or early variant of the game. Rules Skitgubbe is a game for three or more players using a regular fifty-two card pack without jokers. There are a large number of rule variations, and some of the most common are given below. The denominations have the usual ranking with Aces at the top and Deuces at the bottom. The game has two different phases. In the first phase, the players try to take cards that give as favourable a starting position as possible before the second phase, where you must get rid of the cards again as quickly as possible. The game is about avoiding being the last person sitting with cards in hand. Whoever does that has lost and become a "skitgubbe". So there is no winner, only a loser. Deal The dealer deals three cards each, clockwise, starting with forehand, the player on the left. The cards are normally dealt singly. The remaining cards are placed face down in the middle of the table and form the talon. Phase 1 Phase 1 is a trick-taking round where the winner of a trick captures all the cards in it. In some variants of Skitgubbe only two players play for each trick in this phase, in other variants everyone plays for each trick. The latter is probably the most common way to play these days. The suit normally doesn't matter in the first phase, but there is an older variation where you play with the trump upcard and where the trick can only be won by the highest trump or the highest card of the led suit if no trumps are played. This variant is now rare. Two-player tricks Forehand leads to the first trick, and the player next in clockwise order also plays a card. Whoever plays the highest rank wins the trick; suit doesn't matter. If both play the same rank or denomination, it is called "countering" or "bouncing" or a "counterplay". The players then play one more card each. If both play the same denomination again, they play another card again and so on. After each card played, the player immediately draws a new card from the talon, so that players always have three cards in their hands. A player with poor cards in hand may play the top card from the talon to the trick. This is called 'taking a chance' or 'daring'. Trick play continues in