Rei Ayanami Raising Project

GreatWyrmGold · Sep 24, 2023

Videogamer921 said:
Good old classic winter episode. I sure hope this isn't ruined by the snow being the result of an angel

Ooh, a snow angel! I love puns!

Sutekh said:
The date was boring, thanks for asking, Misato. [...] Pretty much nothing else happened that night.

She just has to work harder. That's all. If she works harder everyone will see. They'll all see.

My experience with dates is nonexistent, but...that doesn't sound like a healthy attitude to take?

The best you could gather was that whatever happened involved both Rei and Asuka, and that it happened while you were out with Kaji.

Why do the kids keep doing this stuff when their guardian can't see them?

Rei mostly seems confused and dismayed by your change in position towards the guy.

You and me both, kid.

"This hand is worth negative 8000 points. It is not a valid winning hand, as it only contains eleven tiles, not fourteen. Therefore, a penalty would be applied for gotsumo, a reverse mangan penalty with 4000 to the dealer and 2000 each to the others. You are incorrect."

"What, but, but that's a trick question!" Asuka spluttered.

Very astute, Asuka. Next time, try to notice before Rei calls you out. Good work on the middle school math, but you need to work on the fundamentals.
Or remember the rules better.

"Look, if you jerks keep subjecting me to that then I should be able to play you two in skat without you whining constantly. At least skat makes sense."

That seems fair. Besides, it's fun to try new—wait, what is this game called? That means something different in German, right?

Rei knit her eyebrows together in confusion. Why would the Major willingly be spending time with her least favorite person?

What's Rei talking about? I'm pretty sure Misato's least favorite person wasn't invited to the wedding or the afterparty. And that he would have turned down both invitations.

...Oh, she means Kaji. We should get Misato drunk enough that she thinks inviting him to the apartment with the kids around would end well. With a drunk Misato there to keep them civil and Asuka there to absorb flak, Kaji and Rei might get to a better understanding. If we're lucky, they'll eventually trust each other enough to share their confidential information.
If we're unlucky, they'll do that and then Rei will rat Kaji and Misato out. But no drunk!Misato plan is without risk.

"Hey Shinji?" said Asuka in a soft voice, not looking up from the scoring sheet, "Wanna kiss me?"

Asuka...if you've gotten into Misato's beer, she's going to haunt you. (After Gendo murders her for getting the pilots drunk, of course.)

"I'm obviously not going to lose, so the other winner gets to kiss me."

"What if Rei wins, then?" asked Shinji with clear confusion. Asuka rolled her eyes in response.

"Then I guess she gets to kiss me, and you don't."

The closeted bi Asuka theory has just received a fatal blow.
...
On closer examination, I can detect traces of closet.

"Stop breathing, you're tickling me," Asuka grumbled, breaking his train of thought. Shinji only could let out a grunt of confusion. Asuka made an annoyed growl and proceeded to pinch his nose shut so tightly Shinji only barely suppressed the urge to squeak in pain.

Not that familiar with kissing etiquette, but this sounds...not like that.

"I would like to play another game with the same terms," Rei said simply, and began to deal the cards.

"Uh-uh, no way am I kissing that loser again! It was disgusting! It was horrendous! It was the worst!" she pointed at Shinji, who winced at each insult.

"Then you will have to prevent him from winning," said Rei.

I have no idea how to parse it. Seems like significant data, though.

"So, who was better?" Asuka asked Shinji. Of course, when put on the spot like that, he would probably capitulate. That'd show Rei.

"Uh, to be honest, neither of them was very good?"

Ask a painful question, get a painful answer.

"You're an idiot," Asuka said, and then gave him a solid punch in the gut.

Not what I meant, Asuka.

You let Asuka take out her frustration with the Japanese language with some good ol' fashioned simulated violence.

Think the lab techs could whip up some simulated Angels that look like kanji? Ideally in a system that would let Asuka study kanji and practice combat at the same time, but if we can't get some Typing of the Evangelion stuff going on, I'm sure Asuka would appreciate the catharsis.

Are you going to let them play outside?

[X] Yes
-[X] Obviously

Parzival95 · Sep 24, 2023

[X] Yes

One hundred percent an Angel.

SonofMelonHead · Sep 24, 2023

[X] No
-[X] View the Weather Report

This is a sudden and utter contradiction of this country's established climatic patterns. Something's not right here.
Also, two of our three wards seem not to have much of an affinity with the cold anyway.

