Schwimmen (31)
German and Austrian pub classic: collect 31 points or go under.
Medium
Players
3-9
Length
20-45 min
Intensity
Easy going
You need
Cards
How to play
Origin: Schwimmen, also called Knack, Wutz or Einunddreißig, has been a pub card game across German speaking countries since the 19th century. The name comes from the last life: lose all of them and you are still swimming for one more round.
Setup: A 32 card deck, three cards each, three face up in the middle. Everyone has three lives, traditionally counted with beer mats or coins.
How to play:
- Aim for as many points as possible in one suit, ace counts 11, face cards count 10
- Going around, swap one card or all three with the middle
- Happy with your hand? Knock on the table, everyone else gets one more turn
- Then reveal and compare
Special cases:
- 31 in one suit: reveal at once, everyone else loses a life
- Three of a kind counts 30.5
Drinking:
- The worst hand loses a life and takes a sip
- Lose your last life and you are swimming, and you drink double
- Lose again while swimming: finish your glass and you are out