Nertz
Officially Nertz (Pounce / Racing Demon)
COMPETITIVE MULTI-PLAYER SOLITAIRE where 2-8+ players SIMULTANEOUSLY race to empty their own 13-CARD 'NERTZ PILE' onto SHARED FOUNDATION-PILES. Uses ONE 52-CARD DECK PER PLAYER — chaotic + fast-paced. Common at parties, family reunions + Nertz World Championships. Popular commercial version: LIGRETTO (Germany) + DUTCH BLITZ (USA, Christian community). Signature signal: yell 'NERTZ!' when you empty your pile — game ends.
Quick facts
Category
Card Games
Type
Individual
Players
2–8
Duration
~5 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Estimated origin
Nertz emerged mid-20th c. USA — likely descended from British 'Racing Demon' (1900s); Dutch Blitz commercialized 1973 by Werner Ernst Muller (Pennsylvania); Ligretto commercialized 1988 by Rosemarie Bühler (Germany); Nertz World Championships since 2005 (organized by NertzWorld.com).
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
Empty your OWN NERTZ PILE (13 cards) by playing them onto CENTRAL FOUNDATION piles; yell 'NERTZ!' to end round.
Rules
Basic rules
SETUP: Each player DEALS 13 cards face-down as their NERTZ PILE (top card face-up); plus 4 face-up cards in personal 'WORK ROW'; rest of deck is stock to draw from
Signature 13-card Nertz pile + work row.
GAMEPLAY REAL-TIME + SIMULTANEOUS — no turns! All players play as fast as they can
Signature real-time simultaneous play.
CENTRAL FOUNDATIONS: Ace-up piles played by ALL players; each foundation is A-2-3-...-K UP-SEQUENCE in same suit
Signature shared central foundations.
WORK ROW: Personal 4-column play area where players sequence DOWN in ALTERNATING COLORS (like Klondike Solitaire); moves TOPS OF WORK-ROW to CENTRAL FOUNDATIONS when they fit
Signature Klondike-like work row.
GOAL: Empty NERTZ PILE (13 cards) by moving them out via work row or directly to foundations
Signature empty-Nertz-pile goal.
'NERTZ!' → yell when Nertz pile is EMPTY → round ends immediately; player earns 10-POINT BONUS
Signature 'Nertz!' round-ending yell.
SCORING: +1 per card PLAYED to foundations; −2 per card LEFT in Nertz Pile; +10 bonus for calling Nertz
Signature +1/−2/+10 scoring.
GAME: FIRST to 100 POINTS (or 150, or any target) wins
Signature 100-point game.
SORT DECKS AFTER: this is why each deck has different back — sort out to distinct piles between rounds
Signature deck-sort between rounds.
Scoring
+1 per card played to foundation; −2 per card left in Nertz pile at round-end; +10 bonus for calling Nertz; game to 100.
Win condition · First player to 100 points.
Equipment
ONE STANDARD 52-CARD DECK PER PLAYER (each with DIFFERENT-BACK-PATTERN so cards can be sorted after)
Signature 1-deck-per-player rule.
LARGE FLAT TABLE (needs central space for shared foundations)
Standard large table.
SCORE PAD + PEN
Standard scoring.
TIMER (recommended for competitive tournament play)
Standard tournament timer.
Terminology
- Nertz Pile
- 13-card down-pile; empty it to end round + win bonus.
- Work Row
- Personal 4-column play area (Klondike-style).
- Foundation
- Shared central piles built up A-K by suit.
- Nertz! (yell)
- Signature call when you empty your Nertz Pile.
- Dutch Blitz
- 1973 commercial version popular in USA (Christian communities).
- Ligretto
- 1988 German commercial variant with color-coded decks.
Major competitions
Nertz World Championships (NertzWorld.com)
annual · USA + online (rotating) · since 2005
Dutch Blitz National Championship
annual · Pennsylvania, USA · since 2005
Ligretto World Championship (Germany)
irregular · Germany + Europe · since 2010
Where it is played
Governing bodies
NertzWorld.com (informal organizer of championships)
Founded 2005 · USA (online + regional)
Dutch Blitz Games Company (commercial brand)
Founded 1973 · Pennsylvania, USA
Schmidt Spiele (Ligretto publisher, Germany)
Founded 1907 · Berlin, Germany
Famous names & records
Famous athletes
- NertzWorld.com championship winners (rotating annual)
- Amy Muller (Dutch Blitz Champion 2015-2019)
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — Nerts— Wikipedia
- NertzWorld.com— NertzWorld.com