Mückenstich
Mückenstich Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1. Game Material
- 52 number cards in 4 colors (each color has one card of each of the numbers 1 to 11 and two with the number 12)
- 12 mosquito cards in 4 colors (3 per color)
- 2 cards that show the trump color on both their front and back
2. Goal of the Game
The goal of the game is to collect as many plus points (number cards) as possible and to avoid taking minus points (mosquito bites).
Play as many rounds as the number of players; with 3 players each round consists of 2 phases.
3. Set-up
The dealer shuffles and distributes the cards as follows:
- with 6 players each gets 10 cards
- with 5 players each gets 12 cards
- with 4 players each gets 15 cards
- with 3 players each gets 10 cards; an additional 10 cards are distributed for a second phase after the first 10 are played
In each case 4 cards are left over and are not used in the round.
Each player sorts his cards and sets two of them face down to the side; these are removed from play for that round. Both number and mosquito cards may be set aside.
Exception: With 6 players, no cards are set aside.
4. Play of the Game
The player to the left of the dealer begins and plays any card. The other players must follow suit of the color of the first played card. Players unable to follow suit may play any card. After all players have played a card, the winner of the trick is determined.
Order of Rank
The number cards are ordered in rank according to their value, with 1 being the lowest and 12 being the highest ranking number card. The second 12 of the same color "bites" the first 12 and is thus higher.
The mosquitos are the highest cards of their color (even though they count as minus points when scoring). Here also, as with the 12's, the second mosquito "bites" the first of its color (and is thus higher) and the third mosquito "bites" the second.
Determining Trump
Whenever a mosquito is played, that player decides on a trump color. This can be the color of the mosquito played or another color. The trump color can change during a trick; it remains valid until another mosquito is played and then that player decides on a new trump color (he can also choose to not change the previous trump color). At the beginning of the game there is no trump color, since no mosquitos have yet been played.
Capturing Tricks
The winner of the trick is the player who has played the highest card:
- in a trick without trump the winner is the card with highest number of the first played color
- in a trick with trump the winner is the card with the highest card of the color that was declared by the last played mosquito as the trump color.
- If there is no card of the last declared trump color in the trick, the highest card of the first played color wins the trick.
Whoever wins the trick puts it face-down in front of himself and plays a card to start the next trick.
Playing note: Players may not look at previously won tricks during the round.
5. Scoring
After all tricks are played, the round is scored. The basic priniciple is this: each number card scores 1 plus point (regardless of its value), each mosquito card scores 5 minus points.
First, however, the player with the fewest tricks (which might be 0 tricks), decides which color will score double. The doubling only applies to plus points, not to mosquitos.
If 2 or more players have the fewest tricks (or also 0 tricks), no color is doubled.
Next, the player with the most mosquitos in his tricks decides which of the remaining three colors will not be scored (this also only applies to plus points, not to mosquitos).
If 2 or more players have the most mosquitos, no color is removed from scoring.
Each player then adds up his plus points and subtracts the minuses. Only the first mosquito of a color counts as 5 minus points, any other mosquitos of this color score 0 points. (Thus, the most minus points that can be scored in one round by a player is 20.)
The scores are recorded. The player to the left of the last dealer now shuffles and deals the cards for the next round.
Scoring Example
Arne has, in a 5 player game, won 1 trick with the following cards:
- Red: 2, 4, 8, 12, 12
Geli, Ernst, and Harald each won 2 tricks.
- Geli: Blue: 2, 4, 5, 11, 12, 12 / Green: 12 / Red: 1, as well as 1 Blue mosquito and 1 Green mosquito
- Ernst: Blue: 1, 9 / Black: 7 / Green: 2, 10, 11, as well as 2 Green mosquitos, 1 Blue mosquito, and 1 Red mosquito
- Harald: Black: 1, 11, 12 / Green: 5 / Red: 3, 5, 6, and 2 Black mosquitos and 1 Red mosquito
Fritz won 3 tricks:
- Blue: 3, 8, 10 / Black: 2, 4, 6 / Green: 1, 6, 9, 12 / Red: 7, 9, 10, 11, and 1 Black mosquito
Arne, who has the fewest tricks, decides that red will score double. Ernst, who has the most mosquitos, decides that black will not be scored (he would rather have chosen red but that color had already been picked by Arne).
The point distribution for this example:
- Arne: 10 points (each red card counts double plus points)
- Geli: -1 point (9 pluses and 10 minuses)
- Ernst: -10 points (5 pluses and 15 minuses; the second green mosquito doesn't count minus)
- Harald: -3 points (red counts double plus points, black scores no plus points; the single green number card scores 1 plus and the 3 red number cards score 6 plus, while the 1 red and 1 black mosquitos scores 10 minus points)
- Fritz: 10 points (15 pluses and 5 minuses)
6. End of the Game
The player with the highest total score from all rounds is the winner - most likely the one who had the fewest mosquito bites?