Mau Mau (game)
Encyclopedia
Mau Mau is a card game
for 2 or more players that is popular in Germany
, Brazil
and some other areas. For more than 5 players, 2 packs of cards may be used. Whoever gets rid of his/her cards first wins the game. Mau Mau is very similar to the game Uno and Flaps
, both belonging to the larger Crazy Eights
or Shedding family of card games. However Mau Mau is played with a regular deck of playing cards.
The players are dealt each a hand of cards (usually 5). The rest are placed face down as the drawing stack. At the beginning of the game the topmost card is revealed, then the players each get a turn to play cards.
One can play a card if it corresponds to the suit or value of the open card. E.g. on a 10 of spades, only other spades can be played or other 10s. If a player is not able to, they draws one card from the stack. If he can play this card, he may do so, otherwise he keeps the drawn card and passes his turn. If the drawing stack is empty, the playing stack (except for the topmost card) is shuffled and turned over to serve as new drawing stack.
However, there are a large quantity of unusual, and confusing rules. One may not speak of the rules, and the rules vary from group to group, and even within groups. A chairman is usually elected before the first round, and generally whoever has won the previous round, is elected the new chairman. The chairman may edit the rules however he or she sees fit, but they still have to follow their own rules.
In Austria
and Bavaria
a variation on the game is known as "Neunerln".
In Portugal
, a variation on this game is called "Puque" (reads as Poock, in English). The rules are almost the same, with the 2 replacing the 8 as the "skip turn" card. One must say Puque when one plays his next-to-last card, and doesn't have to say anything different to end with a Jack, still getting the double score.
, a variation on the game is known as Switch
. The common rule differences are that two rather than seven causes the following player to pick up two cards, playing a jack will "jack it back", forcing the player to take another go before reversing the turn order, and that aces change the suit and can be played during the turn regardless of the present suit - the player playing the ace may state any suit as the suit the next player must play to. When the player plays his next-to-last card, he must say "last card", or be forced to pick up seven cards. Generally, numerical effects can be stacked and passed along, as with the above mentioned variation regarding sevens in Mau Mau, though this rule also applies to eights, with the number of turns missed by the next player increasing by one for each eight played in succession. Other rules allow placing multiple cards of the same value or multiple cards of the same suit and subsequent value. e.g. on a ten of Spades, a player could play three sixes, provided that the one at the bottom of the group was the six of spades. Alternatively, the player could play the three, four and five of spades. Some variations include a "chaining" rule, where the player can link these rules together, and could play the three, four, five and six of spades, the six of hearts, and the six, seven and eight of diamonds. As Switch has generally higher pick up penalties than Mau Mau (some variants include a requirement to pick up five upon the play of a black king, which like a two can be increased and passed along with another black king, for a total of ten cards), this helps the game progress faster, especially if the deck is not shuffled when there are no more face-down cards.
Another version including the "chain rule" is that aces (again) change the suit but the black jacks make the next player pick up seven cards and a red jack is the only way of canceling it out. Kings mean you get another go, and queens swap direction of play.
David Parlett
(in 'The Penguin Book of Card Games', 1978) describes a UK version of Switch where the above rule for aces applies, but an ace can only be played if the player can play no other card. In this variation, no other cards have a special purpose, which keeps it simple for children. Parlett points out that the game works fine for 6-8 players if 2 52-card packs are used.
there exists a variant known as Peanuckle (note that this is not the same as pinochle
) in which players must shout "peanuckle" when they only have one card left to play, or draw a card as a forfeit. In an alternative to this, players must shout "peanuckle" when they have two cards left to play and "super-peanuckle" when there is only one card remaining in their hand. This version of the game uses many of the variations listed above.
is called "Prší" ("Raining" in Czech language
). It is played with deck of 32 German cards (four card suits, values from 7 to Ace) and has almost identical rules with several differences:
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
for 2 or more players that is popular in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and some other areas. For more than 5 players, 2 packs of cards may be used. Whoever gets rid of his/her cards first wins the game. Mau Mau is very similar to the game Uno and Flaps
Flaps (card game)
FLAPS, originally based on Two Four Jacks or Black Jack, is a shedding-type card game for two or more players that is popular in the United Kingdom and Czech Republic...
