# Jasvel — the rules of Schieber Jass, full text for language models > Generated from the built site on 2026-09-17. > The English rules layer, the five free scoreboards and the open-data documentation. > The German and French pages are WRITTEN separately rather than translated — the > Swiss-German terms of art do not survive a translation pass — so they are indexed > in /llms.txt rather than inlined here. > Three things to know before quoting any of this: the contract multiplier is a > property of the table and three real tables are in use; Undenufe inverts the trick > and never the meld; and trick points, Weis and Stöck are added together BEFORE the > contract factor is applied. > Reuse is allowed with a link back to the page each passage came from. --- **How Jasvel verifies Jass rules and scoring** > Learn how Jasvel checks Swiss Jass rules, records regional variants, tests scoring and keeps its reference aligned with the app. Source: https://jasvel.org/about/ [Home](https://jasvel.org/) # How Jasvel checks Jass rules and regional variants Jasvel documents its sources, names regional rules and tests shared values so readers can trace each Jass result from rule to score. Updated 11 August 2026 · Merey Tleugazin ## How is the Jasvel Jass reference assembled? The Jasvel reference assembles Jass rules rule by rule, with each page stating the selected practice and its scope. A page identifies the Swiss source behind a rule where appropriate and marks regional differences instead of hiding them in general wording. Readers can therefore see which rule applies, which recognised forms differ and how each choice affects play. Vast Flow, LLP is the publisher of the reference. The publisher is outside Switzerland, so the pages do not assume that one local practice represents Jass everywhere. The reference names the Swiss sources it follows and identifies variants such as Obenabe, the no-trump arrangement with ace-high order, and Undenufe, the no-trump arrangement with six-high order, whenever those variants affect the rule. A rules page must stand alone. The opening sentences under each question therefore give the operative answer before background or comparison. Swiss German terms remain in Swiss German when they are terms of art. A **Weis** is a declared scoring combination. **Stöck** is the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand. A **Puur** is the trump jack, and a **Nell** is the trump nine. A **Jasstafel** is a Jass score sheet or scoring board. These glosses help readers outside Switzerland follow the explanation without replacing the terms used in Swiss sources or at the table. The same method applies to game forms. **Schieber**, the partnership form in which players choose the contract through a form of passing, has its own rules rather than serving as a generic name for every four-player Jass game. The [Schieber reference](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) can therefore be read separately from pages about cards, declarations or scoring. Each page distinguishes a rule, an interpretation and a regional practice. A source may support a card order, a scoring value or a declaration procedure. A variant note records a different practice without presenting that practice as an error. The distinction helps readers who learned Jass in different Swiss regions and readers comparing a familiar table with the rules used by the app. Figures follow the same discipline as prose. A figure may use only numbers already stated on the page where the figure appears. The restriction stops a visual example introducing an unstated score, card value or target. The reference does not fill a gap by guessing. The editorial method also separates definitions from instructions. A definition explains what a term means. An instruction explains when a player acts and what result follows. A source note explains why the page uses that wording. Keeping those functions separate makes a rule easier to retrieve, quote and check during a game. The result is a reference that gives a direct answer without pretending that every Swiss table follows identical practice. A reader can learn the selected rule, locate its terms and then inspect the regional qualification that belongs with it. *A chalk Jasstafel counts in rows, not in columns: hundreds on top, fifties in the middle, twenties at the bottom, each written left to right. The fifth stroke is drawn across the four before it — two strokes across for the fifties. Anything the strokes cannot express is a plain number in the lower right, and it may be negative. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How does Jasvel handle regional Jass rules? Jasvel treats regional variation as part of Jass rather than as a defect to remove. Each page names the rule set or Swiss source it follows and identifies recognised forms where they change the result. Readers can distinguish a general principle from a source-specific rule and from a local table practice. Obenabe and Undenufe show why the distinction matters. **Obenabe** uses the ordinary high-card direction in a no-trump contract. **Undenufe** reverses the order so that the lower cards take the leading role. The contracts are therefore not interchangeable names for one arrangement. **Stöck** does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe, so the reference places that exception beside the Stöck rule rather than allowing a general trump statement to imply that the declaration applies everywhere. Swiss German terms remain visible because translated substitutes can blur a rule. **Weis** means a declared combination that contributes to the score. **Stöck** means the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand. **Puur** and **Nell** identify specific trump cards. Keeping these terms connects the English explanation with the language used in Swiss rule sources and at the table. A regional note is not a list of every possible house rule. The reference records variants that affect a reader’s understanding of the published rule. The selected practice receives enough detail to apply it, while the page identifies the point at which another recognised practice differs. Comparison remains useful without turning the page into an unranked collection of anecdotes. The source trail forms part of the explanation. Readers checking card order can follow the [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) page and see the values used by the reference. Readers checking a term can use the [Jass glossary](https://jasvel.org/jass-glossary/). Cross-links carry a rule to the page that explains its surrounding system instead of repeating disconnected fragments in several places. The method also prevents quiet standardisation. A reference outside Switzerland cannot assume that a familiar description is the only valid form. Each page states its scope. A rule that varies by contract names the contract. A score that depends on declaration order states that order. A practice belonging to a regional form is identified as regional. This takes more space than choosing one table without comment, but it gives readers a basis for checking the result. The distinction matters in practical play. A player who knows the card order from one regional form may expect the same order under another contract. The page must identify the contract before describing the order. A player who knows Stöck from a trump game may also expect it under a no-trump arrangement. The explicit exception prevents that transfer of habit. The reference therefore serves readers with different backgrounds. A new player can learn the selected rule from the direct explanation. An experienced player can locate the source, compare the variant and decide which table matches the game being played. Neither reader has to treat an unmarked local habit as universal. ## How are Jass scoring rules tested? The rules engine reproduces 281 pinned reference cases. Each case fixes a position and its expected result, allowing changes to the rules to be checked against known behaviour. The cases cover interactions that prose can make easy to misread, including declarations, trick totals, contract differences and the order in which points cross a target. Pinned cases do not replace sources. A source explains the rule, while a pinned case records how that rule behaves in a defined situation. If the engine changes an outcome fixed by a pinned case, the change must be examined rather than accepted as an incidental software update. The scoring checks begin with the pack and the round. Jass uses 36 cards, with 9 cards to each of 4 players and 9 tricks in a round. The cards provide 152 points in the pack. The last trick adds 5, making 157 for the round. A match in which one team takes all 9 tricks adds 100, making 257 for that round. Stöck receives separate tests because the declaration has a defined scoring value and timing. Stöck is the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand, and it is worth 20 points. The 20 points go to that team regardless of the Weis comparison. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. The timing test is equally specific. A player declares Stöck while playing the second of the two cards, not the first. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration is spoken, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other. A final total cannot prove that the procedure was followed, so the timing belongs in the tested rule rather than in a footnote. The engine also tests target crossings. Practice uses targets of 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000. The app offers 1000 and 2500. When a round takes a team past the target, points are counted in this order: Weis first, then Stöck, then tricks. A team crossing in an earlier block wins. The order is therefore part of the tested result, not merely a display preference. Consider a round that carries a team past its target through several scoring blocks. The engine does not treat the displayed total as sufficient evidence. It checks Weis, then Stöck, then tricks, and records which team crossed in an earlier block. A result can therefore differ from a calculation that adds the same blocks in another order. A second example concerns Stöck. A player holds the king and Ober of the trump suit but says nothing while playing the first card. The player must declare while playing the second card. If the next player covers that card before the declaration is spoken, the 20 points are lost. The test records the timing, not merely the presence of both cards. The cases help separate a scoring error from a display error. A figure may show a result only if the page has already supplied every number used in the figure. The engine can test exact arrangements internally, but the reference does not expose an unstated value merely to make an example appear complete. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How do the site and app share Jass values? The Jasvel site and app read the same table of values. The shared table connects explanation with implementation: the page explains what a value means, while the app uses the same value when it calculates a result. One table reduces the risk that a card is described one way and scored another way. The table covers the values required by the reference. The pack contains 152 card points, the last trick adds 5 and a complete match adds 100. Those figures produce 157 for an ordinary round and 257 when one team takes all 9 tricks. Stöck contributes 20 where the trump contract permits it. Obenabe and Undenufe do not include Stöck. A shared value does not erase a rule condition. A value may depend on the contract, the declaration or the scoring order. The site and app must therefore read the same underlying entry while applying the conditions stated on the relevant page. A number without its condition is not a complete rule. Target settings provide a clear example. Practice uses 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000. The app offers 1000 and 2500. The wider practice and the application settings are therefore described separately. A reader can understand a reference to a target without assuming that every target used in practice appears in the app. The crossing sequence is shared in the same way. If a team goes past its target in a round, Weis is counted first, Stöck second and tricks third. A team crossing in an earlier block wins. The display must follow that order because a final total alone cannot show which team crossed first. A worked score check begins with the 152 card points in the pack. Add 5 for the last trick to reach 157 for the round. If one team takes all 9 tricks, add the 100-point match bonus to reach 257. If Stöck applies, its 20 points belong to the team that declared it, subject to the stated timing and contract conditions. Figures follow an additional editorial rule. A figure may use only numbers already stated on the page. The reader can then check the arithmetic against the prose without needing an unstated table or an implied regional assumption. > **Figure caption:** Shared values connect the explanatory rule, the reference table and the result shown by the app. The [app reference](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) explains the application’s scope and the way its settings relate to the published rules. The app does not replace the source notes on the site. The site remains the place where selected rules, regional variants and definitions are made explicit. The arrangement also makes maintenance controlled. A correction to a value can be checked against the pinned cases and then carried through the shared table. A correction to wording can be made on the page without inventing a second value. The two parts remain connected while each keeps its proper job. ## How can readers check or correct a Jass rule? Readers can check a Jass rule by following its source note, comparing its stated variant and testing the example against the numbers printed on the page. The reference is designed for inspection rather than passive acceptance. An unexplained result is not treated as sufficient merely because a particular table has been selected. A useful check starts with scope. Confirm the contract first: trump, Obenabe or Undenufe. Then check the relevant card order and card values. If a declaration appears, check its definition and timing. If the result concerns the end of a round, check the last-trick points, the complete-match addition and the order in which Weis, Stöck and tricks are counted. Stöck needs a timing check of its own. The king and Ober of the trump suit must be in one hand. The declaration is made while playing the second of those cards. Speaking after the next player has covered that card loses the 20 points, and partners may not remind each other. This is a procedure rule as well as a scoring rule, so a final total cannot prove that the procedure was followed. Readers should also check whether a page describes general practice or an app setting. Targets used in practice include 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000. The app offers 1000 and 2500. A difference between those lists is not automatically a contradiction. The page may be distinguishing broader game practice from an application setting. A useful report identifies the exact point of disagreement. Send the page concerned, the passage that appears wrong and the Swiss source or regional practice supporting the correction. If the issue concerns a calculation, include the contract, the declarations and the relevant trick result so that the case can be compared with the pinned reference cases. The [contact page](https://jasvel.org/contact/) gives the route for sending a report. A correction is easier to assess when the report separates three matters: a source disagreement, a wording ambiguity and an implementation mismatch. Those categories may require different changes even when they appear in the same passage. > **Figure caption:** A correction follows the rule from source to stated value, tested case and displayed result. The review process does not quietly choose a new regional rule. If a source shows that the published wording is too broad, the page can narrow its scope. If another Swiss practice is established, the page can name the variant. If the app and site disagree with the shared table, the pinned cases can show where the implementation has diverged. For a scoring report, provide a worked sequence rather than only a final total. State the contract, identify any Weis, explain whether Stöck was available and record when the relevant card was played. Then show the trick result and the target-crossing order. That information allows the rule, source and implementation to be checked separately. The method leaves room for correction without making the reference unstable. The current wording states the rule being followed. The source note explains its basis. The regional note preserves a meaningful alternative. The test cases protect the implementation. Reader reports then improve the record through evidence rather than unmarked preference. The short answer Jasvel presents Jass as a documented reference, not as a single regional rule sheet. Swiss sources, named variants, shared values and tested examples show how each rule leads to its score. ## Questions ### Why does the reference name Swiss sources and regional variants? Jass rules vary by contract, source and regional practice. Naming the source and variant shows the scope of a rule instead of presenting one table as universal. Readers can then compare the published practice with the rules they know. ### What does a pinned reference case record? A pinned reference case records a defined position and the result that the rules engine must reproduce. The collection contains 281 cases. The cases help detect changes in implementation without replacing the sources that explain the rules. ### Why is Stöck tested separately from Weis? Stöck has its own definition, value and declaration timing. The 20 points belong to the team regardless of the Weis comparison, and the declaration must be made while playing the second card. Stöck is absent from Obenabe and Undenufe. ### Can a figure introduce a value missing from the prose? No. A figure may use only numbers already stated on the page where the figure appears. Readers should be able to check the figure without inferring an extra value or a hidden regional assumption. ### Why do English explanations retain Swiss German terms? Terms such as Weis, Stöck, Puur and Nell identify rules and cards used in Swiss Jass sources. A short English gloss gives the meaning while preserving the terms used at the table and in the source material. ### How should a reader report a possible scoring error? Send the relevant page, the disputed passage and the source or regional practice supporting the correction through the [contact page](page:contact). For a calculation issue, include the contract, declarations, card timing and trick result so the case can be checked precisely. ## Sources 1. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 2. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod 3. [Jass-Regeln: Schieber-Jass](https://www.swisslos.ch/de/jass/informationen/jass-regeln/schieber-jass.html) — Swisslos ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [The Jasvel app](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) This offline Jass app recreates four-handed Schieber with computer opponents, full scoring, both decks and pass-and-play on one device. - [Contact](https://jasvel.org/contact/) Use the published Jasvel contact email for rules corrections, scoreboard reports and questions about the offline app. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/about/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass rules API: free JSON, MCP and A2A endpoints** > Keyless JSON for Schieber Jass — card values, Weis, the three multiplier tables, scoring and the glossary. CC BY 4.0, CORS-open, with an MCP server and markdown twins. Source: https://jasvel.org/api/ · updated: 2026-09-17 # Free, keyless JSON for the rules of Schieber Jass Everything the pages on this site assert about the game is also published as machine-readable data: card values in all four columns, the melds, the three multiplier tables Swiss tables actually use, the written score, and the vocabulary. No key, no account, no rate limit, CC BY 4.0 with attribution. ## What is published Seven datasets, each a static JSON file rebuilt with the site. Every one of them carries the same envelope — who published it, under what licence, which Swiss rule sets it was checked against, what this data will not answer, and what is deliberately not in it — so a consumer that has read one payload can read all of them. - [`card-values.json`](https://jasvel.org/api/v1/card-values.json) — Points in all four columns, the three strength ladders, and the 152 that checks a deal. - [`weis.json`](https://jasvel.org/api/v1/weis.json) — Every meld with its value, and the five rules about Weis that are most often got wrong. - [`contracts.json`](https://jasvel.org/api/v1/contracts.json) — The six contracts and three published multiplier tables, with the bodies that publish each. - [`scoring.json`](https://jasvel.org/api/v1/scoring.json) — The order of operations, the Jasstafel notation, the Coiffeur sheet and the Differenzler round. - [`glossary.json`](https://jasvel.org/api/v1/glossary.json) — Every word used at a Jass table, defined in English, German and French. - [`pages.json`](https://jasvel.org/api/v1/pages.json) — Every indexable page in three languages with its self-contained bottom line and markdown twin. - [`jasvel.json`](https://jasvel.org/api/v1/jasvel.json) — The offline Schieber app, with an explicit list of what it has no support for. The entry point is [`/api/v1/index.json`](https://jasvel.org/api/v1/index.json), the machine description is [OpenAPI 3.1](https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json), and [`status.json`](https://jasvel.org/api/v1/status.json) says when the files were last rebuilt. Every response sends `Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *`, so a browser can read them directly. ## Read these three things before you quote any of it These are the mistakes that produce a confident, fluent, wrong answer — and each of them appears somewhere in the results for the same question, which is precisely why they are worth stating here rather than assuming. ### The multiplier belongs to the table, not to the game Schieber is a folk game with no governing body, and the contract multiplier is genuinely contested. The table most Swiss players write, and the one the Jasvel app writes by default, gives Obenabe ×3 and Undenufe ×4. The Swiss Jassverzeichnis and Swisslos both publish a table that gives both no-trump contracts ×3. A third, ascending table runs one to six across all six contracts. All three are real. So `contracts.json` ships every table with the bodies that publish it, and marks none of them correct. If you are scoring a round, ask which table is in use. If you are reporting a figure, say which table produced it. An answer that names one multiplier as *the* rule is wrong for a large share of the people who will read it, and the people it is wrong for are exactly the ones who will notice. ### Undenufe inverts the trick and never the meld Undenufe turns the strength order upside down: the six becomes the strongest card in every suit and the ace the weakest, worth nothing at all. It does not touch Weis. A sequence is still counted on the natural ladder in every contract, so a hand holding the six, seven and eight of one suit is worth the same twenty points whether the round is a trump contract, Obenabe or Undenufe. This is the single most common scoring mistake at a beginner's table and it survives into a great deal of what is written about the game. ### The factor applies to the whole sum, not to the tricks Trick points, Weis and Stöck are added together first, and the *total* is multiplied by the contract factor. Multiplying the trick points and adding the melds afterwards is the most expensive arithmetic error in Schieber: a round of 100 in tricks, 50 in Weis and 20 for Stöck under a ×4 contract is worth 680, not 470. `scoring.json` carries that worked example alongside the common error, so an implementation can be checked against it directly. ## What the fields mean The semantics below are the part a schema cannot carry, and they are what a consumer actually needs in order to use the numbers without misreading them. ### `points` in card-values.json Four columns per rank: `trump`, `plain`, `obenabe` and `undenufe`. The first two are both in play during a trump contract — the suit that was made trump uses the trump column and the other three suits use the plain one. Read a card's value with only the contract and you will give the Under 20 points in a plain suit, which is an 18-point error on a single card and the most commonly reproduced mistake in published Jass tables. The totals are arithmetic you can redo: 62 in the trump column plus three plain columns of 30 is 152, and four Obenabe or Undenufe columns of 38 is also 152. Every contract puts the same 152 card points in the pack. Add 5 for the last trick and a round holds 157; add 100 for taking all nine tricks and the maximum before the multiplier is 257. ### `strength_order` Strongest first, so index 0 is the card that takes the trick. Three ladders: the trump ladder led by the Under and the Nell, the ordinary ladder used by plain suits and by Obenabe, and the inverted one used by Undenufe. A trump beats any plain card whatever its rank, so resolve the trump pool before looking at the suit that was led — a comparison that checks the led suit first will hand the trick to an ace that was cut. ### `points` and the comparison in weis.json A meld's value is a property of the hand. Which team *writes* it is not: only the team holding the single best meld writes anything at all, and it then writes every meld both partners hold. The losing team writes nothing, however much it was holding. The comparison runs points, then the number of cards in the meld, then the higher top card, then whether the meld is in the trump suit, then the distance from the forehand. The last two need the seating and the contract, which an API request does not carry, so an honest answer stops at the top card and says the table decides the rest. Stöck — the King and Ober of the trump suit in one hand — is worth 20 and is not a Weis. It is written by whoever holds it whatever the other team melded, it does not enter the comparison, and it does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe because neither names a trump suit. It is declared while playing the *second* of the two cards; declared on the first, or after the next player has covered the second, the points are lost. ### `factors` in contracts.json Keyed by engine suit code — `e`, `r`, `s`, `i` for Eicheln, Rosen, Schellen and Schilten — plus `top` and `bottom` for Obenabe and Undenufe. The factor binds to the suit's position in that order and never to the printed picture, which is why a table playing with the French-suited pack scores exactly the same as one playing with the Swiss-German pack. The suits correspond one to one: acorns to clubs, roses to hearts, bells to diamonds, shields to spades. ### `bottom_line` in pages.json Each row carries the paragraph that page was written to be quoted from without the rest of its context. If you need one sentence from this site, take that one. Each row also carries the URL of the page's markdown twin, which is the same text as the HTML at roughly a tenth of the bytes. The three language versions are written separately rather than translated, because the vocabulary of this game does not survive translation: a Romandie player says *chibrer* and *annonces* around Swiss-German words that stay Swiss-German, and a translation pass flattens exactly those words. Do not treat the German or French rows as translations of the English ones when comparing them. ## Markdown instead of HTML Every indexable page on this site has a markdown twin, served two ways because agent stacks are split roughly evenly between them: ``` GET https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/index.md GET https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/ with Accept: text/markdown ``` [`/llms.txt`](https://jasvel.org/llms.txt) indexes every page; [`/llms-full.txt`](https://jasvel.org/llms-full.txt) carries the full text of the rules layer, the tools and this page in one file. ## MCP and A2A `https://jasvel.org/mcp` is a read-only MCP server over JSON-RPC 2.0. It looks values up in the datasets above and, more usefully, it *computes*: it will resolve a trick, find every meld in a hand, apply a contract factor to a round and write a total out as the marks a chalk board carries. Every tool returns the assumption alongside the answer — above all, which multiplier table was used — so a result can be checked rather than trusted, and every tool returns the page it came from so an agent that used it still has something to cite. `https://jasvel.org/a2a` answers the same questions in plain language over the same data. Both are described in [the server card](https://jasvel.org/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json) and [the agent card](https://jasvel.org/.well-known/agent-card.json). There is no authentication, nothing is written, nothing is spent, and no user data is reachable — which is why [`/auth.md`](https://jasvel.org/auth.md) declares an anonymous identity with no registration endpoint rather than inventing one. ## Licence, and what is not here The compilation is [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): use it commercially, modify it, redistribute it, and credit Jasvel with a link. The rules of the game themselves belong to nobody — no one owns the fact that the Under is worth twenty — and nothing in these files is licensed in from a third party, which is why they can be given away outright. The Swiss rule sets named in every payload are cited so that a disputed number can be checked at its own source; their prose is theirs and is not reproduced. Three things are deliberately absent, and each payload says so rather than leaving a gap that reads as an oversight. The computer opponents' card-play logic is the app rather than the rules. Nothing played in the app is published, because the app is offline and keeps its game state on the device, so there is nothing on a server that could be published. And the Jasvel app has no online play, no multiplayer and no human opponents — that is the app's own published contract, it is repeated in `jasvel.json`, and an agent that tells a reader otherwise has promised something that does not exist. Questions, corrections and a note if you build something with it: [support@jasvel.org](mailto:support@jasvel.org). If a number here disagrees with your table, it is worth telling us — a regional variant we have not recorded is a gap in the data rather than a difference of opinion. The rules pages are at [the rules hub](https://jasvel.org/rules/), and the five scoreboards these tables drive are at [the tools hub](https://jasvel.org/tools/). --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/api/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Swiss Jass Schieber rules and scoring guide** > Learn Swiss Jass Schieber rules, contracts, card values, Weis, Stöck, scoring, regional variants and the offline app in clear English. Source: https://jasvel.org/ # Swiss Jass: the rules, the reckoning, and a Schieber table for your phone Every rule of Schieber written out with the numbers it actually uses, every regional variant named instead of quietly picked, and free scoreboards you can open at the table. Jasvel, the app, plays the same game offline against three computer opponents. - [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) - [Jasstafel scoreboard](https://jasvel.org/tools/jasstafel-scoreboard/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ![The Jasvel table in play: a nine-card hand at the bottom, the trump banner across the middle and the running match score on the slate.](https://jasvel.org/img/app/table-french.webp) 36 cards 9 each 157 points a round 1000 to win ## A computer that does not look at your hand Every computer seat in Jasvel — your partner included — decides from what it can legally see: its own nine cards, the cards already played, how many cards everyone still holds, and the score. There is no difficulty setting that peeks, because the type the engine hands to a computer player physically cannot hold another hand. It is the one claim in this niche worth making, and it is the one most easily checked. Free, in the browser ## Keep the score without keeping the chalk Four scoreboards and a rules arbiter. Nothing is sent anywhere and nothing needs an account — open one at the table and close it when the round ends. [Jasstafel scoreboard A Jass scoreboard records each team’s round, applies the agreed factor and displays the result in traditional Jasstafel notation.](https://jasvel.org/tools/jasstafel-scoreboard/) - [Weis calculator](https://jasvel.org/tools/weis-calculator/) Compare a Weis by points, card count, highest card, trump suit and seat position, then confirm the winning meld at the table. - [Coiffeur scoresheet](https://jasvel.org/tools/coiffeur-scoresheet/) A Coiffeur scoresheet records each contract once, keeps only the tens of every round and uses the printed factor for the selected column. - [Differenzler scoresheet](https://jasvel.org/tools/differenzler-scoresheet/) Record the target, the scored blocks and the trick result, then check the 157-point base total before carrying the game forward. - [Who wins the trick](https://jasvel.org/tools/who-wins-the-trick/) The strongest card in the controlling suit takes the trick, with the contract deciding the rank order and any trump taking priority. ## Which cards you play with depends on where you are sitting *The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line is the border between the two decks: east of it Jass is played with Swiss-German cards — bells, shields, roses, acorns — and west of it with French ones. The Swiss National Museum traces the same line back to the frontier between the Duchy of Swabia and the Kingdom of Burgundy. Boundaries: swisstopo. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* [Swiss or French cards](https://jasvel.org/rules/swiss-or-french-cards/) ## Learn the game, one rule at a time Each page answers one question completely, with the numbers the Swiss sources publish and the variants named where tables disagree. 1. 