Beutelschneider
Beutelschneider Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
66 cards and rulebook.
Card order, ascending value (suit cards):
- Gold piece 1 (1 gold) – 1 point
- Gold pieces 2 (2 gold) – 2 points
- Gold pieces 3 (3 gold) – 3 points
- Gold pieces 4 (4 gold) – 4 points
- Beggar (B)
- Tavern Maid (S) (Schankmagd)
- Innkeeper (W) (Wirt)
- Gold sack (10) – 10 points
- Merchant (K) / Cutpurse (dagger) (Kaufmann / Beutelschneider)
Trumps (violet):
- Night Watchman (N) (Nachtwächter)
- Guard (G) (Gardist)
- Assassin (M) (Meuchelmörder)
- Adventurer (A) / Countess (C) (Abenteurer / Comtesse)
- Court Physician (H) (Hofarzt)
- Chancellor (K) (Kanzler)
- Bishop (B) (Bischof)
- Prince (F) (Fürst)
Suits: Red, Green, Yellow, Blue.
Game Concept
Beutelschneider is a classic trick-taking card game. In the tricks, each player tries to collect as many gold pieces and gold sacks as possible. Take care not to catch one of the Beutelschneider (cutpurses), who take the gold away again, that is, who bring point deductions.
Additionally, players can score special points by playing certain card combinations.
Rounds are played until a player reaches 100 points or more. If several players reach this at the same time, the player with the most points wins. If desired, this limit may also be moved up or down.
After every player has played a card, the player who played the highest card of the led suit, or the highest trump, takes the trick (see also: Special Points).
The player who wins a trick places it face down in front of themselves and leads the first card of the next trick.
Scoring
A player can score a total of 80 points in one game from gold pieces and gold sacks.
For each Beutelschneider that a player has in their tricks, they must, however, deduct 20 points. Negative points can therefore also be scored.
Setup
Always play with all suit cards.
The trumps used are adjusted according to the number of players:
- 3 players: trumps without Court Physician, Chancellor and Bishop
- 4 players: trumps without Court Physician
- 5 players: all trumps
All cards are shuffled together. Each player then receives the same number of face-down cards. Thus, with 3 players each gets 14, with 4 players each gets 11, and with 5 players each gets 9 cards.
Playing the Game
The player to the left of the dealer plays first a card. The player following clockwise then has the following options:
- If the player has one or more cards of the led suit, they must follow suit, that is, play a card of that suit onto the card on the table. This also applies when a trump has been led.
- If the player does not have the led suit, they may either discard (play a card of any other suit) or play a trump card.
Special Points
Additionally, special points can be scored with the trumps. In general, a player only receives special points if they also win the respective trick.
To mark special points, the player simply places a face-up card of any kind next to their tricks for every 10 special points.
The Night Watchman announces the end of the market day at sunset. If a player wins the last trick of a game with the Night Watchman, they receive 10 special points for it.
The Guard maintains law and order on the market square and catches Beutelschneider. If one or more Beutelschneider lie in a trick with a Guard, all negative points are cancelled (the Beutelschneider are set aside). If the Guard's player also wins the trick, they receive 10 special points for each captured Beutelschneider.
The Assassin has been commissioned by a foreign power to murder the authorities of the realm (Court Physician, Chancellor, Bishop, Prince). If one or more of these cards lie in a trick and the Assassin is played onto them, the Assassin counts as a higher trump and wins the trick, unless a higher trump is played on it afterwards. If the Assassin's player wins the trick, they receive 10 special points for each authority murdered.
The Adventurer and the Countess try to seduce each other. They are equal trumps; of the two, the card that was played last into the trick is the higher. For this, the player of the second card receives 10 points, if they also win the trick.
The Bard should in principle bring couples together with his music, but he tends to achieve the opposite. He drives out a couple (one male and one female person, whether suit card, trump or special card) from the completed trick. The Bard's player chooses which, places one of the cards face up in front of themselves, and receives 10 special points for it. If there is no such couple in the trick, the Bard has no effect. The winner of the trick is determined from the remaining cards. If only the Bard remains, the Bard's player plays the next card.
The Court Physician, Chancellor, Bishop and Prince have no special functions, except that they can be murdered by the Assassin.
Example of a trump combination:
Player 1 plays a Beutelschneider, Player 2 plays the Guard onto it, which cancels the -20 points of the Beutelschneider. Player 3 now plays the Chancellor, who is then done away with by Player 4 with the Assassin. Now Player 4 would take the trick, if it were not overtrumped by Player 5 with the Countess, who takes this trick and leads the next. Nobody receives special points.
Special Cards
The purple special cards may be used at any time in the game.
They are shuffled separately from the other cards. Each player receives one of these cards face down and takes it into their hand. The remaining special cards are set aside face down.
Special cards count as neutral cards, that is, they belong to no suit and are no trump. At any time, they may be played into a trick instead of a normal card, in order not to have to follow suit. In addition, they have some special effects:
- The Hypnotist confuses people so that they no longer know which way is up. Played into a trick, the player who played the lowest card wins that trick. This is either the lowest card of the led suit or, if a trump was led, the lowest trump.
- The Illusionist makes a card vanish from a trick and reappear with the player who played the special card. The player may take a card from the completed trick and place it with their tricks.
- The Juggler can juggle his balls endlessly in a circle. If he is played into a trick, the trick is extended by one round: only after 6, 8 or 10 cards does the player of the highest card take the whole trick.
- The Muscleman is in thrall to all the Tavern Maids. Played into a trick, the player receives 10 special points for each Tavern Maid (which they can take from the trick and place with their own cards).
- The Fool mocks the authorities of the town and thereby cancels all trumps. Their special functions and points are also cancelled. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick. If otherwise there are only trumps in the trick, the player of the Fool receives the trick and leads the next.
- The Alchemist is somewhat incompetent and turns all gold into lead in a trick. All gold pieces and gold sacks in a trick that also contains the Alchemist are therefore scored as 0 points. The winner of the trick is not changed by the Alchemist.
- The Swindler affects the next trick played. In it, all cards are played face down and only revealed at the end. Afterwards the winner is determined by the usual rules. In the last trick of a game this card has no effect.
- The Dancer is a seductress, for whom players gladly hand over all their small change. If the Dancer is played into a trick, the player of the Dancer receives all small-change cards (1 – 4 gold) from that trick. The remaining cards (including gold sacks) go to the regular winner of the trick.
- If a player plays the Soothsayer into a trick, they may determine which suit (including trump) is played in the next trick. If the leading player does not have the demanded suit, they play any card. In the last trick of a game this card has no effect.
- The seductive Maid cannot be resisted by anyone (neither man nor woman). Played into a trick, the player who played the highest gold card wins the trick. All other figures were too distracted. If there are several highest gold cards, the player of the card played first wins.
The Special Cards Krimsu, Sandfox and Emilia & Tim
The three special cards Krimsu, Sandfox and Emilia & Tim have no special rules. You may simply regard them as nice decoration, or come up with your own rules for them.