Sutekh · Sep 24, 2023

Knüffeln
Player ct.: 4
Equipment: Stripped French-suited deck with the 10 pip cards removed (i.e., 48 cards).
Place of origin: Friesland
Type: Trick-taking
Family: Karnöffel

Introduction
Knüffeln (or Knüffel, Karnüffel, etc.) is the national card game of Frisia, and a descendant of Karnöffel, the oldest European card game still played. It is characterized by its unusual card hierarchy, use of two quasi-trump suits, and highly social gameplay.

Trick-Taking
A large family of card games including Contract Bridge, Whist, Hearts/Black Lady, Spades, Skat, Euchre, Briscola, etc.

Trick-taking games involve each player playing one card from their hand to the table, typically in clockwise order (though Mediterranean trick-taking games are often played anticlockwise). After all players at the table have played a card, the player whose card is the highest rank takes all the cards on the table, or takes the trick, and puts them in their pile to the side. A trick is a round of gameplay.

Typically, the first card played determines the required suit to win the trick. This is called the led suit. For example, if Asuka leads with spades, then to beat her card, Rei would have to play a higher ranked card in the spades suit (a higher ranked card in another suit would lose). There are exceptions made in some games with the concept of a trump suit, where cards of a particular suit (either fixed at the start of the game or agreed upon by the players using a method that varies per game) always win even if they do not match the led suit, and can only be beaten by other higher ranking cards in the trump suit. As this is obviously very powerful, many games require players to follow suit, meaning that they must play a card that matches the led suit, even if they will certainly lose that trick. If they do not have any matching cards of that suit, they are void or free in that suit, and may then choose to play any card they wish. You are not allowed to bluff, and if you play the suit you claim to be void in later, this is called reneging and is usually harshly punished.

Once all cards have been played, every player's piles are scored according to the rules of the particular game, the cards are shuffled, and each player is dealt a new hand of cards until an agreed-upon objective has been reached. Each deal is typically referred to as a hand.

Trick-taking games are broadly divided into either plain-trick games (where the object is to take (or not take) as many tricks as possible) and point-trick games, where cards have different point values when scored at the end of a hand, so some tricks may be worth more than others. Knüffeln is a plain-trick game.

Trick-taking games often have certain requirements or mechanics, but as Knüffeln is so old, many of these requirements are absent, making for a weird and exciting experience.

Weird Things About Knüffeln
Knüffeln has several mechanics that wildly differ from traditional trick-taking games. They are:

There is no requirement to follow suit; i.e., you do not have to play the same suit as the led suit. Players can play any card from their hands they wish.
Players are on a team with the player across from them. Teammates combine their number of taken tricks to determine whether they have won or lost the round. While it is not unusual for trick taking games to have teams, it is often expressly forbidden to communicate with your partner. Knüffeln allows players to openly discuss what they have in their hands in as much detail as they wish (or more likely, to brazenly lie to everyone at the table)
Trumps work unusually in Knüffeln. While there are five permanent trump cards that (usually) win when played, there are also two chosen suits, randomly selected at the start of each hand. Cards of the chosen suit (hereafter referred to as chosen cards) gain unusual powers which break card rankings.

The Cards
The card ranking in Knüffeln is highly unusual. Please bear with me.
"Chosen" refers to a card in one of the two chosen suits randomly determined prior to the hand. "Unchosen" refers to a card in one of the other two suits. Some chosen cards only have powers when they are led (i.e., are the first card played in a trick).

The top card is the Chosen Seven. The Chosen Seven, when led, automatically wins a trick. If it isn't led, it's worthless.

The next ranking cards are the Five Old Ones (Olen). They are, in order of rank:

The Two of Hearts (Twe, the Two)
The Four of Clubs (Wagen, the Cart)
The Eight of Spades (Dulle, the Dull)
The Nine of Hearts (Harten Ol, the Old Heart)
The Nine of Diamonds (Ruten Ol, the Old Window)

These cards beat every card except a led Chosen Seven.