01 [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) Learn the complete Schieber Jass round, from dealing and schieben to following suit, declarations, multipliers and the winning score. 2. 02 [Card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) Jass card values depend on the contract, but every deal contains 152 card points before the 5-point last-trick bonus. 3. 03 [Weis](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/) Jass Weis compares declared melds, and only the team with the single best meld scores Weis for both partners. 4. 04 [Stöck](https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/) Stöck is the 20-point combination of the trump king and Ober in one hand, declared as you play the second card. 5. 05 [Trumpf, Obenabe, Undenufe](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) The forehand selects a suit, Obenabe or Undenufe, and that contract fixes card strength, card values and the multiplier for the round. 6. 06 [Following suit](https://jasvel.org/rules/following-suit/) Farbzwang requires the led suit when possible; trump rules then decide whether you must overtrump, may undertrump or can keep the Puur. 7. 07 [Schieben](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieben/) Schieben passes the contract choice from the forehand to the partner once, while the forehand remains responsible for leading the opening trick. 8. 08 [Writing the score](https://jasvel.org/rules/jasstafel-scoring/) A Jasstafel records each team’s score with grouped strokes, symbols and a remainder, then preserves the order in which a target is reached. 9. 09 [Match and target](https://jasvel.org/rules/match-and-target-score/) A Jass game ends when a team reaches its target, but a close round is decided by the order in which each score block is counted. 10. 10 [Dealing and seating](https://jasvel.org/rules/dealing-and-seating/) Seat partners opposite, deal counter-clockwise in groups of three, and let the player on the dealer’s right choose the contract and lead. 11. 11 [How to play Jass](https://jasvel.org/rules/how-to-play-jass/) Learn one complete round of Jass, from the deal and contract to legal tricks, card points, bonuses and the final entry on the Jasstafel. 12. 12 [Swiss or French cards](https://jasvel.org/rules/swiss-or-french-cards/) Swiss-German and French cards belong to the same Jass tradition: regional symbols differ, but the suits, ranks and scoring positions correspond. 13. 13 [What Jass is](https://jasvel.org/rules/what-is-jass/) Jass is a Swiss family of trick-taking games for four players, using a 36-card pack, fixed partnerships, contracts and nine tricks. ![Choosing the contract: four suit buttons with Obenabe, Undenufe and Schieben below them.](https://jasvel.org/img/app/choose-trump.webp) ![The built-in rules screen, showing the trump order drawn with the app's own cards.](https://jasvel.org/img/app/rules.webp) ## The app A Schieber table for one player and three computer opponents. It is finished; the store listings are not open yet. - Both decks — Swiss-German and French — and the full score with Weis, Stöck, match and the multipliers - Trump suits, Obenabe and Undenufe, schieben, and pass-and-play on one device - No account, no advertising, no data collected, and it works with the aeroplane mode on [The Jasvel app](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon About this site ## What does a Swiss Jass reference explain? A Swiss Jass reference explains the complete Schieber rules in English, from the deal and contract choice to trick play, declarations and the final score. The guide is written for readers outside Switzerland, including Swiss diaspora and experienced card-game players who know trick-taking games but not Swiss Jass terminology. Schieber is the partnership form of Swiss Jass. Four players form two fixed teams, with partners sitting opposite each other. Each player receives 9 cards from a 36-card pack, and the round contains 9 tricks. Cards are dealt three at a time, play runs counter-clockwise and the dealer rotates after each round. The forehand is the player to the dealer's right. The forehand chooses the contract and leads the first trick. The forehand may also pass the choice to the partner exactly once. This action is called Schieber, meaning the passing of the contract choice. The partner must then choose the contract and may not pass the choice back. The guide keeps Swiss German terms of art instead of replacing them with loose English equivalents. Obenabe means a high-card contract, while Undenufe means a low-card contract. Weis means declared card combinations. Stöck means the king and Ober of the trump suit held together in one hand. The terms remain distinct because they affect different parts of the game. A player who knows another trick-taking game can understand the broad structure quickly, but the details determine the result. The first decision belongs to the forehand. The contract determines the card order and the scoring context. The last trick has its own bonus. Weis and Stöck follow declaration rules, and Stöck depends on the timing of the second card. The [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) page gives those details in a form that you can consult before a game or during a disputed play. It does not reduce the game to a short list of card values. It explains who acts, what each choice means and what consequence follows when a player misses a required moment. The reference also separates rules from tools. A score screen can record a result, but it cannot decide which regional rule a table follows. The rule pages therefore explain the practice first, then show how a player can use the scoreboards or app without confusing equipment with the rules themselves. ## Which Swiss Jass variants does the reference cover? The reference covers Schieber, Obenabe and Undenufe as named forms of Swiss Jass. Schieber uses a contract choice passed between partners at most once, while Obenabe and Undenufe are non-trump contracts with different card orders. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. Schieber is the form most closely associated with fixed partnerships and the passing decision. The forehand chooses a contract or pushes the choice to the partner. Once the partner receives that choice, the partner must decide and cannot push it back. The action changes who makes the contract decision, but it does not create another opportunity to pass. Obenabe and Undenufe require careful wording because their names describe the direction of the card order. Obenabe gives priority to higher cards. Undenufe gives priority to lower cards. Neither contract uses a trump suit, so the trump-specific Stöck declaration is not available. A rule that applies to a trump contract must not be carried into either of these forms without qualification. Swiss Jass practice varies between regions, families, clubs and published rule tables. One table may record a rule differently from another while both traditions remain established forms of play. The reference names the regional variants where they matter and identifies disagreements instead of presenting one table as the only correct version. That distinction helps readers compare a local game with a published description. A player who learned Jass from relatives in Switzerland may recognise a rule that differs from a club table or another canton. The guide does not erase that difference. It tells you which practice the page describes and where another named variant changes the result. The glossary gives short explanations for the language used across the pages. Puur means the jack in a trump suit, and Nell means the 9 of the trump suit. [Swiss Jass vocabulary](https://jasvel.org/jass-glossary/) supplies the basic meaning of these terms, while the rule pages explain how the cards behave in a contract. Weis and Stöck also need separate treatment. Weis concerns declared combinations. Stöck concerns the king and Ober of the trump suit held in one hand, and its 20 points belong to the team regardless of the Weis comparison. Stöck is therefore not simply another Weis entry, and it cannot be assumed in Obenabe or Undenufe. ## How does Swiss Jass scoring work? Swiss Jass scoring begins with 152 card points in the 36-card pack, plus 5 points for the last trick. A normal round therefore contains 157 points before any match bonus. The team that wins all 9 tricks receives an additional 100 points, giving 257 points for the match. Each player receives 9 cards, so the deal produces 9 tricks. Card points come from the cards won in those tricks. The last-trick bonus is added separately. A team that takes every trick receives the 100-point match bonus. These parts explain the basic trick total before the table considers Weis, Stöck or the target. **Stöck** means holding the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand. The player declares Stöck while playing the second of those 2 cards, not while playing the first. The declaration must happen at that moment. If the next player has already covered the second card before the declaration is spoken, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other to declare Stöck. The obligation belongs to the player holding the cards. The rule therefore rewards accurate timing rather than a later correction. Stöck is credited to the team regardless of the Weis comparison, but it exists only when the round has a trump suit. Obenabe and Undenufe have no Stöck. Targets used in practice include 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000. The app offers 1000 and 2500. These target choices describe different practices and app settings, not a universal target for every Swiss Jass table. When a round takes a team past the target, the points are counted in a fixed order: **Weis first, then Stöck, then tricks**. A team crossing the target in an earlier block wins. For example, a team may cross the target during the Weis block even if the other team would have reached the target through Stöck or trick points later in the same round. The comparison follows the scoring blocks rather than only the final combined total. The [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) page keeps the card order and card points together, while the scoring guidance explains the last trick, the match bonus, declarations and target crossings. If a regional table uses a different practice, the relevant page identifies that variant rather than hiding it inside one unexplained total. ## Which Swiss Jass tools can I use at the table? The site provides free browser scoreboards for recording a Swiss Jass game at the table. A scoreboard keeps team totals visible and reduces the need to calculate every addition by hand. It records the result that players enter; it does not replace the rule that determines how the result should be counted. The [Jasstafel scoreboard](https://jasvel.org/tools/jasstafel-scoreboard/) follows the language of the game. Jasstafel means a Jass scoreboard. You can use the tool to record trick points, Weis, Stöck, the match bonus and the progress towards the chosen target. The scoreboard is most useful when the players have already agreed which regional rules govern the game. A score entry still needs a rule behind it. If a table disputes the value of a declaration or the treatment of a regional variant, the scoreboard cannot settle that question by itself. The reference pages provide the explanation, and the Jasstafel provides a clear place to record the agreed result. The app provides an offline way to play through the same game. It follows the structure described in the reference: 4 players form 2 fixed teams, partners sit opposite each other, cards are dealt three at a time, play runs counter-clockwise and the dealer rotates after each round. The app supports the 1000 and 2500 targets. Practice tables may instead use 1500 or 3000. The app's target choices therefore describe its available settings and do not claim that every table uses the same target. The app is not a place to play against other people. It does not provide a shared table, a meeting place or a way for separate players to connect. The browser scoreboards have the same limited purpose: they record a game already being played rather than arranging play between different people. The [app page](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) explains the app's offline role and its supported settings. You can use the rule pages to learn the game, the Jasstafel to record a table's score and the app to play through the same form of Jass offline. Each tool has a defined purpose, so the description does not promise features that the publisher does not provide. ## How are the Swiss Jass rules organised and compared? The Swiss Jass rules are organised from published Swiss sources and compared where their descriptions differ. The pages preserve Swiss German terms of art, explain the action at the table and identify the regional practice attached to a disputed rule. The result is a reference that shows its basis instead of presenting an unexplained summary. Each rule page begins with the information needed for the decision in front of the player. It identifies who acts, which cards matter, when the choice must be made and what happens if the required timing is missed. This structure is especially useful in Schieber, where the forehand may pass the contract choice to the partner exactly once, but the partner must choose and may not pass it back. The deal and seating rules establish the order of play. Partners sit opposite each other. The forehand sits to the dealer's right, chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Cards are dealt three at a time, play runs counter-clockwise and the dealer rotates each round. A short summary can easily omit one of these details, even though each one affects who makes the first decision. The reference keeps shared rules separate from regional rules. Where published tables agree, the guide states the common practice directly. Where they differ, the guide names the variant and explains its consequence. It does not silently choose one regional table and describe every other table as incorrect. The vocabulary follows the same method. Schieber is the passing choice. Obenabe and Undenufe name the high-card and low-card non-trump contracts. Weis means declared card combinations. Stöck means the king and Ober of the trump suit held in one hand. Puur and Nell identify important trump cards when the card order requires those terms. Timing receives the same attention as card value. A player declares Stöck while playing the second of the 2 cards, not the first. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind one another. The rule page presents that sequence as part of the play, not as an optional note after the score. The reference is designed for repeated use. A new reader can follow the game from the deal onwards. An experienced player can check a term or a regional difference. A table can consult the scoring order before a target crossing and then use the Jasstafel to record the agreed result. ## Questions ### Can a player pass the contract choice more than once in Schieber? No. The forehand may pass the choice to the partner exactly once. The partner must choose the contract and may not pass the choice back. ### Who leads the first trick in Swiss Jass? The forehand leads the first trick. The forehand is the player sitting to the dealer's right, and the dealer rotates after each round. ### What happens if a player forgets to declare Stöck in time? The player must declare Stöck while playing the second card of the king-and-Ober pair. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. ### Does a team receive Stöck points even if it loses the Weis comparison? Yes. Stöck is worth 20 points and is credited to its team regardless of the Weis comparison. The declaration applies only to the king and Ober of the trump suit held in one hand. ### How many points are available in a Swiss Jass round? The pack contains 152 card points, and the last trick adds 5 points, making 157 points. Winning all 9 tricks adds a 100-point match bonus, producing 257 points for the match. ### Which target settings does the app provide? The app provides target settings of 1000 and 2500. Swiss Jass practice also includes 1500 and 3000, but those targets are not listed as app settings here. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass Terms, Card Names and Scoring Rules** > Learn the Swiss German terms for Jass cards, contracts, Weis, Stöck and scoring, with French equivalents and regional notes for readers abroad. Source: https://jasvel.org/jass-glossary/ [Home](https://jasvel.org/) # Jass terms glossary Learn the Swiss German names for Jass cards, contracts, melds and scoring, with French equivalents and regional notes for readers outside Switzerland. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## Why are Swiss German terms used in Jass? Jass uses a Swiss German vocabulary for its cards, contracts and scoring rules. French-speaking players may discuss the game in French, but many technical terms remain Swiss German at the table. A reader can therefore encounter Swiss German words beside French explanations without facing a different game. The original term often carries a more exact meaning than a direct translation. A translation may identify a card or action in general terms, while the Swiss German word points to the convention used in Jass. **Weis**, for example, means a meld declared during the opening trick. **Stöck** identifies the king and Ober of the trump suit held in one hand. Keeping the original words visible makes rules easier to compare across regions. French-speaking Switzerland has its own vocabulary alongside the Swiss German terms. The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line divides the country for card traditions: Swiss-German cards are used to the east, and French cards are used to the west. The suit systems correspond exactly. Schellen means bells and corresponds to diamonds, Schilten means shields and corresponds to spades, Rosen means roses and corresponds to hearts, and Eicheln means acorns and corresponds to clubs. The court cards follow the same correspondence. Swiss-German cards use Under, Ober and König. The French deck uses jack, queen and king. The Under has a special name in trump: **Puur**. The printed design changes between decks, but the suit position and card role remain the same. The multiplier binds to the suit position, never to the picture printed on the card. Choosing the French deck therefore changes nothing about the score. A player who moves between the two card systems does not need to learn a separate set of card values or contract values. Regional speech can still affect pronunciation, preferred wording and the French twin used for a term. Such differences do not automatically signal a different rule. A regional rule must be named as a variant rather than treated as universal. The [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) place the vocabulary in the standard partnership format, while the [card values guide](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) explains the strength and value attached to each card. Use the Swiss German term first when reading a rule, then use the gloss to identify its function. That method helps an English-speaking reader recognise the same word in a rules explanation, a card description or a conversation at a table. Jass vocabulary remains part of the game’s structure, not merely a collection of local nicknames. *The trump suit as it is actually held: the Under (Puur) on the left beats the nine (Nell), and both beat the ace. Nothing else in the pack reorders itself like this, which is why the trump choice is the decision of the round. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How are Jass cards named and ranked? Jass cards are identified by suit, rank and the contract in force. Card strength changes between trump, plain suits, Obenabe and Undenufe. A player must therefore establish the contract before deciding which card wins a trick. The trump suit has the following order from strongest to weakest: Under, nine, ace, king, Ober, ten, eight, seven and six. The trump Under is the **Puur**, and the trump nine is the **Nell**. These names describe the special trump cards rather than adding cards to the pack. A trump Puur beats every other trump card, and the Nell follows directly below it. Plain suits use a different order: ace, king, Ober, Under, ten, nine, eight, seven and six. **Obenabe** means the top-down contract and follows that plain-suit order. Obenabe has no trump suit, so the Puur and Nell do not receive their trump strength. The printed rank still matters, but the trump names do not create a separate high-card order in Obenabe. **Undenufe** means the bottom-up contract and reverses the whole trick ladder. The order from strongest to weakest is six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Under, Ober, king and ace. A six can therefore win against every higher printed rank in the same suit under Undenufe. A player who carries the ordinary ace-high order into Undenufe will misread the trick. Weis uses a separate order from trick-taking. Sequences always count in the natural order from six to ace, even in Undenufe. A sequence that is read naturally for Weis does not become reversed merely because the six is strongest in the tricks. Card strength and meld order must be kept separate. The four Swiss-German suits are Schellen, Schilten, Rosen and Eicheln. The French equivalents are diamonds, spades, hearts and clubs, in the same suit positions. The multiplier follows the position of the suit rather than its printed symbol, so a French-suited card has the same rule role as its Swiss-German counterpart. A worked example shows why the contract matters. In a plain suit, the ace is above the king and the Ober. In Undenufe, the six is above the seven, while the ace is at the bottom. In trump, neither the plain-suit order nor the Undenufe order applies: the Puur is highest and the Nell is next. The [card values guide](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) gives the complete ranking in a form suitable for checking during play. *The two decks are the same 36 cards under different signs, and the multiplier follows the position, never the picture — so choosing the French deck changes nothing about the score. The Swiss court cards are Under, Ober and König where the French deck has jack, queen and king. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What do Weis and Stöck mean in Jass scoring? **Weis** is the Jass meld system, and the best meld is announced on the first trick. Each player states only the value of the player’s best meld while playing a card, in turn. The team that holds the single best Weis shows the actual cards on the second trick, and only then are the points certain. A sequence in one suit scores according to its length. A sequence of 3 cards scores 20, 4 cards scores 50, 5 cards scores 100, 6 cards scores 150, 7 cards scores 200, 8 cards scores 250 and 9 cards scores 300. Four of a kind has a separate scale: four Under cards score 200, four Nell cards score 150, and four aces, kings, Obers or tens score 100. Four sixes, sevens or eights are worth nothing as Weis. A card may belong to a sequence and to a four of a kind at the same time. The overlap does not allow both teams to write. Only the team holding the single best Weis writes anything, and that team writes both partners’ melds together. The other team writes nothing, even after announcing a meld. Comparison follows a fixed order. Points come first. If points are equal, the meld with more cards wins. If the card count is also equal, the highest card in the meld decides. A meld in the trump suit then takes priority, followed by seat position relative to the forehand. Weis always reads sequences in natural order from six to ace, including in Undenufe. Partners must keep meld information private from one another. A player may not tell a partner about a meld or ask a partner about one. Only the announced values are public during the first trick. A player says “twenty”, “fifty” or “a hundred”, rather than naming the cards behind the declaration. **Stöck** means holding the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand. Stöck scores 20 and belongs to the team regardless of the Weis comparison. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. The player declares Stöck while playing the second of the two cards, not the first. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other. The [Weis rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/) set out meld declarations and comparison. The [Stöck reference](https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/) covers the second-card timing. The terms belong to separate parts of the score, so a correct declaration must also be made at the correct moment. *A chalk Jasstafel counts in rows, not in columns: hundreds on top, fifties in the middle, twenties at the bottom, each written left to right. The fifth stroke is drawn across the four before it — two strokes across for the fifties. Anything the strokes cannot express is a plain number in the lower right, and it may be negative. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How is Jass scoring described beyond card names? Jass scoring language describes card points, Weis, Stöck, tricks and the target. A round uses a 36-card pack, with 9 cards dealt to each of 4 players. The round contains 9 tricks. The pack provides 152 card points, and the last trick adds 5 points, giving 157 points for the cards and last trick in a round. A team that wins all 9 tricks receives an additional 100 points. A round in which one team takes all 9 tricks therefore has 257 available points before any Weis or Stöck is added. The terms for these scoring blocks matter because the final result does not depend only on the number of tricks won. Targets used in practice include 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000. The app offers 1000 and 2500. A target is checked after a round, and the scoring blocks are counted in a fixed order when a team passes the target. Weis is counted first, Stöck second and tricks third. A team that crosses the target in an earlier block wins. The order can decide a close finish. Suppose a team has enough points to pass the target after Weis is counted, while the other team would pass only after its Stöck or tricks are counted. The earlier crossing decides the result. The rule does not compare the final totals after every block has been added; the order of Weis, Stöck and tricks controls the decision. **Schieber** names a partnership form of Jass in which the contract and play follow the rules of that format. **Obenabe** and **Undenufe** are contracts, not card names. Obenabe uses the ace-high plain-suit order. Undenufe uses the inverted order from six down to ace. Stöck is available with a trump contract, but not with Obenabe or Undenufe. The word **Jasstafel** means a Jass score board or scoring record. A Jasstafel helps players keep the separate blocks visible, especially when a team declares Weis, declares Stöck and wins tricks in the same round. The record should preserve the order used to determine a target crossing rather than showing only one combined total. The [contract guide](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) explains the contract names and their ranking systems. The [Jass boundary](https://jasvel.org/rules/swiss-or-french-cards/) gives the regional card context behind Swiss-German and French suits. Together, the vocabulary and the score rules show why a translated summary can miss details: a term may identify a declaration, a card order, a regional practice or the precise point at which a result is decided. Jass The family of Swiss trick-taking card games played with 36 cards, and the national card game of Switzerland. Schieber is its most played form. Schieber Jass for four players in two fixed teams, named after the right of the forehand to push the choice of contract across to their partner exactly once. Trumpf The suit that beats every other suit for the round. Its Under is worth 20 and its nine 14, so the trump suit alone holds 62 of the 152 card points. Obenabe A contract with no trump in which the cards keep their ordinary strength, ace high. Every eight is worth 8 points, and the pack still totals 152. Undenufe A contract with no trump played upside down: the six is the strongest card and the ace the weakest. The six is worth 11 and the ace nothing. Weis A meld shown on the first trick: three or more cards in sequence in one suit, or four of a kind. Only the team holding the single best Weis writes anything, and it writes both partners’ melds. Stöck The king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand, worth 20 points. It is credited to that team whatever happens with Weis, and it does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. Puur Under The Under of the trump suit — the highest card in the pack during a trump contract, worth 20 points. A player is never forced to play it. Nell The nine of the trump suit, the second highest card in a trump contract and worth 14 points. Outside the trump suit a nine is worth nothing. Banner The ten, worth 10 points in every contract. In the strength order it sits below the Under and above the nine, which surprises players who come from other card games. Ober The Swiss-German court card that corresponds to the queen of a French deck, worth 3 points. Stich One round of four cards, one from each player. The winner leads the next; the ninth and last trick is worth 5 extra points. Match All nine tricks taken by one team, worth 100 points on top of the round, for a total of 257. Jasstafel The slate board the score is chalked on, divided into two columns. Hundreds are written on the top row, fifties in the middle and twenties at the bottom. Schieben Pushing the choice of contract across the table to your partner, who must then choose. It may be done once and never pushed back. Farbzwang The obligation to follow the suit that was led if you hold it. In a trump contract you may play a trump instead, but you may not discard another suit. Untertrumpfen Playing a trump lower than a trump already on the trick. It is forbidden unless your hand is nothing but trumps, in which case you must. Vorderhand forehand The player to the dealer’s right, who chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Play runs counter-clockwise, which is why it is the right and not the left. Coiffeur A Schieber variant in which nobody chooses: each team plays every contract exactly once, each with its own factor, and only the tens of a round are written down. Differenzler A Jass for four individuals in which each predicts their own trick points before the first card. The difference between prediction and result is the score, and the lowest total wins. Slalom A Coiffeur contract that alternates between Obenabe and Undenufe from trick to trick, starting with whichever the name specifies. Guschti A Coiffeur contract of five tricks one way and four the other — five Obenabe then four Undenufe, or the reverse. Also called Mary or Gusti. Bock A free choice of contract in Coiffeur, usually printed as a joker column and carrying the highest factor on the sheet. Jassgrenze The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line, east of which Jass is played with Swiss-German cards and west of which the French deck is used. Schellen The bells: the Swiss-German suit that corresponds to diamonds in a French deck. Schilten The shields: the Swiss-German suit that corresponds to spades. Rosen The roses: the Swiss-German suit that corresponds to hearts. Eicheln The acorns: the Swiss-German suit that corresponds to clubs. Handjass Jass for two players, dealt from the hand with a talon, keeping the trump ranking and the melds of the four-handed game. Bergpreis A side prize in some tournaments for the team leading when the score passes the halfway mark of the target. The short answer Jass vocabulary remains largely Swiss German, even at a French-speaking table. The terms identify card ranks, contracts, melds, declarations and scoring events, while regional usage can vary. The French deck changes the printed suits, not the rules or values. ## Questions ### What is the Swiss German name for the trump Under? The trump Under is called the Puur. The Puur is the strongest card in the trump suit, ahead of the Nell and every other trump card. ### Which cards form Stöck? Stöck consists of the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand. The player must declare Stöck while playing the second of those cards. ### How many points does a 5-card Weis sequence score? A sequence of 5 cards in one suit scores 100 Weis points. The sequence must be held by the team that has the single best Weis. ### Does Undenufe reverse the order used for Weis? No. Undenufe reverses trick strength, making the six strongest and the ace weakest. Weis still reads sequences in natural order from six to ace. ### Which Swiss-German suit corresponds to hearts? Rosen corresponds to hearts in the French deck. Schellen corresponds to diamonds, Schilten to spades and Eicheln to clubs. ### How many card points are available in a round? A round has 152 card points, plus 5 points for the last trick, giving 157 points. Winning all 9 tricks adds 100 points, making 257 before Weis or Stöck. ## Sources 1. [Jassen — das Schweizer Nationalkartenspiel](https://jasswiki.ch/jassen/) — JassWiki 2. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Terms](https://jasvel.org/terms/) These terms explain what you may reuse, how Jasvel presents regional Jass rules, and why scoreboards do not settle disputes at the table. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/jass-glossary/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Offline Jass app: Schieber rules and scoring** > Learn how this offline Jass app handles Schieber, card values, contracts, scoring, hidden cards and pass-and-play without an account. Source: https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/ [Home](https://jasvel.org/) # What is an offline Jass app? This offline Jass app recreates four-handed Schieber with computer opponents, full scoring, both decks and pass-and-play on one device. