Psellos
Life So Short, the Craft So Long to Learn

The Schnapsen Log

December 1, 2014

Point of Order

Martin Tompa

It is a crystal clear Sunday afternoon and that means all your relatives are once again visiting. And, once again, you are sitting across the card table from your favorite Uncle Tibor, wrapped up in your favorite game. So far, Tibor has gotten the best of it.

Concealed cards:
TQJ

♣ A
AJ

Your cards:
AK
A
♣ —
TQ

Trump: J
Stock: 1 face-down card
Game points: Tibor 4, You 6
Trick points: Tibor 41, You 19
On lead: You

Tibor is well ahead in trick points, thanks to a club marriage declared earlier. You have every right to feel comfortable about the trump situation, but the situation in the other suits is murkier. What’s your prognosis? When you think you have come up with a good plan, you are welcome to read my analysis.

© 2014 Martin Tompa. All rights reserved.


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About the Author

Martin Tompa

Martin Tompa (tompa@psellos.com)

I am a Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, where I teach discrete mathematics, probability and statistics, design and analysis of algorithms, and other related courses. I have always loved playing games. Games are great tools for learning to think logically and are a wonderful component of happy family or social life.

Read about Winning Schnapsen, the very first and definitive book on the winning strategy for this fascinating game.

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