Watten

Origin: Watten has been played in Tyrol, Bavaria and South Tyrol since the 18th century and is still the pub card game there. Part of the game is deuten: secret signals between partners, officially forbidden and practically universal.

Setup: Four people as two pairs, a 33 card deck or a skat deck without sixes and sevens. Five cards each.

How to play:

1. The dealer picks the rank, their neighbour picks the trump suit
2. The card combining both is the Rechte, the highest card in play
3. Five tricks are played, three tricks win the round
4. Either pair may raise at any time, the other holds or folds

Drinking:

• The losing pair drinks one sip per lost point
• Raise and then lose, and you drink double
• If a signal is caught, the guilty pair drinks together

Pub rule: Arguments last until the next hand, after that the result stands.