Hardenberg (Card Game)

Infobox CardGame
title = Hardenberg
subtitle =
image_link =
image_caption =
alt_names =
type = Trick-taking
players = 4
ages =
num_cards = 52
deck =
play = Clockwise
card_rank = A, K, Q, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 ¹
origin =
related = Skat
playing_time =
random_chance =
skills =
footnotes = 1. Jacks are trumps.

Hardenberg is a card game for four players with a deck of 52 cards.

History of the Game

Hardenberg has been played mainly in Germany. It is related to the German card game Skat in that it is like an eternal round of "Ramschen".

Objective of the Game

The objective of Hardenberg is to not have the most negative points. The person with the most negative points a the end of a tournament is called "Mr. Hardenberg" or "Ms Hardenberg" and has to live with that until the next game, when the title may be passed on.

Rules of the Game

Hardenberg uses a regular 52-card deck with four suits from ace down to 2, without jokers.

It can only be played with four players.

One player starts to be the dealer and the person in clock-wise direction from the dealer will be the one to play the first card. In the next round being the dealer rotates one person clockwise.

The dealer deals 13 cards to every player.

The order of the cards from the top is ace, king, queen, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The for jacks are special as they are the only trump cards. No suit is a trump suit.

The usual rules of trick-getting card games apply:

* A player plays a card of a certain suit. If the other players have that suit, they have to "follow suit".
* If a player can't follow suit the player can either play a trump card or play another suit.
* The player with the highest-ranking card gets the suit and plays the next card.

One game is played in 5 different rounds. The game can only end if the five rounds are finished. Usually during a game any player can ask to end the tournament which means that the current game (of five rounds) has to be finished, plues one more game (of five rounds). Another variation is to stop the tournament if any player went above a threshold, say 1000 points.

The Five Different Rounds

In the first round the players must avoid to get any tricks. For each trick they get 10 negative points.

In the second round the players must avoid to get any club cards. For each trick they get 20 negative points.

In the third round the players must avoid to get any queens. For each queen they get 50 negative points.

In the fourth game the players must avoid to get the king of clubs and the last trick. For each of these they get 100 negative points.

The fifth round is different in that it is the only one where players can get positive points. It is a game of solitaire. The winner of this round gets 200 positive points. The rules of this round are:

* The cards have to be laid out in four rows suit by suit from Ace to 2
* A row can only be started with a 9
*The second card of a row has to be an 8
*If a player can play a card, the player has to do it. If the player fails to do this and the other people notice, the solitaire is stopped and the offending player gets 200 negative points
* If a player can't play a card the player says "pass"
* If a player plays an ace the player can play another card