Brus (card game)

Brus is a trick-taking card game played in Denmark and, in a variant spelled Brus with an accent, in northern Iceland. It is a distant descendant of the medieval game Karnöffel and keeps its eccentric card ranking: a 36-card pack is used, and a group of beating cards, headed by the jack of clubs called Spids, the king of hearts called Brus and the eight of spades called Galhund, can take tricks while the other cards cannot. Sevens have a special power when led. Players need not follow suit, and a player may lead several cards of the same rank at once. The Danish game is for four players in two fixed partnerships or for three players each on their own, while the Icelandic game is for four partners and has its own annual championship in the Svarfadardalur valley.