History of Skat History of Skat The history of the game of Skat began in the early 19th century in Thuringia. The game spread rapidly within German-speaking Europe and is now one of the most popular card games in Germany as well as being considered Germany's national card game. The early history of the game of Skat has not been fully researched. Many anecdotes about its origins cannot be proven and should be considered as legends. What is certain is that the game was developed between 1810 and 1817 in the Thuringian town of Altenburg from older card games. It was based on
Skat (card game) tricks and players must agree whether a game lasts for a certain number of deals or until one player scores a certain number of game points. Scoring is similar to normal Skat. Skat in the United States and Canada was played for many years as an older version of the game, also known as "Tournee Skat", which shares most of its rules with its modern European counterpart with the addition of a few different games and an alternate system of scoring. "Tournee Skat" is declining in popularity. Most tournament Skat players in North America play the modern game described above.