🂻Skat
Germany's national card game: three players, a bidding ladder and suit, grand and null contracts.
- 3 players
- ~25 min
- hard
- Free
Dealing…
How to play Skat
Objective
Win the bidding and then take at least 61 of the 120 card points (or fulfil a null contract by taking no tricks).
Setup
- A 32-card deck (7 through Ace), three players, ten cards each.
- Two cards are set aside face down as the skat.
Rules
- The four Jacks are always the highest trumps, ranked ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦.
- Bidding runs up a fixed value ladder; the winner becomes declarer against the other two.
- In a suit game the named suit plus all Jacks are trump; in a grand only the Jacks are trump; in a null there is no trump and declarer must lose every trick.
- Declarer may pick up the skat and discard two cards, or play a hand game without it.
- Card points: A=11, 10=10, K=4, Q=3, J=2 — 120 in total.
Strategy tips
- Count your Jacks first — they set your game value multiplier.
- A grand game needs at least two Jacks and a solid side suit.
- Null games are safest with 7-8-9 sequences and no middling cards.
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