Karnöffel is a trick-taking card game which probably came from the upper-German language area in Europe in the first quarter of the 15th century.

It first appeared listed in a municipal ordinance of Nördlingen, Bavaria, in 1426 among the games that could be lawfully played at the annual city fête.

Historically karnöffeln meant "to cudgel, thrash or flog",[4] but in medieval times, a Karnöffel was also the word for an inguinal hernia.

[6] Karnöffel has a number of descendants that are still played today including Swiss Kaisern or Kaiserjass,[7] Schleswigian Knüffeln and Bruus, Danish Brus, Icelandic Brús, Gotlandic Bräus and Greenlandic Voormsi.

The rules here are taken from a reconstruction by von Leyden and Dummett, based on von Leyden's discovery of the little-known Swiss game of Kaisern or Kaiserspiel which appeared to have similar characteristics to the original Karnöffel.