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## What does the offline Jass app include? The offline Jass app provides a four-handed game of Schieber, the Jass form in which the contract can be passed to a partner. Four players sit in two fixed teams, with partners opposite each other. Three computer seats complete the table when people are not taking every seat themselves. The app deals the cards, manages the turns and records the written score for each round. The contract choices include the four trump suits, Obenabe (high cards beat low cards) and Undenufe (low cards beat high cards). The app supports both the Swiss-German pack and the French pack. The pack changes the card pictures and the suit names, but the scoring system remains aligned between the two decks. Pass-and-play lets people share one device at a local table. A player completes a turn, passes the device to the next seat and waits for the next turn. The computer seats follow the same table rules as human seats. That arrangement gives a player a practical way to practise Schieber, test a contract or play through a full game without an account or a connection. The app offers target scores of 1000 and 2500. Practice tables also use 1500 and 3000, so regional or household routines may display a different target from the app. The underlying round remains the same: 36 cards, 9 cards to each of 4 players and 9 tricks. The [card values and scoring guide](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) explains the values behind each trick. The [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) explains how the contract choice moves from forehand to partner. Those references place the app's table within the wider rules of Jass without reducing the game to a short summary. The store listings are not open yet. Nothing on the page is a pre-order, and no release claim is made here. The description sets out the planned product, its table structure and its scoring rules rather than inviting a purchase. *Partners sit opposite. Cards are dealt three at a time and play runs counter-clockwise, so the forehand — the player to the dealer’s right — both chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Can you play against other people in the app? The app does not support play against other people through a connection. The design centres on three computer opponents and local pass-and-play on one device. A person can take a seat at the table, while the computer fills the remaining seats. The distinction matters for anyone looking for a connected card room. The app has no matching service, lobby, chat, account system or shared table beyond the device in front of the players. A computer seat makes a round available without another person joining. Pass-and-play keeps the human table local: the device moves from one seat to the next, and each player acts only from the cards shown to that seat. The app works with aeroplane mode on. No connection is needed to deal the cards, calculate a trick, apply the chosen contract or update the score. No account is needed. The app collects no data and shows no advertising. A local table also preserves the hidden-hand structure of Jass. The screen can show the active player's cards, while the other hands remain hidden. Passing the device does not turn the round into an open display of every hand. Each person makes a decision from the information available at that seat. A person seeking a connected table needs a different product. The app does not provide that mode, suggest that such a mode is hidden or describe connected play as a future feature. The table begins with the device, the cards and the rules. For a concise reference to the physical scoring aid used by Jass players, see the [Jasstafel guide](https://jasvel.org/tools/jasstafel-scoreboard/). For the app's handling of personal information, see the [privacy page](https://jasvel.org/privacy/). The supporting pages do not change the central answer: the app is offline, uses computer opponents and supports local pass-and-play. ## How does the app protect hidden cards during play? The app gives each computer seat only the information needed to make a legal decision. A computer player can see its own hand, the cards already played and the public state of the round. Another player's hidden cards do not form part of that seat's view. Schieber depends on concealed information. A computer must know its own cards, but a computer seat must not see a partner's hand or an opponent's remaining cards. The app therefore separates the private information belonging to each seat from the public information shared by the table. The public part of a trick includes the contract, the lead, the cards already played and the current order of play. The private part includes cards still held by other seats. A computer can follow suit, select a legal card and assess the visible position without receiving another player's hidden hand. Pass-and-play follows the same boundary. The device holds the state required to run the round, but the active seat sees only the cards assigned to that seat. Passing the device does not expose the remaining hands. Each player must decide from the cards available during that turn. Fair play also requires consistent table positions. The forehand, the dealer, the contract, the lead and the trick winner follow the same logic for human and computer seats. A computer may assess the visible position differently from a person, but a computer seat does not receive information that a person at the same seat could not use. The design does not claim that a computer thinks like a human Jass player. The design establishes an information boundary. Computer decisions can differ from human decisions, while the cards hidden from a human seat remain hidden from the corresponding computer seat. That separation also makes the score easier to audit. The app can record the public result of each trick and round without displaying private hands to the wrong seat. Players can therefore concentrate on the contract, the lead and the cards already visible on the table. *The two decks are the same 36 cards under different signs, and the multiplier follows the position, never the picture — so choosing the French deck changes nothing about the score. The Swiss court cards are Under, Ober and König where the French deck has jack, queen and king. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* Swiss French *One game, two decks. These are the same three cards under different signs: the Under becomes the jack, the Ober the queen, and the acorns become clubs. The score does not notice. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Which Jass cards and contracts does the app support? The app supports both decks used in Swiss Jass: the Swiss-German pack and the French pack. The Swiss-German suits are Schellen (bells), Schilten (shields), Rosen (roses) and Eicheln (acorns). The French equivalents are diamonds, spades, hearts and clubs, in that exact correspondence. The court-card names also differ between the decks. The Swiss-German pack has Under, Ober and König. The French pack has jack, queen and king. In a trump contract, the Under is the Puur, the strongest trump card in the usual trump order. The Nell, the 9 of the trump suit, has its own place in the trump sequence. The scoring multiplier follows the suit position, not the picture printed on the card. Choosing the French pack therefore changes the visual language without changing the score. A suit keeps the same scoring position when its symbols appear as French suits, and the contract rules remain aligned. The app includes trump contracts, Obenabe and Undenufe. Stöck, the king and Ober of the trump suit held in one hand, exists only in a trump contract. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. The [written scoring reference](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) sets out the card order and values used at the table. Regional practice explains why both deck systems remain familiar in Switzerland. The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line divides the country: Swiss-German cards are used to the east and French cards to the west. Neither deck is presented as the only correct choice. The app lets the player choose the familiar appearance while keeping the underlying score consistent. Every contract uses the same four-handed structure. Cards are dealt three at a time, play runs counter-clockwise and the forehand leads the first trick. The contract changes how cards rank and score, but not the number of cards, players or tricks in a round. A player who knows a French-suited deck can therefore begin without learning a second scoring system. A player used to Swiss-German cards can select Schellen, Schilten, Rosen or Eicheln and retain the familiar terms. The deck choice changes presentation, while the rules retain their defined positions. ## How are the cards dealt and how is the contract chosen? A round uses 36 cards, with 9 cards dealt to each of 4 players. The round contains 9 tricks. The dealer deals three cards at a time, play runs counter-clockwise and the dealer rotates after each round. The forehand is the player to the dealer's right. The forehand chooses the contract and leads the first trick. The available choice includes a trump suit, Obenabe or Undenufe. The forehand may push the choice to the partner exactly once. This action is schieben, the passing of the contract choice to the partner. The partner must choose and may not push the choice back. The chosen contract determines the order in which cards win tricks. In a trump contract, the selected suit becomes trump, and the Under of that suit is the Puur. Obenabe gives priority to higher cards. Undenufe gives priority to lower cards. Players still follow the trick-taking requirements for the selected contract. The same sequence applies when the forehand is a computer seat or a human seat. The dealer's position determines the forehand, and the forehand's decision determines the contract. Schieben is not an unlimited exchange: the partner receives the choice once and must make the final contract decision. The [Schieber reference](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) explains the contract-passing rule in its own context. The [Jassgrenze reference](https://jasvel.org/rules/swiss-or-french-cards/) explains the target-score boundary used in a game. The app offers target scores of 1000 and 2500, while practice tables also use 1500 and 3000. The next round begins after the score for the completed round has been recorded. The dealer moves, the forehand changes with the deal and the next contract is selected under the same rule. The app keeps those positions visible so that players can follow the order without relying on a local custom. A worked sequence is simple. The player to the dealer's right becomes forehand, chooses a trump suit or passes the choice once to the partner, then leads the first trick. After 9 tricks, the round is scored and the deal moves to the next player. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How does the app calculate the full Jass score? The app records card points, the last-trick bonus, the all-tricks bonus, Stöck and Weis, declared combinations of cards. The pack contains 152 card points. The last trick adds 5 points, giving 157 points in a round. Taking all 9 tricks adds 100 points, making 257 points for the round before Stöck and Weis are added. Stöck is worth 20 points. A team has Stöck when one hand contains the king and Ober of the trump suit. The 20 points belong to that team regardless of the Weis comparison. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe, because those contracts have no trump suit. The declaration moment is strict. A player declares Stöck while playing the second of the two cards, not the first. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other. The app records the declaration at the required moment instead of adding Stöck later as an adjustment. The score may include Weis alongside the tricks. The [Weis explanation](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/) describes the declaration and comparison of Weis. A player who holds a qualifying combination must follow the applicable declaration procedure rather than treating Weis as an automatic addition after the round. When a round takes a team past the target, points are counted in a fixed order: Weis first, Stöck second and tricks third. A team crossing the target in an earlier block wins. The order matters at the end of a game because a team's total is not treated as one undivided addition. The [Jassgrenze guide](https://jasvel.org/rules/swiss-or-french-cards/) explains the target boundary and the crossing order. The app offers 1000 and 2500 as its target scores. Other practice tables use 1500 and 3000, so the target must be read as a chosen table setting rather than a universal figure. The written score keeps separate ideas visible. Card points come from the cards won in tricks, 5 points come from the last trick, 100 points reward all 9 tricks, and special declarations are handled under their own rules. A final result can therefore be checked against the round structure instead of being reduced to the trick count alone. The short answer The app is an offline four-handed Schieber game with three computer opponents, every contract, both card systems and the complete written score. The app needs no account, collects no data, shows no advertising and works with aeroplane mode on. Players can face the computer or pass one device around a local table; connected play is outside the design. ## Questions ### Does the offline Jass app require an account? No. The app requires no account, collects no data and shows no advertising. The table works with aeroplane mode on. ### How many people can take seats at the Jass table? The game uses 4 players in two fixed teams, with partners sitting opposite each other. Three computer opponents can complete the table, and pass-and-play lets people share one device. ### What happens if the forehand uses schieben? The forehand passes the contract choice to the partner exactly once. The partner must choose the contract and may not pass the choice back. ### Why do Swiss-German and French cards have the same score? The four Swiss-German suits correspond exactly to diamonds, spades, hearts and clubs. The scoring multiplier follows the suit position rather than the card picture, so changing decks changes the appearance but not the score. ### Can a team score Stöck in Obenabe or Undenufe? No. Stöck requires the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand, so the declaration exists only in a trump contract. Obenabe and Undenufe have no Stöck. ### What are the app's available target scores? The app offers target scores of 1000 and 2500. Practice tables also use 1500 and 3000, so regional and household rules may use a different target. ## Sources 1. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Jasvel](https://jasvel.org/) A complete English guide to Swiss Jass Schieber, including the deal, contracts, trick play, declarations, scoring and regional practice. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass card values, tricks and scoring rules** > Learn Jass card values, trump strength, contract totals, last-trick points, Stöck, Weis and the score for a complete round. Source: https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) # Jass card values Jass card values depend on the contract, but every deal contains 152 card points before the 5-point last-trick bonus. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## What are the card values in Jass? Jass card values depend on the contract being played. The card-values table gives the complete figures for the trump suit, a plain suit during a trump contract, Obenabe (above-down, with the ace high) and Undenufe (below-up, with the six high). Read those values beside the strength order, because a card’s value and its power in a trick are separate facts. In a trump contract, the Under is worth 20 card points, the nine is worth 14, the ace is worth 11 and the ten is worth 10. The king is worth 4 and the Ober is worth 3. The eight, seven and six are worth no card points in trumps. Together, the trump cards contain 62 points. The trump Under is called the **Puur**, and the trump nine is called the **Nell**. A plain suit during a trump contract follows a different pattern. The ace is worth 11, the ten 10, the king 4, the Ober 3 and the Under 2. The nine, eight, seven and six have no card points in that suit. Each plain suit therefore contains 30 points. A plain-suit ten is worth 10 even though the ten is not the strongest card in that suit. Obenabe has no trump suit. In each suit, the ace is worth 11, the ten 10, the eight 8, the king 4, the Ober 3 and the Under 2. The nine, seven and six have no card points. Each suit contains 38 points. Undenufe also has no trump suit, but its values move the 11-point card to the six. The six is worth 11, the ten 10, the eight 8, the king 4, the Ober 3 and the Under 2. The nine and seven score no card points, and the ace is worth no card points. Each suit still contains 38 points. These figures apply to cards won in tricks. A card wins according to the contract’s strength order, then contributes its value to the side that takes the trick. The [contracts guide](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) explains how the contract changes both strength and scoring. | Card | In trump | Plain suit | Obenabe | Undenufe | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | A | 11 | 11 | 11 | 0 | | K | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | | O | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | | U | 20 | 2 | 2 | 2 | | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | | 9 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 | | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | | **Suit total** | **62** | **30** | **38** | **38** | *In a trump suit the Under (Puur) is the highest card and the nine (Nell) the second highest — above the ace. The order and the values are the same in every canton; only the multiplier changes. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Why is the Under the strongest trump? The trump Under is the strongest card in the trump suit, and it is worth 20 points. The trump nine is the next strongest card and is called the **Nell**; it is worth 14. The trump Under is called the **Puur**, and it beats the Nell when both cards are played legally in the same trick. The trump order from strongest to weakest is **Under, nine, ace, king, Ober, ten, eight, seven, six**. This order means that the Puur can take a trick from every other trump. The Nell can take a trick from the trump ace and every lower trump, but it cannot beat the Puur. A player holding either card holds both a powerful trick winner and a substantial source of card points. The ten shows why strength and value must be counted separately. In trumps, the ten is worth 10 points but sits below the Ober and the king in strength. The nine is stronger than the ten in trumps, yet the nine carries 14 points and the ten carries 10. A trick can therefore contain a high score even when its winning card is not the card with the largest printed value. Plain suits and Obenabe use the order **ace, king, Ober, Under, ten, nine, eight, seven, six**, from strongest to weakest. Undenufe reverses the whole ladder: **six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Under, Ober, king, ace**. The six is therefore the strongest card in Undenufe and is worth 11 points, while the ace is the weakest card in the order and is worth no card points. For a worked example, suppose a plain-suit trick contains the ace, ten, Under and seven. The ace wins because the plain-suit order places it above the other cards. The winning side collects 11 plus 10 plus 2, while the seven adds no card points. If the same ranks were trumps, their strength and values would change, so the contract must be identified before the trick is assessed. Ask two separate questions for every trick: which card wins, and how many card points lie in the cards played? The [trick-taking tool](https://jasvel.org/tools/who-wins-the-trick/) is useful for checking that distinction during practice. *The trump suit is worth **62** of the pack’s **152** card points on its own — the Under alone is 20 and the Nell 14 — while each of the other three suits holds **30**. That imbalance is why the trump choice decides most rounds. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How do the card-value columns reach 152 points? Every contract places exactly 152 card points in the pack. The route to that total differs between a trump contract, Obenabe and Undenufe, but the total does not change. The card-values table shows where the points sit within each suit. A trump contract concentrates points in the trump suit. Trumps contain 62 points. Each of the three plain suits contains 30 points, so the complete pack contains 62 plus 30 plus 30 plus 30, which gives 152. The Puur and Nell account for the unusual concentration in trumps, while the plain suits use the ordinary high-card pattern with the Under worth 2. Obenabe distributes the points evenly between suits. Each suit contains 38 points, giving 38 plus 38 plus 38 plus 38, or 152. The ace carries 11, the ten carries 10 and the eight carries 8. The king, Ober and Under add their stated values, while the other cards add no card points. Undenufe also gives each suit a total of 38, so the complete pack again contains 152. Its difference lies in the rank receiving the 11 points. The six replaces the ace as the 11-point card, the ten remains worth 10 and the eight remains worth 8. The ace contributes no card points under this contract. A worked check can be done without adding every card individually. If the contract is trump, check 62 for the trump suit and 30 for each plain suit. If the contract is Obenabe or Undenufe, check 38 for each suit. Either calculation must produce 152 before the last-trick bonus or any other scoring category is added. The equal total does not mean that the contracts play alike. A trump contract makes one suit especially valuable and changes the strength of its Under and nine. Obenabe keeps the ace high, while Undenufe reverses the strength ladder and transfers the 11-point value to the six. The [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) describe the contract choice that comes before these values affect play. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How do you count card points during a round? Count card points by adding the values in each completed trick and crediting the total to the team that won that trick. A round contains 9 tricks, and the card values across all of them must add to 152. The last trick then receives a separate bonus of 5 points. The last-trick bonus makes the ordinary round total 157. The team that wins the final trick receives those 5 points, regardless of the values of the cards in that trick. The bonus is not printed on a card and is not included in the 152-point card total. Use this sequence when recording a round: - Add the card values in every trick. - Credit each trick to the team that won it. - Check that both teams together have 152 card points. - Give 5 additional points to the team that won the last trick. - Check that the round total is 157. If one team wins all 9 tricks, that team receives an additional match bonus of 100. The complete round total then becomes 257: 152 card points, 5 points for the last trick and 100 points for winning all 9 tricks. The match bonus is separate from the value of every card and from the last-trick bonus. For example, a team may win the final trick with cards carrying no card points. That team still receives the 5-point last-trick bonus because the bonus follows the trick, not the card total. If the same team has won all 9 tricks, it also receives the 100-point match bonus, giving the round its full 257 points. The suit totals provide a second checking method. In a trump contract, confirm 62 points in trumps and 30 in each plain suit. In Obenabe or Undenufe, confirm 38 in each suit. If the sum is wrong, review the trick records before adding the last-trick or match bonus. The [Weis rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/) cover declared combinations separately from card points. Weis is not part of the 152 points held in the pack, so record it as its own scoring category. *The trump suit as it is actually held: the Under (Puur) on the left beats the nine (Nell), and both beat the ace. Nothing else in the pack reorders itself like this, which is why the trump choice is the decision of the round. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How do card values affect the final Jass score? Card values provide the trick points in a Jass round, while the final score may also include the last-trick bonus, the all-tricks bonus, Weis (declared combinations) and Stöck (the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand). Record these categories separately on the Jasstafel, the scoreboard. Stöck is worth 20 points and exists only in a trump contract. A player has Stöck when the king and Ober of the trump suit are in the same hand. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. Its 20 points are credited to that team regardless of the Weis comparison, and Stöck is not part of the trump suit’s 62 card points. The declaration timing is strict. Declare Stöck while playing the **second** of the king and Ober, not the first. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration is made, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other, so the player holding the cards must make the declaration at the correct moment. The [match-targets page](https://jasvel.org/rules/match-and-target-score/) covers the targets used in practice: 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000. The app offers 1000 and 2500. A round that carries a team past the target is counted in blocks, with Weis first, Stöck second and tricks third. The team that crosses the target in an earlier block wins. That order can decide a close finish. Suppose both teams are near the target and one team has enough round points to cross it. First compare the Weis block, then the Stöck block, then the tricks block. Do not combine Stöck with trick points, and do not use the card-value total to decide the order of these scoring blocks. The trick block includes the 152 card points, the 5-point last-trick bonus and, when one team takes all 9 tricks, the 100-point match bonus. Stöck remains a separate 20-point entry. Weis remains separate again and follows its own comparison rules. A clear Jasstafel should show each category before the round total is carried towards the target. Record the card and trick points from play, add Stöck only after a valid declaration, and enter Weis under its own rules. The [Jass rules overview](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) connects the contract, strength order and scoring sequence. The short answer The trump suit contains 62 card points, each plain suit in a trump contract contains 30, and each suit in Obenabe or Undenufe contains 38. A round offers 157 points from cards and the last trick, or 257 when one team takes all nine tricks and receives the match bonus. ## Questions ### What is the highest-value card in the trump suit? The trump Under, known as the Puur, has the highest card value at 20 points. It is also the strongest trump, ahead of the Nell. ### Why can a weaker card be worth more points than a stronger card? Jass uses one order to decide which card wins a trick and another system to assign card points. For example, the trump ten is weaker than several trumps but still carries 10 points. ### What does the 5-point last-trick bonus represent? The bonus is awarded to the team that wins the final trick of the round. It is added after the 152 card points have been distributed and does not depend on the values in that trick. ### What does winning all 9 tricks add to the score? Winning all 9 tricks adds a match bonus of 100 points. Including the 152 card points and the 5-point last-trick bonus, the round total reaches 257. ### Does Stöck count as part of the trump suit total? No. The trump suit contains 62 card points, while Stöck is a separate 20-point scoring entry. Stöck applies only when the king and Ober of trumps are held in one hand during a trump contract. ### What happens if a player declares Stöck too late? The 20 Stöck points are lost if the next player has already covered the second card before the declaration. The player must declare while playing the second card, and a partner may not give a reminder. ## Sources 1. [Jass-Regeln: Schieber-Jass](https://www.swisslos.ch/de/jass/informationen/jass-regeln/schieber-jass.html) — Swisslos 2. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Trumpf, Obenabe, Undenufe](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) The forehand selects a suit, Obenabe or Undenufe, and that contract fixes card strength, card values and the multiplier for the round. - [Tactics](https://jasvel.org/tactics/) Good jass tactics begin with the contract: identify where the points sit, then protect them through disciplined play. - [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) Learn the complete Schieber Jass round, from dealing and schieben to following suit, declarations, multipliers and the winning score. - [Stöck](https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/) Stöck is the 20-point combination of the trump king and Ober in one hand, declared as you play the second card. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass dealing and seating rules explained** > Learn the correct Jass table setup: seat partners opposite, deal three cards at a time, and identify the forehand on the dealer’s right. Source: https://jasvel.org/rules/dealing-and-seating/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) # How to deal and seat players in Jass Seat partners opposite, deal counter-clockwise in groups of three, and let the player on the dealer’s right choose the contract and lead. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## Where should players sit at a Jass table? Jass uses four players in two fixed teams, with each partner sitting opposite the other. The seats stay fixed throughout the match. The dealer changes after each round, but players do not exchange places. Jass play runs counter-clockwise. The player on the dealer’s right is therefore the next player in the rotation and is called the **forehand**. The forehand chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Set the table in this order: - confirm the four players and two fixed teams; - place each partner opposite the other; - identify the dealer; - locate the player on the dealer’s right; - name that player as the forehand; - prepare to deal counter-clockwise. The dealer’s right-hand neighbour is not a minor seating detail. That seat determines who receives the opening choice and who leads the round. Players familiar with clockwise trick-taking games often look to the dealer’s left by habit, but that position is wrong for Jass. The direction of play also governs every later trick. After the forehand leads, play continues around the table counter-clockwise. The winner of a trick leads the next one, but the direction never changes. No player turns the order around after winning a trick. The fixed seats support legal partner play. A teammate may benefit from the cards already played and from the position of the trick, but partners may not give information that directs a choice or declaration. The limits on communication appear in the rules for [partner play](https://jasvel.org/tactics/playing-with-a-partner/). **Figure caption: Jass seating, with partners opposite each other and the forehand to the dealer’s right.** The dealer handles the pack but does not automatically choose the contract or lead. Those duties belong to the forehand. The dealer’s role is to deal the hands and then pass the dealing role on after the round. A correct table gives every player a fair rotation of positions. After one round, the dealer changes, so the forehand position changes with the dealer’s new seat. No player keeps the opening choice for the whole match. Before touching the cards, point out the dealer and forehand. A clear verbal check prevents the most common setup error: starting from the dealer’s left and giving the contract to the wrong player. *Partners sit opposite. Cards are dealt three at a time and play runs counter-clockwise, so the forehand — the player to the dealer’s right — both chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How do you form and place Jass partnerships? Jass requires two fixed teams of two, with partners seated opposite each other. The supplied rules do not prescribe one universal method for choosing partners or selecting the first dealer. Use the table’s agreed local method, then place the teams before dealing begins. The partnership decision must be complete before the first hand. Once the teams are known, put each pair in opposite seats. Partners sitting side by side produce the wrong table structure because the turn order and the partner relationship no longer match the rules. Check the arrangement as follows: - confirm the four players; - form two teams; - place each partner opposite the other; - choose the dealer by the table’s agreed method; - identify the dealer’s right-hand player; - treat that player as the forehand. The rules do not assign a special scoring value to the way teams are formed or to the identity of the first dealer. Local tables can use their own established procedure. The important result is a fixed partnership and a correct opposite-seat arrangement. Do not redraw teams when the dealer changes. The dealer rotates each round, while the teams and seats remain in place. A player’s relationship to the dealer changes because the deal moves around the table, not because anyone changes chairs. The seating explains the pass known as **schieben**, meaning passing the choice to a partner. In the **Schieber** format, the forehand may push the contract choice across to the partner exactly once. The partner sits opposite and must choose; the partner may not push the choice back. Read the broader format rules on [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/). Schieben changes the identity of the player who chooses, but it does not change the forehand’s seat. The forehand still leads the first trick after the contract has been chosen. The partner who receives the choice cannot pass the responsibility onward. A simple example makes the distinction clear. The dealer’s right-hand player is the forehand. That player may choose the contract directly. Alternatively, the forehand may use schieben once, after which the opposite partner must choose. In both cases, the forehand leads the opening trick. Keep the partner draw separate from the card rules. Forming teams does not count as a declaration, does not alter the deal, and does not determine the direction of play. Once the teams are opposite and fixed, the dealer’s position supplies the remaining setup information. ## How should you deal the cards in Jass? Jass uses a 36-card pack. Deal three cards at a time in the counter-clockwise direction, giving each of the four players nine cards. Each player then has the cards needed for nine tricks in the round. Start with the player on the dealer’s right. That player is the forehand. Continue around the table counter-clockwise, giving the next group of three cards to the next player in the rotation. Repeat the same path until all four hands contain nine cards. The dealing sequence is: > Dealer, player on the dealer’s right, next player, next player; repeat the same counter-clockwise route until the 36 cards are gone. This sequence separates two details that new players can confuse. The dealer gives cards in groups of three, while each hand contains nine cards. The round also contains nine tricks. The packet size, hand size, and trick count fit together, but the dealer still deals by repeated groups rather than one card at a time. The supplied rules define the 36-card pack and the groups of three. They do not define one universal cutting procedure. If the table cuts the pack before dealing, follow the local procedure already agreed by the players. A cut must not change the deal’s direction, the number of cards in a hand, or the forehand’s identity. The dealer should announce the direction before the first card moves. A visible starting point helps the table avoid an accidental clockwise deal. The first recipient is not the dealer’s left-hand neighbour. The first recipient is the player on the dealer’s right. The score begins with the completed deal. The pack contains 152 card points, and the last trick adds 5 points, giving 157 points in a round. Winning all nine tricks, called a match, adds 100 points and brings the round total to 257 points. The [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) page sets out the card-point rules. If the hands are not dealt correctly, stop before the contract is chosen. Restore the deal according to the table’s agreed correction practice rather than continuing with uncertain cards. The supplied rules give no separate penalty value for a misdeal, so the players must agree the correction before play resumes. After the round, the dealer changes. The next dealer is determined by moving the deal around the table in the same counter-clockwise direction. The new dealer again starts with the player on the dealer’s right, preserving the same relationship between dealer, forehand, and opening lead. Swiss French *One game, two decks. These are the same three cards under different signs: the Under becomes the jack, the Ober the queen, and the acorns become clubs. The score does not notice. