Скат: Король немецких карточных игр

German three player card game
the German card game

Skat , historically Scat, is a three player trick taking card game of the ace–ten family, devised around 1810 in Altenburg in the Duchy of Saxe Gotha Altenburg. It is the national game of Germany and, along with Doppelkopf, it is the most popular card game in Germany and Silesia and one of the most popular in the rest of Poland. A variant of 19th century Skat was once popular in the US. John McLeod considers it one of the best and most interesting card games for three players, and Kelbet described it as "the king of German card games." The German Skat Association assess that it is played by around 25 million Germans – more than play football.

Skat was developed by the members of a local Tarock club, the Brommesche Tarok Gesellschaft around 1810–1813 in Altenburg, in what is now the State of Thuringia, Germany. Skat is based on the three player Tarot game of Grosstarock and the four player game of Schafkopf (forerunner of American Sheepshead). It has become the most loved and widely played German card game, especially in German speaking regions. In the earliest known form of the game, the player in the first seat was dealt twelve cards and the other two players ten each. He then made two discards, constituting the Skat, and announced a contract. But the main innovation of this new game was that of the bidding process. The earliest recorded rules for "Scat" date to 1835, by when it was already popular in the Kingdom of Saxony, especially in the Duchy of Altenburg and the surrounding area. These describe a game for 3 players with German suited cards who received 10 each in packets of 3, 2, 3 and 2, the two remaining cards being dealt to the table as a talon known as the Scat. There were just two contracts – Frage and Solo – and forehand opened the bidding or passed. A Frage bidder could be overcalled by a Solo and either could be overcalled by the same contract in a higher ranking suit, the suits ranking in the same order as in the modern game. The declarer needed 61 card points to win and there were bonuses for scoring 90 (Schneider), taking all tricks (Schwarz) and, optionally, for holding or lacking matadors in unbroken sequence from the top. The four Unters were permanent trumps ranking above the trump suit. The first book on the rules of Skat, Das Scatspiel: Nebst zwei Liedern, was published in 1848 by one of its inventors, secondary school teacher J. F. L. Hempel. Nevertheless, the rules continued to differ from one region to another until the first attempt to set them in order was made by a congress of Skat players on 7 August 1886 in Altenburg. These were the first official rules finally published in a book form in 1888 by Theodor Thomas of Leipzig. The word Skat is a Tarock term derived from the Latin word scarto, scartare, which means to discard or reject, and its derivative scatola, a box or a place for safe keeping. The word scarto is still used in some other Italian card games to this day. Skat is completely unrelated to an American game called Scat. Nowadays, it is very popular to play the Skat game online through internet browsers.

Skat is particularly popular in Germany. Tournament Skat is regularly held in restaurants. In contrast to most other card games, Skat is organized as a sport, with Skat associations, clubs, ranking lists and even a national league. Most German Skat clubs are affiliated to the German Skat Association (DSkV), which organizes the championships. In addition, the global organisation, the International Skat Players Association, is primarily responsible for organising the World and European Championships, but its subdivision, ISPA Germany, like the DSkV, organizes its own German individual and team championship and leagues, among other activities. Skat is played on a lesser scale in countries bordering Germany including the Netherlands, Danish southern Jutland, Poland and Austria. The member countries of ISPA are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Namibia, Netherlands, Paraguay, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, UAE, Uruguay, and the USA.

Note: Because of the many variations in the rules of Skat, the rules below are necessarily general, although rules not found in official German tournament play are marked as such.

Skat is a game for three players, who are known as forehand, middlehand and rearhand, rearhand also being the dealer (see picture). At the beginning of each round, or "deal", one player becomes declarer and the other two players become the defending team. The two defenders are not allowed to communicate in any way except by their choice of cards to play. The game can also be played by four players, in which case, the dealer sits out the round that was dealt, while the player to the right of the dealer will play the role taken by the dealer in the three player variant. Players may agree at the outset how many rounds/deals they will play for. A central aspect of the game is the three coexisting varieties called "suit", "grand" and "null" games, that differ in suit order, scoring and even overall goal to achieve. Each round of the game starts with a bidding phase to determine the declarer and the required minimum game value (explained below). Then, ten tricks are played, allowing players to take trick points. Each card has a card value (except in null games) and is worth that number of points for the player winning the trick. The total value of all cards is 120 points. The declarer's goal is to take at least 61 points in tricks in order to win that round of the game. Otherwise, the defending team wins the round. Points from tricks are not directly added to the players' overall score, they are used only to determine the outcome of the game (win or loss for declarer), although winning by certain margins may increase the score for that round. After each round a score is awarded in accordance with the game value. If the declarer wins they are awarded a positive score, if they lose the score is doubled and subtracted from the declarer's tally (i. e. a negative score). In tournaments a winning declarer gets an additional 50 points if they win, if the defending team wins however they receive 40 points each in addition to the declarer losing twice the game's value in points.