, both belonging to the larger Crazy Eights
Crazy Eights
Crazy Eights is a shedding-type card game for two to seven players. The object of the game is to be the first to get rid of all the player's cards to a discard pile. The game is considered a pre-extension of Switch and Mau Mau, much favoured in schools during the 1970s.A standard 52-card deck is...
or Shedding family of card games. However Mau Mau is played with a regular deck of playing cards.
Rules
The game is played with a regular deck of playing cards. In Germany, most decks contain neither card values below 7 nor Jokers (as they are made for the national game of Skat), however Mau Mau is playable with any deck.The players are dealt each a hand of cards (usually 5). The rest are placed face down as the drawing stack. At the beginning of the game the topmost card is revealed, then the players each get a turn to play cards.
One can play a card if it corresponds to the suit or value of the open card. E.g. on a 10 of spades, only other spades can be played or other 10s. If a player is not able to, they draws one card from the stack. If he can play this card, he may do so, otherwise he keeps the drawn card and passes his turn. If the drawing stack is empty, the playing stack (except for the topmost card) is shuffled and turned over to serve as new drawing stack.
However, there are a large quantity of unusual, and confusing rules. One may not speak of the rules, and the rules vary from group to group, and even within groups. A chairman is usually elected before the first round, and generally whoever has won the previous round, is elected the new chairman. The chairman may edit the rules however he or she sees fit, but they still have to follow their own rules.
History
Rules for Mau have existed at least since the 1930s. A Swiss version of the game called "Tschau Sepp" ("Bye Joe", because that is what you have to say before putting down your last card but one) has existed at least since the early 1960s.Endgame
One wins the game by getting rid of all of their cards. Most of the time, the winner will have to say something (Usually "Mau") at this point, or they will be given penalty cards, and will have to get rid of those before winning. If their last card is a Jack, they must reply differently (Usually "Mau Mau").Popular Additional Rules
- During Bleeding Mao, any people who see another's cards must say, for example, "Bleeding Queen of Spades," and hand that person a card from the deck.
- When a 2 of any suit is played the player must yell "The Deuce is Loose".
- Players may not touch their cards during Point of Order.
- Player of a red 7 must turn to the player on their left and say "Have a nice day," knock the table, and give them one card from the deck.
- Player of a black 7 must say "Have a very nice day" to the player on their right, knock the table, and give them two cards from the deck.
- Cards of the same value can be played all together within one turn.
- Whenever a Queen is played, the person who played it must say, "All hail Lady Mao."
- Player of a king must say, "All Hail Chairman Mao."
- Player of a jack may change the suit by saying, "Change suit to _____." (Hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds)
- Players must say "last card" when they have only one card left.
- A 2 reverses the direction of play (clockwise and counterclockwise), or lets the player take another turn before reversing. A player who fails to notice that the direction was reversed and plays out of turn must draw one card.
- When you draw cards (e.g. when you pick two after a 7, or a card from the stack when you can't play), you may put a card down immediately.
- Whenever a card of spades is placed on the stack, the player must say, "___ of Spades."
- Anyone who talks receives a penalty card
- The first player to deal usually is the person with the most seniority in the game. The dealer is referred to as the Maumaster.
- The winning player "wins the deal"
- The first player to be the Maumaster (dealer) 3 times may make up a rule at random that must be obeyed indefinitely until the players are finished playing the game for certain period of time (i.e. at the end of the night, or if there is an extended break in gameplay)
- Before the game starts players may look at their cards, the Maumaster must say "the name of the game is __ (some number of cards) Mau the game has begun" at which point players are no longer allowed to look at their cards unless the Maumaster conitinues with "you may look at your cards" and then must dictate the first player who will start the game and the direction the game will go (clockwise or counter...)
- When a player plays the 4 of diamonds, they must say, "Let's Play Baseball"
- When a player plays a 3 of any suit, they must say, "Tally Time", to which all others playing must reply "SHUT UP!"
- A player may not ask questions during the game, and in extreme cases, may not even have an inquizitive tone to their voice, or they can be penalized one card
- Anyone can penalize anyone who breaks the rules and must explain why they were penalized. The penalized player must always respond "thank you" for every penalty given.
In Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
a variation on the game is known as "Neunerln".
In Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, a variation on this game is called "Puque" (reads as Poock, in English). The rules are almost the same, with the 2 replacing the 8 as the "skip turn" card. One must say Puque when one plays his next-to-last card, and doesn't have to say anything different to end with a Jack, still getting the double score.