The next card in rank is the Chosen Ace. It beats every card except the led Chosen Seven and the Old Ones.
The next card in rank is the Chosen Jack (Bauer, Bower). It beats every card except the above.
The next cards in rank are the Chosen Eights and Nines (Frikorten, Free Cards). When led, they can only be beaten by the above. When not led, they are worthless.
The next card in rank is the Chosen Six (Pape, Pope). It beats all cards except the above.
The next card in rank is the unchosen Ace. Beats all cards except the above.
The next card in rank is the Chosen Two (Twist). It beats all cards except the above.
The next card in rank is any King. When led, beats all cards except the above. Otherwise worthless.
The next card in rank is the Chosen Three (Drist). It beats all cards except the above.
The next card in rank is any Queen. When led, beats all cards except the above. Otherwise worthless.
The next card in rank is the Chosen Four (Hackenbiter, Anklebiter). Beats all cards except the above.
The next card in rank is the unchosen Jack. When led, beats all cards except the above. Otherwise worthless.
The next card in rank is the Chosen Five (Hund, Dog). Beats all unchosen cards except the above. Otherwise nearly completely worthless. Has a special power detailed below.

Bringing up the rear is all other unchosen cards or unled cards that must be led for them to have any power. All of these cards are almost always equally useless (duds), but in the unlikely event that only these garbage cards are played to the table, they rank in their natural order (i.e., AKQJ98765432), with the highest ranking card matching the led suit being the winner.

To summarize this crazy rank system:
l=led
c=chosen
u=unchosen
lc7 > The Two > The Cart > The Dull > The Old Heart > The Old Window > cA > cJ > lc89 > c6 > uA > c2 > lK > c3 > lQ > c4 > lJ > c5 > duds [rank in natural order if only duds are played; winner must match suit of led card]

The Deal
Players are teamed up into two pairs, with teammates sitting across from each other.
The dealer shuffles the cards and hands the deck to the player to their right to cut. The dealer then deals 9 cards to each player, three at a time, clockwise, dealing to the player on the left first. The remaining cards are placed facedown in the middle of the table to form the stock. The top two cards of this pile are turned over. If they are of two different suits, they become the chosen suits. If they are the same, a third card is turned over. If it is again of the same suit, a fourth card is turned over. If they are again the same, a misdeal is declared, the cards are thrown in, and the deal starts over.
When the chosen suits are determined, the cards pulled from the stock remain on the table unused. They merely serve as a visual reference.

The dealer then checks the bottom of the stock. If the card there is an Old One, anyone with a chosen Queen of the matching suit may exchange it for the Old One. If nobody has a chosen Queen meeting these requirements, the Queen is said to be "sleeping" within the stock and a chosen King matching the Old One's suit can be exchanged for it instead.
For example, if the chosen suits are spades and clubs, and the card at the bottom of the stock is the Dull, one of the players at the table may exchange their Queen of Spades for it. If nobody has that card, the King of Spades may be substituted. If nobody has that either, the card remains on the table and goes unused.
Another example: the chosen suits are diamonds and clubs. The dealer discovers an Old One at the bottom of the deck: it's the Two. However, nobody can exchange for it, as there is no chosen queen matching its suit (Hearts).
If the next card under the Old One is also an Old One, then it too may be exchanged for a chosen Queen/King matching its suit. Up to three Old Ones may be exchanged in this manner.
After the Old One(s) are exchanged (if applicable), anyone holding Chosen Fives may choose to exchange their card with the cards used to determine the chosen suits that matches the suit of their Five. Note: this comes after the Old One exchange; obtaining a chosen Queen/King in this manner does not allow for a double exchange.
For example, the dealer turns up the Queen of Hearts, and the Eight of Clubs to determine the chosen suits (hearts and clubs). The bottom of the stock contains the Two (the Two of Hearts). Shinji is holding the Five of Hearts, and he chooses to exchange his Five of Hearts for the Queen of Hearts. He cannot then exchange the Queen of Hearts for the Two, as the Old One exchange phase has already ended.

Play
The player to the dealer's left (eldest hand) leads the first trick. Players take turns clockwise to play a card of their choice to the trick. There is no requirement to follow suit. When all players have played one card, the player with the best card (per the ranking, above) takes the trick and puts it in a pile next to them. Players should separate each trick won for easier tracking of number of tricks won. The player that wins the suit leads the next suit.
Players are allowed to and encouraged to communicate openly with their partner and bluff about their hands to the other players.
The hand is won by the first team to collectively win five tricks between them.

Raising
At any time, the player on lead may choose to play a card to a trick facedown. This is called turning (Drein). This is an offer to raise the game's value by one point/stake. There is no limit to the number of times this can be done in a hand. The other team may choose to look at the card (Seen) and play the trick out, therefore accepting the raise, or choose to back out (lopen, run away) without looking at the card, conceding whatever the hand is currently worth to the turning team and ending the hand.

