Chnif Chnof Chnorum

 

 

1. Number of players and deck of cards

Chnif, Chnof, Chnorum is played by five to twelve players, with a deck of 52 cards. Only the rank of the cards is taken into consideration, the suit – spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs – being of no importance.

2. The stake

At the start of the game, each player receives a quantity of chips, called the stake, determined by how long one wants the game to last. The larger the stake, the longer the game will last. One might, for example, take 5 chips per player.

The game is played until only a single player still has chips.

3. The deal

A player takes the cards, shuffles them, and spreads them, face down, on the table. Each player draws one, and whoever draws the highest is the first dealer. He gathers the cards, shuffles them, has them cut by the player to his left, then deals them out equally among all the players, one at a time, counterclockwise, starting with the player to his right.

If, at the end of a round of dealing, fewer cards remain in the dealer's hand than there are players around the table, this remainder of cards will not be used for that hand, and the dealer stacks them in a stock, face down, between himself and the player to his right.

4. Play of the game, the pool

Once the players have looked at their cards, the first to play, who is the player seated to the right of the dealer, plays a card from his hand, and the next player to the right must, if he holds one, play a card of the same rank while saying « Chnif! », which obliges the player to his left to put one of his chips into a basket or directly on the table – this chip and those that will be added to it form the pool.

But if he does not hold a card of the same rank, he may play whichever card suits him best – the suit and rank are of no importance. Immediately after a chnif, the next player, if he still holds a card of the same rank, must play it while declaring « Chnof! », and the player to his left who had previously declared « Chnif! » must put two chips into the pool, otherwise, he plays a card of his choosing.

Finally, after a chnof, it is still possible that the next player holds the fourth and last card of the same rank: he must then declare « Chnorum! », and the player to his left must, on the one hand, put two chips into the pool, and, on the other hand, give two chips to the player to his right who has just made him chnorum. This is how chips can pass from one player to another, although this is very unlikely.

It is important to note that a player holding a card of the same rank as one played by someone other than the player to his left cannot announce a « Chnif », a « Chnof », or a « Chnorum! ». After an interruption, the sequence of declarations can only restart at « Chnif ! ».

If a player does not have enough chips to put into the pool and pay his neighbor to the right who makes him chnorum, he pays his neighbor to the right first, then, if he has one chip left, he puts it into the pool.

A player is never in debt either to the pool or to the player who has made him chnorum.

If at the end of a hand, several players still possess chips, then another hand is played, with the first player of the previous hand becoming the dealer. Players who no longer possess chips at the end of a hand still receive cards and take part in the game, even if they no longer have the means to pay. In the event of a chnorum, a player who no longer has chips may again receive some from his neighbor to the left.

As soon as only one player remains in possession of one or more chips, the game is over, even if players still have cards in hand. The winner thus determined takes the pool.

When the cards are played, they must be stacked one on top of the other, and it is not permitted to look through this pile to see the cards that have been played. It is accepted that a few cards may be partially visible, and this will not be remedied by trying to arrange them properly.

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Reference

Pierre M. Huvier des Fontenelles, Les Soirées amusantes ou entretien sur les jeux à gages ou d'autres, Veuve Duchesne et fils, Paris, 1790, 2e éd.

Page information

Published online on October 1, 2010
Revised on October 31, 2021

Author : Philippe LALANNE

Le Salon des jeux - Académie des jeux oubliés

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