Elfern facts for kids
| "An old game that's very easy and enjoyable" | |
     The 'honours' in the suit of Leaves.
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| Origin | Germany |
|---|---|
| Type | Point-trick |
| Players | 2 |
| Cards | 32 |
| Deck | German or French |
| Play | Alternate |
| Card rank (highest to lowest) | A K Q J 10 9 8 7 or A K O U 10 9 8 7 |
| Related games | |
| Bohemian Schneider | |
Elfern is a super old card game from Germany and Austria. It's also known as Eilfern, Figurenspiel, or Elfmandeln. This game is for two players and uses 32 cards. You can play with a French-suited deck (like a regular deck, but without 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s) or a German-suited deck.
In Elfern, there are no trumps. Your main goal is to win most of the "honours." Honours are special cards like the Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten in a French deck. If you use a German deck, the honours are the Ace, King, Ober, Unter, and Ten. There are 20 honours in total. Elfern is over 250 years old and is still a favorite game for kids in Germany!
Contents
Cards Used in Elfern
To play Elfern, you use a deck of 32 cards. This can be a "Piquet pack" (a French deck without cards from 2 to 6). Or you can use a German-suited "Skat pack."
Card Ranks
Cards rank in their natural order, from highest to lowest:
- Ace (A) is the highest.
- Then King (K).
- Then Queen (Q) or Ober (O).
- Then Jack (J) or Unter (U).
- Then 10, 9, 8, and 7 (which is the lowest).
There are no trump cards in Elfern. This means no suit is more powerful than others. If you play with German-suited cards, the Deuce (D) is the highest card. Then it goes King (K), Ober (O), Unter (U), 10, 9, 8, and 7.
How to Play Elfern
| Card | A | K | Q/O | J/U | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1 | – | ||||||
First, you need to decide who deals the cards. Players usually draw cards, and the one with the lower card deals first. The dealer gives each player 6 cards, two at a time.
Winning Tricks
The player who is not the dealer starts the first trick. A "trick" is when each player plays one card. The person who plays the highest card of the suit that was led wins the trick. For example, if a Heart is led, the highest Heart wins.
The game has two main parts:
First Part: Drawing Cards
In the first part, after someone wins a trick, they draw a new card from the leftover pile (called the "stock"). Then the other player also draws a card. The person who won the trick then starts the next trick. In this part, you don't have to follow the suit that was led. This means you can play any card you want, even if you have cards of the suit that was led.
Second Part: Playing Your Hand
The second part of the game starts when there are no more cards left in the stock pile. Now, players just use the cards they have in their hands. In this part, you must follow suit. This means if a Heart is led, and you have a Heart, you must play a Heart. If you don't have any cards of that suit, you can play any other card.
Scoring Points
In Elfern, almost every card is worth one point. The only cards that are worth nothing are the 7s, 8s, and 9s. There are 20 points in total in the game.
To win a round, you need to score 11 points or more.
- If you score 15 points or more, you win "double." This is called schneider (which means "tailor" in German).
- If you score all 20 points, you win "triple." This is called schwarz (which means "black").
The winner of a round becomes the dealer for the next game.
What is a Ständer?
If both players end up with 10 points each, it's a tie! This is called a Ständer. When this happens, no one gets points for that round. Instead, the points for the next game are doubled. So, the winner of the next game gets points for both rounds! Sometimes, the dealer stays the same for the Ständer game, but often, players draw cards again to decide who deals.
Keeping Score
People have used different ways to keep score in Elfern over the years. One way is to simply pay stakes:
- A normal win gets you one stake.
- A "schneider" win (15+ points) gets you double the stake.
- A "schwarz" win (20 points) gets you three times the stake.
However, many players prefer to write down the scores. They draw lines or "banners" to keep track.
- One line for a simple win.
- Two lines for a "schneider" win.
- Three lines for a "schwarz" win.
When you draw four lines, it looks like a flag or "banner." The game ends when one player reaches an agreed number of banners. This way, players don't have to pay small amounts after every single round.
There's also a more detailed scoring system where you get points based on how many honours you win:
- 20 honours: 5 points
- 18-19 honours: 4 points
- 16-17 honours: 3 points
- 14-15 honours: 2 points
- 11-13 honours: 1 point
Game Strategies
To play Elfern well, you need to pay close attention to the "honours" (A, K, Q/O, J/U, 10). Try not to waste them!
Early Game Tips
At the start of the game, try to get rid of your low cards (7s, 8s, 9s) that are worth no points. Keep cards in suits where you have strong cards, especially if your opponent doesn't seem to have high cards in that suit. You can save these strong cards for later in the game.
Winning Tricks Wisely
It's usually a good idea to win a trick if your opponent plays an honour. But sometimes, winning a trick too early can hurt you. For example, if you have an Ace, but your opponent has other strong cards in that suit, playing your Ace too soon might help them more than you.
If you have an Ace, Jack, and Ten of a suit, and your opponent plays the King, you don't have to win the trick right away. If they also have the Queen, they might play it next. Then you can win the trick with your Ace, and your Jack and Ten might become winning cards later!
A single Ten can be risky. If your opponent plays a low card of the same suit, it's often best to play your Ten. Otherwise, you might lose it later without getting any points.
End Game Tips
If you have two or more cards in a row (like King and Queen of the same suit), and your first card wins an honour, keep playing cards from that suit. Even if your opponent takes the trick with a higher card, your lower honours might become unbeatable later.
As the game gets closer to the end, try to win and keep control of who leads the tricks. If you don't, you might have to throw away your valuable honour cards because your opponent has unbeatable cards.
Elfern Variations
Some people play Elfern with slightly different rules:
- Trump Suit: After dealing, the top card of the stock pile is turned over. This card's suit becomes the trump suit. Trump cards are more powerful than other cards. Once the stock pile is gone, players must follow suit. If they can't, they can play a trump card.
- Different Scoring: Some variations use a more detailed scoring system for honours, like the one mentioned above (11-13 honours = 1 point, 20 honours = 5 points).
- Fewer Hand Cards: The game can be played with fewer than 6 cards in each player's hand. However, this makes it harder for the player who isn't leading to win tricks. They might lose good cards because they can't follow suit.
