Gilten (card game)
Gilten or Giltspiel is a "very old" Austrian card game for four players, playing in partnership, with 32 German-suited cards of the William Tell pattern. Despite its age, it is still played locally in parts of Austria today. It is a trick-taking game which involves betting on the outcome and certain card combinations. History Gilten is ancestral to the renowned Tyrolean game of Perlaggen, which itself has earned UNESCO heritage status. Its age is indicated in an 1853 book on Perlaggen which states that "Giltspiel has been played for as long as anyone can remember". However, detailed rules were not published until 2015 when research by Hubert Auer discovered it still being played regularly in Fiss, Serfaus and Ladis in the upper Inn valley (south of Landeck) and added the rules to his book, Watten, Bieten & Perlaggen. The name comes from the expression Gilt's... as in "Gilt's Hanger?" ("is the Hanger valid?") or "Gilt's Spiel?" ("is the Spiel valid?") which was formerly used in betting. Cards Players use the standard German-suited pack found in most of Austria and referred to as the Tell pattern by the International Playing-Card Society. This comprises 32 cards ranking from 7 to Deuce (Ace)