Schneider is a term used in some card games for a particularly low card point score that results in boosting an opponent's game score. Its natural extension is Schwarz, used of a player who loses the game without taking a single trick.
Origin
The term Schneider is German and comes from the medieval guild of tailors. Tailoring was a trade often associated with financial difficulties. For example, the pejorative remark "a tailor doesn't weigh more than 30 lots", alluding to a tailor being underweight, was a common saying. People who were financially better off were thus "out of Schneider" i.e. "off the hook". In the 19th century, the term was also used by student fraternities. The drinking game "Lustig, meine Sieben", in which a pair of scissors was drawn on the table if one scored under 30 points, called the loser of the game a "tailor", who then had to drink twice the amount. In the wake of this the term was probably transferred to the then still relatively new game of Skat, which spread quickly, especially among Thuringian and Saxon students. The colloquial proverb from Austria "To give someone a Schneider means to defeat an opponent without their scoring. It may be applied to any sport or game, but the term is mainly used in the card game of Schnapsen or in curling.
Card games
In certain card games, a player or partnership that achieves less than half the required card points from their tricks to win the hand, is described as Schneider. Thy usually lose double the normal game points.
Skat
In Skat there is a total of 120 card points in play and therefore a player needs at least 61 points to win the game. If one player scores 90 points or more, then the player has played their opponent Schneider and is credited with a higher game score. An extension of Schneider is Schwarz. This is where all the tricks are won by one player or partnership and they are given an even higher game score. In order to achieve Schwarz, the opponent or opponents must not have won any tricks at all, even those which do not score any card points. In Hand games where the skat is not picked up, the declarer may bid on Schneider and Schwarz. In open gamesSchwarz is automatically assumed and the game value increases accordingly. The player loses the game at this value, however, if he does not achieved his declared goal. Should the player himself be played Schneider or Schwarz in this situation, he is not additionally penalised; i.e. you cannot Schneider yourself.
In the game of Schafkopf, if a player or partnership loses with a score of 30 or fewer card points they are Schneider. Non-players are Schneider with 29 or fewer points. If a player wins no tricks by the end of the round, they are Schwarz.
Other card games
Other card games that use the terms Schneider or Schwarz include:
In German darts competitions, Schneider occurs if the game or leg is ended and the loser has not achieved enough points from which it is possible to end the game with 3 darts. In a double out this is 170 points, in a triple out or master out it is 180 points. The term was probably borrowed from Skat.
''Matsch''
In some games, particularly of Austrian origin, the term matsch is used instead of schneider, but often has the same meaning. A player or team that has lost and typically scored fewer than ¼ of the points is said to be 'in the mud' or gematscht and usually has to pay double. Examples include Einwerfen, Hundertspiel, Mariage and Réunion. It can also mean a hand in which the loser wins no tricks at all, for example, in Bauerntarock, Droggn and Jaggln. Some English accounts mistranslate the term as 'match'.