Scoring

Winning a hand is worth 1 point.
If a single team managed to win the first 5 tricks all in a row (i.e., one team won no tricks before the other team won), they have achieved a jann. This is worth 2 points instead.
When a team achieves a jann, they can either opt to end play and accept the 2 point payment, or elect to continue playing to attempt a march (Dörchspill). To achieve a march, the team electing to play on must win every single trick. If they even lose one, they lose and the other team gets a point instead. A successful march is worth 3 points.
Each accepted turn adds 1 point to the value of game.
Running away from a game means the game is worth 1 point + the number of previously accepted turns.

Traditionally, Knüffeln is scored using a "ladder", like so.

For each point a hand is worth, one rung of the ladder is erased. Once one side completely erases their side of the ladder, a round blob is drawn on their opponents' side to indicate they have lost. The first team to erase their entire ladder wins. If one team manages to completely erase their ladder without the other team scoring even once, they get to draw two round blobs (Brille, the spectacles) next to each other instead as an eternal badge of shame.

Alternatively, Knüffeln can be played for small stakes with payments as follows:
0.10 EUR = basic win
1.00 EUR = Jann win
3.00 EUR = march win
+0.10 EUR = each accepted turn

Conclusion
The game's rules may vary from place to place, as its tradition is mostly oral at this point. It's still played in Friesland but relatively unknown outside of it. It's a weird old card game that's near and dear to my heart, and if I have an opportunity to talk about it and teach it to people, I will.

The game is currently in danger of going extinct as it is outcompeted by more recent and popular German card games like Skat and Doppelkopf, as well as the rise of TCGs and the like. While I'm well aware this game isn't really for everyone (it is a pain to teach), perhaps maybe you could find it in your heart to help keep this wonderful little oddity alive?

Lock93 · Sep 24, 2023

[X] Yes

They never seen snow before, this is a once in a lifetime first experience, should bring a camera, also I can't believe I didn't think to ask Asuka how the date went, UGH!

Indivisible · Sep 24, 2023

[X] Yes

DragonOfAtlantis · Sep 24, 2023

[X] Yes

Sutekh · Sep 24, 2023

GreatWyrmGold said:
wait, what is this game called? That means something different in German, right?

Skat is the national card game of Germany. Its name derives from scatola, meaning place for safekeeping or box (from scartare, to discard or reject, whence scatter and yes, scat). Skat is a trick-taking game for three players played with a stripped French deck called a piquet deck of 32 cards (or, if you're in the Alps, you're probably playing with a traditional German suited deck, also 32 cards). Each player gets 10 cards during the deal. The remaining two cards are placed facedown on the table. These two cards are called the skat. Players bid for the ability to declare the trump suit and for the ability to use the skat for scoring, with the winner adding the skat cards to his captured cards for scoring later; alternatively, some bids allow the winner to swap two cards from his hands with the skat.

It's more complicated than that, and I considered listing the rules of skat instead, but the way skat is scored is so complicated and annoying to explain I decided to explain a game I actually liked that I mentioned in passing instead.

GreatWyrmGold said:
Why do the kids keep doing this stuff when their guardian can't see them?

They are teenagers.

Lock93 said:
I can't believe I didn't think to ask Asuka how the date went, UGH!

Neither can Asuka. :tongue:

SpacePaladin · Sep 25, 2023

[X] No
Get the techs to analyze the snow to make sure it's not some sort of Angel poison.

WestOrEast · Sep 25, 2023

GreatWyrmGold said:
That seems fair. Besides, it's fun to try new—wait, what is this game called? That means something different in German, right?

Scatting can also refer to nonsense sounds like in this video.

View: https://youtu.be/250MMq0fTrU

MilitantBird · Sep 25, 2023

Sutekh said:
Knüffeln
Player ct.: 4
Equipment: Stripped French-suited deck with the 10 pip cards removed (i.e., 48 cards).
Place of origin: Friesland
Type: Trick-taking
Family: Karnöffel

Introduction
Knüffeln (or Knüffel, Karnüffel, etc.) is the national card game of Frisia, and a descendant of Karnöffel, the oldest European card game still played. It is characterized by its unusual card hierarchy, use of two quasi-trump suits, and highly social gameplay.

Trick-Taking
A large family of card games including Contract Bridge, Whist, Hearts/Black Lady, Spades, Skat, Euchre, Briscola, etc.

