Skitgubbe
Skitgubbe (translated by David Parlett as "dirty old man, in the sense of unwashed rather than obscene"[1]) is a multi-genre card game that originated in Sweden. The game occurs in two phases. The first phase is a multi-player version of War, in which players accumulate a hand. The second phase is a rummy game, where players attempt to discard the accumulated hand. The last player to go out is the skitgubbe. Sometimes, the skitgubbe must make a goat noise. There is no other scoring system.
Origin | Sweden |
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Alternative names | Mjölnarmatte, Mas, Flurst |
Players | 2-4 |
Cards | 52 |
Deck | Modern Swedish pattern, French-suited pack |
Play | Clockwise |
Card rank (highest first) | A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 |
The first phase is unusual for a trick-taking game, in that there is asynchronous sloughing of cards that match played cards, while play goes around the table. In a variation common in the United States, the second phase is unusual because sequences of cards are played, connected, and picked up during the rummy phase; this variation of the game is sometimes called Flurst.
References
- Parlett, David (2000). The Penguin Encyclopedia of Card Games. p. 476.