The Story of Prince Carl . . .

… begins on a tiny island in the Andaman Sea.

I’m Barry Brake, inventor of Prince Carl. My wife and I were on our honeymoon, and saw on the bookshelf an interesting card deck, with suits of Acorns, Bells, Hearts, and Leaves. What on earth?

Fortunately there was a German traveler there who said, “Oh everyone’s grandparents have a deck like this.”

I immediately thought, “I’d love to bring beautiful cards like this to America.”

But why would Americans be interested in German cards? One obvious connection was my family’s Texas German roots: Saenger family traditions have stayed strong for generations. My grandfather, H. R. “Buddy” Saenger, with his can-do spirit and business savvy, was the perfect choice to name the new venture.

Then I did what any reasonable person would do: I invented a game.

It draws on similarities to German Whist, Goofspiel, and the wonderfully batty Bavarian game Karnöffel, one of Europe’s oldest surviving card games.

The crazy card at the center of it all, the one that can turn everything upside down, had to be named for Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, founder of the charming Texas city of New Braunfels. Noble, ambitious, and a little unreliable.

What followed was years of traveling across Texas, snapping pictures, hiring watercolorists, and bringing together a deck filled with Texas German history and places: landmarks, churches, and halls, along with four prominent Texas Germans for the aces.

It’s a little piece of our world on the table. Share with friends, laugh, compete, scheme — and maybe create some traditions of your own.

That's what we call Gemütlichkeit: good company and cozy cheer.

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So this isn’t some giant corporation: It’s a family-owned, family-run business, built around a family story — and a love of getting people around a table for laughs, groans, and a Texas good Zeit.