Switch
In the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, a variation on the game is known as Switch
Switch (card game)
Switch, also called Two Four Jacks or Black Jack, Irish Switch, is a shedding-type card game for two or more players that is popular in the United Kingdom, and as alternative incarnations in other regions. The sole aim of Switch is to discard all of the cards in one's hand; the first player to play...
. The common rule differences are that two rather than seven causes the following player to pick up two cards, playing a jack will "jack it back", forcing the player to take another go before reversing the turn order, and that aces change the suit and can be played during the turn regardless of the present suit - the player playing the ace may state any suit as the suit the next player must play to. When the player plays his next-to-last card, he must say "last card", or be forced to pick up seven cards. Generally, numerical effects can be stacked and passed along, as with the above mentioned variation regarding sevens in Mau Mau, though this rule also applies to eights, with the number of turns missed by the next player increasing by one for each eight played in succession. Other rules allow placing multiple cards of the same value or multiple cards of the same suit and subsequent value. e.g. on a ten of Spades, a player could play three sixes, provided that the one at the bottom of the group was the six of spades. Alternatively, the player could play the three, four and five of spades. Some variations include a "chaining" rule, where the player can link these rules together, and could play the three, four, five and six of spades, the six of hearts, and the six, seven and eight of diamonds. As Switch has generally higher pick up penalties than Mau Mau (some variants include a requirement to pick up five upon the play of a black king, which like a two can be increased and passed along with another black king, for a total of ten cards), this helps the game progress faster, especially if the deck is not shuffled when there are no more face-down cards.
Another version including the "chain rule" is that aces (again) change the suit but the black jacks make the next player pick up seven cards and a red jack is the only way of canceling it out. Kings mean you get another go, and queens swap direction of play.
David Parlett
David Parlett
David Parlett is a games scholar from South London, who has studied both card games and board games. His published works include many popular books on games and the more academic volumes "Oxford Guide to Card Games" and "Oxford History of Board Games", both now out of print...
(in 'The Penguin Book of Card Games', 1978) describes a UK version of Switch where the above rule for aces applies, but an ace can only be played if the player can play no other card. In this variation, no other cards have a special purpose, which keeps it simple for children. Parlett points out that the game works fine for 6-8 players if 2 52-card packs are used.
Peanuckle
In the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
there exists a variant known as Peanuckle (note that this is not the same as pinochle
Pinochle
Pinochle or Binocle is a trick-taking game typically for two to four players and played with a 48 card deck. Derived from the card game bezique, players score points by trick-taking and also by forming combinations of cards into melds. It is thus considered part of a "trick-and-meld" category...
) in which players must shout "peanuckle" when they only have one card left to play, or draw a card as a forfeit. In an alternative to this, players must shout "peanuckle" when they have two cards left to play and "super-peanuckle" when there is only one card remaining in their hand. This version of the game uses many of the variations listed above.
Prší
The most popular variant of this game in Czech RepublicCzech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
is called "Prší" ("Raining" in Czech language
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
). It is played with deck of 32 German cards (four card suits, values from 7 to Ace) and has almost identical rules with several differences:
- The players are dealt each four cards instead of five.
- Ace is the card that forces the next player to skip his turn, not 8. The player may play another Ace instead of skipping the turn. The obligation to skip the turn or to play another Ace is then passed to a next player.
- If a 7 is played, the next player, who would have to draw two cards, can pass this penalty on to the subsequent player by playing a 7 too. This subsequent player must then draw 4 cards. He too could play a 7, requiring the next player to draw 6, etc. The player who draws cards cannot play a card in the same turn.
- In some variations, King of Spades has the same effect as 7 except that the next player must draw 4 cards. He may play 7 of Spades to pass the penalty on to the next player who must draw 6 cards or play another 7, the penalty then goes to the subsequent player, etc. Similarly, King of Spades may be played on 7 of Spades instead another 7.
- A Queen can be played on any card (except 7 or Ace if it was played by previous player). The player who plays it then chooses a card suit. The next player then plays as if the Queen was of the chosen suit.
- In some variations, Jack cannot be played on any card (it has no special meaning).
- There is no word that a player must say if he has only one card left in his hand.
See also
- Mao (card game)
- One Card (card game)
- SedmaSedmaSedma, Zsírozás or Şeptică is a Central European 4-card trick-and-draw game played by 4 four players in fixed partnerships with a 32-card piquet deck. Card suits do not play a role in this game, and there is no ranking order. A trick is won by the last player to play a card of the same rank as the...
- iPhone Mau-Mau game