Hello,
Given the current lack of two-player trick-taking card games, I would like to bring up another one for consideration, very closely related to 66 which I suggested in the past.

Schnapsen is a trick-taking game in the Marriage group where players aim to score points by winning tricks and creating melds with pairs of kings and queens of the same suit.

There are a few things that make Schnapsen unique from the similar games found here. First, each round is divided into two phases with slightly different rules of the play. In short, during the first phase, you are trying to win tricks and improve your hand by drawing a card from the talon at each turn, and you don't need to worry about following suit until the talon is exhausted (closed). After that, you must follow suit for the remaining tricks. Second, to win a hand, you need to accumulate 66 card points and close the round by declaring this fact. Since you originally shouldn't be able to use a scoresheet, you need to keep track of the card points accumulated during the round to stay in picture. If you forget to declare your 66 points, your opponent can win by doing so first, regardless of your score. Also, falsely claiming 66 points results in a penalty, therefore closing the round in the right moment is probably the most crucial element of the game.

A game of Schnapsen usually goes up to seven points, which can happen quickly with penalties and bonuses. The small deck (20 cards) means every single card counts, making each play important. The detailed rules can be found here on Pagat

I understand that two-player trick-taking games might not be the most popular on the playroom, but As already said several times earlier, I believe they still could be a great addition, especially for those times when we just want to play a quick game, seek for a head-to-head challenge, our third partner has fallen asleep etc. Despite the gameplay being quite original, The rules are straightforward to grasp, without having to learn new concepts, yet it offers a lot of room for memory and strategy skills, as well as a bit of luck, which makes it a perfect candidate for this kind of game in my opinion.

Thanks for reading and not falling asleep,
A-T

nice idea!

Hello,
I like this idea and I'm a fan of this game, thanks for bringing it up. I hope it can be considered for the next trick-taking game.