20 francs - National sports: The Jass Card Game

Traditional values are booming at present. And so it is not surprising that the Jass card game is enjoying growing popularity. No other leisure pursuit joins the generations together to the same extent as the popular Swiss card game. According to a survey conducted by the market research institute GfS-Zürich in 2012, 63 % of German-speaking Swiss can play Jass and 41 % do so regularly. For some time playing Jass has been experiencing a real renaissance within the context of the Swissness trend. People are looking increasingly for their traditional roots again. Not in clubs, because they do not want to be tied down. And so, despite the upswing, the established Jass associations, just like many other clubs, have to contend with recruitment problems. A game of Jass can be played almost everywhere, whether in a pub, a mountain hut, on a train and in many other places. The types of Jass are just as diverse. The most popular form of Jass, the classic variety, is the 'Schieber', the supreme discipline is the 'Differenzler'. Whereas the luck of the cards plays a major role in the former, skill and experience are in demand for the latter. Not only in politics is there a linguistic and cultural divide, but also when playing Jass. The game is played with 'French' cards (hearts, spades, diamonds, clubs) to the west of the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line, as well as in the cantons of Ticino and the Grisons, and with 'German' cards (Schellen, Schilten, Rosen, Eicheln – bells, shields, roses, acorns) to the east of that.