Our First Project

Alpine Tricks

Alpine Tricks is a fast-paced, tactical trick-taking game for two players and a redesign of the Austrian national card game “Schnapsen”.

This deck is crafted for ease of use, with cards designed to indicate point values, strength, and special functions. The rules remain the same, enabling players to seamlessly transition after mastering this deck.

Why redesign this great game?

Traditionally, the game is played with French or German-suited cards. However, the cards are arranged in a non-traditional sequence (Ace → Ten → King → Queen → Jack) and gameplay requires players to quickly recall each card’s value. Neither points nor functions are visible on the cards, making it much harder for beginners to get into the flow of the game than it needs to be.

Features of Alpine Tricks

Point values are featured on the cards.
The columns on the edge indicate the trick-taking strength of each card within its color.
Any special functions are displayed in the center, making it very obvious which cards 'pair up' for extra points.
Using both colors and shapes makes the “suits” easy to differentiate for everybody.
Austrian mountain views are incorporated on the highest cards of each suit. This pays homage to the game's roots and the tradition of embellishing aces.