2_0_DiscoverGermany_July 2015_Issue28:Scan Magazine 1
26/6/15
11:42
Page 70
Discover Germany | Business | DonkeyCat
A traditional Austrian card game turned mobile app:
DonkeyCat’s Schnopsn One could find them huddled over a table in an Austrian pub: Card game players spellbound by the Schnapsen cards stacked on the table. The traditional Austrian game, played for centuries, has never lost its appeal and now it has even become an online multi-player game available via Facebook and mobile app.
though the rules might look complicated. No matter if you understand it instantly or not, the game is quite addictive!
planned for interactions between users and using cloud-based backends. The company states: “We are very active and quite successful in the niche of card games, especially local games typically played in Austria and Germany.” Schnopsn is only one example. DonkeyCat also works on reactivating gaming concepts from the 1980s and 1990s, making them available for a mobile multiplayer gaming world.
With its online version Schnopsn, the Austrian mobile gaming start-up DonkeyCat has made the game known to an even wider public. "If you want a really typical Austrian game and to impress the locals, try Schnapsen,“ says DonkeyCat manager Gerald Novak. “We combined a tradition with a modern approach and in a very short time could establish a big online community playing our Schnapsen version.”
With Schnapsen or Schnopsn the game ends when one player reaches seven game points in total. If the offline practice mode or the online one-on-one game is not enough, Schnopsn players can also take part in online tournaments. The game can be downloaded from the website www.schnopsn.com or from app stores and is available for iOS and Android. Additionally Schnopsn can be played online via Facebook.
DonkeyCat is specialised in designing mobile software for various app stores, often
www.donkeycat.com
TEXT: JESSICA HOLZHAUSEN | PHOTOS: DONKEYCAT
Schnapsen is a rather fast two-person card game, enjoyed especially in the region of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy. It is also played in Germany, with slightly different rules, where it is called Sixty-six, because players have to collect 66 point as fast as possible. The Austrian Schnapsen, and here lies the difference to other versions, is played with 20 cards consisting of Ace, Ten, King, Queen and Jack worth 11, 10, 4, 3 and 2 points. One randomly chosen colour is always trump. Every player draws five cards as hand, plays a move (at best with a good strategy in mind) and draws from the stock afterwards. Many say it is an easy game to learn even
70 | Issue 28 | July 2015