{{italic title ''Schneider'' is a term used in many

card games A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...

for a low card point score that results in boosting an opponent's game score. The threshold is usually half the total points needed for a win; below the threshold, the player or team is ''Schneider''; above it they are 'out of ''Schneider. Its natural extension is ''Schwarz'', said of a player or team who loses the game without taking a single trick.

Origin

The term ''Schneider'' ("tailor") is German and comes from the medieval guild of tailors. Tailoring was a trade often associated with financial difficulties. For example, the pejorative remark "a tailor doesn't weigh more than 30

lots Lot, LOT, The Lot or similar may refer to: Common meanings Areas *Land lot, an area of land *Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *A Quantity, great many of something, as in, "There are a lot of beetles," or "T ...

", alluding to a tailor being underweight, was a common saying. People who were financially better off were thus "out of ''Schneider''" i.e. "off the hook". In the 19th century, the term was also used by student fraternities. The drinking game "Lustig, meine Sieben", in which a pair of scissors was drawn on the table if one scored under 30 points, called the loser of the game a "tailor", who then had to drink twice the amount. In the wake of this the term was probably transferred to the then still relatively new game of Skat, which spread quickly, especially among Thuringian and Saxon students, and is now Germany's national game. The colloquial proverb from

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 ...

"To give someone a ''Schneider''" means to defeat an opponent without their scoring. It may be applied to any

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

or game, but the term is mainly used in the card game of

Schnapsen Schnapsen, Schnapser or Schnapsa is a trick-taking card game of the bézique (ace–ten) family that is very popular in Bavaria and in the territories of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and has become the national card game of Austria and Hung ...

or in

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

Card games

In certain card games, mainly

point-trick games 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 ...

from

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

, a player or partnership that achieves less than half the required card points from their tricks to win the hand, is described as ''Schneider''. They usually lose double the normal game points.Erhard Gorys: ''Das Buch der Spiele.'' Manfred Pawlak Verlagsgesellschaft, Herrsching o. J.; p. 11.

Skat

In the German national sport of Skat there are 120 card points in play and therefore a player needs at least 61 points to win the game. If the declarer scores 90 points or more (i. e. the defenders have 30 or fewer points), then the opponents are ''Schneider'' and the declarer is credited with a higher game score. Likewise, a declarer who fails to score at least 31 is ''Schneider'' and loses by a higher amount. An extension of ''Schneider'' is ''Schwarz''. This is where all the tricks are won by one player or partnership and achieve an even higher game score. In order to achieve ''Schwarz'', the opponent or opponents must not have won any tricks at all, even those which do not score any card points. In ''Hand'' games where the ''skat'' (the two cards in the talon or stock) is not picked up, the declarer may announce ''Schneider'', or ''Schneider'' and ''Schwarz''. In open games ''Schwarz'' is automatically assumed and the game value increases accordingly. The player loses the game at this value, however, if he does not achieved the announced goal. Should the player become ''Schneider'' or ''Schwarz'' in this situation, there is no additional penalty; i.e. you cannot ''Schneider'' yourself.

Schafkopf

In the game of

Schafkopf Schafkopf (, lit. 'sheep's head'), also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German Trick-taking game, trick-taking card game of the ace–ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. ...

, if the soloist or declaring side score at least 91, they win ''Schneider'' and their opponents are said to 'be ''Schneider. The defending side only needs to score 90, to win ''Schneider''. That means that the soloist or declaring side must score at least 31 to be out of ''Schneider'' whilst the defenders only need to score 30 to do so. If a player or side wins no tricks by the end of the deal, they are ''Schwarz''.

Schnapsen and 66

In Austria's national game,

, which is played between 2 players, 130 points are available: 120 in cards and 10 for winning the last trick. A player thus requires 66 points to 'go out' and win. A player also needs at least 33 points to be 'out of ''Schneider. As before, a player is ''Schwarz'' if he or she takes no tricks at all. One game point is scored for a simple win, 2 for a ''Schneider'' win and 3 for a ''Schwarz'' win. The same rules apply to the German variant of Schnapsen, known as Sixty-Six.''Sechsundsechzig (66)''
at

pagat.com Pagat.com is a website containing rules to hundreds of card games from all over the world. Maintained by John McLeod, it contains information for traditional, commercial, and newly invented card games from all over the world. It has been describ ...

. Retrieved 19 May 2021.

Bauernschnapsen

In Bauernschnapsen, a variant of Schnapsen for four players, the term ''Schneider'' is used in a different way. In this game the aim is to be first to score 24 game points over several deals. This feat is recorded with a ''Bummerl'' or blob for the losers. However, if a team wins 24-0, the losers are ''Schneider'' and receive 2 ''Bummerls''.''Bauernschnapsen''
at

. Retrieved 19 May 2021. A team that was winning 23-0, but then loses, receives a ''Retourschneider'' ("return schneider"), also called a ''Schuster'' ("cobbler"; probably a play on the fact that ''Schneider'' means "tailor") or ''Rücker'' ("returner"), which is worth 4 ''Bummerls''.

