Dutch Blitz Card Game
Developed in Pennsylvania Dutch country, Dutch Blitz is a card game that’s exciting to play and easy to learn! Perfect for family game nights, or to play with a group of good friends, you’ll enjoy spirited competition as you try to get rid of your 10-card Blitz pile before anybody else.
Learn how to play Blitz card game and the rules for Blitz card game in this YouTube tutorial. Dutch Blitz card game is an easy adding game you can play with.
Dutch Blitz With Regular Cards
Is It Easy?
Not as easy as it sounds, though, because players don’t take turns! You have to be the fastest to place your cards in sequence and in the same respective colors on the center Dutch piles while using as many cards from your Blitz Pile as possible. When your Blitz Pile has been exhausted, you’ve won!
DUTCH BLITZ FAST PACED FUN FOR EVERYONE
- Prime object of the game is to build as many cards in sequence - 1 through 10 - in the same respective colors in the center Dutch Piles, for points toward game, using as many cards from the Blitz Pileas possible. The first player to exhaust his Blitz Pilehas 'Blitzed' his opponents and ended the hand.
- Browse games depending on the number of guests at your party. Pick from single-player games to up to five-player games. The wide range of party games at Target has a great selection of cards-based games. Choose from card games like Cards against humanity, New phone who dis, Phase 10, and classics like UNO, DOS, and Monopoly Deal.
Indeed I received an email last week asking if I was really a doctor. Actually, those who have earned their doctorates use PHD, not PH. I enjoy brevity and have noticed people do not always know how to pronounce my first name, some saying Steve. As a result, I play upon the PH sound because it makes my life a little less complicated. Now for a night of fun, I highly recommend Dutch Blitz. Most importantly, once you get the hang of slapping cards down quickly, and adjusting normal card play with a fast and unbridled movement of the hands, you will find Dutch Blitz an incredible card game. One with all the marks of what we at Best Family Card Games call the “best”. Moreover, easy to learn and competitive. Furthermore, all ages can participate.
BLITZ HAS A HISTORY
There seems to be a long history with this game originating in Pennsylvania. Their website indicates it was the Amish who enjoyed playing the game so much, it resulted in a commercial product that was sold to mom and pop stores throughout the Dutch country as they liked to call it. Then it spread to church groups outside the Amish community. Thus word of mouth became the driving force behind this game leading to what is now sold nationwide via the internet and specialty stores coast to coast.
Try it….4 people are best and can be quite challenging when keeping score. It can take some skills where certain players seem to have that magical ability to manage their cards and play what is needed. But in my experience, once all players develop a rhythm, the game of speed involves all and can be one crazy time.
THE DUTCH PLAY
Think about it….you have the early stages of solitary. One must quickly play cards in the middle of the table starting with a 1, then a 2, then a 3, and so on….while they can build downward in their own piles, starting with any number, for example, a 10, then a 9, then an 8, and so on….but like solitary, instead of red and black, you have boy and girl. With the objective to get rid of your cards first. Points are tabulated based on the cards slapped down by all players and the first person to yell “blitz” is not always the person with the most points. Love to hear your opinion after you have played the game.
| Players | 2-4 or 8 with an expansion pack |
|---|---|
| Setup time | < 1 minute |
| Playing time | Approximately 5-10 minutes per round |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Age range | 8 and up |
| Skill(s) required | Hand-eye coordination, speed, counting |
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). The game is similar to Nerts, which is played with standard playing cards and is in turn based on Canfield, a variant of the classic Klondike Solitaire. Unlike Nerts, Dutch Blitz is played with commercially produced cards.
It is an alternate version of the game Ligretto, manufactured in Germany.[1][2]
Contents[edit]
The game is played with 160 cards, in four decks; Pump, Carriage, Plow, and Pail. Each deck includes 10 Red, 10 blue, 10 green, and 10 yellow cards.
Terminology[edit]
Dutch Blitz Card Game Amazon
- 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[edit]
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[edit]
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:
Dutch Blitz Card Game
- 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.
Variations[edit]
A variation of the game relies on larger sized cards and can be called 'Full Contact Dutch Blitz', 'Running Dutch Blitz' or 'Life Size Dutch Blitz'. The larger cards must be physically run to their respective piles. This can also be a team game and is a popular activity at church retreats.