How to Play

A Bummerl is the Austrian match of Schnapsen: 2 players countdown from 7 game points, winning deals by reaching 66 card points first. Close the stock at your peril.

A Bummerl is the Austrian name for a match of Schnapsen, the two-player trick-taking game that reigns supreme in Vienna's card clubs. The word literally means 'little dog', and a Bummerl is the tally mark the losing player collects against their name. To win a Bummerl you must accumulate 7 game points across a series of short Schnapsen deals before your opponent does. Each deal is a tight 20-card affair with marriages, a close-the-stock option and an Ace-Ten counting system that makes every card choice matter. This page describes the complete Schnapsen ruleset in the form it is scored as a Bummerl, including the Schneider (half-beaten) and Schwarz (fully beaten) subsidiary scores.

Players

Bummerl is strictly a 2-player match. Partnership variants exist (Bauernschnapsen for 4 players scores the same way) but the classic Bummerl is head-to-head.

Card Deck

Use a 20-card deck consisting of the Aces, Tens, Kings, Queens, and Jacks in all four suits. A William Tell Austrian deck substitutes Unter (Jack), Ober (Queen), König (King) and Ass/Sau (Ace) in the suits Acorns, Leaves, Hearts, and Bells; rules are identical. Card values for trick-counting are: Ace = 11, Ten = 10, King = 4, Queen = 3, Jack = 2. The total points available per deal are 4 x (11 + 10 + 4 + 3 + 2) = 120, not counting marriages.

Objective

Win a Bummerl (the match) by reducing your own score from 7 down to 0 game points. Each deal you play awards 1, 2, or 3 game points to the winner depending on how many card points the loser captured. The first player to reach zero takes the Bummerl; the loser gets a dog-tally mark (●) on the scoresheet.

Setup and Deal

1. Mark each player with 7 game points to start (a Bummerl-Zähler bead counter or chalk board is traditional). You will count down from 7, not up.
2. Draw for first dealer; lowest card deals the first hand. The deal alternates each hand.
3. Shuffle the 20-card deck. Deal 3 cards to the non-dealer, 3 to the dealer, then turn the next card face-up beside the stock to determine the trump suit.
4. Deal 2 more cards to each player to complete the 5-card starting hands.
5. Place the remaining cards face-down on top of the face-up trump card (leaving the trump visible at the bottom).
6. The non-dealer (forehand) leads to the first trick.

Gameplay

1. On your turn, play any card from your hand. Your opponent responds with a card.
2. Phase 1 (stock available): While the stock still has cards, you are NOT required to follow suit. You may play anything, anywhere. Highest trump wins the trick, or if no trump was played, the highest card of the led suit wins.
3. Drawing: The winner of each trick leads the next and draws the top card of the stock first; the loser draws the next card. Hands return to 5 cards until the stock is empty.
4. Marriage (20/40): A player who holds both the King and Queen of the same suit may declare a marriage when leading a trick. Play either the King or Queen as the lead, and announce '20' (for a non-trump marriage) or '40' (for the trump marriage). The score is added to your captured-point count as soon as you have won at least one trick. You cannot declare on the very first trick of the hand; if you lead a marriage as forehand on trick one, the 20/40 is banked only once you later capture a trick.
5. Trumps: The turned-up trump card sits at the bottom of the stock and will be the very last card drawn. If you hold the Jack (Unter) of trumps, you may exchange it for the face-up trump card when it is your turn to lead a trick; place your trump Jack where the face-up card was and take that card into your hand.
6. Closing the stock: At any point before the stock is empty and on your own turn to lead, you may close the stock. Turn the face-up trump card face-down on top of the stock. Phase 2 rules apply immediately: no more drawing; follow-suit rules are enforced (see below); and if you fail to reach 66 card points before the hand ends, your opponent scores as if they had won with the closed-score bonus (see scoring). Closing is a gamble you make because you believe you can hit 66.
7. Phase 2 (stock empty or closed): You must follow suit if you can. If you cannot follow suit, you must trump if possible. Only if you can do neither may you discard any card. Trick-winning logic is the same: highest trump, or highest of led suit.
8. Claiming 66: At any point during your own turn, you may claim that your captured card-points (from tricks taken) plus any declared marriages have reached 66. Stop play and verify. If correct, you win the deal. If wrong, your opponent scores 2 game points automatically (see scoring).
9. End of deal: If neither player claims 66, play out the last trick. Whoever has the most card points wins the deal, with bonuses based on how thoroughly.