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Who is the forehand in Jass? The forehand is the player on the dealer’s right. Because Jass runs counter-clockwise, that player is next in the rotation. The forehand chooses the contract and leads the first trick. The forehand’s position comes from the dealer’s seat, not from the partnership arrangement and not from the player who eventually chooses the contract. A player remains the forehand even when schieben passes the choice to the opposite partner. The opening order is: - the dealer completes the deal; - the forehand chooses the contract, or passes the choice once to the partner; - the partner chooses if the choice was passed; - the forehand leads the first trick; - play continues counter-clockwise. For example, the dealer’s right-hand player can select the contract without passing. That same player then leads. If the forehand uses schieben, the opposite partner makes the contract decision, but the forehand still leads because the opening lead belongs to the seat, not to the final chooser. The forehand may push the choice to the partner exactly once. The partner must choose and may not push the choice back. This restriction keeps the choice procedure definite. The table cannot pass the decision around repeatedly or return it to the forehand. A table should identify the forehand before discussing the contract. That short check prevents two errors at once: assigning the choice to the dealer’s left and allowing the wrong player to lead. The dealer’s right-hand seat provides the answer without a further draw. The word **schieben** means passing the choice across. In [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieben/), the pass forms part of the contract procedure. The pass does not move a player, alter the deal, or reverse the direction of play. It only transfers the duty to choose. The partner relationship also has limits. Partners may not remind each other about a declaration, including the declaration of Stöck. The [partner-play rules](https://jasvel.org/tactics/playing-with-a-partner/) explain why opposite seating gives a team a fixed position without allowing spoken guidance. The forehand leads the first trick after the contract is settled. The next player follows in the counter-clockwise direction. The winner of that trick leads the next one, but the forehand’s opening role is not reassigned merely because the contract passed to a partner. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What must the table decide before the first Jass trick? Before the first trick, the table must know the teams, the dealer, the forehand, the direction of play, and the contract. The forehand chooses the contract or passes the choice once to the partner. The forehand then leads, and the remaining play proceeds counter-clockwise. The table should also know the scoring target. Practice targets are 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000. The app offers 1000 and 2500. The target affects when the game ends, but it does not change the seating, dealing method, forehand, or direction. A standard round contains 157 points before the all-tricks bonus: the pack supplies 152 card points and the last trick supplies 5 points. Winning all nine tricks, a match, adds 100 points, making 257 points for the round. A **Weis**, meaning a declared combination of cards, is scored in its own part of the round’s accounting. When a team crosses the target, count points in this order: Weis first, then Stöck, then tricks. A team crossing the target in an earlier block wins. **Stöck** means the king and Ober of the trump suit held in one hand. Stöck is worth 20 points and belongs to that team regardless of the Weis comparison. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe, the regional contract variants without a trump suit in the ordinary sense. Declare Stöck while playing the second of the two cards. Do not declare it when playing the first card. If the next player has already covered the second card before the declaration is spoken, the team loses the 20 points. A partner may not remind the player to declare Stöck. Use this setup check before the lead: - partners sit opposite each other; - the dealer is identified; - the player on the dealer’s right is the forehand; - cards were dealt three at a time; - every player has nine cards; - the contract has been chosen; - the forehand will lead; - play will run counter-clockwise; - the scoring target is agreed; - any local procedure for forming teams or cutting the pack is settled. The [Jassgrenze rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/swiss-or-french-cards/) explain the target boundary and the final comparison. Regional rules can differ, so do not treat one scoring table as universal when the table has agreed another recognised variant. The stated Stöck rule applies to trump contracts and not to Obenabe or Undenufe. Once the checks are complete, the first trick can begin. The dealer’s position remains the reference point for the forehand, while the chosen contract determines the relevant card order and scoring rules. The short answer Jass uses four players in two fixed teams, with partners opposite each other. Deal the 36-card pack three at a time and play counter-clockwise. The forehand sits to the dealer’s right, chooses the contract, and leads the first trick; the dealer rotates after each round. ## Questions ### Can partners sit next to each other in Jass? No. The standard arrangement places each partner opposite the other. The partnership and seats remain fixed while the dealer changes after every round. ### How is the first dealer selected? The supplied rules do not prescribe one universal method for selecting the first dealer. The table should use its agreed local procedure before the first deal. ### Does the forehand always make the contract choice? The forehand has the choice, but may pass it to the partner exactly once. The partner must then choose and cannot return the choice. ### Which direction does a Jass deal travel? The deal travels counter-clockwise, beginning with the player on the dealer’s right. The same direction governs play during the tricks. ### What is the total score in a round when one team wins every trick? The round contains 157 ordinary points: 152 card points and 5 for the last trick. Winning all nine tricks adds 100, giving 257 points before any Stöck or Weis declarations. ### Can a player declare Stöck after the second card has been covered? No. Stöck must be declared while the player plays the second of the king and Ober of the trump suit. If the next player has already covered that card, the 20 points are lost. ## Sources 1. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 2. [Règles du chibre](https://www.jass-geneve.ch/regleschibre.html) — Jass Genève ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) Learn the complete Schieber Jass round, from dealing and schieben to following suit, declarations, multipliers and the winning score. - [Choosing trump](https://jasvel.org/tactics/choosing-trump/) Choose the contract your hand can support: trump control, winning tricks, regional multipliers and useful Weis must point in the same direction. - [Schieben](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieben/) Schieben passes the contract choice from the forehand to the partner once, while the forehand remains responsible for leading the opening trick. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/rules/dealing-and-seating/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass Farbzwang and trumping rules explained** > Learn the Jass following suit rules, including Farbzwang, trumping, overtrumping, undertrumping and the Puur exemption in every contract. Source: https://jasvel.org/rules/following-suit/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) # What are the Jass following suit rules? Farbzwang requires the led suit when possible; trump rules then decide whether you must overtrump, may undertrump or can keep the Puur. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## What does following suit mean in Jass? Following suit means playing a card from the suit led to the trick. Jass calls the obligation **Farbzwang**, or the requirement to follow suit. If you hold a card of the led suit, you must play that suit. You may not choose a different plain suit or a trump simply because the alternative card is stronger. A Jass deal has four players in two fixed teams, with partners sitting opposite each other. Cards are dealt three at a time, and play runs counter-clockwise. The forehand is the player to the dealer’s right. The forehand chooses the contract and leads the first trick, or passes the choice to the partner through [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/), the pass-on decision. The partner must then choose and may not pass the choice back. The dealer rotates each round. The contract determines whether the hand uses a trump suit, Obenabe or Undenufe. Obenabe is the no-trump contract with the ordinary order in each suit. Undenufe is the no-trump contract with the whole order reversed. Suppose hearts are trump. A player leads a plain spade. You hold a spade and the Puur of hearts. The Puur is the Under of the trump suit and the strongest trump, but Farbzwang still requires you to play the spade. You cannot trump while a spade remains in your hand. If you hold no spade, the obligation to follow spades disappears. In a trump contract, you may then play a trump or another legal card, subject to the cards already in the trick. In Obenabe and Undenufe, you may play another suit because neither contract has a trump suit. Obenabe uses A, K, O, U, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 from strongest to weakest. Undenufe uses 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, U, O, K, A. The [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) page gives the complete comparison. Farbzwang decides which suit you may play; the contract decides how cards in that suit compare. *The trump suit as it is actually held: the Under (Puur) on the left beats the nine (Nell), and both beat the ace. Nothing else in the pack reorders itself like this, which is why the trump choice is the decision of the round. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Can you trump instead of following suit in Jass? You may trump instead of following only when your hand contains no card of the suit led. Farbzwang comes first, so holding even one card of the led suit removes the option to play a trump. A strong trump does not override the duty to follow. Suppose diamonds are trump. A player leads clubs. You hold the 6 of clubs, the Puur of diamonds and a heart. You must play the 6 of clubs. The Puur cannot replace the club. If you hold no club, you may play the Puur, another diamond or the heart, provided the trick does not impose a stronger trumping requirement. A player who cannot follow may choose a trump even when another legal card is available. A player may also discard a card from another plain suit. The choice affects the possible winner, so inspect both the contract and the cards already played before selecting a card. Consider a club lead in a hearts-trump contract. You hold no club, the 10 of hearts and the 6 of spades. If no trump has entered the trick, either card may be legal. The 10 of hearts can take the trick if no later player uses a stronger heart, while the 6 of spades cannot win against a heart. A legal discard is not automatically a useful discard. A no-trump contract removes the trumping option altogether. In Obenabe and Undenufe, a player who cannot follow may play another suit, but no card gains trump status. A high card from another suit cannot beat a card from the led suit. The [contract rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) explain how the forehand’s choice sets the conditions for the hand. At the table, use a fixed sequence: - Name the contract. - Identify the suit led. - Check whether your hand contains that suit. - If not, check whether a trump is already in the trick. - Choose a trump or discard only after those checks. That sequence keeps the right to trump separate from the strength of the card you want to play. *The same nine ranks, read three ways. Obenabe is the ordinary top-down order; Undenufe turns it upside down, so the six wins the trick and the ace loses it. Weis is never inverted — it always counts from the six up. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What happens when a trump is already in the trick? A player who cannot follow the led suit must beat the highest trump already in the trick when a higher legal trump is available. Jass calls that play overtrumping. A player may not undertrump, meaning play a lower trump, merely to get rid of it while a higher legal trump is held. Suppose hearts are trump. A club is led, and a player without clubs plays the 8 of hearts. You have no club and hold the 10 of hearts and the 6 of hearts. The 10 of hearts ranks above the 8 in the trump order, so you must play the 10. The 6 is an undertrump and is not legal while the 10 is available. The same rule applies when the lead itself is trump. A player leads the 9 of hearts, the Nell, which is the second-strongest trump. You hold the A of hearts and the 6 of hearts. Because you can follow hearts and the A ranks below the Nell, the A cannot beat the lead. You must still play a heart because Farbzwang applies to the trump suit as the led suit. Suppose instead that you hold the Puur of hearts and the 6 of hearts. The Puur ranks above the Nell, but the Puur exemption means that you are never forced to play the Puur. The exemption protects the Puur from compulsory use. It does not make a lower trump an overtrump, and it does not permit a plain-suit discard when the led suit must be followed. Trump strength differs from plain-suit strength. The trump order, strongest first, is U, 9, A, K, O, 10, 8, 7, 6. The Under is called the **Puur**, and the 9 is called the **Nell**. The Puur therefore outranks the Nell, while the 10 outranks the 8, 7 and 6. When no higher trump is available, a lower trump may be legal if you cannot follow the led suit. For example, a spade is led, the 10 of diamonds is played as trump, and you hold no spade. If your diamonds are only the 8 and 6, either lower trump can be played because neither can beat the 10. The [tool for checking a trick](https://jasvel.org/tools/who-wins-the-trick/) lets you test the position card by card. The ruling always follows the same order: follow suit where required, compare trumps when trumping is allowed, and apply the Puur exemption separately. ## When may you undertrump in Jass? You may undertrump only when you cannot follow the led suit and hold no trump that beats the highest trump already in the trick. A lower trump is not legal when a higher non-Puur trump in your hand can overtake the current highest trump. The Puur is treated separately because the Puur is never compulsory. Consider diamonds as trump. A spade is led, and a player who cannot follow spades plays the 10 of diamonds. You have no spade and hold the 8 and 6 of diamonds. Neither card beats the 10. You may play the 8 or the 6 because your hand contains no trump that can overtake the 10. The result does not change if your hand contains the 7 as well. The 7, 8 and 6 all rank below the 10 in the trump order. You may choose among those lower trumps, or choose another legal card if the contract and the trick permit one. Now add the Nell of diamonds. The Nell is the 9 of diamonds, and the trump order places it above the A, K, O, 10, 8, 7 and 6. The Nell can beat the 10, so you must play the Nell rather than the 8, 7 or 6. Keeping the Nell while playing a weaker trump would be an illegal undertrump. Now replace the Nell with the Puur. The Puur can also beat the 10, but the Puur exemption means that you are not forced to play it. You may decline the Puur and play another legal card. If the trick was led with a plain suit and another legal card is available, that card may be a discard. If the trick was led with trump, you must still follow trump, so the Puur may be the only legal card. A disputed trick can be resolved with four checks: - Check whether you can follow the led suit. - If you cannot, identify the highest trump already played. - Look for a higher trump in your hand, but do not treat the Puur as compulsory. - If no compulsory higher trump exists, decide whether a lower trump or another card is legal. The distinction matters. A player who has no winning trump may undertrump. A player who has the Nell, A, K, O or another higher trump must use the available higher trump. A player who has only the Puur may keep it under the Puur exemption, subject to Farbzwang. *Partners sit opposite. Cards are dealt three at a time and play runs counter-clockwise, so the forehand — the player to the dealer’s right — both chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Do you have to play the Puur in a trump trick? No. The Puur is never compulsory. The Puur is the Under of the trump suit and the strongest card in the trump order, but its special exemption means that you may keep it even when it would be the only trump able to beat the highest trump already played. Suppose clubs are trump. A heart is led, and another player who cannot follow hearts plays the 9 of clubs, the Nell. You hold no hearts and have the Puur of clubs plus a plain card from another suit. The Puur would beat the Nell, but you are not forced to play it. You may use the other legal card instead. Suppose you hold the Puur and the 10 of clubs, with no heart. The 10 cannot beat the Nell, while the Puur can. The Puur exemption still allows you to avoid the Puur. The 10 does not become a winning overtrump; you may play it only if the ordinary suit and trick rules make that card legal. The Puur exemption does not cancel Farbzwang. A player who holds the led plain suit must play that suit, even if the hand also contains the Puur. A player who cannot follow a plain lead may decline the Puur and choose another legal card. A player who faces a trump lead must follow trump when holding trump, so a Puur may become the only legal card even though the player is not forced to use the Puur as an overtrump. For example, clubs are trump and the 10 of clubs is led. You hold the Puur of clubs but no other club. You cannot answer with a heart merely because the Puur is exempt from compulsory use. The led suit is trump, and Farbzwang requires a club. The Puur is therefore the legal play. The Puur differs from every other trump in both rank and treatment. The trump order is U, 9, A, K, O, 10, 8, 7, 6. The Puur stands above the Nell, the A, K, O, 10, 8, 7 and 6, yet a player may preserve it when the rule would otherwise demand an overtrump. A clear ruling asks two separate questions. Must the player follow the led suit? If yes, the Puur cannot be used to escape that duty. If no, does the player have another legal card after declining the Puur? If yes, that card may be played, provided no other rule requires a stronger non-Puur trump. ## How do following suit rules work in Obenabe and Undenufe? Obenabe and Undenufe are no-trump contracts, so neither permits trumping. You must follow the suit led whenever possible. If you cannot follow, you may play a card from another suit, and only the led suit can win the trick. Obenabe uses the ordinary suit order: A, K, O, U, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6. Suppose a player leads clubs. You hold the 6 of clubs and the A of hearts. Farbzwang requires the 6 of clubs. The A of hearts cannot replace a club, although the A is stronger than the 6 in Obenabe. If you hold no club, you may play the A of hearts or another card from your hand. The A of hearts does not become a trump and cannot win the trick against a club. A later club can beat every card from another suit, because the contract has no trump suit. Undenufe reverses the entire ladder. Its order is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, U, O, K, A. Suppose diamonds are led and you hold the 6 and the A of diamonds. Farbzwang requires a diamond, and the 6 is stronger than the A in Undenufe. The A is not automatically the best card simply because the A is strongest in Obenabe and in plain suits. If you hold no diamond in Undenufe, you may play another suit. You may not call that play a trump, because Undenufe has no trump suit. The same principle applies to every suit: a card from another suit may be discarded, but it cannot take the trick. The contract changes both the ranking and the response available when you lack the led suit. In a trump contract, the player may normally trump after failing to follow. In Obenabe and Undenufe, the player may only discard from another suit. The [beginner mistakes guide](https://jasvel.org/tactics/beginner-mistakes/) covers the common error of carrying trump rules into a no-trump contract. A sound ruling names the contract first, then the led suit, then the cards held by the disputed player. In Obenabe, compare cards with A, K, O, U, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6. In Undenufe, compare them with 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, U, O, K, A. In both contracts, apply Farbzwang before judging strength. The short answer You must follow the suit led whenever you can. In a trump contract, you may trump only when you cannot follow, and you must overtrump when a higher trump is available, except that the Puur is never compulsory. Obenabe and Undenufe have no trump suit. ## Questions ### Can a player choose a trump while holding one card of the led suit? No. Farbzwang requires a card from the led suit whenever the player has one. The right to trump begins only after the player has no card of that suit. ### Is undertrumping allowed when a higher trump is in the player’s hand? No. A player who cannot follow must use a higher available trump rather than a lower one. The Puur is the exception because the Puur is never compulsory. ### What does the Puur exemption allow? The exemption allows a player to keep the Puur even when the Puur would be the only trump able to beat the highest trump in the trick. The player must still obey Farbzwang and must still play the led suit when required. ### Can a card from another suit win in Obenabe? No. Obenabe has no trump suit, so only a card from the led suit can win the trick. A player without the led suit may play another suit, but that card cannot take the trick. ### Can a card from another suit win in Undenufe? No. Undenufe also has no trump suit. The player may discard another suit after failing to follow, while the reversed Undenufe order applies only to cards in the led suit. ### What should players check first when a following-suit dispute arises? Name the contract and identify the led suit first. Then check whether the disputed player holds that suit, whether a trump is already present, and whether the Puur exemption applies. ## Sources 1. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod 2. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/rules/following-suit/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass Rules Explained: Deal, Tricks and Scoring** > Learn the rules of Jass, from the deal and contract to trump order, tricks, Weis, Stöck and the score for a complete round. Source: https://jasvel.org/rules/how-to-play-jass/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) # How to play Jass: a beginner’s guide Learn one complete round of Jass, from the deal and contract to legal tricks, card points, bonuses and the final entry on the Jasstafel. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## What do you need to start a game of Jass? A game of Jass needs four players, a 36-card pack and a way to record the score. The four players form two fixed teams, with partners sitting opposite each other. Each player receives 9 cards, and the round contains 9 tricks. The dealer deals the cards three at a time. The player to the dealer’s right is the **forehand**. Forehand chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Play proceeds counter-clockwise, and the dealer rotates after each round. That rotation changes who becomes forehand and who makes the opening contract decision. Record the result on a **Jasstafel**, the Jass score sheet or scoreboard. Keep the card-values table available while learning. The table shows how many points each card contributes under each contract. Card strength and card value are related, but they are not identical: a card can win a trick and still be worth 0 card points. A new player needs to establish two habits from the first deal: - **Check the led suit before choosing a card.** If you hold that suit, you must play it. - **Check the contract before comparing cards.** A trump contract, Obenabe and Undenufe use different strength orders. The [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) table gives the detailed values without requiring you to memorise every entry. During a first round, use it after each trick or at the end of the round. Concentrate on making a legal play and identifying the winning card. The table position also matters. Forehand sits to the dealer’s right, not to the dealer’s left, and leads the opening trick. The next player follows in the counter-clockwise direction. Every player therefore knows the order in which cards will appear, which helps with both legal play and later card counting. You do not need to know every regional custom before dealing. Agree which contract rules and scoring rules the table uses, then apply them consistently. Jass has established regional variants, particularly around Weis and related details, so a clear agreement prevents disputes during the round. *Partners sit opposite. Cards are dealt three at a time and play runs counter-clockwise, so the forehand — the player to the dealer’s right — both chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How are Jass cards dealt, and who chooses the contract? The dealer deals the 36 cards three at a time until each of the four players holds 9 cards. Forehand is the player to the dealer’s right. Forehand chooses the contract and leads the first trick, so the opening decision belongs to that player. A contract tells you how to rank the cards. In a suit contract, one suit becomes trump. The trump suit beats every plain suit when a player cannot follow the led suit. **Obenabe**, meaning an upper-card contract, uses the ordinary high-to-low order in every suit. **Undenufe**, meaning a lower-card contract, reverses the ladder in every suit. Regional tables can use different customs, so follow the contract and variant agreed for the game. Forehand can choose directly or **schieben**, the Swiss German term for passing the choice to the partner. Forehand may push the choice across exactly once. The partner must then choose the contract and may not push it back. If forehand chooses the contract, the partner does not receive another choice. Look at the hand before deciding. A long suit with powerful cards can support that suit as trump. A hand containing useful high cards across the suits may support Obenabe. A hand with strong low cards may support Undenufe. These observations guide the decision, but they do not replace a full reading of the hand. The [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) explain the pass in detail. The essential sequence is simple: - the dealer deals three cards at a time; - forehand examines the hand; - forehand chooses a contract or schiebt exactly once; - the partner chooses if the choice was passed; - forehand leads the first trick. Once the contract has been chosen, every player should identify the trump suit if there is one. Obenabe and Undenufe have no trump suit. The chosen contract remains the basis for comparing cards throughout the round. The dealer rotates after the round. The new dealer deals the next hand, and the player to that dealer’s right becomes the new forehand. This rotation gives each table position its proper turn over the course of the game. ## How do you decide which card wins a Jass trick? The card that wins a trick is the strongest legal card under the chosen contract. Forehand leads the first trick, and each other player plays one card in counter-clockwise order. The first card establishes the led suit, which every player must follow whenever possible. In a suit contract, a trump card beats every card from a plain suit. The trump order from strongest to weakest is Under, 9, ace, king, Ober, 10, 8, 7 and 6. The trump Under is called the **Puur**, and the trump 9 is called the **Nell**. The Puur therefore beats every other trump, while the Nell beats the ace and every trump below it. A plain suit has a different order: ace, king, Ober, Under, 10, 9, 8, 7 and 6. A plain-suit card can win only when it belongs to the led suit and no trump has been played. If a player cannot follow suit and plays a trump, that trump wins the trick, even if its printed rank would be low in a plain suit. Obenabe has no trump suit. Every suit uses the plain-suit order, with the ace strongest and the 6 weakest. Undenufe also has no trump suit, but the ladder is inverted. Its order from strongest to weakest is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Under, Ober, king and ace. Use the same decision process for every trick: - identify the led suit; - check whether you can follow it; - if you cannot, consider any legal card, including trump in a suit contract; - compare the legal cards under the contract’s order; - let the winning card take the trick and lead the next one. The [trick tool](https://jasvel.org/tools/who-wins-the-trick/) can help when the order is unclear. It is especially useful for distinguishing the trump Puur and Nell from the ordinary Under and 9. It also helps prevent the common mistake of using the plain-suit order during a trump contract. Do not confuse card strength with card value. The Puur is the strongest trump, but the card-values table is the authority for its points. A low-ranking card can also matter because it may be the only legal card available or may prevent an opponent from winning a valuable trick. *In a trump suit the Under (Puur) is the highest card and the nine (Nell) the second highest — above the ace. The order and the values are the same in every canton; only the multiplier changes. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How are Jass card points and trick bonuses counted? A team’s round score comes from the card points in its tricks, the last-trick bonus and, in the specified case, the match bonus. The pack contains exactly 152 card points under every contract. The team that wins the last trick receives 5 additional points, so the ordinary round total is 157 points. The card-values table on the page gives the value of each card under each contract. Read the table by contract rather than by printed rank. In a trump contract, the trump suit totals 62 card points, while each plain suit totals 30. In Obenabe and Undenufe, each suit totals 38 card points. The trump suit deserves particular attention because its distribution differs sharply from a plain suit. The trump Puur is worth 20 card points and the Nell is worth 14. The trump ace is worth 11, while the trump 10 is worth 10. Some lower trumps are worth 0, but they can still decide a trick because trump strength and card value do different jobs. If a team wins all 9 tricks, that team receives the 100-point match bonus. The card points, the last-trick bonus and the match bonus then make 257 points available for the round. Winning every trick is therefore more than collecting the cards with the highest printed values; the final trick also carries its own bonus. Count in a fixed order after the last trick: - gather the tricks won by each team; - use the card-values table to total the cards; - give 5 points to the team that won the last trick; - add 100 points if one team won all 9 tricks; - record the result on the Jasstafel. For example, a team can win the last trick without winning all 9 tricks. That team receives the 5-point last-trick bonus, but the 100-point match bonus does not apply. A team that wins all 9 tricks receives both bonuses because it also won the last trick. The [beginner’s common mistakes](https://jasvel.org/tactics/beginner-mistakes/) guide covers errors that affect early totals. Check the contract before adding values, separate trump values from plain-suit values, and do not omit the last-trick bonus. A careful count at the end keeps the next deal free from arguments about the previous one. