Sheepshead

Sheepshead is a trick-taking card game related to the Skat family of games. It is the Americanized version of a card game that originated in Central Europe in the late 18th century under the German name Schafkopf.

Sheepshead is played with 7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A in four suits, for a total of 32 cards. A sheepshead deck is made by removing all of the jokers, sixes, fives, fours, threes, and twos from a standard deck.

Card strength:

Card strength in sheepshead is different than in most other games. It is one of the most difficult things for some beginners to grasp.

There are 14 cards in the trump suit: all four queens, all four jacks, and all of the diamonds. In order of strength from greatest to least:

Q♣ Q♠ Q♥ Q♦