Trick-taking games involve each player playing one card from their hand to the table, typically in clockwise order (though Mediterranean trick-taking games are often played anticlockwise). After all players at the table have played a card, the player whose card is the highest rank takes all the cards on the table, or takes the trick, and puts them in their pile to the side. A trick is a round of gameplay.

Typically, the first card played determines the required suit to win the trick. This is called the led suit. For example, if Asuka leads with spades, then to beat her card, Rei would have to play a higher ranked card in the spades suit (a higher ranked card in another suit would lose). There are exceptions made in some games with the concept of a trump suit, where cards of a particular suit (either fixed at the start of the game or agreed upon by the players using a method that varies per game) always win even if they do not match the led suit, and can only be beaten by other higher ranking cards in the trump suit. As this is obviously very powerful, many games require players to follow suit, meaning that they must play a card that matches the led suit, even if they will certainly lose that trick. If they do not have any matching cards of that suit, they are void or free in that suit, and may then choose to play any card they wish. You are not allowed to bluff, and if you play the suit you claim to be void in later, this is called reneging and is usually harshly punished.

Once all cards have been played, every player's piles are scored according to the rules of the particular game, the cards are shuffled, and each player is dealt a new hand of cards until an agreed-upon objective has been reached. Each deal is typically referred to as a hand.

Trick-taking games are broadly divided into either plain-trick games (where the object is to take (or not take) as many tricks as possible) and point-trick games, where cards have different point values when scored at the end of a hand, so some tricks may be worth more than others. Knüffeln is a plain-trick game.

Trick-taking games often have certain requirements or mechanics, but as Knüffeln is so old, many of these requirements are absent, making for a weird and exciting experience.

Weird Things About Knüffeln
Knüffeln has several mechanics that wildly differ from traditional trick-taking games. They are:

There is no requirement to follow suit; i.e., you do not have to play the same suit as the led suit. Players can play any card from their hands they wish.

Players are on a team with the player across from them. Teammates combine their number of taken tricks to determine whether they have won or lost the round. While it is not unusual for trick taking games to have teams, it is often expressly forbidden to communicate with your partner. Knüffeln allows players to openly discuss what they have in their hands in as much detail as they wish (or more likely, to brazenly lie to everyone at the table)

Trumps work unusually in Knüffeln. While there are five permanent trump cards that (usually) win when played, there are also two chosen suits, randomly selected at the start of each hand. Cards of the chosen suit (hereafter referred to as chosen cards) gain unusual powers which break card rankings.

The Cards
The card ranking in Knüffeln is highly unusual. Please bear with me.
"Chosen" refers to a card in one of the two chosen suits randomly determined prior to the hand. "Unchosen" refers to a card in one of the other two suits. Some chosen cards only have powers when they are led (i.e., are the first card played in a trick).

The top card is the Chosen Seven. The Chosen Seven, when led, automatically wins a trick. If it isn't led, it's worthless.

The next ranking cards are the Five Old Ones (Olen). They are, in order of rank:

The Two of Hearts (Twe, the Two)

The Four of Clubs (Wagen, the Cart)

The Eight of Spades (Dulle, the Dull)

The Nine of Hearts (Harten Ol, the Old Heart)

The Nine of Diamonds (Ruten Ol, the Old Window)

These cards beat every card except a led Chosen Seven.

The next card in rank is the Chosen Ace. It beats every card except the led Chosen Seven and the Old Ones.

The next card in rank is the Chosen Jack (Bauer, Bower). It beats every card except the above.

The next cards in rank are the Chosen Eights and Nines (Frikorten, Free Cards). When led, they can only be beaten by the above. When not led, they are worthless.

The next card in rank is the Chosen Six (Pape, Pope). It beats all cards except the above.

The next card in rank is the unchosen Ace. Beats all cards except the above.

The next card in rank is the Chosen Two (Twist). It beats all cards except the above.

The next card in rank is any King. When led, beats all cards except the above. Otherwise worthless.

The next card in rank is the Chosen Three (Drist). It beats all cards except the above.

The next card in rank is any Queen. When led, beats all cards except the above. Otherwise worthless.

The next card in rank is the Chosen Four (Hackenbiter, Anklebiter). Beats all cards except the above.

The next card in rank is the unchosen Jack. When led, beats all cards except the above. Otherwise worthless.

