Ultimate Book of Card Games: The Comprehensive Guide to More Than 350 Games (41 page)

SCORING
The goal in Klaberjass is to score 500 points, first by declaring the highest naturally dealt sequence of cards before the first trick is won, and then by winning tricks that contain high-value cards listed in the chart below. Players also earn points for playing a
Bella
(K, Q of trump; 20 points) and winning the final trick of the game (10 points).

Once all cards are played, the players tally points earned during the trick- taking phase. The player who did not win the trump bid tallies and scores points first, since her points are always valid.

The opposing player then tallies his points. Here’s the rub: the winner of the trump bid only scores points if he surpasses his opponent’s total. So if you won the trump bid, you must beat the other player’s total score. If you have fewer total points, then all your points from the hand are added to the first player’s score. In Klaberjass, you pay dearly if you win the trump bid and don’t outscore your opponent.

FOR EXAMPLE
Player one wins the trump bid and ends the hand with 55 total points. Player two ends with 50 points. No penalties are levied, and each player keeps his or her points. However, if player one won the trump bid and ends with 55 points while player two ends with 70 points, player one’s score for the round is 0 while player two’s score is 125 points (70 + 55).

In the event of a tie, the disputed scores are set aside until the next hand is played. Whoever wins the subsequent hand wins all the points from the tied hand.

The only scoring complication is that while points are normally tallied at the end of a hand, the game officially ends the moment a player reaches 500 points. So you can win midhand, for example, by declaring a sequence or a Bella that pushes your score over the threshold. This is true even if you accepted the trump suit and would ultimately have lost all your points (had the hand been played to the end).

HOW TO PLAY
The non-dealer always leads the first trick. Once the opening card is played—but before the opponent plays a card—both players attempt to declare the highest sequence in their nine-card hands. Sequences are valued as follows:

50 points for a run of
four
in the same suit (e.g., K of clubs-Q of clubs-J of clubs-10 of clubs)

20 points for a run of
three
in the same suit (e.g., Q of hearts-J of hearts-10 of hearts)

For example, if player one is leading the first trick, he will play a card and then declare, “a run of three” and player two will attempt to declare a higher sequence. Only one player may earn points at this stage, so it is in player two’s interest to match or beat player one’s declaration. If player two counters, she might say “a run of three cards, king high,” in the hopes of beating
player one’s lower three-card sequence. In the rare case where player one also has a three-card run to the king, player one will then reply, “trump?” Trump always wins.

Alternatively, if player two declares “a run of four” against player one’s “run of three,” then player two wins and becomes the sole declarer. Yet it’s not as simple as all that! There are additional rules concerning the declaration.

The declarer’s points are not scored until the declarer wins
at least one trick
during the hand. Though rare, it is possible for the declarer not to win a single trick. In this case, the declarer’s score for the declaration is null and void.

The declarer may score any additional sequences in her hand. For example, if the declarer holds K of hearts-Q of hearts-J of hearts-10 of hearts-10 of clubs-9 of clubs-8 of clubs-8 of diamonds, she earns 50 points for the four-card run in hearts, plus 20 points for the three-card run in clubs.

If you are the declarer, you must show the winning sequence (plus any other sequence you wish to score) to your opponent, as verification. It’s the polite thing to do.

Note that if neither player has a sequence to declare, the game proceeds to the trick-taking phase. Also note that sequences are always ranked using standard card rankings (A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7), even if the sequence is in trump.

TRICK-TAKING PHASE
After the declaration is complete, the rest of the tricks are played out, with the winner of the last trick leading the next. Tricks are won by the high card in the leading suit, or by the high trump played. In Klaberjass, you must follow suit if possible, or play a trump.

In addition to earning points by winning tricks containing the cards noted in the scoring table, you also earn points by playing a Bella over the course of two consecutive tricks. For example, let’s assume hearts are trump. In trick number three, player one leads K of hearts followed by player two’s worthless 7 of clubs. In trick number four, player two leads Q of hearts, declares “Bella,” and scores 20 points
even if
player two wins the trick. A player is not required to win either trick containing the cards forming a Bella. And remember, the player who wins the last trick earns 10 points.

