HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Knektpass or Knekt-Pass, also called Rams, is an old Swedish
card game A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card g ...
of the
Rams group Rams is a European trick-taking card game related to Nap and Loo, and may be played by any number of persons not exceeding nine, although five or seven make a good game. In Belgium and France, the game of Rams is also spelt Rammes or Rems, in Ger ...
, mentioned as early as 1834. It is a trick-taking game for two or more players and features the four Jacks as top trumps.


Name

The name ''Knektpass'' literally means "Knight Pass" and clearly refers to the four 'Knights' which have been promoted to top trumps, a feature that does not appear in any other variants of Rams. The word ''pass'' can mean pass in the sense of a permit or a mountain pass and probably refers to the privilege of the Knights in being able to pass unscathed through a trick, unable to be beaten by the other lesser cards.


Cards

A 36-card pack of the
French-suited French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. I ...
, 'Modern Swedish' pattern is used. The honours or permanent trumps are the four 'knights': J, J, J and J which rank in that order. They are followed by the cards of the trump suit from Ace down to Six, with the exception of the Jack. The plain suits rank in their natural order: A > K > Q > 10 > 9 > 8 > 7 > 6. If more than three play, a 52-card pack is used.


Rules

The following rules are based on those in the ''Ny och fullständig svensk spelbok'' of 1847.


Preliminaries

Players start the game with an agreed number of points each, typically 12, which is chalked on a slate or pencilled on a scoresheet. The aim of the game is to be the first player to reach 0 points by taking tricks. Each trick won earns a one-point deduction from the starting total of 12 points.


Deal and exchange

At the start of the game, players cut for the deal; the player with the lowest card deals, shuffles the pack, offers it to his right for cutting and then deals 5 cards each to the left in packets of 2 and then 3, before turning the next card for trumps. Thereafter, the deal rotates to the left. The dealer may exchange with the trump turnup. Forehand (left of the dealer) then announces whether he will play or pass (i.e. drop out of the current deal), followed by the other players in clockwise order. In the same order, those who elect to play may then discard any number of hand cards in return for the same number of cards from the talon. There may be up to three rounds of exchanging. If all pass, the cards are redealt. If only one plays, he wins immediately and deducts 5 points from his score; the others keeping their current scores.


Play

At least 2 players must elect to play for the deal to proceed. The player in forehand leads. Players must follow suit and overtake if possible.


Scoring

A player must take at least as many tricks as they exchanged cards. If they succeed, they deduct 1 point per trick taken. If they fail, they add 5 points multiplied by the number of tricks they fell short of the minimum. For example, if a player exchanges 2 cards and takes 2 tricks, they deduct 2 points. If they only take one trick, they add 5 points; if they take no tricks, they add 10 points to their score. The first player to reach 0 points is the winner._ (1847)
''Ny och fullständig svensk spelbok: eller Grundlig Anvisning Till Alla Nu Brukliga Kortspel.''
ew and Complete Swedish Games Book: or Thorough Instructions for All Currently Playable Card GamesGothenburg: D. F. Bonniers. pp. 236–237


References


Bibliography

* *{{cite book , surname =Glimne , first=Dan , title=Lilla kortspelshandboken , location=Stockholm , publisher=Känguru , year=2006 , isbn=91-85476-32-3 Swedish card games French deck card games Rams group Multi-player card games