About us

It was summer 2011, at a campsite in Iceland. One of the later founders sits with friends between mountains, rain and camp stoves – everything there, except a deck of cards. No internet, no chance for a digital solution. And so a need gave birth to an idea: A Schnapsen app for the iPhone that works even without internet – simply via Bluetooth – against friends.

Back in Austria, the idea became a working prototype within a few weeks – built late after work and on weekends. In December 2011, the app landed in the App Store – with high hopes but without great expectations. A random article in Der Standard changed everything: The app climbed to number 1 in Austria's then-popular paid games category.

Initially, the whole thing was a hobby project – alongside our actual jobs in software development, network technology and databases. But soon an Android version, an online mode and a free version followed. At the end of 2012, DonkeyCat was officially founded.

The name? DonkeyCat. No big story – the logo was quickly drawn, the domain still available. Maybe we'll find a deeper interpretation about donkeys and cats as symbols of perseverance and elegance – or stubbornness combined with quirky playfulness. Maybe not.

In 2013, Hosn Obe followed as the second card game – also initially offline, with a simple idea and lots of local color. The game achieved considerable success, even beyond the Alps among our German neighbors.

We openly admit: At the beginning, as engineers, we believed that a good product speaks for itself. "If you build it, they will come" – that was something like our silent mantra. And yes, initially we were lucky. But we quickly learned: Without targeted marketing, usually nobody comes – at least not reliably. Today, marketing is one of the central pillars of our success. Because you shouldn't rely on luck alone.

And the success is there: Schnopsn Online alone now counts over 2 million downloads and more than 60,000 active users daily, especially in Austria and Hungary. In many regions of Austria, you'll hardly find anyone who doesn't know Schnopsn Online – even though the original Bluetooth multiplayer mode is long gone.

Over time, alongside the now equally successful Hosn Obe (also known as Schwimmen in Germany), more online multiplayer card games were added: the fast-paced shedding game President, the tactically oriented Swiss national game Jassen, the easily accessible Stiche Raten, the international classic Hearts and also Crazy Eights.

All games follow our basic principle: uncomplicated, accessible online card games – whether with friends or with random opponents from around the world. At the same time, we have naturally also developed technically: more stable and powerful servers, cross-platform real-time architecture, constant improvements in usability and game flow – much of what seems natural today was the result of years of continuous development.

In 2020, we founded schnopsn.com GmbH to offer Schnapsen not only as the successful Schnopsn Online free app but also as an independent skill game with real money elements – technically and legally separate, but committed to the same spirit of gaming.

Another chapter in our story is Coolplay. Spun off from DonkeyCat in 2021, Coolplay is dedicated to classic board games like Nine Men's Morris, Backgammon and Checkers – reimagined, high-quality implementation and now played millions of times. What started as a side project has long since established itself as its own studio with great reach.

Today we develop and market new card games with our team, expand existing ones with new features and continuously improve the gaming experience. And sometimes we think back to that summer of 2011 in Iceland – without cards, but with an idea that today allows hundreds of thousands of people to play together.

And who knows – maybe that's far from everything. We still have quite a bit planned. Stay tuned.