Editing Skitgubbe (section)

== History ==
Skitgubbe's predecessor is probably the Finnish game of ''Myllymatti'', which is first mentioned in 1808.<ref name=Helmfrid/> The Finnish word is a combination of ''mylly'', which means mill, and ''Matti'', which is the Finnish form of the name Mats. The miller Mylly Matti is part of Finnish folklore and is described by Zacharias Topelius as a good-hearted, easily deceived fellow who often walks around with a sack. The Finnish name of the game was translated to ''Mjölnarmatte'' in Swedish and was first mentioned under this name in 1875. Mjölnarmatte was soon simplified to ''Mjölis'' (known since 1890) and ''mas'' (known since 1905). Mas can be understood both as a lazy and tardy person and as a transformation of the name Mats. The name Skitgubbe for the game has been known since 1953,<ref name=Helmfrid/> but did not begin to be used in gaming literature until the 1980s.<ref name=Holmström/>

The first Swedish rules were published in Kortoxen in 1949 under the name Mas.<ref name=Werner/> Today the game is usually called Skitgubbe or Mas. The name Mas occurs especially in parts of the country where Skitgubbe is used for the game of [[Vändtia]]. According to the games expert [[Dan Glimne]], today's Skitgubbe is one of the most played card games in Sweden.<ref name=Glimne/> In Finland the game is now called ''Koira'', which means dog, and in Norway a similar game is played called ''Mattis ''.

It is unclear how the rules of the game have evolved over time. Closely related games were formerly played in German-speaking circles in the Baltics under the name [[Müller Matz]] (a direct translation of Myllymatti into German) and in Russia under the name ''Melniki'' ("miller"). The rules of the Russian game are very similar to a variant described in Kortoxen and called Mas with upturned trump. It is possible that this corresponds to an original or early variant of the game.<ref name=Helmfrid/>