The next card in rank is the Chosen Five (Hund, Dog). Beats all unchosen cards except the above. Otherwise nearly completely worthless. Has a special power detailed below.

Bringing up the rear is all other unchosen cards or unled cards that must be led for them to have any power. All of these cards are almost always equally useless (duds), but in the unlikely event that only these garbage cards are played to the table, they rank in their natural order (i.e., AKQJ98765432), with the highest ranking card matching the led suit being the winner.

To summarize this crazy rank system:
l=led
c=chosen
u=unchosen
lc7 > The Two > The Cart > The Dull > The Old Heart > The Old Window > cA > cJ > lc89 > c6 > uA > c2 > lK > c3 > lQ > c4 > lJ > c5 > duds [rank in natural order if only duds are played; winner must match suit of led card]

The Deal
Players are teamed up into two pairs, with teammates sitting across from each other.
The dealer shuffles the cards and hands the deck to the player to their right to cut. The dealer then deals 9 cards to each player, three at a time, clockwise, dealing to the player on the right first. The remaining cards are placed facedown in the middle of the table to form the stock. The top two cards of this pile are turned over. If they are of two different suits, they become the chosen suits. If they are the same, a third card is turned over. If it is again of the same suit, a fourth card is turned over. If they are again the same, a misdeal is declared, the cards are thrown in, and the deal starts over.
When the chosen suits are determined, the cards pulled from the stock remain on the table unused. They merely serve as a visual reference.

The dealer then checks the bottom of the stock. If the card there is an Old One, anyone with a chosen Queen of the matching suit may exchange it for the Old One. If nobody has a chosen Queen meeting these requirements, the Queen is said to be "sleeping" within the stock and a chosen King matching the Old One's suit can be exchanged for it instead.
For example, if the chosen suits are spades and clubs, and the card at the bottom of the stock is the Dull, one of the players at the table may exchange their Queen of Spades for it. If nobody has that card, the King of Spades may be substituted. If nobody has that either, the card remains on the table and goes unused.
Another example: the chosen suits are diamonds and clubs. The dealer discovers an Old One at the bottom of the deck: it's the Two. However, nobody can exchange for it, as there is no chosen queen matching its suit (Hearts).
If the next card under the Old One is also an Old One, then it too may be exchanged for a chosen Queen/King matching its suit. Up to three Old Ones may be exchanged in this manner.
After the Old One(s) are exchanged (if applicable), anyone holding Chosen Fives may choose to exchange their card with the cards used to determine the chosen suits that matches the suit of their Five. Note: this comes after the Old One exchange; obtaining a chosen Queen/King in this manner does not allow for a double exchange.
For example, the dealer turns up the Queen of Hearts, and the Eight of Clubs to determine the chosen suits (hearts and clubs). The bottom of the stock contains the Two (the Two of Hearts). Shinji is holding the Five of Hearts, and he chooses to exchange his Five of Hearts for the Queen of Hearts. He cannot then exchange the Queen of Hearts for the Two, as the Old One exchange phase has already ended.

Play
The player to the dealer's left (eldest hand) leads the first trick. Players take turns clockwise to play a card of their choice to the trick. There is no requirement to follow suit. When all players have played one card, the player with the best card (per the ranking, above) takes the trick and puts it in a pile next to them. Players should separate each trick won for easier tracking of number of tricks won. The player that wins the suit leads the next suit.
Players are allowed to and encouraged to communicate openly with their partner and bluff about their hands to the other players.
The hand is won by the first team to collectively win five tricks between them.

Raising
At any time, the player on lead may choose to play a card to a trick facedown. This is called turning (Drein). This is an offer to raise the game's value by one point/stake. There is no limit to the number of times this can be done in a hand. The other team may choose to look at the card (Seen) and play the trick out, therefore accepting the raise, or choose to back out (lopen, run away), conceding whatever the hand is currently worth to the turning team and ending the hand.

Scoring

Winning a hand is worth 1 point.

If a single team managed to win the first 5 tricks all in a row (i.e., the other team won no tricks before the other team won), they have achieved a jann. This is worth 2 points instead.

When a team achieves a jann, they can either opt to end play and accept the 2 point payment, or elect to continue playing to attempt a march (Dörchspill). To achieve a march, the team electing to play on must win every single trick. If they even lose one, they lose and the other team gets a point instead. A successful march is worth 3 points.

Each accepted turn adds 1 point to the value of game.

Running away from a game means the game is worth 1 point + the number of previously accepted turns.

