | near Salvaplana (place near Disentis ) | I have very strong assets | outdated |
| clavau dalla claustra | Monastery cellar | I have very strong assets | outdated |
| Dar da freid | i play cold | I have run out of trumps | |
| Ina cuort | A courtyard | I have a king, queen, knight and jack of the same color | |
| Ina famiglia | One family | I have a king, queen, knight and jack of the same color | |
| Ina napla | One group | I have king and queen of one color | used in Brigels |
| mo in pèr da Tujetsch | Just a few from Tujetsch (place in Graubünden) | I have some character cards | |
| da Mustér | I have some from Disentis (they used to be seen as rich people.) | I have some character cards | used in Medel , obsolete |
| ina hallway | A flower | Two kings | |
| in corridor | A flower | A king | |
| in corridor nausch | A tiny flower | An uncovered king (without any other piece cards of this color) | |
| in Tschéc corridor | Lots of flowers | Two covered kings (with additional figure cards of this color) | |
| in miserable | a miserable one | An uncovered king (without any other piece cards of this color) | |
| strusch in | just one | A king or just trump I ( the magician ) | |
| Ina femna | a woman | several queens | |
| In tec carn | a little meat | few character cards | |
| In | With a good one | A king with other cards of his suit | |
| il fool | a good fool | The fool's card with other trumps | |
| il fool blood | a naked fool | The card of the fool with no other trump cards | |
| jeu gidel | I can help | I have a very good hand | |
| jeu tegn cun tei | I can help | i have a good hand | |
| jeu sun cheu | I'm here | I have a very good hand | |
| mia part leg | My part is good | i have a good hand | |
| jeu hai miu giug | I have my game | i have a good hand | |
| strusch mia part | my part is bad | i have a bad hand | |
| pli bow autras | I'd rather have other cards | i have a bad hand | |
| tric e trac | this and that | half trumps | used in Brigels |
| senza mei | without me | i have a bad hand | |
| vitas | blank cards | i have a bad hand | |
| aunc sis da quellas | six more of these | I want the distribution to continue | |
| dai vinavon! | Distribute more | I want the distribution to continue | |
| jeu mirel! | I see it | I want the distribution to continue | |
| jeu stun! | I remain | we play with these cards | |
| tuttas | all | I want the distribution to continue | |
| nus your | let's play | we play with these cards |
Publications
- Deplazes, Carla (1987): Troccas - Das Tarockspiel in Graubünden in: Swiss Archives for Folklore 83rd Volume, Issue 1/2, Basel 1987, pages 41-59
- Berther, Norbert and Carigiet, Gieri (1985): Tournament da Troccas a Savognin
- Cathomas, Annalisa (2000): Cuorta introducziun el giug da Troccas
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ 1JJ Swiss Tarot Cards , accessed on January 13, 2011.
- ↑ Development Lines Tarot Decks ( Memento of April 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive )