Schafkopf

Schafkopf (German: [ˈʃaːfkɔpf], lit. 'sheep's head'), also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German trick-taking card game of the ace–ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. It is still very popular in Bavaria, where it is their national card game played by around two million people, but it also played elsewhere in Germany and in Austria. It is an official cultural asset and important part of the Old Bavarian and Franconian way of life. Schafkopf is a mentally demanding pastime that is considered "the supreme discipline of Bavarian card games" and "the mother of all trump games."

Its closest relatives are Doppelkopf and Skat. These three and the North American game of Sheepshead descend from an earlier game, also called Schafkopf, with influences from Solo which, in turn, is the German version of Quadrille. The earliest written reference to the earlier form of Schafkopf – now known as German Schafkopf – dates to 1780, although it only came to notice through the polite society of Altenburg in 1811. Some kind of Schafkopf was current in Franconia (northern Bavaria) in the first half of the 19th century, but the distinct Bavarian form of the game is only positively recorded from 1879, since when it has become the dominant form, whereas German Schafkopf is only played in a number of local variants, for example, in the Palatinate as Alte Schoofkopp or Bauernstoss. Bierkopf and Mucken are simple variants which make a useful introduction to the more complex Schafkopf.

The first official rules were established by the Bavarian Schafkopf Club (Bayerischer Schafkopf-Verein) in 1989. These were revised by the School of Schafkopf (Schafkopfschule) and form guidelines for the detail of the game and the conduct of the players. However, unlike Skat, Schafkopf is not really seen as a sport, but purely as a leisure activity. As a result, a large number of traditional rules and variants are used in private games, which can vary considerably from region to region. These common forms of the game are referred to as 'impure' Schafkopf (unreiner Schafkopf) in contrast with 'pure' or standard Schafkopf which is played in tournaments. The name is sometimes spelt Schaffkopf,(German: [ˈʃafkɔpf]) Schafkopfen or, historically, Schaafkopf, and in north Germany in the Low German dialect: Schaapskopp or Kopp. To play Schafkopf is Schafkopfen and players may be called Schafkopfer.

There are various theories about the origin of the name Schafkopf, most of which come from traditional folklore. One suggestion is that Schafkopf acquired its name at a time when it was played for up to nine or twelve points which were marked with a piece of chalk as lines on a board, gradually forming the stylized appearance of a sheep's head (German: Schaf = sheep, Kopf = head). However, evidence of such notation is not found in the Bavarian context where it was invariably played for money.

Until the late 1960s, the alternative spelling Schaffkopf was not uncommon in Bavaria as an alternative spelling for Schafkopf; the ensuing discussion about the supposedly only correct form and its origin was the subject of extensive debate at that time - among other things in the columns of the Bavarian press - before the common variant Schafkopf became widely accepted from about 1970. However, it was not a new argument. In 1862, the family monthly, Deutsches Magazin, claimed that Schaffkopf "did not bear the unaesthetic name Schafkopf ["sheep's head"], which it is frequently called today as if to imply that playing it only required the level of mental ability which wise nature bestows on a dumb animal in our pastures; on the contrary it is the game that "creates intelligence" by giving all those who have had little education the opportunity to learn about combination theory and probability."

The issue was largely forgotten when author Wolfgang Peschel argued in the early 1990s for the double 'f' spelling based on the popular traditional view that, in earlier times, the game was supposed to have been played (geklopft) on the lids (Köpfen) of barrels (Upper German: Schaff, cf. Schäffler/Scheffel). To this day, such casks are used as tables at beer stands and beer halls. Although this hypothesis is unanimously rejected by experts and there is no evidence for it in older sources, it is widespread on the Internet.

Another theory, which dates to the mid-19th century, is that it comes from "Schaffen" and "Kopf", "to work one's brain".

The indirect precursors of the various games of the Schafkopf family (which includes Doppelkopf and Skat), were the Spanish national game of L'Hombre (which had reached the Holy Roman Empire through the courtly circles of France in the late 17th century), its four-hand variant, Quadrille, and its simplified German derivative, German Solo. The distinction between variable and permanent trump cards as well as the selection of a contract by announcing and bidding, probably originate from these games. However, it is likely that the distinctive Bavarian game was derived from German Schafkopf, itself a game that originated in Leipzig, Saxony and spread to Franconia in northern Bavaria through what is now Thuringia.