Traditionally, Knüffeln is scored using a "ladder", like so.

For each point a hand is worth, one rung of the ladder is erased. Once one side completely erases their side of the ladder, a round blob is drawn on their opponents' side to indicate they have lost. The first team to erase their entire ladder wins. If one team manages to completely erase their ladder without the other team scoring even once, they get to draw two round blobs (Brille, the spectacles) next to each other instead as an eternal badge of shame.

Alternatively, Knüffeln can be played for small stakes with payments as follows:
0.10 EUR = basic win
1.00 EUR = Jann win
3.00 EUR = march win
+0.10 EUR = each accepted turn

Conclusion
The game's rules may vary from place to place, as its tradition is mostly oral at this point. It's still played in Friesland but relatively unknown outside of it. It's a weird old card game that's near and dear to my heart, and if I have an opportunity to talk about it and teach it to people, I will.

The game is currently in danger of going extinct as it is outcompeted by more recent and popular German card games like Skat and Doppelkopf, as well as the rise of TCGs and the like. While I'm well aware this game isn't really for everyone (it is a pain to teach), perhaps maybe you could find it in your heart to help keep this wonderful little oddity alive?

...What in the bloody blazes did I just read?

GreatWyrmGold · Sep 25, 2023

Sutekh said:
Skat is the national card game of Germany. Its name derives from scatola, meaning place for safekeeping or box (from scartare, to discard or reject, whence scatter and yes, scat).

Probably a good idea to explain that that was a joke. See, "scat" does not mean a safe box in English. It has a couple different meanings, one of which is kinda gross and also a silly thing to name a card game after.

They are teenagers.

Most of that post was jokes.

WestOrEast said:
Scatting can also refer to nonsense sounds like in this video.

View: https://youtu.be/250MMq0fTrU

I'm surprised that's the example of scat you chose. There's a whole world of options out there!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIQln4JfGdU

VX-145 · Sep 25, 2023

[X] Yes

Glad to know Misato wasn't the only person making poor decisions that night

AHungryReader · Sep 25, 2023

[X] Yes

If the snow was going to kill us, it would have been nice enough to do it in our sleep 🥶

Chengar Qordath · Sep 25, 2023

[X] Yes

And now we need to figure out how to defuse this massive teenage drama bomb. Though part of me can't help but wonder how things would've played out if Drunk Misato walked in on the gals having their kissing contest over Shinji.

Comrade Future · Sep 25, 2023

Chengar Qordath said:
And now we need to figure out how to defuse this massive teenage drama bomb. Though part of me can't help but wonder how things would've played out if Drunk Misato walked in on the gals having their kissing contest over Shinji.

If this were canon Evangelion, then perhaps Shinji would be kissed by Misato.

[X] No
-[X] View the Weather Report
-[X] Get the techs to analyze the snow to make sure it's not some sort of Angel poison.

We live in the aftermath of melting glaciers - so yes, we need to check everything.

And yes - SHIJI NO BAKA!

TNO · Sep 25, 2023

Sutekh said:
Her date didn't even recognize her face.

This is unexpected. Asuka should be easily recognizable in Tokyo3, because she looks different from most of the people here (not as Rei, but still). Also, she's sort of celebrity here.

Sutekh said:
He made Shinji seem interesting.

"Hey Shinji, I met even more boring loser than you! Could you believe that?"

Sutekh said:
Curiously, she doesn't ask about where you were the night of the wedding.

Is it good or bad?

Sutekh said:
You mentally prepare yourself to pick up the pieces from Shinji's meeting with his father, but to your surprise (and chagrin), Shinji says his time with Gendo was pretty much just fine

This is obviously weird. Something's is not right (more than usual) here. Or am I paranoid?

Sutekh said:
Not good, not bad. Adequate, satisfactory.

We already have one kid who talks in single words. There is no need for another one.

Sutekh said:
It's nothing. Nothing happened.

Sure kid. And you will tell me that Asuka proposed to kiss Rei?

Sutekh said:
Then I guess she gets to kiss me, and you don't. Sucks to be you.

Ergh... Okay, there was no question.

Sutekh said:
Rei isn't ignorant of what you and he were up to. She has asked Dr. Akagi about these kinds of things.

The image of Ritsuko Akagi giving Rei "The Talk", and Rei asking questions in her deadpan tone seems quite hilarious to me.

Sutekh said:
She's fairly certain that it violates NERV's general workplace ethics and that it is a massive security risk.

