Tippen
Tippen, also known as Dreiblatt, Drei Karten, Dreekort, Kleinpréférence or Labet, is an historical German 3-card, plain-trick game which was popular as a gambling game for three or more players. In Denmark essentially the same game was known as Trekort. It appears to be related to the English game of 3-Card Loo. It was banned as a gambling game in some places.
 French-suited 32-card pack | |
| Origin | Germany |
|---|---|
| Type | Plain-trick game |
| Family | Rams group |
| Players | 3-5 |
| Cards | 32 |
| Deck | Piquet pack |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Card rank (highest first) | A K Q J 10 9 8 7 |
| Related games | |
| Contra, Kratzen, Lupfen, Mauscheln, Mistigri, Zwicken | |
| Features: pot, 3 cards, no 'hop & jump' | |
History and etymology
The game was described in 19th century anthologies and encyclopedias but appears related to 3-card Loo, which was already described in the 18th century.[1] In some locations the game was illegal.
In 1821, a very brief description of the game appears in Das neue Königliche l'Hombre as Drei Karten ("Three Cards") along with a variant called Loup or Wolf (loup being French word "wolf"), described below.[2]
Tippen is German for tapping and refers to the practice of players tapping on the table to indicate that they intend to "play" and not "pass" i.e. drop out of the current game. Dreiblatt or Drei Karten refers to the 3 cards each player is dealt. In an 1829 Danish game anthology a variant was described under the name Trekort.[3]
Cards
Tippen is played with a 32-card Piquet pack. The suits are illustrated in the table below. Card ranking is: Ace > King > Queen > Jack > Ten > Nine > Eight > Seven.
| Playing card suits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| French deck |  |
 |
 |
 |
| Name of the suits | Hearts (Herz) | Diamonds (Karo) | Spades (Pik) | Clubs (Kreuz, Treff) |
Rules
The following rules are based on Grupp (1975) and Katira (1983) which are identical apart from the method of dealing and the penalty for taking no tricks.[4][5]
Preliminaries
Three to five players play with a 32-card Piquet pack. The cards rank in the natural order (aces highs) - see above. Dealing and play are clockwise. Dealer pays 3 chips into the pot (Pott, Topf or Kasse), shuffles, offers the cut to rearhand (to his right), deals 3 cards, one at a time, to each player, and turns the next card for trumps (Grupp). Alternatively, he may deal 2 cards, one at a time, to each player and turn the next for trumps before dealing one more card each (Katira).
Bidding
Players now examine their hands, assess whether they can take at least one trick and bid to "play" or "pass". If they pass, they lay their cards face down on the table. If they want to play, they tippen i.e. tap their fingers on the table. If all pass, the next dealer also pays a stake, shuffles, offers the cut and redeals. If only one player tipps, he wins the pot, the dealer rotates and a new deal begins.
Exchanging
Each active player, beginning with forehand, may now exchange up to 3 cards, laying their discard(s) face down; the dealer then gives them the same number of cards from the talon.
Playing
Forehand, or the next active player sitting after the dealer in clockwise order, leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit; trump if unable and head the trick if possible. If unable to do any of those, they may discard any card.
Scoring
The aim is to win at least 2 of the 3 tricks. Each won trick is worth a third of the pot. Any active player who fails to win a single trick must pay a bête equivalent to the contents of the pot (Katira) or the basic stake of 3 chips (Grupp).[lower-alpha 1]
Variations
Sniffing or Knocking
Before turning over the trump card, the dealer may announce his intent to exchange or 'sniff' it by saying "I'll sniff" or by sniffing or knocking on the card. He then picks it up without revealing it, announces the trump suit, picks up his hand and then discards a card. A dealer who sniffs and then fails to take a trick pays a double stake. If he takes just one trick he pays a single stake.[6][4][5]
Robbing
Any player who holds the seven of trumps may rob the open card. The player may wait until all opponents have decided whether to play.[6]
Trick-play
The player who leads to the first trick must lead with a trump if possible, and the winner of the first trick must play the ace of trumps if possible.[6]
Variants
Vierblatt or Mauscheln
Where the game was illegal under its name Dreiblatt, players sometimes played a variant with a hand of 4 cards. This was a game in its own right known variously as Vierblatt, Angehen or (especially in south Germany and Austria) Mauscheln.[6] Today, Mauscheln is common in Austria and south Germany, unlike Tippen which is not played in Austria, but still played in Germany.[8]
Footnotes
- Paying a bête by doubling the pot appears more of a gambler's rule, whereas limiting the bête to 3 chips is more suited to social and family games.
References
- Parlett 1990, p. 186.
- _ (1821), p. 347
- Jørgensen 1829, pp. 245ff.
- Grupp 1975, pp. 23/23.
- Katira 1983, pp. 130-132.
- Alvensleben 1853, pp. 201ff.
- Pierer 1863, pp. 610ff.
- Geiser 2004, pp. 37, 40 and 58.
Literature
- _ (1821). Das neue Königliche l’Hombre nebst einer gründlichen Anweisung, 16th revised edition, Herold & Wahlstab, Lüneburg.
- Alvensleben, Ludwig von (1853), Encyklopädie der Spiele (in German), Leipzig: Otto Wigand, pp. 201f.
- Geiser, Remigius (2004). "100 Kartenspiele des Landes Salzburg", in Talon, Issue 13.
- Grupp, Claus D (1975/1979). Karten-spiele, Falken, Niederhausen. ISBN 3-8068-2001-5
- Jørgensen, S. A. (1829), Nyeste Dansk Spillebog (in Danish), Copenhagen: Schubothe.
- Katira, Kay Uwe (1983). Verbotene Kartenspiele. Wilhelm Heyne, Munich. ISBN 3-453-41550-7
- Meyer, Joseph (1909). "Tippen". Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon, Volume 19. Leipzig, p. 564.
- Parlett, David (1990), The Oxford guide to card games: a historical survey, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-214165-1
- Pierer, H. A. (1863). "Tippen" in Pierer's Universal-Lexikon, Volume 17. Altenburg.
External links
- Dreiblatt at www.neuropool.com.
