Talk:Dreeg

A few comments on the article

1. Bamberger (2012) is quoted as the main source, which is strange since Bamberger's account is purely a summary of Weickmann's 1981 book (also cited) which Bamberger has in some places misunderstood.
2. The article says "There are 4 contracts - Sixty-Six, Red Ace, Call A Card and Cameroon - which are played first in that order and then in the reverse order to produce a game with 2 rounds of 4 deals each." This is a misrepresentation. The 4 sub-games (here called contracts) each last for several deals, as many as it takes to find a loser. The whole game consists of 8 sub-games (each sub-game played twice), so there are a lot more than the 8 deals that the quoted sentence implies.
3. Scoring. Each player begins each sub-game with 7 points.
4. Going Out. The rule changes indicated here apply only when the sub-game is down to two players. Three players are dealt 8 cards each and there is no talon.
5. Going Out -> Sixty-Six. "The bottom card of the talon determines trumps and is placed on the top." The trump indicator is not placed on top of the talon but slid under it, as in 66. It is therefore drawn by the loser of the sixth trick.
6. Winning. Each subgame produces a loser who is given a blob. So one game will generate at least 8 blobs (in some cases more because Cameroon can have more than one loser). One way of scoring is that players buy a litre of beer for each blob they receive and the beer is shared equally. I suppose you could also say that the loser is the player with most blobs or the winner is the player with fewest blobs, but in that case there could well be ties. "First to 7 blobs is the loser" could work, but in that case you would usually need to play more than 5 sub-games. Maybe "nauf und noo und nauf und ..." or maybe with more different sub-games.

Pagat (talk) 20:26, 5 May 2020 (UTC)

Thank you. To give an initial response:

1. Almost half of Weickmann's book is a fictitious account of a non-existent German card playing academy supposedly founded by Roman legionnaires in 9 AD, so I wasn't sure how much credence to give him as a source! Bamberger, on the other hand, is a genuine card game author writing for the well known Perlen-Reihe series from Vienna and he doesn't cite Weickmann. Do we know anything else about Weickmann or his book that would bolster his authority?
2. Changing 'contract' to 'sub-game': done.
3. Scoring: done.
4. Going out: done.
5. Going out (Sixty-Six): done. I don't know how that error crept in - I play normal, two-hand 66 frequently!
6. Winning. I've tweaked the words. But on reflection, I'm not sure how the Neustadt variant works. Bermicourt (talk) 12:33, 6 May 2020 (UTC)

I agree that Weickmann's book does consist largely of jokes and spoofs, in keeping with the atmosphere of the game. However the actual game rules in the book make sense and are in quite close agreement with the version explained to me and documented by Jens Meder who learned it from his grandfather who played regularly at a Stammtisch in Neumarkt (Oberpfalz). Bamberger does reference Weickmann as his source in the edition of his Perlen Reihe book that I have, but I think the reference was dropped in some reprintings of the book. I will be able to let you know exactly what edition I have when lockdown rules allow me to access my library again. There are a few places where Bamberger's rules manifestly don't make sense, and a comparison with Weickmann suggests that they arose from misreadings of Weickmann's text. Pagat (talk) 19:07, 7 May 2020 (UTC)

Aha. I'd be interested in that. Thank you. I've had quite a fruitful time contacting current players of various games in Germany, so this may be one to pick up in the future. Bermicourt (talk) 21:30, 7 May 2020 (UTC)