Tausendundeins
Tausendundeins ("One thousand and one"), 1001 or Russeln,[1] is an easy-to-learn card game that enables a player to quickly become familiar with the basic concepts of trick-taking and trump-based card games. The name is taken from the score at the end of the game.
 French-pattern Skat cards used in Tausendeins | |
| Origin | Germany |
|---|---|
| Type | Trick-taking |
| Players | 3 |
| Cards | 24 |
| Deck | French |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Card rank (highest first) | A 10 K Q J 9 |
Outline
The game is played with three players and a 24-card deck of French playing cards. If a Skat deck is used, the 7s and 8s are removed.
Aim
The aim is to be the first to reach 1001 points. With the simpler scoring system, it is enough to reach 100 points.
Starting
The dealer is drawn by lot and deals two packets of three cards and one packet of two cards in turn in a clockwise direction. The player to the left of the dealer is the first to play. The order of the cards is Ace, Ten, King, Queen, Jack, Nine. At the beginning there is no trump suit, i.e. the highest card in the led suit of a trick wins the trick and the winner of the trick leads to the next trick.
Trumps and melds
To declare a suit as trumps, the player, whose turn it is, has to meld a pair consisting of a King and Queen of the same suit. Unless this suit becomes trumps, this scores points as follows:
- in Diamonds 40 points,
- in Hearts 60 Points,
- in Spades 80 points,
- in Clubs 100 Points.
However, the melder must then play either the Queen or the King from the meld to the trick. The same player or another player can then meld another, but higher, pair for another trick. The trump suit changes again after this meld. This means that the pair of Clubs can always be melded, but the pair of Diamonds can only be melded as the very first meld of the game.
When a trump is played, it will of course beat the plain suit cards, but there is no compulsion to play trumps if you don't have a card of the led suit (i.e. there is no Stichzwang).
Scoring
In the simplified scoring system, points are scored as follows:
- Ace 11 points,
- Tens 10 points,
- King 4 points,
- Queen 3 points,
- Jack 2 points.
So there are 120 points to win, plus bonuses for the melds. In simple terms, the points are divided by ten, with a five being exceptionally rounded down unless the last trick is taken. With 100 of these points you win the game.
If you prefer to use the 'original' scoring system, all points are counted and the first player to score 1001 points wins.
Four players
When playing with four, the rules are exactly the same, except that eights and sevens are now also added.
Variants
Jungfrau
If a player has not taken a trick by the end of a round, he becomes a Jungfrau ("virgin") and receives 100 (or 10) additional points.
1001 with Bidding
This common variant makes it more like Skat, as it also introduces the principle of bidding to the players. Due to the additional rules, the game is more complex.
The variant "1001 with Bidding" introduces the following changes:
- In general, the full Skat deck is used; except that, in a four-player game, the two red sevens are taken out.
- Two cards are dealt to the stock, pott or skat. These cards will go to the highest bidder.
- After the deal, bidding begins with the player to the left of the dealer. In ascending order, players bid the number of points they think they will score. If a player does not want to overbid further, he announces this. Once all other players have dropped out of the bidding, the highest bidder picks up the skat. Two cards must be discarded by him before the game begins. These cards count as his at the end of the round. The highest bidder plays.
- If a player does not reach the bid score, this score is deducted from his points.
- If the declarer forgets to discard, the hands are thrown in. The declarer has 120 points deducted and 120 points are divided among the remaining players.
- A meld only counts if the melder has taken a trick.
- Melds are always possible regardless of their value, i.e. first the 100 and then the 40, but once a player has over 900 points he is no longer allowed to meld.
Tips
It is better to play the Queen than the King, as this card is often lost and the Queen is worth one point less.
If you have two pairs to meld, the question is always whether to meld only the higher pair or whether to take the points for melding both pairs. But then you run the risk of not being able to meld the second couple, if you are forced to play the Queen or King when melding. The owner of the Ace or Ten in this suit, then leads to the next trick and may have a meld himself. So you have to weigh up, if you have a good hand in the lower suit, or if you have more Aces, you should start with the lower meld.
See also
References
- 1000 at www.pagat.com. Retrieved 19 Jun 2018.
