The Danish version of the game was known as Trekort and more elaborate Swedish variants include Knack and Köpknack.

"[4] In 1816, Tippen is included in a list of German card games,[5] but the earliest description of the rules appears in 1821 in Das neue Königliche l'Hombre as Drei Karten ("Three Cards") along with a variant called Loup or Wolf (loup being French word "wolf"), described below.

The following rule sets indicate the development of the game from the early 19th century to the present.

The dealer antes 3 counters (Marken), deals each person one card, three times in succession, the ninth, which belongs to him, determines trumps.

[13] In 1859, von Alvensleben gives a more detailed account of the game under the names of Dreiblatt, Dreikarten or Tippen.

The dealer antes a basic game stake (Kartenstamm) of 3 counters (Marken) and deals each player 3 cards individually.

[14] Von Alvensleben records the following variations:[14] Tippen is described in the 1905 edition of Meyers Lexikon as follows: Tippen (Dreiblatt, Zwicken), a gambling game of cards that is very widely played in Germany.

The dealer pays three counters (Marken) as the initial stake (Stamm), deals each player 3 cards, one at a time, and turns the next for trump.

If only the Stamm is available, all the players must play (mitgehen), and anyone who fails to take a trick pays a bête (the amount in the pot).

Players now examine their hands, assess whether they can take at least one trick and bid to "play" or "pass".

If all pass, the next dealer also pays a stake, shuffles, offers the cut and redeals.

Forehand, or the next active player sitting after the dealer in clockwise order, leads to the first trick.

Any active player who fails to win a single trick must pay a bête equivalent to the contents of the pot (Katira) or the basic stake of 3 counters (Grupp).

[c] Grupp and Katira mention the following as variations: Where the game was illegal under its name Dreiblatt, players sometimes played a variant with a hand of 4 cards.

This was a game in its own right known variously as Vierblatt, Angehen or (especially in south Germany and Austria) Mauscheln.