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What do Weis and Stöck add to the Jass score? **Weis** means declared card combinations that earn additional points. Weis is separate from the cards won in tricks, and the exact combinations and comparison rules can vary by regional tradition. Use the [Weis guide](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/) and the rules agreed for the table before declaring or comparing a Weis. A teaching game can leave Weis aside while players learn the deal, contract, suit-following rule and trick order. A full scoring game includes the applicable Weis declarations. The score is resolved in blocks, so the order of those blocks matters when a team passes the target during the round. **Stöck** is a bonus of 20 points for holding the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand. Stöck exists in a suit contract. It does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. The bonus belongs to that team regardless of the Weis comparison, so do not treat Stöck as an ordinary Weis entry. Declare Stöck as you play the second of the two cards. Declaring the first card is not enough. If the next player has already covered the second card before you declare Stöck, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other, so the player holding the pair must recognise the moment and declare it in time. Practice targets include 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000 points. The app offers 1000 and 2500. When a round takes a team past the chosen target, count the score blocks in this order: - Weis; - Stöck; - tricks. A team that crosses the target in an earlier block wins, even if the other team would cross it after a later block. For example, if the target is reached during the Weis block, later Stöck and trick points do not change which team crossed first. If neither team crosses during Weis, apply Stöck next, then tricks. Regional differences deserve a clear statement. Tables may use different Weis combinations, comparison customs or teaching arrangements, while the Stöck timing and target-resolution rules supplied for the app remain specific. Agree the regional rules before the first deal and record the score consistently. ## What happens during a complete first round of Jass? A complete first round begins with the deal and ends when the score has been recorded. The dealer gives the cards three at a time, each player receives 9 cards, and forehand—the player to the dealer’s right—chooses the contract or schiebt exactly once to the partner. The contract becomes fixed before play begins. Forehand leads the first trick. Each player then plays one card in counter-clockwise order. Every player checks the led suit before choosing a card. A player who holds the led suit must follow it; a player without that suit may play another card. Compare the cards under the contract. In a suit contract, trump beats every plain suit, with the Puur and Nell at the top of the trump order. In Obenabe, use the ordinary high-to-low order in every suit. In Undenufe, use the inverted order beginning with the 6. The strongest legal card wins the trick and leads the next trick. Continue until all 9 tricks have been played. Keep each team’s tricks together so that the card points can be counted accurately. If a player has the king and Ober of the trump suit, watch for the Stöck declaration when the second card is played. A late declaration loses the 20 points if the next player has already covered that card, and partners may not provide a reminder. After the final trick, count the card points using the supplied table. Add 5 points to the winner of the last trick. If one team won all 9 tricks, add the 100-point match bonus. Apply any valid Weis, then Stöck, then trick points when deciding which team crossed the target first. Record the result on the Jasstafel, then rotate the dealer for the next round. The player to the new dealer’s right becomes forehand. The [Jass glossary](https://jasvel.org/jass-glossary/) gives short explanations for terms that interrupt the sequence, including Puur, Nell, Obenabe, Undenufe, Schieber, Weis, Stöck and Jasstafel. Use this sequence as your first-round checklist: - deal three at a time; - identify forehand; - choose or pass the contract; - lead and follow suit; - compare cards under the chosen order; - play all 9 tricks; - declare Stöck at the second card when applicable; - count points and apply the target order; - rotate the dealer. Once the sequence feels secure, add the regional Weis rules used at your table. The central skill remains the same: make a legal play, understand which card wins, and keep the score tied to the contract. The short answer Jass is a four-player trick-taking game played by two fixed teams, with partners sitting opposite each other. Choose the contract, follow the led suit, use the correct card order, then count card points, bonuses and tricks in the prescribed order. ## Questions ### How many players and teams does a Jass game use? Jass uses four players divided into two fixed teams. Partners sit opposite each other, so the teams alternate around the table. ### Which direction does play move after the lead? Play moves counter-clockwise from the forehand’s opening lead. The winner of each trick leads the next trick. ### What is the difference between Obenabe and Undenufe? Obenabe uses the ordinary high-to-low order in every suit, with the ace strongest. Undenufe reverses the order, making the 6 strongest and the ace weakest. ### How many points does Stöck provide? Stöck provides 20 points when one player holds the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand and declares the bonus while playing the second card. The bonus is not used in Obenabe or Undenufe. ### What happens when a team passes the selected target? Compare the score blocks in the order Weis, Stöck and tricks. The team that crosses the target in the earlier block wins. ### What is the last-trick bonus in Jass? The team that wins the last trick receives 5 additional points. Those points are added separately from the card values in that trick. ## Sources 1. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 2. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Beginner mistakes](https://jasvel.org/tactics/beginner-mistakes/) The costliest Jass mistakes involve trump strength, following suit, undertrumping, Weis procedure and the final round calculation. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/rules/how-to-play-jass/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **How to Record a Jass Score on a Jasstafel** > Learn how to write a Jass score on a Jasstafel, read its strokes, and calculate tricks, Weis, Stöck and regional multipliers correctly. Source: https://jasvel.org/rules/jasstafel-scoring/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) # How to write a Jass score A Jasstafel records each team’s score with grouped strokes, symbols and a remainder, then preserves the order in which a target is reached. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## How is a Jasstafel laid out? A Jasstafel, the traditional Jass score board, has one column for each team. A vertical line divides the board into those two columns, so every mark belongs clearly to one side. The score is written in rows from left to right within the team’s column. The top row records hundreds. The middle row records fifties. The bottom row records twenties. These rows do not represent separate teams or separate rounds. They represent different values within one team’s score. A team can have marks in all three rows during the same score. Read the rows by their value, not by their position on the board as if they were a list of separate results. Hundreds sit above fifties, and fifties sit above twenties, which makes the larger blocks easy to identify. The board also uses symbols and a number outside the three stroke rows. The upper right contains the large-value symbols. The lower right contains the part that the strokes and symbols cannot express. A complete reading therefore combines the rows, the upper-right symbols and the lower-right number. Keep the team columns separate while writing. A mark in the left column contributes only to that team’s record, and a mark in the right column contributes only to the other team’s record. The vertical line is a team boundary, not a boundary between tricks, Weis or Stöck. A [Jasstafel guide](https://jasvel.org/tools/jasstafel-scoreboard/) shows the same layout in a form suited to practice. The principle remains unchanged on a physical board or in a digital display: write each team’s accumulated blocks in its own column, then preserve the remaining value as a number. The layout gives players a quick visual record without replacing calculation. The strokes show grouped values, while the symbols and the remainder complete the exact total. Read every part of the relevant column before deciding how far a team has progressed towards its target. *A chalk Jasstafel counts in rows, not in columns: hundreds on top, fifties in the middle, twenties at the bottom, each written left to right. The fifth stroke is drawn across the four before it — two strokes across for the fifties. Anything the strokes cannot express is a plain number in the lower right, and it may be negative. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How do you draw strokes on a Jass score board? Draw strokes from left to right in the row that matches their value. Hundreds go on the top row, fifties on the middle row and twenties on the bottom row. A completed group is formed when the fifth stroke crosses the four strokes before it. For fifties, two strokes are drawn across the four before them. The crossing marks distinguish the middle-row groups from the other rows. They remain part of the completed group and must not be counted as extra value. Read a row from its left edge. Identify each completed group, then count any strokes that have not yet been crossed. Apply the value of that row only after you have identified the groups. A crossed group on the hundreds row represents hundreds; the same visual idea on the fifties row represents fifties. The crossing stroke is a reading device. It shows that the four earlier strokes have reached a complete group. It does not add another group by itself. For fifties, the pair of crossing strokes serves the same purpose and does not create a separate addition. A score may contain complete groups and remaining strokes in the same row. The remaining strokes are still part of the score, but they have not formed a crossed group. Do not move them into another row merely because the row contains an incomplete group. When checking a board, use this order: - Read the hundreds row from left to right. - Read the fifties row from left to right. - Read the twenties row from left to right. - Treat each crossing mark as part of the group it completes. - Add the ungrouped strokes according to the value of their row. The strokes record the score in compact blocks rather than as a stream of individual card points. That compactness makes the board useful during a round, but it requires consistent reading. For the points that produce the round total before they are written, consult [Jass card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/). | Row | Each stroke | | --- | --- | | 1 | 100 | | 2 | 50 | | 3 | 20 | | X | 1000 | | V | 500 | ## What do the X, V and lower-right number mean? The X in the upper right stands for 1000, while the V stands for 500. The lower-right space holds the single plain number that the strokes and upper-right symbols cannot express. That number may be negative. The X and V extend the same score record; they do not create another column or another kind of round. Read them as larger blocks within the team’s existing column. A team’s total can therefore contain row marks, an X, a V and a lower-right remainder at the same time. Only one lower-right number stands at a time. When the remainder changes, write the current remainder rather than leaving a sequence of earlier values beside it. The lower-right space is not a second running list. A negative remainder is valid. Read the minus sign as part of the score. Do not discard it, turn it into a positive number or treat it as a writing mistake merely because the other parts of the board are positive. Use a fixed reading order when you inspect a completed column: - Read the hundreds, fifties and twenties rows. - Read X as 1000. - Read V as 500. - Read the one lower-right number, including its sign. - Combine those parts into the team’s recorded score. The rows and symbols show accumulated blocks. The lower-right number handles the value that does not fit those blocks, so it may change while the score develops. The complete board must be read as one record rather than as several unrelated totals. This distinction matters near a target. A visible X or V can move a team past a target, while a lower-right negative number can alter the exact value that remains on the board. The [match target rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/match-and-target-score/) explain how the written score is used when the target is reached during a round. ## How do you calculate a Jass round score? Calculate a Jass round from card points, Weis and Stöck, then apply the selected factor to the whole written round. The resulting total belongs in the appropriate team column on the Jasstafel. The pack contains 36 cards, with 9 cards for each of the 4 players. A round contains 9 tricks. The cards provide 152 points in total, and the last trick adds 5 points, making 157 card points for a round. If one team takes all 9 tricks, the match bonus adds 100 points. The card total is then 257 before Weis, Stöck or a multiplier is included. A match here means all 9 tricks in the round, not a separate score written outside the team column. Weis is the score for a qualifying declared card combination. Stöck means the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand. Stöck is worth 20 points and belongs to that team regardless of the Weis comparison. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe, the game form in which the ordinary ranking runs upwards, or Undenufe, the game form in which the ordinary ranking runs downwards. Establish the unmultiplied totals in this order: - Count the card points won in tricks. - Add the team’s Weis. - Add Stöck when the trump-suit king and Ober qualify and the declaration is valid. - Apply the selected factor to the whole written round. The factor covers tricks, Weis and Stöck together. It applies to both teams, not only to the team that selected the game form. Write the two resulting totals separately, because the same factor can produce different team scores from different trick and declaration results. A [Jass card values reference](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) helps establish the card points before the board is marked. The Jasstafel records the result of that calculation; it does not change the value of a card or replace the declaration rules for Weis and Stöck. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## When do Weis and Stöck decide a Jass target? When a round takes a team past the target, compare Weis first, Stöck second and tricks third. The team that crosses the target in an earlier scoring block wins, even if the other team also finishes beyond the target after the complete round has been counted. The practice targets are 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000. The app offers 1000 and 2500. The target is not decided by looking only at the final combined total after every part of the round has been written. Start with the score before the round and add the Weis block. Check whether that block takes the team past the target. If it does not, add Stöck and check again. Only after those blocks have been considered do you add the tricks block for the target comparison. The same order applies to both teams. A team that crosses during Weis wins against a team that crosses during Stöck or tricks. A team that crosses during Stöck wins against a team that crosses during tricks. The Jasstafel must preserve enough information to show that order rather than presenting only one undifferentiated final figure. Stöck also has a declaration deadline during play. Declare Stöck as you play the second of the two qualifying cards, not the first. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other. The timing rule means that Stöck cannot be added safely at the end of the trick. The second card must still be covered by the player’s declaration. A late announcement does not restore the 20 points, and a partner’s prompt cannot make the declaration valid. The [Jass match targets](https://jasvel.org/rules/match-and-target-score/) page gives the target procedure alongside the available target values. The [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) provide the related reference for Schieber, a partnership form of Jass, where communication at the table remains subject to the applicable rules. *The factor multiplies everything written that round — tricks, Weis and Stöck, for both teams. The left-hand table is the one most tables use and the one this app writes by default; the other two are just as real, so agree on the table before the first deal. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Which multiplier does each Jass game form use? Jass multipliers are regional, so several tables are used and no single table is universal. The common table, which the app writes by default, is Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×1, Schellen ×2, Schilten ×2, Obenabe ×3 and Undenufe ×4. A widely published variant gives both Obenabe and Undenufe ×3. An ascending variant uses Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×2, Schellen ×3, Schilten ×4, Obenabe ×5 and Undenufe ×6. These are distinct regional conventions, not different ways of copying the same table. Agree the table before calculating the round. The same card results can produce different written totals under different regional multipliers. A Jasstafel entry should therefore be read with the selected table in mind, particularly when a score is compared with a target. The multiplier applies to the whole written round. Include the points from tricks, Weis and Stöck before applying the factor. The factor is not restricted to trick points, and it does not apply only to the team that selected the game form. Both teams use the same factor for that round. One team cannot use an unmultiplied total while the other team uses the factor selected for the game form. Calculate each team’s unmultiplied result, apply the same agreed factor, then write the resulting values in the separate team columns. The writing system does not change between the tables. Hundreds remain on the top row, fifties in the middle and twenties at the bottom. X remains 1000, V remains 500, and the lower right still holds one current number, which may be negative. For practice with the app, use the common default table and one of the offered targets, 1000 or 2500. A regional game may use the widely published or ascending variant instead. Record the agreed factors before the round so that every mark on the Jasstafel can be checked against the same rule set. The short answer Write each team’s score in its own column. Use the top row for hundreds, the middle row for fifties and the bottom row for twenties, then add the upper-right symbols and the single lower-right remainder. Calculate tricks, Weis and Stöck, apply the agreed regional multiplier to the whole round, and compare the scoring blocks in the order Weis, Stöck, tricks. ## Questions ### Why does a Jasstafel use separate rows for hundreds, fifties and twenties? The rows show different score units at a glance. A team may use all three rows in one score, with each row read according to its own value. ### How should the crossing stroke be counted? The fifth stroke crosses the four strokes before it and completes that group. For fifties, two strokes cross the four before them; the crossing marks do not form extra groups. ### Can the lower-right remainder be below zero? Yes. The lower-right number may be negative. Only the current remainder belongs there, and its minus sign must be read as part of the score. ### What does a team receive for the last trick? The last trick adds 5 points to the 152 card points in the pack. That gives 157 card points in a round before Weis, Stöck and the multiplier are included. ### When must a player declare Stöck? The player declares Stöck while playing the second of the two qualifying cards. If the next player has already covered that card, the 20 points are lost, and a partner may not prompt the declaration. ### Does Stöck exist in every Jass game form? No. Stöck applies to a trump suit and does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. When valid, Stöck is worth 20 points for the team holding the trump-suit king and Ober in one hand. ### Which regional multiplier table does the app use? The app uses the common table by default: Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×1, Schellen ×2, Schilten ×2, Obenabe ×3 and Undenufe ×4. Other regional conventions give both Obenabe and Undenufe ×3, or use the ascending factors from ×1 to ×6. ## Sources 1. [Wie schreibt man beim Jassen](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schreiben-jassen-uebersicht) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 2. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Jasstafel scoreboard](https://jasvel.org/tools/jasstafel-scoreboard/) A Jass scoreboard records each team’s round, applies the agreed factor and displays the result in traditional Jasstafel notation. - [Tools](https://jasvel.org/tools/) Use the Jasstafel for a running team score, the Weis tool for declarations, and Coiffeur for a contract sheet covering every agreed round. - [Differenzler scoresheet](https://jasvel.org/tools/differenzler-scoresheet/) Record the target, the scored blocks and the trick result, then check the 157-point base total before carrying the game forward. - [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) Learn the complete Schieber Jass round, from dealing and schieben to following suit, declarations, multipliers and the winning score. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/rules/jasstafel-scoring/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass target scores and close finishes explained** > Learn how Jass target scores work, including the last-trick bonus, match bonus, Stöck, regional multipliers and close finishes. Source: https://jasvel.org/rules/match-and-target-score/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) # Jass match bonus target score: how a game ends A Jass game ends when a team reaches its target, but a close round is decided by the order in which each score block is counted. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## When does a Jass game end? A Jass game ends when a team reaches or passes the agreed target after a round has been written. Targets played in practice are 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000 points, while the app offers 1000 and 2500. The target is the finishing condition, not a separate bonus. A team can cross the target while the score from a round is being written. The table does not stop merely because one part of the score has reached the target. Count the complete round in the agreed order. Write Weis, the declared meld score, first. Write Stöck, the bonus for holding the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand, next. Write trick points last. The team that crosses the target in the earlier block wins. This rule settles a close finish in which both teams pass the target in one round. The final totals alone do not settle the result. Reconstruct the round in its counting order and identify the first crossing. For example, Team A can cross during Weis while Team B remains below the target. Team A wins even if Team B finishes the round with the higher combined total after Stöck and tricks have been added. If neither team crosses during Weis, add valid Stöck next. A team can therefore win at the Stöck stage before either side has finished counting its tricks. If the target remains unresolved, add the trick points last. This order applies to the written blocks even when a regional multiplier changes their values. Players should agree the target before the first deal and record it clearly on the [Jasstafel](https://jasvel.org/rules/jasstafel-scoring/), the score sheet used for Jass. The chosen target belongs to the table’s format. The same finishing principle works across suit games and rank games, although available bonuses and multiplier conventions vary by region. A target score has two parts: the running total already on the Jasstafel and the sequence used to add the new round. Keep both visible. A simple combined total cannot show which team crossed first. Separate entries for Weis, Stöck and tricks make the ruling clear when both teams finish beyond the target. The rule also prevents a late arithmetic decision from changing the result. Suppose Team A starts close to 2500 and Team B starts further behind. Team B might collect more trick points, but Team A can still win by reaching 2500 during Weis or Stöck. The earlier crossing controls the result, not the largest number shown after every block has been added. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How many points are in a Jass round? A Jass round uses 36 cards, with 9 cards dealt to each of 4 players. Those cards produce 9 tricks. The pack contains 152 card points, and the team taking the last trick receives a further 5 points. A normal round therefore contains 157 points before any match bonus or multiplier is applied. When one team takes all 9 tricks, the round receives a 100-point match bonus. The unmultiplied round total then becomes 257 points: 152 card points, 5 points for the last trick and 100 points for taking every trick. The team that wins all 9 tricks receives the match bonus. The bonus is not divided between the teams. The word match describes the result of one round, not the end of the target game. A team can take all 9 tricks, receive 257 unmultiplied points for the round and still remain below the agreed target. Play continues until the target condition is met after the complete score has been counted. For example, a team that takes all 9 tricks receives the 152 card points, the 5 last-trick points and the 100-point match bonus. That gives 257 before a multiplier. If a regional convention applies a factor, the factor changes the written round value. The underlying card points and bonus remain the same, but the amount recorded on the Jasstafel is multiplied. The individual card values determine how the 152 card points are divided between the teams. For a separate explanation of the cards and their contribution to tricks, see [card values in Jass](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/). Once the trick points are established, add the 5 last-trick points and the 100-point match bonus when one team has taken all 9 tricks. Do not combine every item into one total before deciding who crossed the target. Treat Weis as one block, Stöck as another block and tricks as the final block. The combined round total helps complete the score sheet, but it cannot resolve a simultaneous target finish. > **Figure caption:** A complete round score separates Weis, Stöck and tricks before showing the round total. The ordinary unmultiplied ceiling is 157 points when no team takes all 9 tricks. The all-tricks result is 257 points because the 100-point match bonus is added. A multiplier can increase the written value of either result, so the amount entered for the round can be higher than 157 or 257 while the underlying round calculation remains unchanged. The last trick matters even when the teams divide the other 8 tricks between them. Its 5 points belong to the team that takes that final trick. The match bonus is different: it applies only when one team has taken all 9 tricks. Keeping those two additions separate prevents the last-trick points from being mistaken for the match bonus. ## How do Weis and Stöck affect the target? Weis is a declared combination of cards that earns points before the trick score is written. A team’s Weis is therefore the first score block tested when the target is close. The rules for declaring and comparing Weis vary by Jass form, so use the table’s agreed convention and the guidance in [Weis in Jass](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/). Stöck is worth 20 points. It consists of the king and Ober of the trump suit held in one hand. Stöck is credited to that team regardless of the Weis comparison. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe, the top-down rank order, or Undenufe, the bottom-up rank order. In a form where Stöck applies, its 20 points form a separate block after Weis and before tricks. The timing of the declaration is strict. Declare Stöck as you play the second of the two cards, not the first. If the next player has already covered that second card before you say “Stöck”, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other. The player who plays the second card must make the declaration at the correct moment. For example, holding the king and Ober is not enough by itself. Playing the king first does not complete the declaration. When the Ober is played as the second card, say “Stöck” while that card is being played. If the next player covers the card before the declaration is made, the team loses the 20 points even though both cards were held in one hand. The phrase “regardless of the Weis comparison” has a precise effect. Suppose both teams have valid Weis, and one team has the stronger Weis under the agreed comparison rule. That comparison does not remove the other team’s valid Stöck. Each team receives its properly declared Stöck, and the score is still written in the order Weis, Stöck, tricks. This order can decide the target. A team may remain below the target after Weis, then cross it when its valid 20-point Stöck is added. The other team may cross only after the trick score is written. The first team wins because its target crossing occurred in the earlier block. A team cannot claim Stöck merely because it holds one of the two cards. Both cards must be in the same hand, and the declaration must happen as the second card is played. Stöck is also unavailable in Obenabe and Undenufe, regardless of the multiplier used for either form. The Jasstafel should keep Weis, Stöck and tricks visibly separate. That record shows whether a target was crossed through Weis, through a valid Stöck or through tricks. It also prevents a correctly declared 20 points from disappearing inside a single combined trick total. *A chalk Jasstafel counts in rows, not in columns: hundreds on top, fifties in the middle, twenties at the bottom, each written left to right. The fifth stroke is drawn across the four before it — two strokes across for the fifties. Anything the strokes cannot express is a plain number in the lower right, and it may be negative. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Which multiplier table should a Jass game use? Jass multiplier tables are regional conventions, not one universal system. The common table, and the table the app writes by default, is Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×1, Schellen ×2, Schilten ×2, Obenabe ×3 and Undenufe ×4. Players should agree the table before play, particularly when they follow a local tradition. A widely published variant gives both Obenabe and Undenufe ×3. An ascending variant uses Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×2, Schellen ×3, Schilten ×4, Obenabe ×5 and Undenufe ×6. These are different recognised conventions. None should be presented as the only correct table for every group. The factor multiplies the whole written round for both teams. It applies to tricks, Weis and Stöck, not only to the team that chose the game or named the trump suit. With a factor of ×2, multiply the relevant written round blocks for both teams by 2. Do not multiply only the trick winner’s score, and do not leave Weis or Stöck outside the calculation. For example, a factor of ×2 applies to a team’s Weis, its valid Stöck and its trick score. The same factor applies to the other team’s written blocks. The multiplication is not a reward reserved for the side that selected the game. It is the scoring factor for the complete round. The multiplier can change the stage at which a team crosses the target. A team might cross during Weis after multiplication, while another team reaches the target only during tricks. Count the multiplied blocks in the same order: Weis first, Stöck next and tricks last. The factor changes the values, not the order of comparison. Obenabe and Undenufe require separate attention. Stöck does not exist in either form, even though both forms appear in multiplier tables. The multiplier for a game form and the availability of a bonus are separate rules. A round in Obenabe or Undenufe may receive its stated factor, but it does not receive a Stöck block. For a [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/), the partnership form of Jass in which players choose the game for the partnership, the table convention should be recorded before the deal. This avoids changing the factor after seeing the result. It also gives the Jasstafel a clear structure for recording a close target finish. A local table remains valid as a local table. The app’s default is a practical convention, not a claim that the widely published ×3 variant or the ascending table is wrong. If players use a different convention, write that choice down before the first round and apply it to both teams throughout the round. *The trump suit is worth **62** of the pack’s **152** card points on its own — the Under alone is 20 and the Nell 14 — while each of the other three suits holds **30**. That imbalance is why the trump choice decides most rounds. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Who wins if both teams cross the target together? If both teams cross the target in one round, the winner is the team that crosses in the earlier counting block. Count the round in this order: Weis, then Stöck, then tricks. Players should agree this close-finish convention before the game begins. Start with the running scores before the round. Add each team’s Weis under the chosen scoring convention. If one team reaches or passes the target at that stage while the other remains below it, the first team wins. If both teams cross during Weis, apply the table’s agreed Weis comparison order and keep the two written blocks distinct. For example, a team starting just below the target can cross with a valid Weis while the other team remains below the target. The second team may later collect more points from Stöck and tricks, but that larger final total does not change the result. The first crossing occurred in the Weis block. If the target remains unresolved after Weis, add valid Stöck. A team with Stöck may cross at this point. The other team may also cross with its own valid Stöck if the form allows Stöck and the declaration was made correctly. Stöck is counted after Weis and before tricks, and each valid Stöck is worth 20 points. Only after those checks should you add the trick points. Include the 5 points for the last trick and the 100-point match bonus when one team has taken all 9 tricks. If the target is first crossed in the trick block, the trick score decides the finish under the agreed table convention. The team with the higher final total is not automatically the winner. A team can cross through Weis or Stöck while the other team crosses through tricks and still win with the lower combined total. The decisive fact is the first block that reaches or passes the target. A careful record makes the ruling visible. Write the pre-round score, then record Weis, Stöck and tricks as separate entries. Mark the first block that reaches the target. The result can then be checked without relying on memory of the deal or on the final combined totals. The rule works with the common multiplier table, the widely published variant that gives Obenabe and Undenufe ×3, and the ascending table. The multiplier affects the block values, while the agreed counting order decides the finish. Remember that Stöck is absent in Obenabe and Undenufe, so those rounds have no Stöck block to count. A close target finish is therefore settled by a recorded sequence: agree the target, write the round, count the blocks and identify the first crossing. Agreeing the convention before play prevents the result from becoming a discussion after the last trick. The score sheet should show enough detail for every player to follow that decision. The short answer A round contains 157 points, or 257 when one team takes all 9 tricks and receives the 100-point match bonus. At the target, count Weis first, then Stöck, then tricks; the team that crosses the target in the earlier block wins. ## Questions ### Does taking all the tricks end the target game immediately? No. Taking all 9 tricks gives the team a 100-point match bonus, making the unmultiplied round total 257. The target game ends only when the agreed target is reached or passed after the round has been counted. ### Can a team receive Stöck in Obenabe or Undenufe? No. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. In a form where Stöck applies, the 20 points require the king and Ober of the trump suit to be held in one hand and declared at the correct time. ### What happens if Stöck is declared too late? The 20 points are lost if the next player has already covered the second Stöck card before the declaration is made. The declaration must be made as the second card is played, and partners may not give a reminder. ### Does the multiplier apply only to the team that chose the game? No. The factor multiplies the whole written round for both teams. It applies to tricks, Weis and Stöck, although Stöck is unavailable in Obenabe and Undenufe. ### Which target scores does the app offer? The app offers target scores of 1000 and 2500. Other targets played in practice are 1500 and 3000, subject to the convention used by the table. ### Why can the team with the lower final total still win? The finish is decided by the first scoring block that reaches the target, not simply by the final combined total. Count Weis first, then Stöck, then tricks, using the convention agreed before play. ## Sources 1. [Jass-Regeln: Schieber-Jass](https://www.swisslos.ch/de/jass/informationen/jass-regeln/schieber-jass.html) — Swisslos 2. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/rules/match-and-target-score/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Schieben in Jass: the rule behind the pass** > Learn the schieben Jass meaning: who may pass the contract choice, what the partner must do, and how the selected contract affects the round. Source: https://jasvel.org/rules/schieben/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) # schieben jass meaning: how the choice passes Schieben passes the contract choice from the forehand to the partner once, while the forehand remains responsible for leading the opening trick. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## What does schieben mean in Jass? Schieben means that the forehand passes the contract choice to the partner. The forehand may do so exactly once in a round. The partner must then choose the contract, and the choice cannot travel back to the forehand. Jass is played by four players in two fixed teams. Partners sit opposite each other. The forehand is the player to the dealer’s right. Under the normal procedure, the forehand chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Schieben changes who chooses, but it does not change the teams, the seating or the direction of play. Cards are dealt three at a time, and play runs counter-clockwise. The dealer rotates each round, so the forehand also changes as the deal moves around the table. A player may therefore have the contract choice in one round and receive a schieben decision in another. The role belongs to the seat in relation to the dealer, not to a permanent player. Schieben is not a contract, a suit or a scoring category. It is a procedural decision about responsibility for the contract. The forehand can name a contract or pass the choice to the partner. After a pass, the partner must make a legal contract choice under the rules used at the table. The sequence is straightforward: - The dealer deals the cards three at a time. - The player to the dealer’s right becomes the forehand. - The forehand chooses a contract or schiebt. - The partner chooses if the forehand schiebt. - The forehand leads the first trick. The opening lead remains with the forehand. Passing the contract choice does not pass the forehand’s position at the table. The partner takes responsibility for naming the contract, but the forehand starts the trick play. A worked example makes the distinction clear. Suppose Anna is the dealer’s right-hand player and therefore the forehand. Anna does not choose a contract and says schieben. Her opposite partner, Bruno, must now choose the contract. Bruno cannot return the choice to Anna. After Bruno chooses, Anna leads the first trick because Anna remains the forehand. For the wider rules of the passing form of Jass, see [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/). Schieben is the central decision described by that term, but the pass itself should not be confused with the contract that follows it. *Partners sit opposite. Cards are dealt three at a time and play runs counter-clockwise, so the forehand — the player to the dealer’s right — both chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Who may schieben, and why can the partner not pass it back? Only the forehand may schieben. The forehand may use the pass exactly once, before choosing a contract. The partner receives the decision and must choose; the partner has no second pass. The one-way rule gives the round a definite decision-maker. Without that limit, the choice could move between partners without either player accepting responsibility. Schieben is therefore a transfer of authority, not an exchange. The forehand gives up the choice, and the partner accepts it. The partner’s next legal action is to select a contract. The partner cannot ask the forehand to choose instead, decline the decision indefinitely or create another schieben. Once the partner has chosen, the contract is set for the round. The forehand then leads the opening trick in the forehand’s normal position. Consider a simple sequence. Clara is the forehand and has the first choice. Clara schiebt. Her partner, David, must now inspect his cards and name a contract. David cannot say that the choice should return to Clara. If David chooses Rosen, Rosen becomes the contract for the round, subject to the multiplier convention agreed at the table. Clara leads the first trick. The rule also preserves the information carried by the action. The table can see that the forehand declined the initial choice and that the partner accepted responsibility. If the partner could pass it back, the meaning of the original action would become uncertain. Players would not know which decision had been accepted or which player had shaped the contract. The forehand still has a normal alternative to schieben. A forehand with a clear preference can name a contract and keep the opening lead. A forehand who wants the partner to judge the hand can schieben. Both actions are legal, but they produce different information for the table. The rule does not depend on a private agreement between partners. Partners may know one another’s habits, but they must follow the same order of decisions as every other pair. Regional multiplier systems may differ, but the pass remains one-way in the procedure described here. The choice of contract has its own rules. See [choosing a contract](https://jasvel.org/tactics/choosing-trump/) for the available choices and the decision that follows a pass. Schieben does not replace that choice. It determines which partner must make it. ## What does schieben tell the table about a hand? Schieben tells the table that the forehand has declined to name a contract at the first opportunity. The action is visible, so every player may consider it when reading the round. Schieben does not reveal the forehand’s exact cards, exact strength or preferred contract. A pass may have several reasonable explanations. The forehand may not see a comfortable contract, may hold a hand that fits several choices imperfectly or may trust the partner’s judgement more. A player may also pass because the hand is difficult to assess. None of those readings is fixed by the rule. The safest interpretation is narrow: the forehand did not choose. The receiving partner should not assume that the forehand has a weak hand, a particular suit or a named card. A player can schieben with many different kinds of hand. The action gives information about the decision, not a complete description of the cards. The opponents can use the same fact. They know that the forehand passed the choice and that the partner must now choose the contract. They may compare the chosen contract with the visible sequence of decisions, but they cannot infer cards that have not been shown. A careful player separates what the action proves from what the action might suggest. A disciplined reading can be expressed like this: - The forehand did not name a contract. - The partner must name the contract. - The forehand may have wanted help or preferred the partner’s judgement. - No exact suit, rank or card follows from schieben alone. Suppose Emma schiebt and her partner, Felix, chooses Obenabe, the high-to-low contract. The choice tells the table that Felix accepted responsibility for Obenabe. It does not prove that Emma lacks a strong suit, nor does it prove that Emma wanted Obenabe. Felix’s cards and judgement produced the contract. Schieben is therefore legal information rather than a coded declaration. Players may respond to the action, but they should not assign it a universal meaning. A partnership can develop practical habits, yet those habits are interpretations layered on top of the rule. They do not change what schieben legally does. [Partner play](https://jasvel.org/tactics/playing-with-a-partner/) explains the wider discipline of reading a partner’s actions without giving them meanings that the rules do not support. Schieben provides a useful clue about responsibility for the decision, but the contract and the cards still determine the play that follows. *The factor multiplies everything written that round — tricks, Weis and Stöck, for both teams. The left-hand table is the one most tables use and the one this app writes by default; the other two are just as real, so agree on the table before the first deal. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How should the partner respond after a schieben decision? The partner should respond to schieben by taking responsibility for the contract choice. The partner should assess the hand, compare the available contracts and name the strongest legal choice under the table’s rules. The partner cannot wait for the forehand to take the choice back. The response begins with the partner’s own cards. Schieben does not name a suit or contract, so the partner should not treat the pass as a command to choose one particular option. The partner may consider the forehand’s decision, but the cards remain the main evidence for the contract choice. The partner should also keep the opening lead in the correct hands. The partner chooses the contract after the pass, but the forehand leads the first trick. The pass changes the decision-maker for the contract; it does not change the forehand’s position or transfer the opening lead. A practical response has a clear order: - Recognise that the forehand has passed the choice. - Judge the available contracts from the hand held. - Name one legal contract. - Allow the forehand to lead the first trick. Suppose Grace is the forehand and schiebt to her opposite partner, Henry. Henry holds a hand that makes Undenufe attractive and chooses that contract. Henry has fulfilled the obligation created by schieben. Grace then leads the first trick. Henry does not lead simply because Henry named the contract. The partner should avoid two common errors. The first is treating schieben as proof of a particular holding. The second is assuming that the player who chooses must also lead. The rule separates those functions in this situation: the partner chooses after the pass, while the forehand remains the opening leader. A good partner also avoids overcorrecting. A pass does not require an ambitious contract, and it does not require the partner to choose the safest-looking option without considering the hand. The partner must make the best judgement available, knowing that the forehand has deliberately handed over the contract decision. Later tricks may add context, but later play cannot change the original order. The forehand passed once, the partner chose, and the forehand led. A difficult result does not make the pass unlawful, and a successful contract does not prove that the forehand intended it from the start. For the names and scoring effects of the available contracts, see [contracts](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/). The partner’s task is to choose within those rules, not to negotiate another pass. A clear table keeps the pass, the choice and the opening lead in their proper order. *In a trump suit the Under (Puur) is the highest card and the nine (Nell) the second highest — above the ace. The order and the values are the same in every canton; only the multiplier changes. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How does schieben affect the contract and the score? Schieben does not create a separate multiplier. The contract chosen after the pass supplies the multiplier for the written round. The factor applies to the whole round, including tricks, Weis and Stöck, for both teams rather than only for the team that chose. The common table uses these values, and the app writes this set by default: Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×1, Schellen ×2, Schilten ×2, Obenabe ×3 and Undenufe ×4. Eicheln, Rosen, Schellen and Schilten are the four suits. Obenabe is the high-to-low contract, while Undenufe is the low-to-high contract. The multiplier values are regional rather than universal. A widely published variant gives both Obenabe and Undenufe ×3. An ascending variant runs Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×2, Schellen ×3, Schilten ×4, Obenabe ×5 and Undenufe ×6. Players should agree which convention applies before assessing a round. Schieben does not select the multiplier by itself. If the forehand chooses Eicheln, the table uses the Eicheln factor from the agreed convention. If the forehand schiebt and the partner chooses Eicheln, the same Eicheln factor applies. The pass changes who names the contract, not the value attached to that contract. The factor also applies equally to both teams. Suppose the partner chooses Schellen after a schieben decision under the common table. Schellen carries ×2 for the written round. The factor covers the round’s tricks, Weis and Stöck for both teams. The choosing team does not receive a special multiplier merely because its player named the contract. That rule gives schieben a real strategic consequence without making schieben a scoring category. The pass can move the contract choice to the player who has the better hand for a particular contract. The selected contract then determines the round’s scoring basis under the multiplier system in use. Readers comparing Jass rule descriptions should check the multiplier convention carefully. The common table is the app’s default, but the widely published variant and the ascending variant are also named regional systems. A list that presents one set as the only correct table misses an important difference between local rules. The procedural result remains clear across those variants. The forehand may schieben exactly once. The partner must choose and cannot pass the choice back. The forehand leads the first trick. The chosen contract supplies the factor for the entire written round, including tricks, Weis and Stöck for both teams. The short answer Schieben is the forehand’s single pass of the contract choice to the partner. The partner must choose the contract and cannot pass it back, while the forehand leads the first trick. The chosen contract sets the multiplier for the whole written round for both teams. ## Questions ### Is schieben a contract in Jass? No. Schieben is the act of passing the contract choice from the forehand to the partner. The partner must then choose a contract under the rules used at the table. ### Can the forehand schieben after naming a contract? No. Schieben is the alternative to naming a contract at the forehand’s decision. After the forehand has chosen, the contract decision is complete. ### Does the partner lead after receiving schieben? No. The partner chooses the contract after the pass, but the forehand leads the first trick. Passing the choice does not transfer the forehand’s opening lead. ### Does schieben prove that the forehand has a weak hand? No. The action shows only that the forehand declined to choose first. It does not prove a particular hand strength, suit, rank or card holding. ### Can the partner pass the choice back to the forehand? No. The forehand may pass the choice exactly once, and the partner must then choose. The rules do not provide a second pass. ### Does schieben change the multiplier for a Jass round? No. The contract chosen after schieben determines the multiplier. The selected factor applies to tricks, Weis and Stöck for both teams. ## Sources 1. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 2. [Règles du chibre](https://www.jass-geneve.ch/regleschibre.html) — Jass Genève ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Tactics](https://jasvel.org/tactics/) Good jass tactics begin with the contract: identify where the points sit, then protect them through disciplined play. - [Choosing trump](https://jasvel.org/tactics/choosing-trump/) Choose the contract your hand can support: trump control, winning tricks, regional multipliers and useful Weis must point in the same direction. - [Playing with a partner](https://jasvel.org/tactics/playing-with-a-partner/) Jass partners communicate through legal card play, using the contract, suits, ranks and visible tricks rather than speech or secret signals. - [Dealing and seating](https://jasvel.org/rules/dealing-and-seating/) Seat partners opposite, deal counter-clockwise in groups of three, and let the player on the dealer’s right choose the contract and lead. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/rules/schieben/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Schieber Jass rules and scoring explained** > Learn Schieber Jass rules for the deal, contracts, tricks, Weis, Stöck, regional multipliers and the final Jasstafel score. Source: https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) # Schieber Jass rules: how to play and score Learn the complete Schieber Jass round, from dealing and schieben to following suit, declarations, multipliers and the winning score. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## How do you set up a Schieber Jass table? Schieber Jass is played by **four players in two fixed teams**, with partners sitting opposite each other. Play runs counter-clockwise, and the dealer changes after every round. The player to the dealer's right is forehand. Use a pack of **36 cards**. Deal the cards **three at a time**, giving **9 cards** to each player. Every player therefore holds a complete hand before anyone chooses the contract. Keep the cards concealed and arrange them by suit so that you can assess possible contracts, card strength and Weis combinations. Forehand has two opening duties. Forehand chooses the contract and leads the first trick. The dealer does not choose the contract simply because they dealt the cards. The dealer's right-hand player always has the forehand role for that round. The suits are Eicheln, Rosen, Schellen and Schilten. The contract may select one of those suits as trumps, or it may choose Obenabe or Undenufe. Swiss German names remain useful because they identify the recognised contracts, cards and procedures of Jass. Check the table before the deal is complete: - identify the dealer; - identify the player to the dealer's right; - confirm the two fixed partnerships; - leave enough space for each team's captured tricks and the Jasstafel score. A simple example shows why the seating matters. If the dealer sits opposite one partner, forehand is not the dealer's partner by default. Forehand is the player immediately to the dealer's right, and that player controls the contract decision and the opening lead. The dealer's partner may receive the choice only if forehand uses schieben. The [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) table explains how many points the cards carry under each contract. Card strength and card value are separate. The strongest card in a trick may carry no card points, while a lower card may carry a substantial value. Read the strength order and the value table together. Once the deal is complete, forehand announces a contract or uses the single schieben option. The choice must be settled before the first trick begins. The dealer then remains responsible for the deal only; forehand remains responsible for the opening decision and lead. *Partners sit opposite. Cards are dealt three at a time and play runs counter-clockwise, so the forehand — the player to the dealer’s right — both chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Who chooses the contract, and how does schieben work? Forehand chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Forehand may instead use **schieben**, which means passing the contract choice to the partner sitting opposite. Schieben may be used exactly once in a round. If forehand chooses, the chosen contract applies immediately. If forehand schiebt, the partner must choose from the available contracts. That partner may not schieben back. The decision therefore moves from forehand to the partner in one direction only. The available choices are a trump contract in Eicheln, Rosen, Schellen or Schilten, together with Obenabe and Undenufe. A trump contract gives one suit a special strength order. Obenabe has no trump suit and uses the ordinary descending order. Undenufe has no trump suit and reverses the complete strength ladder. Schieben is not a second vote. The partner who receives the choice has the final decision. For example, forehand may hold a hand that supports a contract but pass the choice to the partner because the partner's hand may offer a stronger alternative. Once the partner chooses, forehand cannot reclaim the decision or ask for another transfer. The procedure is: - forehand chooses, or schiebt; - if forehand schiebt, the partner chooses; - the partner cannot schieben back; - the selected contract governs every trick and the score for the round. The [Schieben rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieben/) page gives the procedure as a separate reference. The contract decision also determines the multiplier, but the multiplier tables are regional. The common table, and the one the app writes by default, is Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×1, Schellen ×2, Schilten ×2, Obenabe ×3 and Undenufe ×4. A widely published variant gives both Obenabe and Undenufe ×3. An ascending variant uses Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×2, Schellen ×3, Schilten ×4, Obenabe ×5 and Undenufe ×6. Name the chosen table before dealing if your table uses a regional variant. The factor multiplies the complete written round for both teams. It applies to tricks, Weis and Stöck, not only to the team whose player chose the contract. A contract choice therefore affects both the card order and the eventual score. *In a trump suit the Under (Puur) is the highest card and the nine (Nell) the second highest — above the ace. The order and the values are the same in every canton; only the multiplier changes. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What are the contracts and strongest cards in Schieber Jass? A trump contract makes the chosen suit stronger than every plain suit. The trump order, from strongest to weakest, is **Under, nine, ace, king, Ober, ten, eight, seven, six**. The trump Under is called the **Puur**, and the trump nine is called the **Nell**. The three non-trump suits retain the plain-suit order: **ace, king, Ober, Under, ten, nine, eight, seven, six**. A plain-suit card cannot beat a trump card in the same trick. If no trump appears, the highest card in the suit led wins. Obenabe is a no-trump contract that uses the plain-suit order in every suit: ace, king, Ober, Under, ten, nine, eight, seven, six. It does not create a Puur or Nell. Undenufe is also no-trump, but the ladder is inverted: **six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Under, Ober, king, ace**. The [contracts explained](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) page provides a separate reference for the available choices and their regional scoring treatment. At the table, identify the contract before comparing cards. Do not use the trump order in Obenabe, and do not use the plain-suit order in Undenufe. The inserted card-values table should be read alongside these orders. In a trump contract, the trump suit carries **62** card points, while each plain suit carries **30**. Obenabe assigns **38** points to each suit, and Undenufe also assigns **38** points to each suit. Every contract places exactly **152** card points in the pack. Here is a practical example. In a trump contract, the Puur is the strongest card and carries **20** points. The Nell is the next strongest and carries **14**. A plain ace carries **11** points, but it loses to any trump in a trick. In Undenufe, the six is the strongest card and carries **11** points, while the ace is the weakest card and carries **0**. That difference between strength and value affects both play and counting. A card may be worth many points but fail to win. Another card may win a trick while contributing no card points. Sort the hand by suit, mark the contract's exceptional cards, and keep the card-values table available when estimating the likely score. | Card | In trump | Plain suit | Obenabe | Undenufe | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | A | 11 | 11 | 11 | 0 | | K | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | | O | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | | U | 20 | 2 | 2 | 2 | | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | | 9 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 | | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | | **Suit total** | **62** | **30** | **38** | **38** | ## What must you do when following suit in a trick? Forehand leads the first trick, and the winner of each trick leads the next. All **9 tricks** are played counter-clockwise, with one card from each player in every trick. The team that wins a trick keeps its cards for the final count. You must follow the suit led whenever you hold a card of that suit. If you hold none, you may play another permitted card. In a trump contract, that other card may be a trump, and a trump beats every plain-suit card in the trick. If the lead itself is trump, trump is the suit that must be followed. Obenabe and Undenufe have no trump suit. In either contract, a player who can follow the led suit must do so. If no card of the led suit is held, the player may play another suit, and the winner is decided using the relevant no-trump order. Apply the rule in this sequence: - identify the suit led; - check whether you hold that suit; - play that suit if you do; - if you do not, play another card allowed by the contract; - compare cards using the contract's strength order; - give the trick to the winning team. Consider a trick led in Rosen during a Schilten contract. A player holding Rosen must play Rosen, even if that player's Eicheln ace looks stronger in isolation. A player holding no Rosen may play Schilten, and the strongest Schilten card in the trick then wins because Schilten is trump. In Obenabe, the same off-suit card does not become trump because no trump suit exists. If a trick contains one or more trumps, compare the trump cards to decide the winner. Plain cards do not defeat a trump. If no trump appears, compare only cards in the led suit. The highest relevant card leads the next trick. Keep each trick visible until the winner has been identified and the cards have been collected. This allows the table to confirm the led suit and check that every player followed it when possible. Keep the two teams' captured tricks separate, because card values belong to the team that won those tricks. The [following-suit rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/following-suit/) page gives the permitted plays in more detail. After all **36 cards** have been played, count the card values in each team's tricks, then add the special last-trick points before completing the round score. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## When should you declare Weis and Stöck? Weis is a qualifying card combination, while **Stöck** is the king and Ober of the trump suit held in one hand. Stöck exists only in a trump-suit contract. Obenabe and Undenufe do not have Stöck. Declare Weis during the first trick under the comparison and declaration procedure in the [Weis guide](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/). The combination belongs to the hand that contains it. The teams compare qualifying Weis according to the applicable rules, and the score later treats Weis before Stöck and tricks when a team crosses the target in the same round. Stöck has a separate timing rule. Declare Stöck while playing the **second** of the two relevant cards, not while playing the first. If the next player has already covered that second card before the declaration is made, the **20** Stöck points are lost. The player holding the pair must make the declaration. Partners may not remind each other. A partner who notices the second card being played must remain silent. The declaration is the responsibility of the player who holds the king and Ober in one hand. For example, a player may hold the trump king and Ober but must not declare Stöck when placing the first of them on the table. The player waits until the second card is played and declares at that point. If the next player has already placed a covering card before the declaration, the pair no longer earns the **20** points. Stöck is credited to the team that holds the pair, regardless of the Weis comparison. It is not transferred to the team with the stronger Weis, and it is not dependent on either card winning a trick. Card points, Weis and Stöck are separate scoring items. Use this opening-play sequence: - forehand leads after the contract is fixed; - players follow suit as required; - players declare qualifying Weis under the [Weis rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/); - a player declares Stöck only while playing the second card of the trump king-and-Ober pair; - the trick is completed and awarded normally. The [Stöck rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/) page gives the declaration detail as a dedicated reference. The essential timing remains fixed: the first card does not trigger Stöck, and a declaration made after the next player has covered the second card is too late. ## How many points can a Schieber Jass round score? A Schieber Jass round contains **152** card points. The team that wins the last trick receives an additional **5** points, so tricks and the last-trick award provide **157** points before Weis and Stöck. If one team wins all **9 tricks**, add **100** points. The resulting total is **257** before adding Weis and Stöck. The all-tricks addition belongs to the team that captured every trick in the round. Count the values of the cards in each team's captured tricks using the inserted card-values table. Then award the last-trick points to the team that won the final trick. If one team took every trick, add the all-tricks points as well. Add Weis according to its combination and comparison rules, and add **20** for correctly declared Stöck. The [Stöck rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/) page explains the timing and the [Jasstafel writing guide](https://jasvel.org/rules/jasstafel-scoring/) explains how to record the result. Keep the items separate while counting. One team may win the last trick, another may hold Stöck, and the two teams may receive different Weis results. The contract factor multiplies the whole written round for both teams. Under the common table, the app's default, the factors are Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×1, Schellen ×2, Schilten ×2, Obenabe ×3 and Undenufe ×4. The factor applies to tricks, Weis and Stöck, rather than only to the team that selected the contract. Regional multiplier tables must be named rather than treated as universal. A widely published variant gives Obenabe and Undenufe ×3. An ascending variant uses Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×2, Schellen ×3, Schilten ×4, Obenabe ×5 and Undenufe ×6. Agree the table before dealing, because the same round can produce a different written result under each table. Suppose a team earns card points, the last-trick award, Weis and Stöck in one round. The contract factor applies to that team's complete written round. The opposing team's complete written round receives the same factor, even if the opposing team chose no contract. The practice targets are **1000**, **1500**, **2500** and **3000**. The app offers **1000** and **2500**. If a round takes a team past the target, count the scoring blocks in this order: Weis first, Stöck second, and tricks third. A team crossing in an earlier block wins. ## How do you write the final score on a Jasstafel? Write each team's round result separately on a Jasstafel, the traditional Jass score sheet. Complete the count only after the contract, captured tricks, declarations and multiplier have been checked. Use this scoring sequence: - count the card points in each team's tricks; - award **5** points for the last trick; - award **100** points if one team won all **9 tricks**; - add Weis; - add **20** points for valid Stöck; - apply the contract factor to the complete written round; - enter both team totals on the Jasstafel. The [Jasstafel writing rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/jasstafel-scoring/) page explains the traditional notation. The written score must show which team earned each item. Do not move the last-trick award to the team that won the most tricks overall. Do not give Stöck to the team with the stronger Weis. Each item follows its own result. The multiplier is part of the round calculation, not a bonus reserved for the declaring team. If the contract is Schellen under the common table, the factor is ×2 for both teams' written totals. If the contract is Undenufe under that table, the factor is ×4, but Stöck cannot be added because Undenufe has no trump suit. Choose the target before the game begins. Practice targets include **1000**, **1500**, **2500** and **3000**, while the app offers **1000** and **2500**. The target determines when the game ends, but it does not alter the deal, the card order, the following-suit rule or the declaration timing. When a team reaches or passes the target, use the crossing order rather than comparing a single combined total. Count Weis first, then Stöck, then tricks. If one team crosses in the Weis block and the other crosses only in the tricks block, the first team wins, even if the later block appears larger when all figures are viewed together. Keep the captured tricks available until the count is complete. Check the last trick, confirm whether one team took all **9 tricks**, verify Weis, confirm Stöck timing and then apply the multiplier. This audit is particularly useful in Obenabe and Undenufe, where Stöck is not available. After both totals have been written and the target checked, the round is complete. Rotate the dealer before beginning the next round. Partnerships remain fixed, and partners continue to sit opposite each other. ## What is the complete order of a Schieber Jass round? A complete Schieber Jass round runs from the deal through the target check in a fixed order. Deal the cards, identify forehand, settle the contract, play the tricks, make valid declarations, count the score and rotate the dealer. Use this table-side checklist: - Deal **36 cards**, three at a time, giving **9 cards** to each player. - Identify the player to the dealer's right as forehand. - Confirm the fixed partnerships and opposite seating. - Have forehand choose the contract or schieben exactly once. - If forehand schieben, have the partner choose without schieben back. - Confirm the contract's strength order and regional multiplier. - Let forehand lead the first trick. - Require each player to follow the led suit when possible. - Allow another card only when the player holds none of the led suit. - Handle Weis during the first trick under its declaration rules. - Declare Stöck only while playing the second card of the trump king-and-Ober pair. - Let the trick winner lead the next trick. - Continue until all **9 tricks** are complete. - Count card points, the last-trick **5**, any all-tricks **100**, Weis and Stöck. - Multiply the whole written round by the contract factor. - Write both team totals and check the target in Weis, Stöck, tricks order. Forehand's position determines both the contract decision and the opening lead. The dealer's role rotates after the round, so the next deal creates a new forehand. The partnerships do not change. If a dispute arises, return to the stage at which it occurred. Check the hand size and seating first. Check the contract for card order and multiplier. Check the [following-suit rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/following-suit/) for the played card, the [Weis rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/) for a declaration and the [Stöck rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/) for timing. Then complete the score in the correct order. A worked sequence might begin with forehand choosing Schilten. The players then use the Schilten trump order, follow the led suit whenever possible, and treat Schilten as trump when a player has no card of the led suit. A player holding the trump king and Ober declares Stöck while playing the second card, provided the next player has not already covered it. After the ninth trick, the teams count their cards, declarations and multiplier. The contract changes both play and scoring. A Puur can win a trump trick under one contract but has no special status in Obenabe. A six can be weak in a trump or Obenabe hand but strongest in Undenufe. The score also depends on declarations and the target-crossing order, not just on the number of tricks. Once both teams have checked the written result, rotate the dealer and begin the next round. The short answer Schieber Jass uses four players in two fixed partnerships, with partners opposite each other. Forehand chooses the contract or schiebt once, then leads a round of 9 tricks. The score includes card points, the last trick, possible all-tricks points, Weis and Stöck, with regional contract multipliers applied to the whole round. ## Questions ### How many cards does each player receive in Schieber Jass? Each of the four players receives 9 cards from the 36-card pack. The cards are dealt three at a time. The complete hands are dealt before the contract is chosen. ### Can the partner reject a contract after forehand schiebt? No. Schieben passes the choice to the partner, who must select a contract. The partner may not schieben the choice back to forehand. ### What is the Puur in Schieber Jass? The Puur is the Under of the trump suit. It is the strongest card in that trump suit. The trump nine, called the Nell, ranks immediately below it. ### What happens if a player cannot follow the led suit? The player may play another card when no card of the led suit is held. In a trump contract, a trump can then win the trick. In Obenabe and Undenufe, no suit is trump. ### Does a Stöck declaration belong to the player or the partnership? The player holding the trump king and Ober must declare Stöck while playing the second card. The resulting 20 points are credited to that player's team, regardless of the Weis comparison. ### Which multiplier does the app use by default? The app writes the common table by default: Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×1, Schellen ×2, Schilten ×2, Obenabe ×3 and Undenufe ×4. Regional variants use different factors, so agree the table before play. ### What decides the winner when the target is crossed during a round? Compare the scoring blocks in this order: Weis, Stöck, then tricks. The team that crosses the target in the earlier block wins. The practice targets are 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000, and the app offers 1000 and 2500. ## Sources 1. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 2. [Jass-Regeln: Schieber-Jass](https://www.swisslos.ch/de/jass/informationen/jass-regeln/schieber-jass.html) — Swisslos 3. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) Jass card values depend on the contract, but every deal contains 152 card points before the 5-point last-trick bonus. - [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) Jass is a four-player trick-taking game in fixed teams: deal 36 cards, choose a contract, play nine tricks and record the score. - [Jasvel](https://jasvel.org/) A complete English guide to Swiss Jass Schieber, including the deal, contracts, trick play, declarations, scoring and regional practice. - [Dealing and seating](https://jasvel.org/rules/dealing-and-seating/) Seat partners opposite, deal counter-clockwise in groups of three, and let the player on the dealer’s right choose the contract and lead. - [Differenzler scoresheet](https://jasvel.org/tools/differenzler-scoresheet/) Record the target, the scored blocks and the trick result, then check the 157-point base total before carrying the game forward. - [Variants](https://jasvel.org/variants/) Schieber is only one form of Jass: the main variants change who chooses the contract, who shares a score and what counts as success. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Stöck in Jass: when to declare the 20 points** > Learn the Stöck Jass rule: which trump cards form Stöck, when to declare it, and why a late announcement loses 20 points. Source: https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) # What is the Stöck Jass rule? Stöck is the 20-point combination of the trump king and Ober in one hand, declared as you play the second card. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## What does Stöck mean in Jass? Stöck is the combination of the **king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand**. It is worth **20 points** for the team holding those cards. The team receives the score even if the other team holds the best [Weis](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/). The pair must belong to the suit selected as trump for the round. A king and Ober from another suit do not form Stöck. Both cards must also be in the same hand. If partners hold one card each, their team does not have Stöck. Stöck is a separate scoring item. It is not a sequence, a four of a kind or a trick-card value. The [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) determine the points carried by cards in tricks, while Stöck records the special combination of the trump king and Ober. Do not add 20 points to either card when that card wins a trick. The combination belongs to the team that holds it. The team does not need to win the best Weis to receive Stöck, and the best Weis does not transfer Stöck to the other side. The two entries remain separate when the round is scored. Stöck exists only when the round has a trump suit. It does not exist in **Obenabe**, the contract in which the ordinary card order applies without a trump suit. It also does not exist in **Undenufe**, the contract in which the ordinary order is inverted without a trump suit. A hand can contain a king and Ober in either contract, but those cards cannot make Stöck. A practical example makes the distinction clear. Suppose hearts are trump and one player holds the heart king and heart Ober. That player has Stöck. If the same player holds the king and Ober of clubs while hearts are trump, the player has no Stöck. If the heart king is in one hand and the heart Ober is in that player’s partner’s hand, the team also has no Stöck. The contract chosen through a [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) determines whether a trump suit exists. Check the contract before looking for the pair. In a trump round, inspect each hand for the trump king and Ober. In Obenabe or Undenufe, leave Stöck out of the score entirely. 20 *Stöck is these two cards in one hand, in the trump suit, and it is worth **20**. Say it as you play the second of them: once the next player has covered that card, the points are gone. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## When do you declare Stöck? Declare Stöck **as you play the second of the trump king and Ober**. Do not declare it when you play the first card. The announcement must be made before the next player has covered the second card. The order of the pair does not matter. If you play the trump king first, declare Stöck when you play the trump Ober. If you play the trump Ober first, declare Stöck when you play the trump king. The second card is the moment that matters. For example, a player holds the trump king and Ober. The player leads the trump king and says nothing about Stöck. Later, the player plays the trump Ober and announces Stöck immediately. That is the correct timing. If the player announces Stöck on the first card, the announcement is too early. The next player’s action sets the limit. If that player has already covered the second Stöck card before the holder speaks, the **20 points are lost**. The holder cannot wait until the trick is complete, until the next trick begins or until the score is written. A later announcement does not repair the missed timing. The declaration is made by the player who holds both cards. Partners may not remind each other. A partner must not name the pair, ask whether the holder has Stöck or prompt the holder to speak. The holder must recognise the combination and declare it without assistance. Stöck is also separate from the first-trick Weis announcement. On the first trick, each player states only the value of that player’s best meld while playing the card. Stöck is not included in that announcement. It is declared later, at the play of the second card in the trump pair. Use this sequence at the table: - Identify the trump suit. - Check whether the same hand contains its king and Ober. - Play the first of those cards without declaring Stöck. - Declare Stöck while playing the second card. - Speak before the next player covers that card. The declaration should be immediate and unambiguous. A player who has the pair does not need to wait for the other team’s Weis value, for the second trick or for the end of the round. The correct declaration happens during the play of the second card. *The trump suit is worth **62** of the pack’s **152** card points on its own — the Under alone is 20 and the Nell 14 — while each of the other three suits holds **30**. That imbalance is why the trump choice decides most rounds. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Does the best Weis affect who receives Stöck? The best Weis does not affect ownership of Stöck. The team holding the trump king and Ober receives the 20 points when the combination is declared correctly, regardless of the Weis comparison. A stronger meld for the opposing team does not cancel or transfer Stöck. **Weis** means the melds announced on the first trick. Each player states only the value of that player’s best meld, in turn as the player plays the card. The team that turns out to hold the single best Weis shows the actual cards on the second trick, and only then are the points certain. Only the team with the single best Weis writes anything for the melds. It writes both partners’ melds together. The other team writes nothing for Weis, even if it showed a meld. This comparison decides which team receives the Weis score, but it does not decide which team receives Stöck. Consider a round in which one team has the best sequence and the other team holds the trump king and Ober. The first team writes the winning Weis. The second team receives 20 points for correctly declared Stöck. Each entry keeps its own owner. The comparison rules for Weis also remain separate from Stöck. Weis is compared by points, then by the number of cards, then by the highest card in the meld, then by a meld in the trump suit, and then by seat position relative to the forehand. Weis always counts in natural order from six to ace, including in Undenufe, where trick order is inverted. None of those comparison steps can make a valid Stöck belong to the other team. A card may belong to a sequence and a four of a kind at the same time. That rule concerns the melds. It does not turn a king and Ober into Stöck unless they are the trump pair in the same hand. The [contracts](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) page can provide the surrounding contract rules, but the Stöck declaration still follows its own timing. Keep the scoring questions distinct: - Which team has the single best Weis? - Which team holds and declares Stöck? - Which team wins the tricks and their card points? Those answers can differ. A team can write Stöck while the other team writes Weis. The trick winner is determined separately by the contract and the cards played. *In a trump suit the Under (Puur) is the highest card and the nine (Nell) the second highest — above the ace. The order and the values are the same in every canton; only the multiplier changes. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How is Stöck counted with the round score? Stöck is added as its own 20-point scoring item for the team that declared it correctly. The round contains **152 card points in the pack**, and the last trick adds **5 points**, giving **157 points** before the all-tricks bonus. A team that wins all **9 tricks** receives an additional **100 points**, giving **257 points** for the round before any Stöck score is included. The card points come from the tricks, not from Stöck. The last-trick bonus is also separate. If one team wins all 9 tricks, the 100-point match bonus is separate again. Stöck adds 20 points because the team holds the trump king and Ober in one hand and declares the combination at the correct moment. For example, a team can receive the score for Stöck while the opposing team takes the majority of the card points. The team with Stöck does not need to win a particular trick, and the team winning the last trick does not automatically receive Stöck. Each score follows its own rule. When a round takes a team past its target, count the written blocks in this order: **Weis first, Stöck second, tricks third**. This order decides which team crosses first when both teams are close to the target. It does not change the value of Stöck or transfer the combination between teams. Suppose a team is close to its target and the round produces a Weis score, a correctly declared Stöck and trick points. Count the Weis block first. Count the Stöck block next. Count the trick score after that. If the team crosses the target in the earlier block, that earlier crossing decides the result under the stated rule. The available practice targets are **1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000**. The app offers **1000 and 2500**. The target does not alter the value of Stöck. It only sets the point at which the match ends. Stöck remains a 20-point entry, and the order Weis, Stöck, tricks remains relevant when a team crosses a target during scoring. Do not fold Stöck into the card total when explaining the round. The pack has 152 card points, the last trick adds 5, and an all-tricks result adds 100. Stöck is a separate declared combination. That separation makes it possible for Weis, Stöck and tricks to belong to different teams in the same round. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What happens when a player forgets to declare Stöck? A player who fails to declare Stöck before the next player covers the second card loses the **20 points**. The pair remains in the hand, but the score cannot be claimed later. The holder must make the declaration at the correct moment during play. The same result applies if the player waits until the trick has ended. Saying Stöck after the next player has covered the card is too late. Saying it when the score is being written is also too late. The rule gives one precise moment: the play of the second card in the trump king and Ober. A partner cannot rescue a missed declaration. Partners may not remind each other, ask about a possible Stöck or point out that the second card is being played. If the holder stays silent and the next player covers the card, the 20 points are lost without a partner’s prompt. A player can avoid the mistake by preparing before the trick begins. Confirm the trump suit, identify whether the same hand holds the trump king and Ober, and remember which of those cards appears first. Preparation does not replace the spoken declaration. The holder still has to say Stöck while playing the second card. The following examples separate the common errors: - The holder plays the first card and declares Stöck. The declaration is too early. - The holder plays the second card and declares Stöck before the next player plays. The timing is correct. - The holder plays the second card, the next player covers it, and the holder then declares Stöck. The 20 points are lost. - The holder says nothing, and a partner calls out Stöck before the next player covers the card. Partners may not prompt each other, so the partner’s reminder is not permitted. - The holder has the king and Ober of a non-trump suit. No Stöck exists. - The round is Obenabe or Undenufe. No Stöck exists because there is no trump suit. A correct declaration protects the team’s ownership of the score, even if the other team has the best Weis. The team still counts the score in the Stöck block, after Weis and before tricks when a target crossing is decided. The declaration rule, the Weis comparison and the trick score remain separate parts of the round. The short answer Stöck consists of the king and Ober of the trump suit in the same hand and is worth 20 points. Declare it while playing the second of those cards, before the next player covers it. The score belongs to that team regardless of the Weis comparison, but Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. ## Questions ### Must the trump king and Ober be held by the same player? Yes. Stöck requires the trump king and Ober in one hand. A team does not receive Stöck when partners hold one card each. ### Can a king and Ober from another suit make Stöck? No. The cards must belong to the suit selected as trump for the round. A king and Ober from any other suit do not form Stöck. ### When does the Stöck declaration become too late? The declaration becomes too late as soon as the next player has covered the second card. The holder then loses the 20-point score, even if the announcement comes before the trick ends. ### Can a partner announce a held Stöck? No. The player holding both cards must make the declaration. Partners may not remind each other, ask about the combination or announce it on the holder’s behalf. ### Does Stöck count as part of Weis? No. Stöck has its own declaration and scoring rule. Weis is announced on the first trick, while Stöck is declared when the holder plays the second card of the trump pair. ### Can a team receive Stöck without winning the best Weis? Yes. The team holding the correctly declared trump pair receives Stöck regardless of the Weis comparison. The opposing team can write the best Weis without receiving the Stöck score. ## Sources 1. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 2. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Weis](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/) Jass Weis compares declared melds, and only the team with the single best meld scores Weis for both partners. - [Tactics](https://jasvel.org/tactics/) Good jass tactics begin with the contract: identify where the points sit, then protect them through disciplined play. - [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) Learn the complete Schieber Jass round, from dealing and schieben to following suit, declarations, multipliers and the winning score. - [Trumpf, Obenabe, Undenufe](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) The forehand selects a suit, Obenabe or Undenufe, and that contract fixes card strength, card values and the multiplier for the round. - [Card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) Jass card values depend on the contract, but every deal contains 152 card points before the 5-point last-trick bonus. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass card suits: Swiss-German and French decks** > Learn how Swiss-German and French Jass cards correspond, where each deck is customary, and why changing the deck does not change the score. Source: https://jasvel.org/rules/swiss-or-french-cards/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) # Swiss or French Jass cards Swiss-German and French cards belong to the same Jass tradition: regional symbols differ, but the suits, ranks and scoring positions correspond. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## Why are there Swiss-German and French Jass cards? Jass uses two regional card designs because Switzerland has different card traditions in different language regions. Swiss-German cards use Schellen, Schilten, Rosen and Eicheln, while French cards use diamonds, spades, hearts and clubs. Both decks serve the same game and do not represent separate scoring systems. The difference is mainly visual and regional. A player familiar with Swiss-German cards recognises bells, shields, roses and acorns. A player familiar with French cards expects the standard French suit signs. The card faces look different, but the positions they occupy in Jass remain aligned. The suit correspondence is direct. Schellen matches diamonds, Schilten matches spades, Rosen matches hearts, and Eicheln matches clubs. A player does not need to replace one complete set of values with another. The relevant task is to identify the equivalent suit and continue with the same rules. The court cards also have regional names. Swiss-German cards have an Under, an Ober and a König. French cards have a jack, a queen and a king. The Under is the Puur, meaning the trump Under, so a player moving between the decks must recognise both the card’s position and its local name. The card design forms part of what makes [what is Jass](https://jasvel.org/rules/what-is-jass/) distinctive. Players across language regions share the game while retaining local card customs. A visitor may receive a deck that looks unfamiliar without having to learn a separate game. The symbols change; the underlying structure does not. For practical play, establish the suit correspondence before the opening trick. If the group uses Swiss-German cards, read Schellen as diamonds, Schilten as spades, Rosen as hearts and Eicheln as clubs. If the group uses French cards, reverse the same mapping. Once the equivalent positions are clear, the decks can be treated as regional forms of the same equipment. *The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line is the border between the two decks: east of it Jass is played with Swiss-German cards — bells, shields, roses, acorns — and west of it with French ones. The Swiss National Museum traces the same line back to the frontier between the Duchy of Swabia and the Kingdom of Burgundy. Boundaries: swisstopo. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Where is the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line? The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line marks the main regional boundary between Swiss-German and French Jass cards. Swiss-German cards are customary to the east of the line, while French cards are customary to the west. The line therefore indicates the deck a visitor is most likely to encounter in a particular part of Switzerland. The name joins the Brünig, the Napf and the Reuss. Together, they describe a route across the country rather than a rule printed on a card. The boundary separates customary card use, not the game itself. Players on both sides recognise the same relationships between suits and card positions. A regional boundary can explain local practice without making that practice absolute. A group east of the line may still use French cards, and a group west of the line may still use Swiss-German cards. A host may own the other deck, prefer its appearance or have learned Jass from players in another region. The useful expectation remains straightforward. East of the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line, expect Schellen, Schilten, Rosen and Eicheln. West of the line, expect diamonds, spades, hearts and clubs. If the cards on the table differ from the cards you know, use the suit mapping rather than assuming that the rules have changed. The line also explains why descriptions of Swiss Jass cards can appear to disagree. One description may come from an eastern tradition and another from a western tradition. Both can be accurate for their regions. The deck follows local custom, while the game’s card logic remains shared. A visitor should therefore treat the line as a guide to expectation. The line does not make one deck more authentic for every player, and it does not prevent a group from choosing the other design. Confirm the cards in use, identify the equivalent suits and then follow the rule form being played. | Swiss suit | French suit | | --- | --- | | Eicheln | Clubs | | Rosen | Hearts | | Schellen | Diamonds | | Schilten | Spades | *The two decks are the same 36 cards under different signs, and the multiplier follows the position, never the picture — so choosing the French deck changes nothing about the score. The Swiss court cards are Under, Ober and König where the French deck has jack, queen and king. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Which Jass cards are used in each Swiss region? A visitor is most likely to receive Swiss-German cards in a region east of the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line and French cards in a region west of it. The regional position gives the expected card tradition, while the deck on the table settles the matter for the game being played. Swiss-German cards use Schellen, Schilten, Rosen and Eicheln. French cards use diamonds, spades, hearts and clubs. The symbols differ, but each Swiss-German suit has an exact French equivalent. A deck can therefore look unfamiliar while remaining fully readable to a player who knows the mapping. The regional pattern should not be treated as an exclusive rule for every household or card room. Local practice can overlap near the boundary, and families may keep a deck associated with another part of the country. A host may also choose a deck because it is familiar, available or preferred by the group. Asking which deck the group normally uses is enough. If the answer is Swiss-German, learn the four local suit names before discussing a contract. If the answer is French, identify the matching Swiss-German positions when a player uses local terminology. The practical aim is shared reference, not a test of regional knowledge. The distinction remains relevant in a [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/), the partnership form of Jass in which players choose the contract. A Schieber played with French cards is still a Schieber. The cards occupy the same suit positions, and the contract belongs to the same game structure. A player learning Jass outside Switzerland can keep the correspondence beside the playing surface. Schellen is diamonds, Schilten is spades, Rosen is hearts and Eicheln is clubs. That short reference removes uncertainty during a trick and lets the player concentrate on following suit, recognising trump and comparing the relevant card positions. The deck used by a group may reflect eastern or western custom, but neither deck gives a player stronger cards. The choice is regional and practical. Confirm the local design, translate the symbols once and use the shared Jass rules. ## How do Swiss-German suits correspond to French suits? Swiss-German and French suits correspond one to one. Schellen matches diamonds, Schilten matches spades, Rosen matches hearts, and Eicheln matches clubs. The direct mapping lets players move between the decks without learning a different suit system. The printed symbol identifies the regional design, while the suit position carries the rule meaning. A diamond in the French deck occupies the same suit position as Schellen in the Swiss-German deck. Spades and Schilten, hearts and Rosen, and clubs and Eicheln follow the same principle. This distinction matters during a trick. A player must recognise the suit led, identify the relevant trump suit when the game form requires one and compare the cards according to that form. A different picture does not create a different rule. A French suit sign is not an alternative value; it is the regional counterpart of a Swiss-German sign. The court cards follow the same pattern. The Swiss-German Under corresponds to the French jack, the Ober corresponds to the queen and the König corresponds to the king. In trump, the Under is called the Puur, meaning the trump Under. The local name may change, but the card position remains the point to identify. A reliable method is to read the suit before the rank. Match the symbol to its equivalent in the other deck, then identify the card’s position within the Jass form in play. That method prevents a player from assigning meaning to the artwork simply because the card looks different from the familiar version. The same approach applies to [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/). Use the applicable card position and rule form, not the visual identity of the suit sign. A player may describe a card with a Swiss-German name while another uses a French-card name, yet both can refer to the same position. The mapping is worth learning as a set because every pair works in the same way. Schellen and diamonds share a position; Schilten and spades share a position; Rosen and hearts share a position; Eicheln and clubs share a position. Once that translation becomes automatic, the regional design stops interrupting play. Swiss French *One game, two decks. These are the same three cards under different signs: the Under becomes the jack, the Ober the queen, and the acorns become clubs. The score does not notice. