My 102-Year-Old Grandmother and the Card Game That Kept Her Sharp

VIP members 7 day free trial In this episode, we go straight into one of Switzerland’s most iconic traditions: Jassen. It’s not just a card game — it’s a social glue, a weekly ritual, and in many families, almost a competitive sport. I talk about my grandmother from the canton of Lucerne, a tough, sharp Swiss woman who kept playing Jass until she was 102. She lived her whole life in a small village that most people would dismiss as boring, but she didn’t need much. As long as she could sit at the table, hold her cards, and outplay everyone, she was happy. We look at why analogue games are still alive in a world drowning in screens. People want something real — eye contact, arguments over rules, laughter, frustration, and those tiny moments that only happen around a table. Jass groups still meet every week across Switzerland. Inns still hand out Jass sets. TV shows like Donnschtig-Jass still run. And tournaments pop up everywhere, including the ones we organized as teenagers to fund our summer camps. We also talk about the basics of Jass, why it keeps your brain sharp, and why it’s still worth learning if you live in Switzerland. And yes — we get honest about how people actually play: who cheats, who denies cheating, and who absolutely cannot handle losing. At the end, you get a set of questions for reflection: Do you play card games? Can you lose gracefully? What’s the game your family protects like a cultural treasure? If you want to join us for the Tuesday conversation group, you can — and maybe this winter, you’ll pick up a new game too.

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My 102-Year-Old Grandmother and the Card Game That Kept Her Sharp is an episode from Swiss German Online by swissgermanonline.

This episode is 4:35 long.

This episode was published on Dec 9, 2025.

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