Wenz
German: "Wenz" — Bavarian nickname for the Jack
Definition
A Schafkopf solo variant where only the four Jacks (Unters) are trump — every other card stays in its natural suit. The picker plays alone, the trump pool shrinks from 14 cards to 4, and short fail suits become surprisingly powerful.
Wenz in play
Wenz strips trump down to just the four Unters (Jacks), so the Obers drop out of the trump rank entirely and every Queen reverts to being an ordinary fail card in its own suit. With only four trumps in the whole deck, fail suits gain length and the boss cards of each suit, the Aces and Tens, become far more reliable winners. The picker plays alone for a higher payout, and the tiny trump pool rewards counting precisely and squeezing voids.
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Related Terms
Solo
A declaration in Schafkopf where the picker plays alone against the other three with a chosen trump suit (other than the default), worth more points than a normal game. In Sheepshead, "going solo" usually means the same as Going Alone — picker versus all defenders with no partner called.
Schafkopf
The German ancestor of Sheepshead, originating in Bavaria in the 1700s. The name likely refers to playing on a barrel head ("Schaff" = barrel, "Kopf" = head), though it's often translated as "sheep's head."
Unter
German name for the Jack in Schafkopf and other Bavarian card games. The four Unters sit below the Obers in trump rank but above all Diamonds (or above all Hearts in Schafkopf), making them the second-tier permanent trumps.
Tout
A Schafkopf declaration claiming the declaring side will win every trick — the bid loses if even one trick goes to the opponents. Doubles the game value if achieved, and is the boldest call in the variant's announcement hierarchy.