Game
Strawman
Strohmandeln
The goal: win Victory Points, one player against the other. The player who decides to play becomes the Declarer and wins the contract by capturing at least 36 of the 70 Card Points in tricks.
Deal
The Dealer deals 15 cards to each of the two players. Then the Dealer deals three face-down piles of four cards in front of each player, and these piles are the Strawmen.
Bid
The Forehand, the player who does not deal, looks at their hand and says “I’ll play” or “pass”, and after a pass the Dealer gets the same choice. If both players pass, the hand is played as Dodge Round, and the player who captures the fewer Card Points wins.
Piles
After the bidding, each player turns the top card of each of their piles face-up. You may play your face-up pile cards into any trick as if they were in your hand, and every pile card you play brings you a new card from that pile. A player who wants to announce a bonus must do it before the first trick.
Play
The players play the hand out trick by trick.
Score
When every card has been played, each player counts their Card Points. The contract and the bonuses both score Victory Points, and the first player to reach 11 Victory Points wins the match.
Contracts
Beginner contracts
Each one is explained in full on the rules page.