In Schadenfreude, everything hinges on clever choices and timing. The game employs a "must-follow" mechanic with no trump suit, but adds a surprising twist: some cards carry a negative value. Furthermore, the winner of a trick is not the player who plays the highest card, but rather the one who plays the second-highest card in the suit that was led.
Cards won in tricks are added to your score pile, but you may keep no more than one card of each rank. If a second card of the same rank is added, both cards are discarded. The game ends as soon as a player reaches more than 40 points; the winner is the player whose score is closest to 40 without exceeding it.
