An American playing Kaiser…



…should not be possible. After all, it’s virtually unheard of for someone not from Saskatchewan to play the greatest card game ever invented.

Kaiser is a game of mysterious origins, and is not for the faint-hearted. It says a great deal about the hospitality of Alan and his family that they were willing, and more than able to take on the challenge of learning the game and to compete with both ferocity and grace. The deck of their cabin was undoubtedly the most stunning backdrop for a game that I’ve ever enjoyed, and the companionship was stupendous. Next time I impose, I’ll turn them on to the Roughriders , Old Style Pilsner, and maybe even socialism.

To no surprise, the Wikipedia entry on Kaiser is pretty good (I did correct one small error in the rules section). If you are a Windows user you can play Kaiser online — reason enough to dump Cupertino for Redmond.

When I listen, I imagine the EdTech Posse are playing Kaiser while they record their podcasts. If they ever need a fourth, I hope they’ll deal me in…

About Brian

I am a Strategist and Discoordinator with UBC's Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology. My main blogging space is Abject Learning, and I sporadically update a short bio with publications and presentations over there as well...
This entry was posted in Abject Learning. Bookmark the permalink.

5 Responses to An American playing Kaiser…

  1. Alan says:

    Now I know why you were smirking and taking photos of this hand! Did I deal you this 9-bid?

  2. Brian says:

    Your hospitality did indeed extend to the hands you dealt me. I’m still quietly celebrating that 11-no we got.

  3. Terry Moonie says:

    I have a question that I hope someone can answer. We played Kaiser with some friends last night and one of the guys called a misdeal. He had no face cards, no aces but did have the 3 of spades. We told him it wasn’t a misdeal because he had a counter card (the three). We had a slight disagreement about this and tried to find a ruling in the rules of Kasier but couldn’t find anything. Any ideas?

  4. Brian says:

    The way we played back in the day, “no ace, no face, no five, no three” for a misdeal. I don’t have the rules in front of me.

    If official rules are different, whatever… but in the spirit of the game, someone with the 3 can still be a player in the round (unless they have no more spades). No ace, face, no 5 and an unprotected 3 would be a shitty hand, but I still wouldn’t call misdeal.

  5. Bob says:

    Misdeal is an urban legend, play the hand dealt you.
    Can anyone tell me where to buy Kaiser cards? I have some and cannot find them any more.
    We have played Kaiser in Mexico and get some great questions and comments about “a full deck”
    Ya, I’m from Sask. as well.

Comments are closed.