Gaigel

Full rules

1. Overview
2. The cards
3. Teams and setup
4. The first trick
5. While there is a stock
6. When the stock is used up
7. Pairs (20 and 40)
8. Robbing the trump card
9. "Aus!" – ending the deal
10. Scoring
11. Tips for beginners
12. Variants

Overview

Gaigel is the Swabian cousin of Sixty-Six, played with a double deck. It is usually played by four players in two teams, partners sitting opposite each other. In each deal, you win tricks and score points for the valuable cards in them, plus bonuses for holding a King and Queen of the same suit. The first team to collect 101 points calls "Aus!" ("out!") and wins the deal – but call it too early or too late and you lose double.

• Players: 4 in two teams of two (also 6 in two teams of three, or 2–3 each playing alone – see Variants).
• You need: two standard 52-card decks, and paper and pencil.

Deal and play go anticlockwise (to the right).

The cards

From both decks, take out the Aces, Tens, Kings, Queens, Jacks and Sevens of every suit – 48 cards, each card twice. The Ten ranks just below the Ace:

There are 240 points in the pack. When two identical cards are played to the same trick, the one played first beats the other.

Teams and setup

1. Teams: deal cards face up one at a time, round the table, until two Aces have appeared. The player who got the first Ace deals first; the player with the second Ace is their partner. Partners sit opposite each other and stay together for the whole session.
2. The dealer shuffles and lets the player on their left cut.
3. Deal 3 cards to each player, starting on the dealer's right. Turn the next card face up in the middle: its suit is trumps for this deal – a trump beats any card of another suit. Then deal 2 more cards each, so everyone has 5.
4. Put the rest of the pack face down across the trump card, so the trump card stays visible. This is the stock.

The player on the dealer's right is forehand and leads to the first trick. After each deal, the turn to deal passes to the right.

The first trick

A trick is one card from each player; whoever plays the best card wins them all. The first trick follows special rules. Nobody may play a trump in it, unless their hand is all trumps – and such a trump has no power and can't win. Forehand announces one of three openings:

• Ge-Elfen ("making eleven"): forehand leads a non-trump Ace face up. The others play any card. Forehand wins the trick, whatever is played.
• Zweite Alte ("second Ace"): forehand leads a non-trump Ace face down, and everyone else plays a card face down. Then all cards are turned over. If someone played the same Ace, that player wins the trick; otherwise forehand wins.
• Höher hat ("higher has"): forehand leads any card except an Ace or a trump, face down, and everyone else plays a card face down. After turning them over, the highest card of the suit led wins; if two equal cards are best, the earlier one wins.

If forehand holds five trumps, they lead one face up and win the trick, since nobody else may play a trump (in the rare case that another player also holds five trumps, the higher trump wins).

Example: Anna is forehand and holds A♦, but no second A♦. She plays it face down and says "Zweite Alte". Ben, Carla and Dan play face down too. Nobody has played the other A♦, so Anna's team wins the trick.

While there is a stock

After each trick, starting with the winner, every player takes the top card of the stock, so everyone has 5 cards again. The winner leads to the next trick.

While the stock lasts, you may play any card: there is no need to follow suit or to trump. The highest trump wins the trick; if there is none, the highest card of the suit led wins. Of two identical cards, the first one played wins.

The last card of the stock is the face-up trump card.

When the stock is used up

Once all cards have been drawn, the strict rules apply:

1. Follow suit – play a card of the suit led if you can.
2. If you can't, you must trump.
3. Either way, you must beat the highest card in the trick if you can.
4. With neither suit nor trump, play any card.

Pairs (20 and 40)

If you hold the King and Queen of one suit, you can declare them: show both cards and say "20", or "40" in trumps. The points count for your team. You may only declare once your team has won at least one trick, and only cards still in your hand count – a King or Queen that has been played can't be declared any more.

To declare a second pair in the same suit, you need the other King and Queen: you can't reuse a card. Many players turn one card of that suit face up in their trick pile as a reminder.

Robbing the trump card

If you hold the 7 of trumps and your team has won a trick, you may put the 7 under the stock and take the face-up trump card in exchange – but not with a 7 drawn as one of the last four cards of the stock.

(Traditionally, you can slide the 7 under the stock but leave the trump card lying there, so that your partner can use the second 7 of trumps to take it instead. Once a 7 is under the stock, the other team can no longer rob.)

"Aus!" – ending the deal

Each team counts the points in its tricks plus its declared pairs. As soon as your team has 101 or more, say "Aus!" and stop playing. Then the tricks are counted:

• Correct: your team wins the deal – a single game. If the other team has no trick at all, you win a double game, a Gigackel.
• Too early (under 101, called untergaigeln): the other team wins a double game.
• Too late: if your team has 101 and plays a card to the next trick instead of calling (übergaigeln), and the other team notices, your team loses a double game.

With 240 points in the pack, one team always reaches 101.

Scoring

Draw a line for each team from a small circle in the middle. The losers of each deal mark one stroke on their line, or a V (two strokes) for a Gigackel. When the agreed number of strokes (say 10) has been given out, the cleaning phase starts: now the winners of each deal cross out one of their own strokes, or two for a Gigackel. The first team to clear its line wins the session.

Example: 10 strokes are out – Anna and Carla have 4, Ben and Dan have 6. Anna and Carla win the next deal with a Gigackel and cross out 2: they need just two more single wins.

When 9 strokes have been given, the last one can only be a single stroke.

Tips for beginners

• Keep count. One player per team collects the tricks and adds up the points – you must call "Aus!" at the right moment.
• Open with Ge-Elfen if you have an Ace – a sure trick lets your team declare pairs straight away.
• Hold on to King–Queen pairs while the stock lasts; a 40 is a third of the way to 101.
• Don't waste high trumps early – after the stock is gone, the trumps decide who takes the Aces and Tens.

Variants

All optional – agree before playing.

• Six players: two teams of three, sitting alternately. Only 18 cards stay in the stock, so the strict rules start after the third trick.
• Three or two players: everyone plays alone. With three, if nobody reaches 101, the highest total wins.
• Knocking: instead of cutting, the player on the dealer's left may knock on the pack; then everyone gets all 5 cards in one packet.
• Five Sevens: a player dealt five 7s shows them and wins the deal at once.
• Auf Siebener: a player dealt four 7s may announce it, keep them and play only the fifth card each trick without winning. If they draw a fifth 7 before the other team reaches 101, their team wins.
• Signals: at some tables, partners may give each other secret signs – a hand on the heart for hearts, a blink for the Ace of trumps.
• Shorter session: 5 strokes instead of 10.