Polish card game: does anyone know the name of this particular game?

[Stupidface]

In the course of rereading The Colditz* Story, I came across the following description of a certain Polish card game:

There was also a card game for two players which we learnt from the
Poles, called ‘Gapin’, which means, in Polish, ‘a person who looks but does
not see’! The term applied well to the game, for it was one in which many
cards lay face upwards on the table. These cards could be made use of,
provided a player held certain corresponding cards in his hand. The open
cards were continually changing, so that concentration and quick thinking
were necessary.

The game was aggravating, for after finishing a turn an opponent could
promptly make good use of a card overlooked. It was so exasperating a game
that I have known friends not to be on speaking terms for days because of
humiliation and wounded pride involved in the showing up of an opponent’s
obtuseness. Rupert Barry and I had a running ‘Gapin Contest’ with high
stakes in Lagergeld which ended with the payment, after the war, of a fat
cheque—to Rupert!

The author of the book appears to have gotten the name of the game muddled, as a search for a card game called "Gapin" doesn't yield a thing.  Would someone be kind enough to solve the mystery based on the above description?








*Castle Colditz was the site of one of the most notorious WWII prison camps, being the camp where would-be escapees from other camps were sent upon their recapture.  As the author of the book puts it:

For this reason, it was always growing in population; a centre of gravity, towards which escapers moved from all over Germany when not moving in the opposite direction under their own steam!

[phinix]

In the course of rereading The Colditz* Story, I came across the following description of a certain Polish card game:

There was also a card game for two players which we learnt from the
Poles, called ‘Gapin’, which means, in Polish, ‘a person who looks but does
not see’! The term applied well to the game, for it was one in which many
cards lay face upwards on the table. These cards could be made use of,
provided a player held certain corresponding cards in his hand. The open
cards were continually changing, so that concentration and quick thinking
were necessary.

The game was aggravating, for after finishing a turn an opponent could
promptly make good use of a card overlooked. It was so exasperating a game
that I have known friends not to be on speaking terms for days because of
humiliation and wounded pride involved in the showing up of an opponent’s
obtuseness. Rupert Barry and I had a running ‘Gapin Contest’ with high
stakes in Lagergeld which ended with the payment, after the war, of a fat
cheque—to Rupert!

The author of the book appears to have gotten the name of the game muddled, as a search for a card game called "Gapin" doesn't yield a thing.  Would someone be kind enough to solve the mystery based on the above description?

Haha, OK, first of all, there is no such word in Polish language like Gapin
Correct word is gapa - someone who looked at something but missed it/didn't see it, overlooked it.

So card game you are looking for is Gapa, or "game of gapa". Its a kids card game, but of course adults can play it too

[EUGeniusX1]

In the course of rereading The Colditz* Story, I came across the following description of a certain Polish card game:

There was also a card game for two players which we learnt from the
Poles, called ‘Gapin’, which means, in Polish, ‘a person who looks but does
not see’! The term applied well to the game, for it was one in which many
cards lay face upwards on the table. These cards could be made use of,
provided a player held certain corresponding cards in his hand. The open
cards were continually changing, so that concentration and quick thinking
were necessary.

The game was aggravating, for after finishing a turn an opponent could
promptly make good use of a card overlooked. It was so exasperating a game
that I have known friends not to be on speaking terms for days because of
humiliation and wounded pride involved in the showing up of an opponent’s
obtuseness. Rupert Barry and I had a running ‘Gapin Contest’ with high
stakes in Lagergeld which ended with the payment, after the war, of a fat
cheque—to Rupert!

The author of the book appears to have gotten the name of the game muddled, as a search for a card game called "Gapin" doesn't yield a thing.  Would someone be kind enough to solve the mystery based on the above description? And this is surprising because it was a popular book and it was far from the only mistake in it. But lately, in books of well-known publications, errors often occur. When I reviewed 7 books on the abortion debate worth reading at https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/culture/books/book-reviews/7-books-to-read-about-the-abortion-debate I also found a few errors in the cited scientific studies. I was preparing for university debates and was already well versed in the topic of these books. So I found some bugs and fixed them. But inexperienced readers will not immediately understand the inaccuracy of the materials. Therefore, I think mistakes in books will eventually cease to amaze readers.

Haha, OK, first of all, there is no such word in Polish language like Gapin
Correct word is gapa - someone who looked at something but missed it/didn't see it, overlooked it.

So card game you are looking for is Gapa, or "game of gapa". Its a kids card game, but of course adults can play it too

I recently moved to Poland and am just starting to learn Polish. And as far as I understand, there really is no such word as Gapin, probably the game was called differently.

[phinix]

Yes, there is not

[kiricowell]

It's clear that there is a lot to learn about this. I think you made some good points about features age of war game