Sometimes the old games are best games. We saw the Amish kids at a horse auction playing it in the stable areas and had to try it. Turns out, it is a great game that 2-8 players can play. It’s easily understood by kids, like Uno, but more going on so that even adults can enjoy. It’s fast paced.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Dutch Blitz is a fast-paced, family oriented, action card game played with a specially printed deck. The game was created by Werner Ernst George Muller, a German immigrant from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The game is very popular among the Pennsylvania Amish and Dutch community, and among Christian groups in the United States and Canada (primarily in Mennonite communities).
Contents
- 160 cards total:
- 4 decks (one for each player); Pump, Carriage, Plow, and Pail.
- Each deck includes 10 Red, 10 blue, 10 green, and 10 yellow cards.
- 4 decks (one for each player); Pump, Carriage, Plow, and Pail.
- 160 cards available in an expansion deck, for players 5-8.
Terminology
- Blitz Pile
This pile of 10 cards is the most important pile of cards to each player since it is the key towards “Blitzing” the other players when all cards from this pile have been cleared.
- Dutch Piles
Stacks of cards in each of the four colors – 1 through 10 an ascending sequence – placed in the center of the table and played upon by all players. Each player accumulates scoring points here.
- Post Piles
Groups of cards placed to the left of both the Blitz and Wood piles in descending sequence For each player, the Post Piles serve as a “trading” or replacement area during the game. There are generally three post piles but in a two person game four or five post piles are often used to prevent the game from stalling.
- Wood Pile
Stack of cards built to the right of a player, from cards held in that player’s hand.
Objective
The objective of Dutch Blitz is to score points by playing as many cards as possible on Dutch Piles, and by emptying the Blitz Pile as quickly as possible. This is done by playing cards from the Blitz Pile, Post Piles, and Wood Pile on the Dutch piles.
Point scoring
The game ends when a player plays all 10 of the cards out of his/her Blitz Pile and yells “BLITZ!”. Each player scores points at the end of each hand as follows:
- Add one point for each card that had been thrown out in the Dutch Piles.
- Subtract two points for each card the player has left in his/her Blitz Pile.
Usually more rounds are played until one player reaches 100 cumulative points, yet some games have gone on for days at a time.
https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Play-Dutch-Blitz-aka-Nerts/
