Stýrivolt

Stýrivolt (Faroese pronunciation: [ˈstʊirɪ.vɔlt]) or Stýrvolt (Danish: styrvolt, from the Low German stürewold = "wild, unruly person") is an old Scandinavian card game, that appears to be extinct today except on the Faroe Islands. Stýrivolt is closely related to Knüffeln and both are descended from the German game of Karnöffel, the oldest European card game with a continuous tradition of play. Styrivolt probably evolved from Karnöffel during the early 17th century and must have quickly spread to Scandinavia for, in 1658 in Sweden, a game with the name stýr-wålt is mentioned in the poem, Hercules (Herkules), by Georg Stiernhielm along with other card games including Karniffel. On the Faroes, the game has been played since the 18th century, being mentioned, for example, in Jens Christian Svabo's Indberetninger fra en Reise i Færöe, 1781 - 1782. As Styrvolt, the game is described in several Danish games compendia, the earliest being Politiske Spille Regler for de tilladelige og meest brugelige Spil i Vertshusene (1774), an example of which is in the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen. From these sources it is clear that Stýrivolt has changed little over the last two centuries. Another early Danish reference is found in a 1798 book on the culture of North Zealand in which Styrvolt is mentioned three times, including as a game at which farmers play for money. Stýrivolt is a game for four players in two teams of two.