1. Skit Skat Card Game Rules Average ratng: 4,5/5 9230 reviews The Pack The standard 52-card pack is used. Object of the Game The goal is to obtain a hand that totals 31 in cards of one suit; or to have a hand at the showdown whose count in one suit is higher than that of any other player.
2. Skat is regarded to be one of the best three-player card games in the world and unlike many games, Skat is actually designed for three and works best that way. Skat came to America with German immigrants, where it peaked in popularity in the 1940s.

Skat is one of the very few classic card games whose invention can be ascribed to a particular circle of players at a particular place and time - namely, around 1810 by members of the Brommesche Tarock Club at Altenburg, some twenty-six miles south of Leipzig. And it is surely unique in boasting a monument dedicated to it.

What is Skat?

Skat is a trick taking game of German origin. In fact, the Skat card game is considered the national game of Germany, and is highly popular. While it follows the basic rules of trick-taking card games, there are special rules which make it more skill than luck-based.

How to Play Skat?

Skat is designed to play with three players, and uses a 32-card French-style deck. If you have a 52-card Anglo American deck, you can adapt it by removing the 1-6 cards.

Card Ranks

In Skat, the typical card rankings are in the following order: Jacks, Aces, 10s, Kings, Queens, 9s, 8s, 7s.

In tricks, cards with a higher rank win unless they are from the trump suit. Jacks in Skat are always considered to be from the trump suit.

Since Jacks are always trumps, they are also ranked by suit in the following order from highest to lowest: Clubs, Spades, Hearts, Diamonds.

Note that the card values can change in the Null rounds, which can be declared by winning bidders.

Dealing

The dealer is determined using any method. Each player is dealt 10 cards each, with the remaining 2 cards being placed in the centre of the table, forming the Skat.

Bidding

The player to the right of the dealer then can call a bid, competing with the player to the left of the dealer. The player to the left of the dealer can accept or pass on each bid, at which time the other player can increase their bid or pass. This continues until a player passes. Then, the bid begins competing with dealer.

Bidding is discussed in detail in the scoring section of the guide. The player winning the bid will get the Skat cards. The player winning the bid can then decide whether he wants to view the cards, and subsequently whether they want to exchange cards from their hand with cards from the Skat.

The winning bidder also becomes the declarer for the round. The declarer can call for different game types depending on his hand, and these are discussed in detail in the Game Values section of the guide.

Note that bidding must begin with a minimum value of 18, as that is the lowest possible score in Skat.

Game Values

Understanding game values is important to determine how much to bid for each round.

In Skat, each game has an assigned value depending on the tricks and the Skat. The game types are as below:

Suit Game

In a suit game, a trump suit is assigned, and this results in a multiplier being applied to the final scores. The suits and their values are as follows:

This multiplier is directly applied to the game value.

The following examples assume a trump suit of ♥.

The game value always starts at 1, and the following increases the value:

Schneider

The Schneider is obtained if the game ends with 90 or more trick points taken by the winning side.

Schwarz

The Schwarz is called with the game ends with all tricks being taken by the winners.

Matador

Matador is granted based on the number of Jacks held by each player.Any other trumps (Jacks or from the trump suit) are counted if they form anunbroken sequence.

Skit Skat Card Game Rules How To Play

If the top trump J♣ is in hand, the length of straight trumps is counted from the top. For example, a player who has this sequence, J♣ J♥ J♠ J♦ A♥, will have a “with 5” Matador multiplier.

If the top trump is not in hand, the missing trumps are counted from the top. For example, if a player has a J♠ but lacks the J♣ and J♥, they get the “without 2” Matador multiplier.

Hand Game

The Hand game can be called if the Skat is not picked by the declarer.

The Hand game also allows special game types.

• The winning bidder can call Schneider immediately after bidding, which is a risk that can potentially double the final point score.
• The winning bidder can call Schwarz immediately after bidding, which is another risk that can potentially double the final score.
• Open Hand can be called, where the wining bidder plays with his cards face up for the duration of the round, and Schwarz must be called to win.

Grand Game

Grand game essentially the same as the suit game, with the main difference being that Jacks are the only trump. Trump suits do not exist in Grand games.

Grand games have a base game value of 24.

Null Game

When calling for a Null game, the winning bidder will not take even 1 trick throughout the round. There is also no trump suit in null games. Also, the card ranks are, from high to low, A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7.

Null games can also stack with other multipliers as follow:

• Basic null game – Base game value of 23
• Null Hand game (Skat not picked up by winning bidder) – Base game value of 35
• Null Open game (Winning bidder plays with all cards face up) – Base game value of 46
• Null Open Hand game (combination of Hand game and Open game) – Base game value of 59

In a null game, the winning bidder is not allowed to take a single trick. This means once a trick is won by the winning bidder during a Null game, the round ends and is immediately scored.

The Process

As with most trick-taking card games, the game is about winning as many tricks as possible. However, scoring makes this more complex.

Trick-taking is standard. The player to the left of the dealer leads the trick with a card from his/her hand. The card’s suit forms the leading suit.

Players must play cards to follow suit whenever possible. This means a player cannot win a trick by playing a trump card if they still have a card from the leading suit in hand.

