Xoşkîn

This Kurdish trick-taking game with bidding is played in the eastern and south-eastern parts of Turkey, unofficially known as northern Kurdistan. In this area it is also known as Nezere or Pinîkêr. In Turkish, which lacks the voiceless velar fricative sound /x/, the name is written as 'Hoşkin'.

In fact Xoşkîn is almost identical to the American game of three-handed double deck Pinochle, which no doubt is the source of the alternative name 'Pinîkêr'. Since the American game is also known as 'Auction Pinochle', it seems very likely, as Levent Suberk has suggested, that the name 'Xoşkîn' is derived from the English 'Auction', probably via 'Okşin'.

Thomas Beil has provided a description in German and English of a version of this game played by Turkish workers in Düsseldorf - you can download it here.

For comparison, you can find a description of 3-player double deck Pinochle on this archive copy of the Bicycle (USPCC) web site.