Karnöffel

Karnöffel is a trick-taking card game which probably came from the upper-German language area in Europe in the first quarter of the 15th century. It first appeared listed in a municipal ordinance of Nördlingen, Bavaria, in 1426 among the games that could be lawfully played at the annual city fête. This makes the game the oldest identifiable European card game in the history of playing cards.

Karnöffel

The earliest substantial reference to Karnöffel is a poem by Meissner, discovered by Dr. Rudolf von Leyden, written in or before 1450. The word means inguinal hernia.

Karnöffel had a suit in which some cards had a higher priority than cards in other suits, which indicates that it might be a possible precursor to the trump suit of Tarot. Karnöffel utilizes a deck of 48 cards, Aces having been removed from German and Swiss playing cards during the 14th or early 15th century.

A derivative of the game is still played around Stans and in the Engelberg valley in Canton Nidwalden in Switzerland under the name Kaisern, Kaiserspiel, or Kaiserjass, though it's not a true variety of Jass. It is a five-card partnership game of which each deal is won by the first side to win three tricks.