The pack consists of 32 cards. Many modern packs use the French pack consisting of an ace (Ass), king (König), queen (Dame), jack (Bube), 10, 9, 8 and 7 in all four suits (clubs , spades , hearts and diamonds ). Some players in Eastern and Southern Germany and Austria prefer traditional German packs with suits of acorns , leaves , hearts and bells , and card values of deuce (Daus), king (König), Ober, Unter, 10, 9, 8, and 7 in all four suits. Until recently in Saxony and Thuringia, for example, German suited packs were used almost exclusively. By contrast, regions of the former West Germany had adopted a French suited pack. Since German reunification, a compromise Turnierbild ("Tournament Style") pack is used in tournaments that uses the shapes of the French suits but with corresponding German suit colors, green spades imitating leaves and gold diamonds imitating bells. The choice of pack does not affect the rules.

At the beginning of each round each player is dealt ten cards, with the two remaining cards (the so called Skat) being put face down in the middle of the table. Dealing follows this pattern: deal three cards each, then deal the Skat, then four cards each, then three cards again ("three–Skat–four–three"). In four player rounds, the dealer does not receive any cards and skips actual play of the round. He or she may peek into the hand of one other player (if allowed to do so) but never into the Skat. Dealing rotates clockwise around the table, so that the player sitting to the left of the dealer will be dealer for the next round.

The game value (also called hand value, Spielwert) is what the game will be worth after all tricks have been played. It is determined not only by the 10 cards held, but also by the two card Skat. The Skat always belongs to the declarer, and if it contains certain high cards this may change the game value. It is therefore not possible in general to determine the exact game value before knowing the Skat. The game value is determined by the type of the game and the game level as explained below for the suit, grand and null games.

: with 2, plus 1 is 3.
: with 1 (counting interrupted by the missing ), plus 1 is 2.
with 4, plus 1 is 5.
: Without 2, plus 1 is 3.
alone: This is also without 2 (counting is interrupted by the present ), plus 1 is 3. Now for the special cases: if you think you can do more than just win, you can add points for the special cases. : With 2, plus 1 (game) plus 1 (for Hand) is 4.
: With 2, plus 1 (game) plus 1 (for Schneider) is 4.
: With 2, plus 1 (game) plus 1 (for Hand) plus 1 (for Schneider) plus 1 (for Schwarz) is 6.
: With 2, game 3, Hand 4, Schneider 5, pre declared Schneider 6, Schwarz 7, pre declared Schwarz 8, Ouvert 9. The highest possible multiplier game level is 18: that is with (or without) four jacks and all seven cards of trump suit (including those in the Skat, if any) 11, plus the maximum of 7 for becoming declarer, Hand, Schneider, declaring Schneider, Schwarz, declaring Schwarz and Ouvert. The lowest possible multiplier game level is 2: either with , or without and with 1, plus 1 for becoming declarer.

The order of bidding is determined by the seating order. Starting from the left of the dealer players are numbered clockwise: the first seat (Vorhand), the second seat (Mittelhand) and the third seat (Hinterhand). In a three player game, the dealer will be the third seat. In a four player game the third seat will be to the right of the dealer. Bidding starts by the player in second seat making a call to the player in first seat on which the latter can hold or pass. If the first seat player holds, the second seat player can make a higher call or pass himself. This continues until either of the two players passes. The player in third seat is then allowed to continue making calls to the player who has not yet passed. Bidding ends as soon as at least two players have passed. It is also possible for all three players to pass. The starting order can be memorized as “deal–respond–call–continue” ("geben–hören–sagen–weitersagen"). The player who continues in this mnemonic is either the dealer (in a three player game) or the player in third seat. The mnemonic is commonly used among casual players. Example: Anna, Bernard and Clara are playing, and seated in that order around the table. Anna deals the cards. Clara makes the first call to Bernard, who passes right away. Anna then makes two more calls to Clara, who accepts both bids. Anna then passes as well. The bidding ends, with Clara being the declarer for this round.

