I've only played twice, but it's crazy fun. Germans, they gotta make everything complicated. Don't ask me to explain, it's just an insane card game, but if euchre is the kind of thing that appeals to you, then this game is totally for you.

i always thought that it was "Uecker" and was named after bob uecker.

They should have had an episode where Mr. Belvedere taught them how to play euchre and then they got drunk and brawled. Bob Uecker would have kicked his limey ass.

Wouldn't that require Mr. Belvedere to be a Wisconsin native?

Don't slander Brocktoon in my presence!!

Nope.

As someone who has played Euchre, Sheepshead and Bridge extensively, I'm all ears.

Schafkopf is sheepshead in German i think. I wonder if it's the same game?

Four suits, Acorn, Grass, Hearts, Jinglebells, and it's a trick game. 120 points, how much you win by determines points. The thing is the most powerful cards aren't really worth that much in points, and you're not sure who you're partnered with, and then there's variations on the game so there can actually be a couple games going on at one time. It's insane. Lot of cursing.

correct.

and totally awesome post-brunch activity. must do this again soon.

Yep, same game. With a normal deck - 5-handed, queens and then jacks and diamonds are trump, and ace of the called suit is the partnered hand, unless you are playing the Jack of Diamonds variation. need 61/120.

This game is wildly popular in Wisconsin, to the extent that they have tournaments virtually every weekend in Milwaukee.

There are also strange terms like Schneider, Schnitz and Mauer which refer to certain tactics, unsavory or otherwise.

At one sorry point in 1999 I was ranked like 25th/4000 at this game over at yahoo games.

Then there's a variation that can be played simultaneously called vents where the obers (queens i guess) are no longer powerful, and the unters are and then trump can change.