Mariáš or Mariasch a three-player, solo

trick-taking game A trick-taking game is a card- or tile-based game in which play of a ''hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of that trick. The object of suc ...

of the

king–queen family () or Mariagenspiel is a German 6-card trick-and-draw game for two players in which players score bonus points for the "marriage" of king and queen of the same suit. The game, first documented in 1715 in Leipzig, spawned numerous offshoots thro ...

of ace–ten games, but with a simplified scoring system. It is one of the most popular card games in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, but is also played in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

as well as in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. The Hungarian national card game

Ulti Ulti, or Ultimó, is Hungary's national trick-taking game, trick-taking card game for three players. It is virtually unknown outside its home borders. History Its name derives from the winning of the last trick with the lowest trump, a feature de ...

is an elaboration of Mariáš.

Variants in former Czechoslovakia

* ''Lízaný mariáš'' (Draw Mariage) – trick-and-draw game, two players, very similar to old German card game, Mariage and Polish Tysiąc (one thousand) * ''Volený mariáš'' (Called Mariage) – three players, no drawing,

eldest hand Card players are those participating in a Card game#Hands, rounds and games, card game. Various names are given to card players based on their role or position. Position Games of Anglo-American origin In games of Anglo-American origin pla ...

determines the trump suit, the other players defend together in partnership * ''Křížový mariáš'' (Cross Mariage) – four players, 8 tricks, elder hand sets up the trump suit and calls (chooses) one trump honour card to be in partnership, two others are defenders) * ''Licitovaný mariáš'' (Auction Mariage) – three players, ten tricks bidding phase like in the contract bridge, the strongest player chooses the contract, the other two players become the defenders * ''Hvězdicový mariáš'' (Star Mariage) – five players, six tricks, bidding phase and contractor calls the trump honour, the other three players become the defenders

Basic rules

* only 32 playing cards: A, 10, K, O, U, 9, 8, 7 in four suits (card 10 is higher than King, except Betl and Durch contracts) * follow the suit in the trick (like bridge) * necessity play higher card (override) to kill (take) the trick (unlike bridge) * if unable to follow suit, necessity play trump card (unlike bridge) * if unable to kill the trick, smaller card is possible

No shuffling

The winner of the trick places the cards played to own winning stack on the table (and begin a new trick). Some deals are played only a few tricks and the declarer resigns or shows a winning hand. The score is calculated by adding the counters in all the stacks, but these cards stay in order. The card sequence in the tricks must be conserved. Dealer collect all stacks together without shuffling and offers the opportunity to cut the cards before a new deal. The players can use the information about following "cards in a row" in previous deal, if the cards were shown. This aspect boost the calculations in the next deals, some hands look strong enough, but the reality is different due to odd distribution of honours or suits that are too long or too short in the hands of other players.

Cutting

Cutting is necessary (note that cutting just one card, or all bar one card, is forbidden) and especially the powerful finesse cause the strong cards can be sent to the cutter´s hand in next deal. Dealer has some possibilities to prevent, he could collect all the stacks in the right way before the cutting. Dealing is ordered by a scheme, after the cutting... ''alea iacta est'')

Dealing

* 7-5-5-5-5-5 in Volený mariáš (the elder hand sets up the trump suit when he has seven cards in hand, after the setting he takes the second part – another five cards, then chooses and puts two cards aside) * 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 in Křížový mariáš (elder hand set-up trump when he has four cards in hand) * 5-5-5-2-5-5-5 in Licitovaný mariáš (the winner of bidding process can take two cards left on the table (talon) and put off another two cards and then he pronounces the commitments in his contract).

