Schanzeln

Schanzeln, also spelled Schanz'ln, is a variant of the European pin-and-ball game Kegeln, a forerunner of modern bowling in which players roll a ball to knock down standing pins. The game was played with very high wagers placed on the outcome, with the player who knocked down the most pins over a round winning the entire pool of money staked by the other participants. Its name is derived from the French word for chance, reflecting its identity as a gambling variant of the underlying skittles game rather than a purely recreational one. Because of the scale of wagering it attracted, Schanzeln became prominent enough to draw the attention of the authorities in Austria-Hungary, where it was formally placed on the list of games prohibited by imperial decree in 1904, alongside other high-stakes gambling games of the period.