Last Updated on April 9, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

Dappen is a Tarot game for 6 or 7 players, played in select areas of the Upper Black Forest in southwest Germany using Cego cards. While likely played since the early 19th century, it remained unknown to card game researchers outside the region until 2024, when Achim Laber documented it. Dappen is historically linked to the Swiss game Troggu, played in the German-speaking part of Wallis.

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How to Play Dappen

Cego Cards

The deck consists of 54 cards: 22 trumps and 8 cards in each of four suits (hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades). The most common design is ‘Adler Cego,’ featuring animals on the trumps. Another version depicts rural life scenes.

Trumps are numbered 1-21, with Trump 1 called “der Geiß” (goat), and Trump 21 known as “der Mund” (mouth) or “der Mond” (moon). The highest trump is “der Gstieß,” a jester/musician, functioning as Trump 22 but unnumbered.

Each suit has four face cards: King (König), Queen (Dame), Knight (Ritter), and Jack (Bube). Below them are four numbered cards. In black suits (♠♣), they rank from 10 to 7, while in red suits (♥♦), they rank in reverse (Ace, 2, 3, 4).

A new deck, Schwarzwald Cego, designed by Anita “Fox” Schwörer, has been promoted since late 2023, featuring local wildlife and personalities.

Card Values

Gstieß, Mund (21), Geiß (1): 5 points each
Kings: 4 points each
Knights: 3 points each
Jacks: 2 points each
All other cards: 1 point each

At the end of play, cards are counted in pairs, deducting 1 point per pair. A 6-player game totals 79 points, while a 7-player game totals 78 due to an unpaired leftover card.

Furtwangen Version

The following rules are based on a game played on July 3, 2024, at the Krone restaurant in Schönenbach, Furtwangen, hosted by Margit Klausmann. Her family has played the game for generations, and a local group of older women also gathers monthly to play.

Players and Deal

6 or 7 active players; if 8 are present, the dealer sits out.
Play moves counterclockwise.
The dealer shuffles, and the player to their left cuts.
Card distribution:
- 6-player game: 4 cards to each, 6 to the Dapp, 3 more to each, 6 more to the Dapp. Each player has 7 cards, and the Dapp holds 12.
- 7-player game: 3 cards to each, 6 to the Dapp, 3 more to each, 6 more to the Dapp. Each player has 6 cards, and the Dapp holds 12.

Bidding and Contracts

The bidding determines who plays alone against the rest.

Solo: Players may bid “Solo” to play with their original hand.
Dappen: If no Solo is declared, players may bid “Ich dappe!” to use the Dapp.
Strecken: Another player may outbid the Dapper by saying “Ich strecke!” The Dapper may then yield or keep the bid by saying “selber” (myself).

If no one volunteers, a player must dappen if:

They hold the highest trump that cannot be beaten.
Only two players remain in the bidding, forcing the second-to-last to dappen.

A player who fails to bid when required forfeits the round and must pay as if they lost all tricks.

Dapp Exchange

The lone player picks up the 12 Dapp cards, then discards 12 to return to the original hand size. Kings, Gstieß, Mund (21), and Geiß (1) cannot be discarded.

If a player holds all seven 5-point cards after the exchange, they reveal them and win automatically.

Ulti Declaration

Before the first trick, the lone player may declare “Ulti” by placing Trump 1, 2, or 3 face up, committing to win the last trick with that card.

Play

The lone player leads the first trick.
Players must follow suit. If unable, they must trump if possible.
The highest trump wins; otherwise, the highest card of the led suit wins.
If the lone player declared Ulti, the revealed cards must be played in order (3, then 2, then 1).

Gstieß Rule (Gstiesieren)

If an opponent holds only Gstieß as their trump, they may “withhold” it instead of playing it. If withheld, Gstieß loses its power and must be played in the last trick, scoring as an extra card for their team.

Scoring

The side with 40+ points wins.
If the lone player wins, the difference from 40 is rounded to the nearest 5 and paid to/from each opponent.
Solo win: Payment is doubled.
Dappen + Strecken: Payment is doubled.

Opponents’ Points	Payment per Player
33-39	5-10 cents
28-32	10-20 cents
23-27	15-30 cents
18-22	20-40 cents
13-17	25-50 cents
8-12	30-60 cents
3-7	35-70 cents
0-2 (Marsch)	40-80 cents

A Marsch (winning all tricks) results in a maximum payment of 40 cents, or double in a Solo or with two bidders. In some cases, a single opponent may be required to pay the full amount for their team.

So those are the basic rules to play the unusual German game of Dappen! We hope you enjoy learning and playing this fun card game.