HOW TO WIN
It’s always a good idea to save one high card to win the last trick (worth 10 points). However, do not sacrifice an opportunity to win the 9 or jack of trump. In the scheme of things, winning 10 points for taking the last trick rarely sways the outcome of a match.

You are under no obligation to declare a sequence at the beginning of the game, or even to declare a valid Bella in the trick-taking phase. Sometimes you don’t want your opponent to know what cards you hold. At other times you may not want to earn points for your Bella; for example, if you accepted trump and are in danger of losing the hand.

If you are within 15 or 20 points of 500, it’s a good idea to accept or choose trump in order to play a 9 or jack of trump, even if your hand is weak. When assessing the strength of your hand, it’s more important to hold the jack of trump (and to a lesser extent the 9 of trump) than it is to be long in trumps. Holding the former, you’re guaranteed 20 (or 34) points; holding the latter, you are guaranteed nothing.

IRREGULARITIES & DISPUTES
To score a Bella, you must declare it. Otherwise you cannot earn points for it. And no, you may not take credit for another player’s Bella. If your opponent fails to declare it, those 20 points are simply lost.

If you have more than 500 points but fail to declare it, it’s your loss. The game may end as soon as you achieve 500 points, but not if you fail to declare yourself the winner. If you declare yourself winner but don’t have the necessary 500 points, the hand is played out and all your points are awarded to your opponent as a penalty.

If a player fails to follow the leading suit when he could have, or subsequently fails to play a trump when he could have, the offending player may fix the error without penalty before the next trick is played. Otherwise, all of the offending player’s points in the hand are awarded to the opposing player as a penalty.

VARIATION 1: THREE-HAND KLABERJASS

This game’s main difference is that, with three players, the trick-taking phase of the game is far more unpredictable. Three-hand Klaberjass also lends itself to alliances, backstabbing, and cutthroat competition. It is thoroughly expected that two players will gang up on the perceived leader in each hand—that’s all just part of the game’s thrill.

The game is played exactly like standard Klaberjass. The dealer gives each player six cards, in sets of three. The player to the left of the dealer is the first to accept the turn-up card as the trump suit, or to pass. If he accepts, he must end the game with a higher total score than either opposing player.

VARIATION 2: PARTNERSHIP KLABERJASS

Historically speaking, Partnership Klaberjass is the most popular version of the game. With four players in teams of two, the game plays like a simplified—but no less interesting—version of Contract Bridge, minus the complexity of bidding.

All players receive eight cards dealt in batches of three, two, and three. The dealer’s last card is dealt face up and is the proposed trump suit for the hand. (After the first round of bidding, the dealer returns the exposed card to his or her hand.)

Bidding proceeds as in standard Klaberjass, with the player to the left of the dealer having the first opportunity to accept the trump suit or to pass. There’s a third bidding option in Partnership Klaberjass, called a
Schmeiss
. If a player declares Schmeiss, she is signaling a weak hand to her partner. The partner may then decide whether to bid or to pass. If all four players declare Schmeiss, the hand is dead and fresh cards are dealt.

There is no trump exchange in Partnership Klaberjass. Instead, start with the declarations. The team with the highest sequence earns points for
all
sequences held by both partners. The losing team earns no points for its sequences.

There’s a scoring twist in Partnership Klaberjass, a pair of moves called
Kontra
and
Rekontra
. If the non-bidding team believes the bidders will lose the hand, they declare Kontra, which doubles the points for the hand. If the bidders are feeling confident, they can reply Rekontra to double the points again (effectively quadrupling the points for the hand).

During the trick-taking phase, each team places the cards it has won in a single pile. These are tallied at the end of the game as in standard Klaberjass. Note that a Bella may be earned by combining a king and queen of trump from either partner’s hand.