Scoring

• Game points per deal won: 1 if the loser has 33-65 card points, 2 if the loser has 1-32 card points (Schneider), 3 if the loser has 0 card points and won no trick (Schwarz).
• Failed close: If you closed the stock and failed to reach 66, your opponent scores 2 game points, regardless of their actual total.
• False claim of 66: If you claim 66 and cannot prove it with tricks plus marriages, you lose 2 game points.
• Partner kept silent (Schwarz forward): If you win all 5 tricks of a phase-2 hand, it automatically counts as Schwarz (3 game points).
• Countdown scoring: Subtract the game points you won from your 7-count. The first player to reach 0 has won the Bummerl.
• Schneiderbummerl (optional): If the loser of the Bummerl never scored even one game point, record 2 Bummerls against them instead of 1.

Winning

The Bummerl (match) is won by the first player to reduce their countdown from 7 to 0. A rubber (Partie) of 2 or 3 Bummerls may be played for a longer session; the rubber is won by taking the majority of Bummerls. In tournaments the Schneiderbummerl rule is typically omitted to simplify scoring.

Common Variations

• Schnapsen with Seven (Siebener-Schnapsen): Adds the Sevens to the deck, making 24 cards and 6-card hands; cards still rank A, 10, K, Q, J, 7 with Sevens worth 0 points but useful for holding suits.A♠10♠K♠Q♠J♠7♠
• Bauernschnapsen: A 4-player partnership version scored in exactly the same Bummerl format; see the separate Bauernschnapsen entry.
• Bummerl mit 40: A house rule allowing the non-dealer to declare 40 in trumps before the first card is led, skipping the 'must win a trick first' requirement.
• Schnapsen à trois: An experimental 3-player version played in some Vienna clubs; each player has 5 cards and everyone bids for the right to play against the other two combined.
• Stake Bummerl: Each Bummerl is played for a fixed cash stake; Schneider doubles and Schwarz triples the stake.

Tips and Strategy

• Count to 66 in your head constantly. After every trick, update both your score and the opponent's. The close decision lives or dies on knowing your exact count.
• The Jack of trumps exchange is almost always worth doing; the face-up trump card is usually a higher trump and having the Jack in hand lets you win a second trump trick you could not otherwise.
• Declare your trump marriage (40) as soon as you have won a trick. Sitting on a 40 is rarely better than banking it; the only exception is when you need it to sneak past 66 with a single clinching trick.
• Close the stock when you are confident of reaching 66 with the cards in hand. Failing to reach 66 after closing costs 2 game points, so only close when the arithmetic is certain.
• Against a closed stock, play defensively: deny your opponent their last few points by trumping their point cards and hoarding your own trumps.
• In phase 1 (stock open), feel free to throw away low non-trump cards on tricks you cannot win; in phase 2 (stock empty or closed) every trump is precious and every non-trump follows the suit rule.

Glossary

• Bummerl: A match played to 7 game points; also a single tally mark (a 'little dog') added against the loser.
• Bummerlbogen / Bummerlzähler: The scoring board or bead counter used to track game points down from 7.
• Schneider: A deal where the loser captured 32 card points or fewer, scoring 2 game points for the winner.
• Schwarz: A deal where the loser won no trick at all, scoring 3 game points for the winner.
• Forehand: The non-dealer; leads the first trick of the deal.
• Marriage (20/40): A King and Queen of the same suit held by one player; worth 20 points in a non-trump suit or 40 in the trump suit.K♠Q♠
• Close the stock: Turn the face-up trump card face-down on top of the stock, committing to follow-suit play with no further draws.
• Phase 1 / Phase 2: The two halves of a Schnapsen deal, before and after the stock is empty or closed.
• Unter / Ober: The Jack and Queen in a William Tell Austrian deck, equivalent to J and Q in a French-suited pack.Q♠J♠
• Ausmachen: To claim 66 and end the deal on your own turn.