Scoring

* Ace = 10 points, 10 = 10 points, last trick (ultimo) = 10 points (summarised 90 points) * Marriage (K+Q in the same suit in one player´s hand) trump suit 40 points, other suits 20, 20, 20 points (100 bonus points, 190 maximum score) * draw-game (the same score) is not possible

Special contracts with bonuses

* Betl (win 0 trick) or Durch (win all tricks) are special plain-trick games incorporated (escape from point-trick game, good chance to win against strong cards) * 7 – play the smallest trump card in the last trick (need to win this trick) * 100 – score 100 points or more (90 points lost the game, need 60+40 with trump marriage or 80+20 with no-trump marriage, each overtrick adds payment bonus) * 2x7 – need win no-trump suit 7 in the penultimate trick, trump 7 after that in the last trick (requirement: two long suits in hand) '' "Flek!"'' (reply by defenders after the contract announcement) doubles the stake. The declarers can reply with ''"Re"'', etc. Hearts set up as trump suit – double payments.

Rufmariasch

Rufmariasch is a

Danube Swabian The Danube Swabians ( ) is a collective term for the ethnic German-speaking population who lived in the Kingdom of Hungary in east-central Europe, especially in the Danube River valley, first in the 12th century, and in greater numbers in the 17 ...

variant of Marias for 4 players with variable partnerships. A

William Tell pack German-suited playing cards are a very common style of traditional playing card used in many parts of Central Europe characterised by 32- or 36-card packs with the suits of Acorns (''Eichel'' or ''Kreuz''), Leaves (''Grün'', ''Blatt'', ''Laub ...

of 32 cards is used with Aces ranking high and the usual four suits:

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

(''Grüne''), Bells (''Schelle''),

Acorns Acorns may refer to: * Plural of acorn, the nut of the oak tree * Acorns (company) Acorns is an American financial technology and financial services company. Based in Irvine, California, Acorns specializes in micro-investing and robo advice ...

(''Eichel'') and Hearts (''Herz''). The dealers shuffles and has the cards cut before dealing 4 cards each.

Forehand The forehand is a shot used in most racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and pickleball, where the palm of the hand precedes the back of the hand when swinging the racket. In tennis, except in the context of the phrase ''forehand volley ...

in this game is the

declarer Card players are those participating in a card game. Various names are given to card players based on their role or position. Position Games of Anglo-American origin In games of Anglo-American origin played in English-speaking countries, ...

(''Spieler'', lit. "player") must now "call" by naming any card in the pack. The called card determines trump and its holder becomes the declarer's secret partner. The dealer now deals the remaining packet of 4 cards to each player."Rufmariasch"
in ''Card Games of the Donauschwaben in 18th- and 19th-century Hungary'' at rick-heli.site. Retrieved 8 June 2023. Players may score bonus points by

melding Meld or melding can refer to: *Meld (cards), displaying a set of cards to other players *David Melding, a Welsh politician See also * Meld (disambiguation) MELD may refer to: * Model for End-Stage Liver Disease, a prognostic model * A variant of t ...

the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

and

Ober Ober may refer to: * Ober (playing card), court card in the German and Swiss styles of playing cards * Ober, Indiana, an unincorporated community in Washington Township, Starke County * Oberek (also ''ober''), a lively Polish dance in triple metre ...

of the same suit. This may be done before play begins and up to the play of the last card of the first trick. A player melds by laying both cards on the table. Provided the melder takes at least one trick during play, this scores 20 points that team. A trump meld scores 40. The declarer leads to the first trick. Players must

follow suit A trick-taking game is a card- or tile-based game in which play of a ''hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of that trick. The object of suc ...

if able; otherwise must trump if possible. Subject to those rules, players must also

head the trick The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to Bridge (card game), bridge, Hearts ...

if they can. The highest trump takes the trick or the highest card of the

led suit The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to Bridge (card game), bridge, Hearts ...

if no trumps are played. The trick winner leads to the next trick. Teams score 10 points for each Ace and Ten taken in tricks; in addition there are 10 points for winning the last trick. Melds are added to the score if the melder took at least one trick. The team with the higher score wins and the losers pay the difference to the winners.

References

External links

*
Czech Mariáš Association – official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marias 18th-century card games Czech card games Three-player card games Solo card games King–queen games Point-trick games German deck card games