Treppenrommé
is a card game for two to four players, which is a variant of rummy played in Germany and Austria. The name means "Staircase Rummy" and comes from the fact that the discard pile must be arranged such that every card is partly covered and partly visible, forming a so-called 'staircase' (Treppe).
General
In Treppenrommé the aim is to win the game by collecting the most points through melding as many, high-scoring combinations of cards as possible.
Cards
The game uses a stardard French deck of 52 cards in the suits Spades (Pik), Clubs (Kreuz), Hearts (Herz) and Diamonds (Karo). The card ranking in each suit is Ace, King (König), Queen (Dame), Jack (Bube), 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. In combinations the Ace may follow 2, 3, 4 etc. so that sometimes the Aces is the highest, sometimes the lowest and sometimes the middle card.
Combinations
There are sets and sequences or runs. A set (Satz) consists of 3 or 4 cards of equal rank and different suits, e. g. ♥7, 
7, 
7. A sequence (Folge) consists of three or more cards of the same suit in unbroken succession, e. g. ♥J, ♥D, ♥K, ♥A, ♥2, ♥3, etc.
The cards 2 to 10 have corresponding values of 2 to 10 points. The Jack, Queen and King each count as 10 points. In a set, the Aces counts as 15 points, in a sequence as the highest card 10 points, as a middle card (used to 'turn the corner') 5 points, as the lowest card 1 point.
Examples:
6-6-6-6 = 24 points
A-A-A = 45 points
D-K-A = 30 points
D-K-A-2 = 27 points
A-2-3 = 6 points
5-6-7-8-9 = 35 points
Dealing
The first dealer is chosen by lot. In the next round, dealing passes to the player on the left. Each player is dealt 7 cards. The rest is placed face down as a talon in the middle. The top card of the talon is then flipped and placed next to the talon.
Playing
The dealer starts. He takes a talon card or the upcard next to the talon, adds it to his hand and discards an unwanted card face up next to the talon. The next player does the same and so on. Because the upcard always has to be placed so that each card only half covers the previous one, a row or cards or 'staircase' (Treppe) is formed, whose cards are always visible. Whoever's turn it is may either pick up the topmost card of the talon or as many staircase cards as he wants. Players may not pick up both from the talon and staircase simul and may not select a card from the staircase. If the staircase consists of D-9-2-A-7 and a player needs the 9, for example, he must pick up the cards on top of it, i.e. the 7, A and 2, so that only the Queen (Dame) is left on the staircase. In each case it must be weighed up whether it is worth picking up several cards in order to obtain just one or two cards. The game often ends quickly and a player is left with too many cards in his hand. The picking up of many staircase cards does have the advantage, however, that the number of possible combinations in one's hand increases significantly.
Combinations
Once it is a player's turn to make a combination, he may play it. The value of the combinations placed is noted immediately by the recorder (Schriftführer). Furthermore, the same player may put cards from the hand on his own and other combinations, the individual value of which is also written down immediately. For example, a player will melds the following: 6-6-6 (18), D-K-A-2-3 (30). He also adds to combinations that have already been played: B, 7, 10 (27). The recorder notes for him: 18+30+27=75 points. Then the player places a discard on the staircase, and it is the next player's turn.
Settlement
When a player has got rid of all his hand cards, the game is over. It does not matter whether he puts another card on the staircase or not. He also gets the points that the opponents still have in their hands. The Ace always counts as 15, but if a player finishes without having put in or taken out a hand (Rommé hand), the opponent's hand cards count double for him. But his own cards, which he puts on and takes off as he gets ready, count as usual. The final winner is the player who achieves an agreed number of points - for example 500 or 1000 - after several games.
References
Literature
- Erweitertes Spielregel-Büchlein aus Altenburg, 1st edition, published by Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik, 74 Skatstadt Altenburg (DDR), EVP 1,- M, pp. 272–275[1]
- Erweitertes Spielregel-Büchlein aus Altenburg, 5th edition, published by Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik, 7400 Skatstadt Altenburg (DDR), EVP 1,- M, pp. 202–204