Wallachen

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Card values and ranking
3. Setup and deal
4. Doubling (Doppeln)
5. Bidding
6. Preparing the hand
7. Trump declaration
8. The play
9. Scoring and settlement

Overview

Wallachen (historically also called Walacho or known regionally as Säbeln) is an endangered three-player tavern card game from Eastern Bavaria and the Bavarian-Bohemian borderlands. Closely related to the older Austrian courtly game Préférence, Wallachen is a pure trick-taking game (Stichspiel): card points do not exist, and every round is decided strictly by how many tricks the soloist can capture.

One soloist bids against the two defending players for the right to name trumps and make their contract. Play is governed by strict Bavarian trick-taking conventions: players must follow suit, trump when void, and beat the highest card whenever legally possible.

• Players: 3 active players.
• You need: a 32-card German-suited deck (Bavarian pattern with Acorns, Leaves, Hearts, and Bells) or a standard French-suited pack stripped to 7 through Ace (no 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, or jokers). Chips or counters for scoring.

Card values and ranking

Unlike Schafkopf or Tarock, the Ten occupies its natural numerical rank below the court cards. Cards rank within each suit from high to low:

Ace / Daus (Sau) – King – Ober / Queen – Unter / Jack – 10 – 9 – 8 – 7

Cards have no point values. Only the number of tricks captured counts towards fulfilling the contract.

Setup and deal

1. Players choose seats, and the first dealer is determined by high card or common agreement. The deal rotates clockwise after each hand.
2. The player to the dealer's left is forehand (Vorhand), followed by middlehand (Mittelhand), with the dealer acting as rearhand (Hinterhand).
3. The dealer shuffles, the player to the right cuts, and the dealer distributes 10 cards to each player (traditionally in packets of 3, then 4, then 3) and 2 cards face down in the centre of the table as the Stock (or Dabb).

Doubling (Doppeln)

Before or during the deal, any player who feels confident in their hand may announce a double (Doppler / Klopfen). A double doubles the game value for all players at the table.

Bidding

Bidding proceeds clockwise, starting with forehand:

1. Bidding tricks: A bid names the number of tricks the player contracts to win out of the 10 tricks played.
2. Opening bid: Forehand may open by announcing "Ich spiele" ("I play"), which represents a basic contract of 6 tricks. Alternatively, forehand may pass.
3. Overbidding: Subsequent players may either pass or overbid by naming a higher trick target: 7, 8, or 9 tricks.
4. Special contracts: Instead of a number of tricks, a player may bid one of two extreme contracts: - Bettel: A contract to win zero tricks. There are no trumps. The soloist fails immediately if they win even a single trick. - Mord: A contract to win all 10 tricks. There are no trumps. The soloist fails immediately if the defenders win any trick.
5. Holding: A player who was previously highest bidder may hold an incoming higher bid ("Halte ich" or "Selbst"), claiming positional priority over later players.
6. Pass out: If all three players pass without bidding, forehand is typically compelled to play a basic 6-trick contract (Muss-Spiel). Alternatively, the table may agree that all players pay one chip into a communal pot (Haferl) and the cards are redealt by the next dealer.

The highest bidder becomes the soloist (Alleinspieler) and plays alone against the other two players acting in partnership.

Preparing the hand

Before play begins, the soloist takes the 2 face-down cards from the Stock into hand (holding 12 cards) and discards 2 unwanted cards face down to the side. The discarded cards are set aside and take no further part in the hand; they do not count as captured tricks.

Trump declaration

• In a standard trick contract (6 to 9 tricks), the suit of the first card led by the soloist to the opening trick automatically becomes the trump suit for the entire hand.
• In Bettel and Mord, there is no trump suit; all four suits remain plain.

The play

The soloist always leads to the first trick. Trick play is governed by strict Bavarian rules:

1. Must follow suit (Farbzwang): You must play a card of the suit led if you hold one.
2. Must head the trick (Stichzwang): When following suit, you must beat the highest card currently winning the trick if able.
3. Must trump (Trumpfzwang): If you cannot follow the suit led, you must play a trump if you hold one. If another player has already played a trump, you must overtrump if able.
4. Only if you cannot follow suit and have no trumps remaining may you discard any off-suit card.

The trick is won by the highest trump played, or by the highest card of the suit led if no trumps were played. The winner of the trick collects the three cards and leads to the next trick.

Scoring and settlement

Once all 10 tricks are played, the tricks won by the soloist are counted:

• Standard contract made: If the soloist wins at least their contracted number of tricks, each defender pays the soloist the agreed unit value for each trick won (e.g. 7 tricks won at 1 unit = 7 units from each defender).
• Standard contract failed: If the soloist falls short of their contract, the soloist pays each defender the agreed unit value for each trick bid (e.g. bidding 7 tricks and winning only 5 = soloist pays 7 units to each defender).
• Bettel: If the soloist captures zero tricks, they win a fixed flat rate (traditionally 10 units from each defender). If they take any trick, they lose and pay 10 units to each defender.
• Mord: If the soloist captures all 10 tricks, they win a fixed flat rate (traditionally 10 units from each defender). If the defenders take any trick, the soloist loses and pays 10 units to each defender.
• Any active doubles (Doppler) double the final transaction.