Schwimmen facts for kids

Schwimmen or Einunddreißig is a fun card game played by two to nine people. It's very popular in Austria and Germany. People in Germany also call it Knack, Schnauz, Wutz, and Bull. In Austria, it's known as Hosen runter or Hosn obe. In Switzerland, they say Hosenabe. The name Schwimmen means "swimming" in German. This refers to a player's last chance before they are out of the game.

Even though it's sometimes called Einunddreißig (which means "Thirty-one"), it's not the same as an older game that led to Twenty-One. Similar games in the United States and Great Britain are called Thirty-One, Blitz, and Scat. However, these are usually played with a bigger deck of 52 cards. Schwimmen can even be played in tournaments!

How to Play Schwimmen

Game Basics

Schwimmen is played with a deck of 32 French, Double German, or German playing cards (also known as a Skat pack). If there are more than six players, you might use a second deck. Players take turns in a clockwise direction.

The main goal of the game is to avoid having the lowest score at the end of a round. You try to make the best possible combination of cards in your hand by swapping cards.

Examples of scoring
Queen of Hearts Ten of Hearts Jack of Diamonds This hand scores 10 + 10 = 20 points. Only the Queen and Ten are the same suit.
Ace of Clubs King of Clubs 9 of Clubs This hand scores 11 + 10 + 9 = 30 points. All cards are the same suit.
7 of Diamonds 7 of Hearts 7 of Spades This hand scores 30½ points. It has three cards of the same rank.
Ace of Diamonds King of Diamonds 10 of Diamonds This hand scores 31 points. All cards are the same suit.

Scoring Points

There are two main ways to score points in Schwimmen:

• Same Suit: You can collect cards of the same suit (like all Hearts or all Spades). You then add up their point values.
  • An Ace is worth 11 points.
  • Court cards (King, Queen, Jack) are each worth 10 points.
  • Number cards (10, 9, 8, 7) are worth their face value.

The highest score you can get with cards of the same suit is 31 points. This is usually an Ace, two court cards, or an Ace, a court card, and a 10, all of the same suit.

• Same Rank: You can also collect three cards of the same rank, like three 7s or three Queens. These cards must be of different suits. This combination always scores 30½ points. If two players have 30½ points, the hand with higher-ranking cards wins.

How a Round is Played

First, the dealer gives three cards face down to each player. The dealer also gets two sets of three cards for themselves. The dealer looks at one set and decides if they want to play with those cards.

• If the dealer likes the first set, they keep them and place the second set face up in the middle of the table.
• If the dealer doesn't like the first set, they put those three cards face up in the middle and must play with the second set.

Any cards left over are put aside.

The player to the dealer's left starts the game. On your turn, you have a few choices:

• You can swap one card from your hand with one card from the middle.
• You can swap all three cards from your hand with all three cards from the middle. You cannot swap just two cards.
• If you don't want to swap any cards, you can say "I'll shove" ("Ich schiebe").
• You can also end the round by 'knocking' (usually by tapping the table). Some players say "I'm closing" ("Ich mache zu.") instead of knocking.

Ending the Game Round

A round can end in two ways:

• If a player 'knocks' or says "I'll close," all other players get one last chance to swap cards or 'shove'. After that, the round ends. The player who knocks must have at least 20 points in their hand.
• If a player gets 31 points (called "Einunddreißig," "Schnauz," or "Hosn obi"), or if they have three Aces (in a special rule called Feuer), they show their cards right away. The round ends immediately.

At the end of the round, the player or players with the lowest card score lose that round.

Keeping Score

Players only score points for cards that are part of a combination. This means cards of the same suit or three cards of the same rank.

Swimming: Your Last Chance

If you play several rounds, each player usually starts with three 'lives'. You can use small items like chips or coins to keep track of your lives. Every time you lose a round, you give up one life.

If you lose all three of your lives, you can still play, but you are now "swimming" (schwimmt) or a "cow rider" (Kuhreiter). This is where the game gets its name! If you lose again while "swimming," you "go under" (geht er unter) and are out of the game. So, "swimming" is like a fourth life, giving you one last chance to stay in the game.

This way, players are slowly eliminated until only one player is left. That player is the overall winner! If people are playing for small stakes, the winner gets the stakes from the players who lost their lives.

Different Ways to Play

Schwimmen has many different versions. The rules can change a bit from place to place. It's a good idea to agree on the rules before you start playing. Here are some common differences:

• Cards: For more players, sometimes a 52-card whist deck is used. In Switzerland, they might use 36-card Jass decks, and play goes counter-clockwise.

Ace of Clubs

Ace of Diamonds

Ace of Hearts

An example of Feuer or Blitz (three Aces).

• Feuer or Blitz: Usually, three cards of the same rank score 30½ points. But sometimes, three Aces are the highest combination possible! This is called Feuer ("fire") or Blitz ("lightning"). If a player gets three Aces, they show them immediately, and the game ends. All other players lose a life.

• Losing Rules: Some players have a rule that if you have 20 points or less at the end of a round, you lose a life. The person with the lowest score over 20 points doesn't lose a life. This can make the game faster. It also adds a fun trick: if you have 21 points and can't improve your hand much, you might try to make your hand worse on purpose! This way, someone else might end up with the lowest score and lose a life instead of you. This trick is called 'ripping' (reißen).

• Shoving: If every player says "I'll shove" in a row, the three cards in the middle are removed. Three new cards are then placed in the middle from the deck. The player who started the 'shoving' then takes the first turn again.

• Passing: In some versions, you are not allowed to simply 'pass' your turn without doing anything. You must either swap cards or knock.

• Handeln: This rule means players can choose to score points either by having cards of the same suit or by having cards of the same rank.

• Closed Game: In this version, the dealer gives five cards to the player on their left (three cards, then two cards). That player keeps three cards and gives the other two, face down, to the next player, who does the same.