Baśka
Baśka is a fast-moving, Polish card game for four players played using traditional French-suited playing cards. It uses a shortened pack of just 16 cards and is similar to Kop which is also played in Poland. Both are derived from German Schafkopf. History. Like Skat and some other card games, the game is an offshoot of the German trick-taking game Schafkopf and has been played in Polish Kashubia since the 19th century. The region formerly had a large German-speaking population and both the play and terminology point to its German origins. The name "Baśka" is  the diminutive form of Barbara and is also the name for a hand of four Queens, which is the highest bid in the game. In 1962, a Kashubian Baedeker, tells readers that if you see "a group of players slapping down cards with gusto and shouts of 'Wedding' or 'Zolo'..." they will be Kashubian Baśka players. It goes on to say that, to understand the game it is better not to be a card player as everything is topsy turvy with Queens outranking Kings. In 1967 it was described as one of the main pastimes played on fishing boats along  with Bridge, Skat, Pontoon and Poker. In 2017, it was reported that , the first Polish Baśka champion had died. Today it is mainly played in Kashubia west of Gdansk in Poland. Rules. Cards. As in Kop only the Aces, Tens, the Queens and Jacks of the four suits from a French pack are used, so there are only 16 cards "in toto". The cards have the usual Ace-Ten values as in related games: Ace = 11, 10 = 10, Queen = 3 and Jack = 2. The point total of all cards is 104 (in Skat and Schafkopf it  is 120, since they include the Kings). All Queens and Jacks are trumps, however the highest trumps are the Ace of Hearts and the 10 of Hearts and the lowest trumps are the Ace of Diamonds and 10 of Diamonds. The suits rank in the order: Clubs, Spades, Hearts and Diamonds. So there are 12 trumps in total and only 4 cards in the two side suits, Clubs and Spades are not trumps. Deal and auction. The game is played between four people in two pairs, each pair playing as partners. The pairs are determined by the two black Queens , the holders of these cards play together against the other two players. Deal and play are clockwise. The dealer shuffles and, once the right-hand neighbour has cut, deals all 16 cards individually to the four players, so that each has four cards. The role of dealer rotates left after each game. When all players have their cards, they may bid in turn for various contracts. Possible calls are: Only the highest bid counts. If any of these three calls are made, all previously called doublings are void, but may be made again thereafter in relation to the winning contract . Forehand (the player to dealer's left) opens the game. Partnerships. If a player announces a "Zolo" or a "Zolo du", he plays alone against three defenders, in all other cases two players form a team. The formation of the teams depends on the distribution of the two Queens (Q and Q); the two players who have these cards, the 'Old Ones', play as a team against the other two. A player with both black Queens in hand can play a "Zolo" or a "Zolo du" or a "Cicha" (silent Zolo), in which he plays alone without announcement and without  the knowledge of the other players. Alternatively, he can announce "Wesele" (marriage) and partner with the player who has the highest Jack not held by the declarer. Any player can play a "Gran" and a "Gran du", regardless of the distribution of Queens. The partnerships do not become clearly known until the named cards are played, although this may be apparent sooner due to the play. Play. Forehand (left of dealer) leads to the first trick. A trick is always won by the highest trump or, if no trump is played, the highest card of the suit led. The winner  of the trick then plays the next card. Suit must be followed, all trumps counting as part of the trump suit regardless of their suit symbol) and players must trump if unable to follow. They must always beat the highest card in the trick up to that point if they can. Only if a player cannot follow suit or trump, may any card be played. Since there are only four tricks, a round of Baśka is played very quickly. Scoring and settlement. The card points are counted and, in a simple game, "Wesele, Cicha, Gran" or "Zolo", the side  with the most points wins i.e. the one with the majority of the 104 points or a score of at least 53. In the event of a tie (52 all), the team that bid the last double loses or, if none were announced, the declarer(s) lose. In a announced "Zolo du" and "Gran du" the declarer must take all the tricks or he loses, and in a "Baśka" the announcer automatically wins. In a simple game or "Wesele", the score is doubled if the losers made one or more tricks but scored 25 or fewer; the game is tripled if  the losers made no tricks. If the 'old' players lose a simple game or "Wesele" they lose double; likewise if the soloist loses, the game is trebled. Of course, in addition, all valid doubling counts as well. In a money game, points are converted into monetary amounts, which are then paid by the losers to the winners.