Dutch Blitz is a popular and fun Pennsylvania Dutch card game that develops concentration and speed. It's similar to a mix of Solitaire and Speed, but is meant for two to four players (and can be played by six to eight, if desired). The game consists of four decks, each with a different back design (plow, carriage, pail and pump). Each player (or team) chooses one of these designs and keeps it for the duration of the game.
Each deck consists of 40 cards: four sets of colored cards numbered 1 through 10. The set colors are red, blue, yellow and green. The red and blue cards silhouette a boy and the yellow and green cards feature a girl.
To begin, each player deals face-up from the top of their deck making a Blitz Pile of ten cards, and three Post Piles of one card apiece. The remaining 27 cards become the Wood Pile.
The goal of the game is to score as many points as possible. You do this by playing cards into center Dutch Piles, trying to use up your own Blitz Pile as quickly as possible. Once a Dutch Pile of any color is started, other players may add their own card, as long as it is the same color and the next number. Players may play onto a Dutch Pile from any of their other piles (Post-, Blitz-, or Wood Piles), and the round ends when one of the players has completely emptied his or her Blitz Pile and announced this fact by yelling (or shrieking excitedly), "Blitz!" Normal scoring is calculated by adding one point for every player's card that made it to a Dutch Pile and subtracting two points for every card still remaining in their Blitz Pile.
Several hands are played until one player reaches an agreed-upon number of points, thereby winning the game. Speed is of the essence, since everyone plays at the same time, so Dutch Blitz is fast-moving and exciting for everyone! Sounds straight-forward, right?
Like in Solitaire, each player flips through his Wood Pile three cards at a time, watching to see if the exposed card can be played onto either a Dutch Pile or a Post Pile.
In the example illustration below, a yellow 1 was played to start a new yellow Dutch Pile and a yellow 2 was then played on top of that. To restate, you can play onto a Dutch Pile from the top of your Blitz Pile, any of your Post Piles or from your Wood Pile.
To add a bit of complication (but a very helpful tool), we mention "stacking." The game often moves fast enough that stacking isn't feasible, but if you are having a hard time reducing your Blitz Pile or playing to the Dutch Piles, this can help you access more helpful cards. To stack, simply move a card (from either your Blitz or your Wood Pile) to one of your Post Piles—however, the existing Post Pile card must be the opposite gender and the next number. In the example illustration above, a boy 8 was stacked onto the left Post Pile (a girl 9); if available, a girl 7 could then be stacked onto this eight.