I just returned from the Windy City where I visited the Science & Industry Museum with my wife, Sue. This is one of the great museums in America, but two things stood out: The German U-Boat 505, which is the only submarine the US Navy ever captured, and a deck of Skat cards, representing what German sailors did on submarines for entertainment.

Skat is a three-player card game invented in Germany around 1815. For two centuries, it has remained the most popular card game in Germany, and it was a favorite game on board German U-boats where sailors were forcibly ensconced for 90 days at a time.

In the earliest form of the game, the player in the first seat was dealt 12 cards and the other two players 10 cards each. The first player discarded two cards, forming the Skat (the word “skat” is derived from the Latin word scarto, meaning, “to discard.”

J.F.L. Hempel published the first book on Skat rules in 1848; however, it was not until August 1888 that a book by Theodor Thomas of Leipzig, Germany, listed the “official” rules of Skat, but even with “official rules” in place, many people play Skat using house rules.

It is not surprising that Skat decks are highly collectible, including here in the United States where Tournee Skat, a variation of Skat, was popular for many years.

While card decks are the most common Skat item collected (German cards are the most sought) there are other Skat items of interest. One of the rarest and more attractive items I’ve seen is a metal Skat cardholder, showing three men playing Skat. KWO, a company located in the Ore Mountains of Germany, produces wooden, handmade Skat figurines that are exceptionally detailed and fun to display in a card room. Another interesting item is a 1912 Skat Tournament medal, from Chicago, that was offered on eBay for $30. There are many such medals available and they add an interesting depth to a Skat collection, or a Skat club could buy an antique medal and award it to the winner of a local tournament.