The origin of Kaschlan is not certain but it seems to have surfaced in German East Prussia in the early 19th century.

[5] Näs' on Muul spiele Kaschlan (in Danzig: Kurrhahn, "turkey" or "irascible person") meant "[his/her] nose and mouth are playing Kaschlan" and referred to old people who had lost their teeth and so their nose and chin were so close that they appeared to move together.

[7][8] Frischbier records that there was often a lot of cheating to avoid becoming the "Kaschlan", a nickname for the loser.

[3] Playing cards marketed inter alia for Kasztelanskie were still being produced in Poland in 1972.

If German playing cards are used, the Obers replace the Queens and the Unters the Jacks, as normal.

The following rules are based on Illig:[2] The aim is to shed one's hand cards as quickly as possible.

The dealer shuffles the pack, offers it to rearhand (to his right) to cut and then deals 5 cards to each player.

The rest of the cards form the stock or talon and are placed in the middle of the table.

The attacker places one or more cards of the same rank (e.g. Tens or Kings) in front of the defender.

[2] In another variant, if the defender is unable to beat all the cards, the role of attacker rotates rather than remaining the same.