Elfern

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Elfern (Elfmandeln) is a very old German card game for two players. It uses a 32-card deck (either a Piquet pack with French suits or a German-suited Skat pack) and has no trumps. The goal is to win the majority of the 20 honours: in a Piquet pack those are Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten; in a Skat pack those are Ace, King, Ober, Unter and Ten.

How to play
- Setup: The first dealer is chosen by lot. Each player is dealt 6 cards in two rounds of 2 cards. There is a stock of cards for drawing; no trumps are used.
- Play order: Forehand (the non-dealer) leads the first trick. A trick is won by the highest card of the led suit.
- Two phases:
- Phase 1 (stock present): After winning a trick, the winner draws a card from the stock, then the other player draws one. Players do not have to follow suit in this phase.
- Phase 2 (stock depleted): Players must follow suit, and revoking is now allowed if possible.
- Scoring: Each card other than 7–9 is worth 1 point, for a total of 20 points. The first player to reach 11 points wins the deal. If a player reaches 15 points, that’s “schneider.” If someone reaches 20, that’s “schwarz.” The winner becomes the next dealer.
- Ties and variations: If both players have 10 points (a Ständer), the next game counts double. There are different ways to choose the next dealer in that case, and some rules handle a second tie differently. In some versions the score is kept with banners or lines instead of points.

Strategy and tips
- Focus on the honours (the valuable cards) and try not to waste them.
- Plan your plays so you can keep or capture honours at the right moments.
- In the endgame, lead with suits you still have strong cards in and manage your honours to secure a win.

Names and meaning
- Elfern means “playing Elevens.”
- Elfmandeln is Austrian/German for “eleven little men,” referring to the score.
- Figurenspiel is another name, meaning “honours game.”

History
- Elfern is at least 250 years old and may be an ancestor of the Marriage family of games. It’s a simple, non-trump trick-and-draw game that some German children still play today.