What are “Mađarice”?
Across Central and Eastern Europe — especially Hungary, Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, Croatia, and Serbia — card tradition rests on Hungarian cards, known locally as “Mađarice.” Their proper name is Tell kártya (William Tell cards), or German-suited cards.
These cards do not use French symbols (spades, hearts…). They use motifs from nature, and the face cards show figures from Swiss history and mythology. The pack is a symbol of winter evenings, tavern company, and serious, strategic play.
The William Tell myth and rebellion on the cards
Interestingly, the cards are named after the Swiss national hero William Tell, even though they were created in Hungary. József Schneider designed them in Budapest around 1835. At the time, Hungary was under strong Habsburg (Austrian) rule.
To avoid provoking Austrian censors by putting Hungarian revolutionaries on the cards, Schneider cleverly used characters from Friedrich Schiller’s play Wilhelm Tell, which told of the Swiss revolt against those same Habsburgs. The cards became a quiet symbol of resistance.
Suits, colors, and the structure of the pack
A “Mađarice” pack today most often has 32 cards (from the seven to the ace), though 36-card variants (including sixes) also exist. Instead of abstract French signs, these cards use symbols from nature:
Hearts (Piros)
Often spring and emotion.
Leaves (Zöld)
Summer and growth.
Acorns (Makk)
Autumn and harvest.
Bells (Tök)
Winter — bells, sometimes called “pumpkin” or yellow.
Rank order (from weakest to strongest in a trick), instead of Jack, Queen, and King:
- Numbers: VII, VIII, IX, X
- Unter (Dolnjak): the figure with the suit pip in the lower corner.
- Ober (Gornjak): the figure with the suit pip in the upper corner.
- King (Király): crowned, on horseback.
- Ace (Ász): the strongest card, painted with the four seasons. The red ace often shows a stag.
The five strongest cards in a Hungarian suit are the Ace, King, Ober, Unter, and 10 — the same ranks Mexico Club uses for Mexico.
Card games that need Hungarian cards
This pack is built for trick-taking games, where the aim is to win tricks and follow the rules of following suit and cutting with trump.
- Preference: one of the most demanding and prestigious games for three players. It requires strong mathematics and planning, with strict bidding rules.
- Raub and Lorenz: lively tavern games that also bid and hunt for the best trump.
- Belot (Bela): the absolute ruler in Croatia and parts of Vojvodina. Played by two, three, or (most often) pairs, with obligatory announcements of sequences (“zvanja”).
- Mexico (Gangsters): a fast Balkan game for three players, born as a more aggressive and simpler version of Preference, usually played to 51 points. Read the history of Mexico and play it at Mexico Club.
A quality Piatnik pack of “Mađarice” lasts a long time and looks right while you plan the next bid. Mexico Club does not sell cards — we standardize Mexico in software.