If no cards from the trump suit are played, the card with the highest rank while following the lead suit wins.

If one or more cards from the trump suit are played, the highest trump suited card wins the trick.

The player winning the trick will take the 3 cards used in the trick. These will be used in the scoring process.

Players winning each trick will lead the next.

The round continues until all cards are played out. Each player then counts their scores based on the taken tricks.

Rules

The Skat rules are:

• If all players pass during the bidding phase, the hand is ended with no winners, and the dealer reshuffles the deck before dealing a new hand.
• Taken tricks are placed face-down beside the player who won them. These tricks cannot be revealed as a reference.
• The player who wins each trick will lead the following trick.
• During a Null game, if the declarer takes a trick, the game immediately ends and is scored accordingly.
• A declarer may forfeit any round provided he/she has 9 or more cards in hand, the round ends and is scored accordingly.
• The game ends once the agreed-upon point threshold is reached.

Scoring

Skat scoring is based on multiple factors including card values, multipliers, game type and the Skat.

Scoring is always assigned to the winning bidder, or declarer. If the declarer wins the game, they get assigned a positive score. If the declarer losses the game, the scores will be deducted from their total at double the value.

Card values

Skit Skat Card Game Rules Play

The most obvious scoring is based on the cards won in each trick. The card values are as described in the following table:

Note that while Jacks are the highest-ranking cards, they are not the highest scoring cards.

Also, note that in Null games, there are no card points, the game is entirely predicated on the fact that the calling bidder cannot take even one trick.

Overbidding

If the bid exceeds the game value at the end of the round, it is considered an overbid. This hand is considered lost, even if the bidder has the most points in terms of card value. This results in a negative score for the winning bidder.

The overbid hands are scored based on the lowest possible game value, multiplied with the modifiers that would have been applied if the winning bidder did not lose via overbidding.

For example, if the bidder wins the bid with a bid value of 30, but has a game value of 24 after exchanging cards from the Skat, then the bidder will have overbid. Thus, he/she will receive a negative score. Assuming the suit of the game was declared as clubs, it has a base value of 12. Assuming then that the player had a “without 2” Matador multiplier, this then results in a multiplier of 3. Thus, the player will be assigned a score of -72 for the round.

Scores for Each Game Type

The formula for calculating overbidding is as follows:
(Base Value x Game Multipliers) x 2

The game multipliers always start at 1, and are increased by 1 with each of the following:

In non-Hand games (Skat cards can be used):

• Matador: 1 for each “with” or “without” value
• Schneider: 1 for winning with 90 or more points
• Schwarz: 1 for winning all tricks

In Hand games (Skat cards cannot be used):

• Matador: 1 for each “with” or “without” value
• Schneider: 1 for winning with 90 or more points
• Announcing Schneider: 1 for immediately declaring Schneider after bidding
• Schwarz: 1 for winning all tricks
• Announcing Schwarz: 1 for immediately declaring Schwarz after bidding
• Open Hand: 1 for revealing their hand, and playing the game with cards face-up throughout.

Note that each multiplier also applies to losing scores as well, resulting in a higher negative score as well. One does not need to declare multipliers even if they have the necessary prerequisites.

Example Hand

The following is an example hand of Skat game for 3-players, showing the main process of trick-taking.

The trump suit of this round was set as Hearts.

Player 1: J♥ K♥ 10♦ Q♦ A♣ 8♣ J♠ 10♠ 8♠7♠
Player 2: A♥ J♦ Q♦ 8♦ 10♣ K♣ Q♣ 7♣ Q♠ 9♠
Player 3: 10♥ Q♥ 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 10♦ 7♦ J♣ K♠ A♠

Player 3 leads the trick, playing a J♣. Making the hearts the lead suit for this round. (Jacks are always considered to be from the trump suit).
Player 2 must follow suit, and plays a A♥.
Player 1 must also follow suit, and plays the K♥.

Player 3 wins the trick, and thus leads the next trick.

Player 3 leads the trick with a 10♥, making the lead suit for the round the hearts.
Player 2 must follow suit, and plays the J♦.
Player 1 must follow suit, and plays the J♥.

Player 1 wins the trick by having the largest ranked card.

Strategy & Tips

• The main key in Skat strategy is to not overbid. Overbidding is very costly, and can lose otherwise easy wins.
• Despite what tip 1 states, you will need to take risks while bidding, because non-bidders do not get scored.
• A safe risk to take during bidding is to go slightly over, since you can potentially hit the necessary bid minimum using the cards from the Skat.
• Declaring an Open game might be helpful when you are confident in your play. You can still take and lose tricks as necessary while Open.
• Remember that losing costs you, so make bets accordingly based on the cards you have in hand.
• You can form temporary partnerships with the other non-declarer to cooperate against the declarer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I play the Skat card game online?

Skat is available to play online for free via simulators, such as the one available on playok.com.

How many cards are dealt in Skat?

In the Skat card game, each player is dealt 10 cards each, with the 2 remaining cards forming the Skat.

How do you win in Skat?

To win in Skat, players are required to gain enough points to win, in conjunction with fulfilling the bid conditions.

Are there any variations of the game?

The more popular variations of Skat are the two-player and the North American version.