Kosakeln ("Cossack") is a relatively recent, two-hand card game of the Austrian branch of the Tarock family.

[1] These games have been featured in literature such as Herzmanovsky-Orlando's Maskenspiel der Genien and Johann Nestroy's Zu ebener Erde und im ersten Stock.

[6] Illustrated Tarock emerges in the literature during the 1950s,[7] Kosakeln itself being first recorded as Kosaken by Löw in 1956,[8] followed shortly thereafter by Beck in 1961.

[12] Hence if two Austrians say they are "playing Cossack", they are likely to be enjoying the Tarot game of Kosakeln.

Like other Tarock games played in Austria and the lands of the former Habsburg Empire, Kosakeln uses a 54-card deck of the type described at Königrufen.

[10][11] The first dealer is chosen by lot; the player drawing the highest-ranking card wins.

[10] Next, each player selects eight hand cards to discard and places them to one side, face down.

Cards from the Cossack talon that are not picked up go to the defender and are also placed face down with his earlier discards, counting towards his eventual score.

The columns "before" and "after" refer to bonuses announced before and after the declarer exposes and exchanges cards with the Cossack talon, where applicable.