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• Introduction
• Players, Cards and Deal
• The Play
• Scoring
• Variations
• Schwimmen software

Introduction

Schwimmen belongs to the Commerce group of games, in which you improve your hand by exchanging cards with a central pool of face-up cards. Other names for the game are 31, Schnautz, Knack and Hosen 'runter (trousers down). Although it is known in many parts of the world, it seems to be particularly popular in Germany and the western part of Austria.

There are two other games called 31:

• the draw and discard game 31, also known in the USA as Scat and in Britain as Ride the Bus, which is like the game on this page, except that cards are not swapped with a central pool, but are drawn from a stock or discard pile as in rummy;
• the banking game 31, which is similar to 21 except that the object is to draw cards adding as near as possible to 31 without exceeding it.

The first version of this description was based on an article posted to rec.games.playing-cards by Christian Moeller, and variations from various sources have been added since.

Players, Cards and Deal

This game will work with from 2 to 8 players. First of all everybody is given an equal number of chips (the more chips, the longer the game will last - 3 each is reasonable).

You need a normal 32-card deck (7-10, J, Q, K, A) which can be made if necessary by stripping the low cards (2-6) from a standard 52 card deck. The cards have values as follows:

     Card                       Value
     Ace                         11
     King, Queen, Jack, Ten      10
     Nine                         9
     Eight                        8
     Seven                        7

The dealer deals 3 cards face down to each player, plus an extra hand of 3 cards. The dealer looks at his 3 cards and decides whether to play with these or with the extra hand - this choice must be made before he sees the cards in the extra hand. The cards rejected by the dealer (either his original hand or the extra one) are now turned face up and put in the middle of the table.

The Play

The player to the left of the dealer plays first, and turn to play passes clockwise.

At your turn you are allowed to exchange one card of your hand with one of the face up cards on the table. If you do not want to exchange a card you are allowed to pass instead. The turn then passes to the next player.

If you ever have a special combination (either from the initial deal or as a result of exchanging), you must immediately expose it and the hand ends (there is no further chance for the others to exchange). The special combinations are:

• Feuer (fire): a hand of three aces, worth 32;
• Schnauz (or 31): three cards of the same suit whose values add up to 31 - i.e. the ace and two of the ten-point cards.

If all the players pass in succession, the three face up cards are replaced by three new cards from the undealt portion of the pack (talon). After this the game continues as usual.

If a player decides, at the end of his turn, that he holds enough points he may 'close'. After that every other player has just one more turn and then the hand is finished and the cards are shown.

The Scoring

When the play is over, all the players' cards are exposed. The score for a hand is got by adding up the values of the cards in any one suit. For example: 7, 9, K would count 16 points (for the two hearts); 8, 9, J would count 10 (for the jack of spades).

Three of a kind (three cards of the same rank, such as 3 queens or 3 sevens) score 30.5, unless the cards are aces - three aces score 32 as already mentioned. So A, A, A (32) beats A, K, J (31) which beats 9, 9, 9 (30.5) which beats K, Q, J (30).

If two hands have the same score, a higher three of a kind beats a lower one (in the order A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7) and a combination in a higher suit beats an equal scoring combination in a lower suit - the suits rank as in Skat: clubs (high), spades, hearts, diamonds.

If the play ends because a player closes, or because of a declaration of 31 (Schnauz), whoever has the worst hand loses one chip. In the rare case of a tie (two equally low scores in the same suit), both players lose.

If the play ends because of a delaration of fire (Feuer), all the players except for the one with fire lose a chip.

If someone has to give away his last chip he said to be 'swimming' (schwimmen in German). He can continue to play, but if he loses another hand he drops out of the game and only the others may play on.

The game continues until all the players except one have been eliminated. The last 'survivor' has won the game and receives a prize.

Variations

A popular variation is to play that in your turn you have the choice of passing, exchanging one card with the table or exchanging all three of your cards with the table. In no circumstances are you allowed to exchange two of your cards and keep the third.

If one or more players are dealt 31 in their initial hand, some play that all the players who do not have 31 lose a chip. If someone is dealt three aces (fire) as their initial hand, all the other players lose 2 chips unless they were dealt 31; players with 31 lose 1 chip only.

Some older descriptions of this game do not recognise the "three of a kind" combinations, but most people nowadays do allow these.

Schwimmen software

Several computer versions of Schwimmen are available:

• Wernke zur Borg's program is available from his Winswim page.
• Thomas Schels' Schnauz program is available from his Shareware Corner.

A Dutch version of this game, known as Een-en-dertigen (31), can play be played on line on the Game Square site.