Other card games

Other card games that use the terms ''Schneider'' or ''Schwarz'' include: *

Bavarian Tarock Bavarian Tarock () or, often, just Tarock, is a card game that was once popular in Bavaria and also played in parts of Austria as well as Berlin. The name is a clue to its origin in the historical German game of ross-arock, a game using traditio ...

Bohemian Schneider Bohemian Schneider () is a card game for two people, which is played with a German-suited Skat pack of 32 cards. Because it is a simple trick-taking game, it is often played by older children and is recommended for age 8 upwards. It was probably d ...

Elfern Elfern or Elfmandeln, is a very old, Germany, German and Austrian 6-card, no-trump, trick-and-draw game for two players using a 32-card, French-suited Piquet pack or German-suited Skat pack. The object is to win the majority of the 20 honours: the ...

German Schafkopf German Schafkopf () is an old German, ace–ten card game that is still played regionally in variant form today. It is the forerunner of the popular modern games of Skat, Doppelkopf and Bavarian Schafkopf. It originated in Leipzig in the Elect ...

* Herzblatt *

Officers' Skat Officers' Skat (''Offiziersskat''), is a trick-taking card game for two players which is based on the rules of Skat. It may be played with a German or French pack of 32 cards which, from the outset of the game, are laid out in rows both face do ...

Oma Skat Oma Skat or Grandmother's Skat (in German, also ''Blinden-Skat'' or ''Skat mit totem Mann'') is a variation of the card game, '' Skat'', for two players. It is especially popular in the Lüneburg Heath area of north Germany,

* Mucken * Schieber Jass *

Schieberamsch Schieberamsch is an unofficial contract within the popular German card games, Skat and Schafkopf, but "also makes a good game in its own right."Sheepshead * Spitzer *

Wendish Schafkopf Wendish Schafkopf (), Wendisch or WendschSirch (2008), p. 37. is an old German card game for four players that is still played today. It uses a Schafkopf pack of German-suited cards or a Skat pack of French playing cards. History Wendish Schaf ...

Darts

In German darts competitions, ''Schneider'' occurs if the game or leg is ended and the loser has not achieved enough points from which it is possible to end the game with 3 darts. In a ''double out'' this is 170 points, in a ''triple out'' or ''master out'' it is 180 points. The term was probably borrowed from Skat.

''Matsch''

In some games, particularly of Austrian or south German origin, the term ''Matsch'' ("mud"), formerly ''Mätsch'' or ''Martsch'', is used instead of ''Schneider'', but often has the same meaning in card games. A player or team that has lost and typically scored fewer than ¼ of the points is said to be 'in the mud' (''im Matsch'', ''Matsch werden'') or ''gematscht'' and usually has to pay double. To 'make a march' (''einen Matsch machen'') means to win all tricks. Examples include Einwerfen, German Tarok, Hundertspiel, Mariage,

Skwitz Skwitz was a 19th-century Austrian card game of the fishing type for 2 to 8 players that was said to be of English origin.Vanderheid (1866), p. 13–26. It may be a descendant of Cassino which it resembles. History The game appears as early as ...

and

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

. It can also mean a hand in which the loser wins no tricks at all, for example, in

Bauerntarock Bauerntarock ("farmers' tarot") also called Brixentaler Bauerntarock or Brixental Tarock, is a Trick-taking game, point-trick card game played in the Brixental, Austria. It may have originated in the 19th century either as an adaptation of 54-card ...

Dobbm Dobbm or Tappen is a card game played in the Stubai valley in Austria and is one of a family of games derived from the Tarot game of Grosstarock by adapting its rules to a regular, shortened pack of 36 cards. The ranking and point value of the ca ...

Droggn Droggn, sometimes called French Tarock () is an extinct card game of the Tarock family for three players that was played in the Stubai valley in Tyrol, Austria until the 1980s. ''Droggn'' is originally local dialect for "to play Tarock" (in stan ...

Jaggln Jaggln or Jaggeln is an historical Tyrol (state), Tyrolean card game designed for five players that used to be played purely as a winter pastime by farming folk. An unusual feature are its three highest trumps known as ''Jaggl, Zanggl'' and ''Bug ...

and games of the Swiss Jass family.''Herders Konversations-Lexikon'', p. 1462. Some English accounts mistranslate the term as 'match' but, in the sense of taking all tricks,

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

is more accurate.

References

External links

''Schneider'' at skat-palast.de
Card game terminology Schafkopf group Skat (card game)