If all players pass, the hand is not played and the next dealer shuffles and deals. A dealer never deals twice in a row. It is common in informal play to play a variant of Skat called Ramsch (junk, rummage) instead of skipping the hand and dealing for the next one. The objective in that variant is to make no trick as their points would score negatively. This is not part of the sanctioned rules, however. In a pass out game, the player in first seat will be the last one to pass. If that player intends to become declarer, however, he or she has to make a call of at least 18 (picking up the Skat in that situation implies the call).

A common variant in non sanctioned play allows the defenders to announce "Kontra" just before the first trick is played, if they have made or held at least one call. In this case, the stakes will be doubled for the hand. Declarer, in turn, may announce “Re”, to redouble the stakes. In a less common further variation this process can be repeated twice more by announcing "Supra" and "Resupra" (or more colloquially, "Bock" [(roe) buck] and "Hirsch" [red deer], or the like, which are colloquial augments of "Reh" roe deer).

The player in the first seat sitting to the left of the dealer leads to the first trick. The other two follow in clockwise direction. Every player plays one card to the trick, which is in the middle of the table. The winner of a trick stacks the cards face down in front of him and leads to the next trick, which is again played clockwise. Completed tricks are kept face down in front of the players who won them, until all the cards have been played. Examining completed tricks (except for the last one) is not allowed. The tricks of the two players who are playing together are put together, either during or after play.

The players must play a card in the same suit as the first card of the trick, if possible (“following suit”). A player who cannot follow suit may play any card (including a trump card). Trumps, including all four jacks, count as a single suit. If a trump is led, every player must also play a trump if able. If there are trump cards in the trick, the highest trump in it wins the trick. If there are no trumps in it, the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. The non trump suit cards rank in order A 10 K Q 9 8 7. The trumps rank the same way with the four jacks on top in the order , , , .

In the grand game, only the four jacks are trumps in the suit order given above for a regular suit game. All other ranks are the same as in the regular suit game (10 is ranked just below the ace). There are thus five "suits" in the grand game (if a jack is led to a trick, the other two players must play jacks too, if they have them).

In a null game there is no trump suit, and in each suit the cards are ranked A K Q J 10 9 8 7. The goal of a null game is for declarer not to take any tricks. If declarer takes a trick in a null game, the game is immediately lost and scored.

Declarer may, unilaterally, concede a loss while holding at least nine cards (i. e. before playing to the second trick). Afterwards approval of at least one defender is required. Defenders may concede at any time, but may be requested by declarer to complete the play (e. g. if declarer thinks that Schneider or Schwarz is still possible). Claiming of remaining tricks is possible as well, but for a defender only if she would be able to take the remaining tricks herself. A game in which the necessary trick points have been won can not be lost, regardless of claims.

After the last trick has been played, the game is scored. Winning conditions for null game are different from suit and grand games.

Even with the majority in card points, declarer may still lose if the game value is lower than the value bid during the auction. This is called overbidding. An overbid hand is automatically lost, leading to a negative score for declarer. An overbid hand is scored by determining the lowest possible game value that is a multiple of the base value of declarer's suit (or 24 in case of a grand) which is at least as high as declarer's bid. This value is then doubled and subtracted from declarer's score (negative score). Example: Declarer bids 30, missing the two top trumps (without 2), intending to play a club suit game (game value would be 12 × 3 = 36). They then find the in the Skat (with 1). Their game value is now only 24 (12 × 2) — they have overbid. Unless they manage to play at least Schneider (raising the game value to 36), or make a game other than clubs with a game value of at least 30, the game will be lost. They will receive a negative score of −72 (36 is the lowest multiple of 12, the base value of clubs, greater than the 30 they bid; 36 times two is 72). They can try to minimize their loss by declaring a game in Hearts instead of Clubs (base value 10 instead of 12). This will be worth only −60 points, unless opponents score Schneider against them.

The score is always assigned to the declarer (positive or negative) in the classical scoring system. The score to be awarded is the actual game value. How high the player bid during the bidding is immaterial, as long as the game value is at least as high as declarer's bid (see Overbid Hands above). Note that often the score will be higher than the bidding value, because players typically do not bid as high as their hand would allow. For a won game, that score is added to declarer's tally. For a lost game, the score is doubled and subtracted from declarer's tally (negative score). Until 1998, lost Hand games did not count double, but this rule was dropped in that year. The reason was that in tournament play nearly all games played were Hand games. This increased the game level by one, but did not penalize as much as a normal game would have if lost. In league games, 50 points get added for each game that is won by the declarer and 40 points each get added to the tally of the defending team shall they win to lower the chance factor and to stress the skill factor. In that situation, it becomes far more important for each player to bid his or her hand as high as possible. Example 1: Anton is declarer. He bids 20 and declares a grand game. He then wins with 78 points in tricks. Declarer held The game value is 24 × (2 + 1) = 72 points. These are awarded to the declarer. Example 2: Brigitte is declarer. She bids 30 and declares a Null Ouvert game. She, however, is forced to take the ninth trick, losing the game. The game value is 46, it will be doubled and subtracted from her total score (−92 points).

