Treppenrommé

In Treppenrommé the aim is to win the game by collecting the most points through melding as many high-scoring combinations of cards as possible.[1]

The game uses a standard French pack of 52 cards with the suits of Spades (Pik), Clubs (Kreuz), Hearts (Herz) and Diamonds (Karo). Within each suit the cards rank as follows: Ace, King (König), Queen (Dame), Jack (Bube), 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. In combinations the Ace may be high or low and also may turn the corner e.g. Q, K, A, 2, 3 etc.[1]

Players may form combinations of cards either in sets or sequences. A set (Satz) consists of 3 or 4 cards of equal rank and different suits, e. g. ♥7, 7, 7. A sequence (Folge) consists of three or more cards of the same suit in unbroken succession, e. g. ♥J, ♥D, ♥K, ♥A, ♥2, ♥3, etc. The cards 2 to 10 have corresponding values of 2 to 10 points. The Jack, Queen and King each count as 10 points. In a set, the Aces counts as 15 points; in a sequence as the highest card, 10 points; as a middle card (used to 'turn the corner'), 5 points; as the lowest card, 1 point.[1]

Examples:

6-6-6-6 = 24 points

A-A-A = 45 points

Q-K-A = 30 points

Q-K-A-2 = 27 points

A-2-3 = 6 points

5-6-7-8-9 = 35 points

Deal and play are clockwise. The first dealer is chosen by lot. He shuffles the pack and deals 7 cards each. The remaining cards are placed face down as a talon in the middle of the table. The top card of the talon is then turned and placed, face up, next to the talon.[1]

The dealer, unusually, begins by taking a talon card or the upcard next to the talon, adding it to his hand and discarding an unwanted card, face up, next to the talon. The next player does the same and so on. Because the upcard always has to be placed so that each card only half covers the previous one, a straight-line fan of cards or 'staircase' is formed, whose cards are always visible. Whoever's turn it is may either pick up the topmost card of the talon or as many staircase cards as he wants. Players may not pick up both from the talon and staircase simultaneously and may not select a card from the middle of the staircase. If the staircase consists of Q-9-2-A-7 and a player needs the 9, for example, he must pick up the cards on top of it, i.e. the 7, A and 2, so that only the Queen is left on the staircase. Players must therefore weigh up whether it is worth picking up several cards in order to obtain just one or two. The game often ends quickly when a player is left with too many cards in his hand. It may be advantageous, however, to pick up a lot of staircase cards, because the number of possible combinations in one's hand increases significantly.[1]

Once it is a player's turn, he may 'meld' a combination, by placing it face up on the table. The value of the combinations placed is noted immediately by the recorder (Schriftführer). Furthermore, the same player may put cards from the hand on his own and other combinations, the individual value of which is also written down immediately. For example, a player melds the following combinations: 6-6-6 (18), D-K-A-2-3 (30). He also adds to combinations that have already been played: B, 7, 10 (27). The recorder notes for him: 18+30+27=75 points. Then the player places a discard on the staircase, and it is the next player's turn.[1]

When one player has got rid of all his hand cards, the game is over. It does not matter whether he puts another card on the staircase or not. He also gets the points that the opponents still have in their hands. The Ace always counts as 15, but if a player finishes without having melded or laid off (i.e. he has a Rommé hand), the opponent's hand cards count double for him. But his own cards, which he melds or lays off as he finishes, count as normal. The overall winner of a session is the player who achieves an agreed number of points - for example 500 or 1000 - after several games.[1]

The main differences from 500 Rum are as follows:[1][2]

• Only 7 cards are dealt.
• The dealer goes first.
• When several cards are drawn from the discard pile, the bottom one need not be melded. Indeed, none need be melded.
• Aces score 15 in a set. In a sequence they score 10 when high, 1 when low and 5 when turning the corner.
• There are no Jokers.

• Erweitertes Spielregel-Büchlein aus Altenburg, 1st edition, published by Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik, 74 Skatstadt Altenburg (DDR), EVP 1,- M, pp. 272–275
• Erweitertes Spielregel-Büchlein aus Altenburg, 5th edition, published by Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik, 7400 Skatstadt Altenburg (DDR), EVP 1,- M, pp. 202–204
• Parlett, David (2008). The Penguin Book of Card Games, Penguin, London. ISBN 978-0-141-03787-5