NERV.
Ethics.
Rei, how many fingers am I holding up right now?

Sutekh said:
Perhaps the Major's judgment was greatly impaired.

Not the first time, and it won't be the last.

Sutekh said:
"…I love you too. Good night." Rei hung up the phone, feeling as if she had somehow done something wrong. The source of this guilt remained unclear after a minute of contemplation, and so she decided to move on to more rational thoughts.

Well, the one good thing this evening.

Sutekh said:
"Are you stupid? That's why!"

Looks like we don't have to explain things to Asuka after all.

Sutekh said:
"Hey Shinji?" said Asuka in a soft voice, not looking up from the scoring sheet, "Wanna kiss me?"

Right. I focused on Gendo and completely forgot that this happened also. On the other hand, I didn't expect Asuka to do this in front of Rei.

Sutekh said:
"Why?" Shinji asked cautiously, again eyeing Rei's unsettlingly intense face.

Because Asuka despite all her progress still want to assure her position to be Alpha Bitch.

Sutekh said:
Her face remained inexpressive, but it was more than obvious that she was displeased by the outcome of the hand. Shinji gulped.

Shinji, from all the moments in your life couldn't you run away now?
Especially after seeing the Rei's reaction?

Sutekh said:
"I see," said Rei, then began shuffling the cards.

Yep.

Sutekh said:
"Uh, to be honest, neither of them was very good?"

Good heavens. Even I could say something better (like "too different to compare"), and I'm not the master of negotiations.

Sutekh said:
"You're an idiot,"

I have to agree with Asuka on this one.

Sutekh said:
For some reason, Rei keeps coming in to ask about how her studies are going, which annoys and frustrates Asuka, who hates being interrupted.

Well, she can't ask "Soryu, have you already connected the dots what Evas are (or even worse, what I am)?"

Sutekh said:
Why it would begin snowing in a relatively low-lying area during the perpetual summer of the post-Impact world is a mystery to you.

That means shit will hit the fan soon.

Okay, the evening went bad, and awkward, but still I don't think this was so bad to cause Shinji to show basically open hostility towards Rei the next day.

Are you going to let them play outside?

[X] Yes
-[X] If all of them want to go out.
-[X] Call the NERV and tell them to check this ASAP
-[X] Maybe tell them to prep/move Evas to standby, just in case.

They have to unwind somehow. So they won't try to kill each other during the battle.
Let's hope this is not some kind of Ireul Winter Edition.

Am I missing something, or our Special Activity was simply replaced by the snow?

FourthWall · Sep 25, 2023

Reading trick-taking card game rules late at night is a memetic hazard

JIMI94 · Sep 25, 2023

[X] Yes
-[X] If all of them want to go out.
-[X] Call the NERV and tell them to check this ASAP
-[X] Maybe tell them to prep/move Evas to standby, just in case.

GreatWyrmGold · Sep 25, 2023

TNO said:
This is unexpected. Asuka should be easily recognizable in Tokyo3, because she looks different from most of the people here (not as Rei, but still). Also, she's sort of celebrity here.

Some people are just bad with faces. Um, or so I've heard.

"Hey Shinji, I met even more boring loser than you! Could you believe that?"

And then they kissed.

You know, I'm glad Asuka figured out that kissing someone out of boredom is also boring, and that she figured that out at home with people she knows and tolerates instead of in public, on a date with...some dude I assume she knows from school.

Ralakesh · Sep 25, 2023

[X] Yes
-[X] If all of them want to go out.
-[X] Call the NERV and tell them to check this ASAP
-[X] Maybe tell them to prep/move Evas to standby, just in case.

grommile · Sep 25, 2023

GreatWyrmGold said:
some dude I assume she knows from school.

I'd hope so, but in canon, it was a friend of Hikari's (older) sister. (Evangelion has lots of yikes moments...)

thatguy99998 · Sep 25, 2023

Sutekh said:
They are teenagers

Hey! That's unfair to teenagers! We are only this dumb like... 70% of the time!

Sculpt0r · Sep 25, 2023

Sutekh, I appreciate ya bud, but those Knufflen rules?
Unless we're going to do card games on giant robots against the snow angel,

TNO · Sep 25, 2023

thatguy99998 said:
Hey! That's unfair to teenagers! We are only this dumb like... 70% of the time!

The other 30% is mercifully forgotten.

Rei Ayanami Raising Project

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