Ramsch ("junk") is not part of sanctioned Skat rules, but is widely practiced in hobbyist rounds, and is the variant most often suggested to be officially sanctioned. It is played if all three players pass in the bidding. There is no declarer in Ramsch; every player plays for himself, and the goal is to achieve as low a score as possible. The idea behind Ramsch is to punish players who underbid their hands. To make Ramsch more interesting, an additional rule is often played that adds a second winning condition: the Ramsch is also won by a player if that player manages to take all tricks (Durchmarsch i. e. "march"). At first, this seems to be not too difficult, since the other players will initially try to take as few tricks as possible and to get rid of their high ranking cards. Once they get suspicious, however, they may thwart the effort simply by taking one trick from the player trying for the Durchmarsch. Suit ranks in Ramsch are the same as in the Grand game, with only the four Jacks being trumps.

Revolution is a Null Hand game during which the defenders are allowed to confer and exchange cards, sometimes with a limit of two cards. It is valued at 92 points which goes against the normal Skat principle that positive games should outrank negative ones since it is higher than a simple Grand Hand.

Sechserskat is played with a 36 card pack i. e. with the addition of the Sixes. It is mentioned as early as 1920.

Also known as Bierlachs, Bierskat ("Beer Skat") is a variant that is common in German pubs. A target score is set, typically 501, and only negative scores are recorded i. e. if the declarer wins with 33 points, the score is recorded as 33 to the two defenders. The first to 501 loses and buys the next round.

Idiotenskat ("Idiot Skat") is an amusing variant in which players play with their hands facing their opponents, so they are only able to see their opponents' cards. The game is recorded as early as 1958.

Räuberskat ("Robber Skat") is a variant in which there is no bidding; instead there is a sequence of specified contracts.

Officers' Skat (Offiziersskat) is a variant for two players. Each player receives 16 cards on the table in front of him in two rows, 8 face down and 8 face up on top of them. Bidding is replaced by the non dealer declaring a game type and trump. When a face up card is played, the hidden card is turned over. Each deal results in a total of 16 tricks and players must agree whether a game lasts for a certain number of deals or until one player scores a certain number of game points. Scoring is similar to normal Skat.

Oma Skat is also played with a third, or dummy, hand called Oma ("Grandma"). However, in this case, the hand is not exposed. Instead it is placed in a stack, face down, and the top card of the stack is played to the trick each time. Thus Oma need not follow suit.

In Piloten Skat ("Pilots' Skat") bidding takes place as if there were 3 players. Again the defender plays with the third hand against the soloist. After the first card is led, the third hand is exposed and played by the defender with a strawman. It is possible to play a modified version of the game with only two players. The cards that would be dealt to a third player are simply laid down as a “dummy” hand instead and not used.

In Strawman Skat (Skat mit einem Strohmann or Strohmann), players are dealt 9 cards each, one hand being the straw man. There is a second skat of 3 cards that remains unused throughout the hand. After the first trick, the straw man is exposed and is played by the defender. The second skat goes, at the end, to the player who scores the most points.

In Skat En Deux, the dealer bids against the non dealer, opening with "pass" or "18" as normal. If he passes, the non dealer may pass or bid. Ten cards are dealt each, the spare hand going to the right of the dealer each time. This hand is played by the defender. After announcing his or her game, the defender exposes the third hand to the declarer. Thus, it is possible to predict what hand the opponent has and play much more strategically. It is sometimes used to teach new players the principles of Skat.

In Schmegegge Skat declarer plays against defender and a half dummy that is played by defender. The dummy always has five cards exposed, and after each trick a new card for the dummy gets turned up, so there's always five. Play generally follows Skat but Ramsch uses 2 card tricks with dummy out of play: if both players pass initially, two cards of dummy are revealed for information, and if both pass a second time, they play 2 card tricks after a chance to exchange two cards unseen with dummy.

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