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Does changing the Jass deck change the score? Changing from Swiss-German cards to French cards does not change the score. The suit pictures and court-card names change, but the multiplier binds to the suit position rather than to the picture printed on the card. A French diamond therefore follows the position corresponding to Schellen. A French spade follows the position corresponding to Schilten. The same rule applies to hearts and Rosen, and to clubs and Eicheln. The artwork identifies the deck, while the position determines the scoring treatment. This separation keeps the decks interchangeable. Players can use regional names while recording the result under the same rule form. A scorekeeper using a [Jasstafel](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/), meaning a Jass scoreboard, must apply the relevant rule to the selected position rather than to the deck’s artwork. The principle also applies when the group chooses a trump suit. The selected suit position remains the selected position after a change of deck. A contract does not gain or lose value because French faces replace Swiss-German faces. The symbols may be different, but the contract refers to the same underlying position. The Under shows the same distinction from the rank side. In Swiss-German terminology, the trump Under is the Puur. A player using French cards may see the jack in the corresponding court-card position. The names and designs differ, but neither deck creates an additional score category merely by using another card tradition. A worked example makes the rule clear. Suppose a group identifies a suit position through Schellen and then uses French cards at another table. The equivalent French suit is diamonds. The scorekeeper does not recalculate the multiplier because of the new picture; the score follows the same position. Players therefore need to settle recognition, not arithmetic. Establish the equivalent suits, identify the relevant rank positions and score according to the Jass form in play. The deck is a regional interface for the game, not a modifier applied to the result. *In a trump suit the Under (Puur) is the highest card and the nine (Nell) the second highest — above the ace. The order and the values are the same in every canton; only the multiplier changes. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Which Jass deck should a visitor use? A visitor should use the deck preferred by the local group. East of the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line, that deck will most likely be Swiss-German. West of the line, it will most likely be French. Local cards make the game easier to read for the people at the table. An unfamiliar deck does not require a different approach to the game. Start by matching Schellen with diamonds, Schilten with spades, Rosen with hearts and Eicheln with clubs. Keep that correspondence visible until the symbols become familiar, then read the cards by their positions rather than by their appearance. Pay particular attention to the court cards. Under, Ober and König are the Swiss-German names; jack, queen and king are the French names. In trump, the Under is the Puur, meaning the trump Under. Recognising these equivalents prevents hesitation when a player knows Jass but does not know the local deck. Teaching material may show one deck while a local group uses the other. A [Jass app](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) may use one visual system, while a physical game uses another. That difference does not make the instruction unusable. Translate the symbols, retain the card positions and apply the same rule explanation. A player outside Switzerland may prefer French cards because the suit signs are familiar from other trick-taking games. Another player may prefer Swiss-German cards because they reflect the regional tradition being studied. Both are sensible starting points. The group should state the card names it uses before discussing a suit or court card. The deck choice is regional and practical, not a choice between stronger and weaker cards. The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line explains the design a visitor is likely to see, but it does not make the other deck invalid. A group can use either design after confirming the suit and court-card correspondences. The best preparation is short. Learn the mapping, recognise the Under, Ober and König or their French counterparts, and ask the host to name the deck before play begins. After that, the unfamiliar pictures should no longer obscure the decisions that matter in the trick. The short answer Swiss-German cards are customary east of the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line, while French cards are customary west of it. The suit positions correspond exactly, so changing the deck changes the pictures but not the scoring. ## Questions ### Are Swiss-German and French Jass cards different games? No. They are regional card designs used for the same Jass tradition. Their suit signs and court-card names differ, but the corresponding positions and scoring treatment remain aligned. ### What does the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line separate? The line separates the main regional card traditions. Swiss-German cards are customary to its east, while French cards are customary to its west. The boundary concerns card customs rather than a separate version of Jass. ### Which French suit corresponds to Rosen? Rosen corresponds to hearts in the French deck. The matching suit position stays the same, so the change from roses to hearts does not alter the scoring treatment. ### What is the French equivalent of the Swiss-German Under? The French equivalent is the jack. In trump, the Swiss-German Under is called the Puur, but the regional name does not create a separate scoring category. ### Can a group use French cards east of the regional line? Yes. The line describes the deck a player is most likely to encounter, not an exclusive rule about which deck may be used. A group can use either design after confirming the suit and court-card correspondences. ### Why does the multiplier remain unchanged with French cards? The multiplier follows the suit position rather than the printed picture. Each French suit corresponds exactly to one Swiss-German suit, so changing the deck does not change the score. ## Sources 1. [The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line: a cultural boundary through Switzerland](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2023/10/the-bruenig-napf-reuss-line-a-cultural-boundary-through-switzerland/) — Swiss National Museum 2. [Die Jassgrenze der Schweiz](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/jassgrenze-der-schweiz/) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 3. [Jassen — das Schweizer Nationalkartenspiel](https://jasswiki.ch/jassen/) — JassWiki ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [What Jass is](https://jasvel.org/rules/what-is-jass/) Jass is a Swiss family of trick-taking games for four players, using a 36-card pack, fixed partnerships, contracts and nine tricks. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/rules/swiss-or-french-cards/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Obenabe and Undenufe Jass rules explained** > Learn how trump, Obenabe and Undenufe set card order, card values and the regional multiplier for both teams in a Jass round. Source: https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) # What are the Obenabe and Undenufe rules in Jass? The forehand selects a suit, Obenabe or Undenufe, and that contract fixes card strength, card values and the multiplier for the round. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## What can the forehand choose in Jass? The forehand chooses a suit as trump, **Obenabe**, or **Undenufe**. That decision fixes the card order, the card values and the multiplier written for the round. The contract therefore affects every trick and every scoring entry from the opening lead to the final entry on the **Jasstafel**, the Jass score board. A suit contract makes the selected suit trump. The other suits remain plain suits and use a different strength order and value schedule. A trump card can beat a card from a plain suit when the trick contains one, so the choice gives one suit a power that the other suits do not have. The chosen suit also contains the special trump Under, called the **Puur**, and the special trump nine, called the **Nell**. Obenabe and Undenufe name no trump suit. **Obenabe** means that the ace is high in every suit. **Undenufe** reverses the ladder so that the six is high and the ace is low in every suit. Both contracts therefore apply one strength order across all suits rather than creating one privileged suit. The choice belongs to the forehand in the standard [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/), a partnership form of Jass in which the forehand determines the contract after the deal. The wider rules for passing or retaining a hand belong to Schieber. Once the contract has been selected, the contract rules remain clear: a suit contract has one trump suit, Obenabe has ace high, and Undenufe has six high. Use the contract together with the [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/). Strength decides which card wins a trick. Card value decides how many card points the winning side collects from that trick. For example, a card can take a trick because it is high in the contract order while another card can contribute more card points when captured. Those are separate qualities, and sound play requires you to track both. *The same nine ranks, read three ways. Obenabe is the ordinary top-down order; Undenufe turns it upside down, so the six wins the trick and the ace loses it. Weis is never inverted — it always counts from the six up. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How does a trump suit change the card order? A trump contract places the chosen suit above every plain suit and gives that suit a special order. From strongest to weakest, the trump order is Under, nine, ace, king, Ober, ten, eight, seven and six. The trump Under is the **Puur**, and the trump nine is the **Nell**. The Puur stands above every other trump, while the Nell stands immediately below it. A trump Puur beats every other trump. A trump Nell beats every trump except the Puur. The ace follows the Nell, then the king, Ober, ten, eight, seven and six. This order applies only to the selected suit. A Puur in a plain suit is not the highest card in that suit, and a plain-suit nine is not the Nell. The plain suits keep a separate order during a trump contract. From strongest to weakest, the order is ace, king, Ober, Under, ten, nine, eight, seven and six. The plain-suit Under is therefore below the Ober and above the ten. It does not receive the special strength of the trump Puur, and it does not receive the Puur’s card value. Consider a trick led in a plain suit. A plain-suit ace is the strongest card in that suit, but a player who is void in the led suit may use a trump under the applicable trick rules. The trump card can then win the trick even when the led suit contains its ace. In a trick led in the trump suit, the Puur and Nell must be read using the trump order rather than the plain-suit order. The [choosing trump](https://jasvel.org/tactics/choosing-trump/) page sets out the wider judgement behind a contract choice. The essential rule is the division between the selected suit and the remaining suits. The selected suit uses the Puur–Nell–ace order, while every plain suit uses the ace–king–Ober order. Keeping those ladders separate prevents the most common ranking errors. *The trump suit as it is actually held: the Under (Puur) on the left beats the nine (Nell), and both beat the ace. Nothing else in the pack reorders itself like this, which is why the trump choice is the decision of the round. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How are trump and plain-suit card values scored? A trump contract gives the chosen suit a special card-value schedule as well as a special strength order. The trump Under, or Puur, is worth 20 points, and the trump nine, or Nell, is worth 14. The trump ace is worth 11, the ten is worth 10, the king is worth 4 and the Ober is worth 3. The other trump cards carry no card points, and the trump suit totals 62 points. Plain suits use another schedule while a suit contract is active. In each plain suit, the ace is worth 11, the ten is worth 10, the king is worth 4, the Ober is worth 3 and the Under is worth 2. The remaining plain-suit cards carry no card points, and each plain suit totals 30 points. The plain Under therefore has a small card value compared with the trump Puur, even though both cards are Under cards. The card-value table gives the complete list, but the relationship between strength and value deserves attention. The trump Nell is second in strength yet worth 14 points. The trump ace is lower in strength but worth 11 points. A player may want to win a trick because of the card’s value, because of its position in the order, or because taking the trick prevents an opponent from collecting a valuable card. Every contract places exactly 152 card points in the pack. Under a trump contract, the total is made from 62 points in the trump suit and 30 points in each plain suit. The distribution changes when the contract changes, but the total remains fixed. Suppose one side captures the trump Puur and a plain-suit ace in the same trick. The side receives the card points from both cards, not only the value of the card that won the trick. A trick with a lower winning card can therefore contain more points than a trick won by a high but low-value card. The [card-values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) reference helps separate the winning order from the points collected. | Contract | Common | Both ×3 | Ascending | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Eicheln | ×1 | ×1 | ×1 | | Rosen | ×1 | ×1 | ×2 | | Schellen | ×2 | ×2 | ×3 | | Schilten | ×2 | ×2 | ×4 | | Obenabe | ×3 | ×3 | ×5 | | Undenufe | ×4 | ×3 | ×6 | *The factor multiplies everything written that round — tricks, Weis and Stöck, for both teams. The left-hand table is the one most tables use and the one this app writes by default; the other two are just as real, so agree on the table before the first deal. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What are the card order and values in Obenabe? **Obenabe** makes the ace the strongest card in every suit and has no trump suit. From strongest to weakest, every suit follows the order ace, king, Ober, Under, ten, nine, eight, seven and six. A card from another suit cannot become a trump card because Obenabe gives no suit that status. The Obenabe card values differ from those in a trump contract. In each suit, the ace is worth 11 points, the ten is worth 10, the eight is worth 8, the king is worth 4, the Ober is worth 3 and the Under is worth 2. The nine, seven and six carry no card points. Each suit totals 38 points, so the pack contains exactly 152 card points. The eight shows why strength and value must be read separately. The eight ranks below the nine in Obenabe, yet the eight is worth 8 points while the nine is worth nothing. The ace is both the highest card and worth 11 points. The ten is below the Under in strength but carries 10 points, so a player may need to protect it even when the ten cannot currently win a trick. No trump card can rescue a player who lacks the led suit. The winning card must come from the led suit, and the highest card in that suit is the ace. For example, if a suit is led and one player holds its ace, that ace beats the king, Ober, Under, ten, nine, eight, seven and six of that suit. Cards from other suits do not overtake the ace merely because they are high in their own suits. Obenabe therefore rewards a different hand assessment from a suit contract. Aces can control their suits, while tens and eights can carry substantial card value without being the highest cards. The [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) setting may influence the choice made by the forehand, but the Obenabe rules remain fixed: ace high, no trump suit, 38 points in each suit and 152 points in the pack. ## What are the card order and values in Undenufe? **Undenufe** reverses the ordinary card ladder and has no trump suit. From strongest to weakest, every suit follows the order six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Under, Ober, king and ace. The six is therefore the highest card in every suit, while the ace is the lowest. The Undenufe card values also follow a schedule distinct from Obenabe. In each suit, the six is worth 11 points, the ten is worth 10, the eight is worth 8, the king is worth 4, the Ober is worth 3 and the Under is worth 2. The nine and seven carry no card points, and the ace carries no card points. Each suit totals 38 points, giving the pack exactly 152 card points. The strongest card is not always the most valuable card in a simple sequence. Under Undenufe, the six is both strongest and worth 11 points. The ten ranks below the nine but is worth 10 points. The eight ranks below the seven but is worth 8 points, while the seven and nine carry no card points. The ace is the weakest card and has no card value, so it can be a useful card to lose when the led suit cannot be avoided. No suit can act as trump under Undenufe. If a player cannot follow the led suit, that player cannot introduce a trump card to take the trick. The winning card must come from the led suit, using the inverted ladder. For example, a six led in a suit beats every other card of that suit, while an ace loses to every other card of that suit. Undenufe demands a reversed reading of familiar cards. A six is a control card rather than a weak discard, and an ace is not a natural winner. Timing matters because leading a six can remove an opponent’s strongest card, while holding a ten or eight can protect card points until the suit is established. The [schieben](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieben/) rules cover wider passing decisions in the partnership game; the contract itself remains six high, ace low, no trump suit and 38 points per suit. *The trump suit is worth **62** of the pack’s **152** card points on its own — the Under alone is 20 and the Nell 14 — while each of the other three suits holds **30**. That imbalance is why the trump choice decides most rounds. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How does the regional Jass multiplier affect both teams? The multiplier scales the whole written round for both teams. It applies to points from tricks, **Weis**, announced combinations of cards, and **Stöck**, the king-and-Ober combination in the trump suit. The factor does not apply only to the team that selected the contract. The common multiplier table is the table the app writes by default. Under that table, Eicheln has ×1, Rosen has ×1, Schellen has ×2, Schilten has ×2, Obenabe has ×3 and Undenufe has ×4. The chosen contract determines the factor, while the card order and card values still come from the contract rules. Multiplier tables are regional, so no single table should be treated as universal. A widely published variant gives both Obenabe and Undenufe ×3. An ascending variant assigns Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×2, Schellen ×3, Schilten ×4, Obenabe ×5 and Undenufe ×6. The common table, the published variant and the ascending variant can therefore produce different written results from the same underlying round. The factor multiplies the complete written round rather than only the card points won in tricks. If one team records trick points together with Weis or Stöck, the selected factor applies to all eligible parts of that team’s score. The same factor applies to the other team’s eligible score. A contract with a higher factor therefore changes the written effect of every eligible scoring component for both sides. Keep trick calculation and multiplier selection as separate steps. First determine which cards won each trick and add the card points collected by each team. Then include eligible Weis and Stöck, and apply the regional factor to the whole written round. The [tool trick](https://jasvel.org/tools/who-wins-the-trick/) reference helps with the first part of that process. The app’s default table is the common table, but players using another regional convention should read the factors for that convention before writing the score. The short answer A trump contract gives one suit a special order led by the Puur and Nell, while plain suits retain their own order. Obenabe makes aces high, Undenufe makes sixes high, and the selected regional multiplier applies to tricks, Weis and Stöck for both teams. ## Questions ### Can a plain-suit Under become a Puur during a trump round? No. Only the Under in the selected trump suit is called the Puur. An Under in any other suit follows the plain-suit order and is worth 2 points. ### Does Obenabe give every ace the power of a trump? No. Obenabe gives every suit the same ace-high order, but it creates no trump suit. A card wins because of its position in the led suit, not because its suit has special status. ### Why can the eight matter so much in Obenabe and Undenufe? The eight is worth 8 points in both contracts. Its strength differs: it ranks below the nine in Obenabe, but above the nine in Undenufe. ### What happens to an ace under Undenufe? The ace becomes the weakest card in its suit. It also carries no card points, so an ace cannot win against another card of the led suit and does not add value when captured. ### Are the multipliers the same in every region? No. The common table used by the app by default gives Obenabe ×3 and Undenufe ×4. A widely published variant gives both contracts ×3, while an ascending table gives them ×5 and ×6. ### Do Weis and Stöck use the contract multiplier? Yes. The selected factor applies to Weis and Stöck as well as to trick points. The factor is used for both teams’ eligible entries in the written round. ## Sources 1. [Jass-Regeln: Schieber-Jass](https://www.swisslos.ch/de/jass/informationen/jass-regeln/schieber-jass.html) — Swisslos 2. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 3. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) Jass card values depend on the contract, but every deal contains 152 card points before the 5-point last-trick bonus. - [Tactics](https://jasvel.org/tactics/) Good jass tactics begin with the contract: identify where the points sit, then protect them through disciplined play. - [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) Learn the complete Schieber Jass round, from dealing and schieben to following suit, declarations, multipliers and the winning score. - [Stöck](https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/) Stöck is the 20-point combination of the trump king and Ober in one hand, declared as you play the second card. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass Weis rules, meld values and scoring guide** > Learn how Jass Weis points work, including meld values, first-trick declarations, comparison order, four of a kind and round scoring. Source: https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) # How do Jass Weis points work? Jass Weis compares declared melds, and only the team with the single best meld scores Weis for both partners. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## What counts as Weis in Jass? Weis is a meld declared during the first trick, consisting of a sequence in one suit or four cards of the same rank. The meld must be held in a player’s hand, and the teams compare their strongest melds before either side can score Weis. A sequence starts at three cards in one suit. Its value depends on its length: - Three cards are worth 20. - Four cards are worth 50. - Five cards are worth 100. - Six cards are worth 150. - Seven cards are worth 200. - Eight cards are worth 250. - Nine cards are worth 300. Sequences use the natural rank order from six to ace. For example, a sequence may run through six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Ober, king and ace, provided that the cards belong to one suit and are held in the hand. Weis does not use the inverted trick order of Undenufe. Four of a kind has a separate value. Four Under are worth 200, four Nell are worth 150, and four aces, kings, Obers or tens are worth 100. Four sixes, sevens or eights have no Weis value. A four of a kind made from four sixes therefore does not beat a sequence worth 20. A card may belong to a sequence and to a four of a kind at the same time. Suppose a player holds a card that completes a sequence and also forms four cards of one rank. That card remains part of both possible melds. The player compares the values and declares only the strongest meld in the hand. The best Weis is not a collection of every meld declared by both teams. The teams compare their single best melds, and only the team holding the strongest one scores Weis. That team records both partners’ melds together. The other team records nothing for Weis, even if one of its players announced a valid meld. Weis remains separate from ordinary trick points. The [card values guide](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) explains the values carried by cards and the last trick. Stöck, meaning the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand, follows a separate rule and is not part of the Weis comparison. | Cards | Points | Four of a kind | Points | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 3 | 20 | U × 4 | 200 | | 4 | 50 | 9 × 4 | 150 | | 5 | 100 | A × 4 | 100 | | 6 | 150 | K × 4 | 100 | | 7 | 200 | O × 4 | 100 | | 8 | 250 | 10 × 4 | 100 | | 9 | 300 | 8 × 4 | 0 | *A sequence of three is worth **20** and each further card roughly doubles the reward up to **300** for a nine-card run. Four Unders are **200**, four Nells **150**, four aces, kings, obers or banners **100** — and four sixes, sevens or eights are worth nothing at all. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## When do players declare and show a Weis meld? Each player declares the value of their best Weis while playing a card to the first trick. Players announce in turn as they play, using the value alone, such as “twenty”, “fifty” or “a hundred”. A player does not name the cards, announce the suit, state the length of a sequence or describe a four of a kind. The first-trick declaration gives the other players a public value for comparison, but it does not yet prove the exact meld. The actual cards remain concealed until the relevant team shows them on the second trick. Only the team that turns out to hold the single best Weis shows the actual cards. The points become certain at that showing. The winning team then records its own melds and both partners’ melds together, according to the applicable Weis values. The losing team scores nothing for Weis, even if its announced value matched or exceeded an opponent’s public declaration before the cards were checked. Partners may not tell each other about a meld or ask about one. A partner may hear an announced value, but may not ask whether the meld is a sequence, a four of a kind, a trump-suit meld or a particular length. A partner may not answer such a question either. Only the values announced during the first trick are public before the showing. Consider a hand containing a five-card sequence worth 100 and four cards of a rank worth 100. The player announces “a hundred”, not both possibilities. If the team wins the comparison, the player shows the meld that establishes the result. A card may still have belonged to both combinations when the hand was assessed. A declared value does not settle every comparison. A five-card sequence worth 100 and four aces worth 100 require the later comparison steps. The players first compare the points, then use the number of cards and the remaining tie-breakers. The second-trick showing supplies the exact cards needed for that decision. Stöck uses a different declaration moment. A player declares Stöck while playing the second of the king and Ober of the trump suit. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other. The [Stöck rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/) describe that separate declaration and its conditions. 100 100 *Both of these are worth **100**. The sequence wins the comparison because it holds five cards against four — points first, then card count, then the highest card. This is the argument the comparison ladder exists to settle. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How do you compare two Jass Weis melds? Compare two Weis melds in a fixed order: points, number of cards, highest card, trump suit, then seat position relative to the forehand. The first difference decides the comparison, so a later test cannot overturn an earlier result. Begin with the meld values. Four Under are worth 200, while four Nell are worth 150. A five-card sequence is worth 100, as are four aces, four kings, four Obers and four tens. A meld worth 150 beats a meld worth 100, regardless of the cards’ trick strength in the current contract. Use the number of cards when the values are equal. A five-card sequence worth 100 beats four aces worth 100 because the sequence has five cards and the four of a kind has four. The comparison stops at card count. It does not matter that an ace is the highest natural rank. The same test applies to equal-value sequences. A four-card sequence worth 50 cannot beat a five-card sequence worth 50, because the longer sequence wins. If both melds have the same value and the same length, continue to the highest card. A sequence ending in ace ranks above a sequence ending in king at that stage. Use natural rank order for the highest-card step: six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Ober, king and ace. This order applies to Weis under every contract. A card that takes a trick in one contract may not take a trick in another, but that change does not alter the natural order used for a meld comparison. If the points, lengths and highest cards are all equal, a meld in the trump suit takes precedence. This step matters only after the earlier comparisons have produced no winner. If the melds still match, use seat position relative to the forehand as the final comparison. For a worked comparison, imagine a five-card sequence worth 100 against four aces worth 100. The points tie. The sequence has more cards, so it wins immediately. Imagine four Nell worth 150 against a six-card sequence worth 150. The points tie and both melds have the same number of cards, so compare their highest cards, then trump suit and seat position if necessary. The [Weis tool](https://jasvel.org/tools/weis-calculator/) can help identify a possible meld and its value. It does not replace the comparison order. Players still need to show the relevant cards and apply each tie-breaker in sequence. *Only one team writes Weis, and this is the order the question is settled in. A five-card sequence and four aces are both worth 100 — the sequence wins on card count. Stöck is never part of this comparison: both teams always write their own. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Does Undenufe change the order used for Weis? Undenufe does not reverse the order used for Weis. Weis always follows the natural order from six to ace, while Undenufe reverses the order used to take tricks. The two systems answer different questions. The contract determines which cards are strong during trick play. Weis determines how melds compare for the separate meld score. A low card may be favoured when taking a trick in Undenufe, but that does not make the low card higher than an ace in the Weis comparison. Suppose two equal-value sequences have the same length and need a highest-card comparison during Undenufe. Read the sequences in natural order. A sequence ending in ace remains higher than a sequence ending in king, even though the ace may not have the same trick strength under the contract. Obenabe also leaves the Weis order unchanged. Obenabe and Undenufe are contract forms that affect play, not alternative rank systems for meld comparison. Players should therefore keep two checks separate: - Use the contract’s trick order to decide which card wins a trick. - Use the natural six-to-ace order to compare equal-value Weis melds. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. Stöck requires the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand, so it belongs to a contract with trumps. Its absence does not change sequence values, four-of-a-kind values or the Weis comparison ladder. Schieber, meaning the partner-led contract selection method, also does not change the Weis order. The [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) explain how partners choose the contract. The contract reference for [Obenabe and Undenufe](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) explains the play forms, while Weis keeps its own comparison method. A useful table-side check is to name the contract first, then assess the meld. Ask which cards win tricks under that contract only when playing the trick. When comparing melds, return to the natural sequence from six through ace. This prevents an Undenufe trick rule from being carried into a Weis decision. ## How many points can Weis add to a Jass round? A Jass round uses 36 cards, deals 9 cards to each of 4 players and contains 9 tricks. The pack contains 152 card points, and the last trick adds 5, so the card score reaches 157 before Weis, Stöck and the match bonus are added. A team that takes all 9 tricks receives a match bonus of 100. That produces 257 points for the round before adding Weis and Stöck. The match bonus belongs to the trick score; it does not affect the value or comparison of a meld. Weis goes to only one team. The team with the single best meld writes the meld points for both partners together. The other team writes no Weis. This remains true when both teams have announced valid melds or when the announced values appear equal before the actual cards are shown. Stöck is a separate 20 points. It consists of the king and Ober of the trump suit held in one hand, and it is credited to that player’s team regardless of the Weis comparison. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. A player must declare it while playing the second of the two cards, not the first. The scoring order matters when a round takes a team past its target. Count the blocks in this order: 1. Weis. 2. Stöck. 3. Tricks. The team that crosses the target during an earlier block wins. A team may therefore win during the Weis block before the Stöck or trick points are counted. Keep each block separate on the [Jasstafel](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) until the order has been applied. Practice targets are 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000. The app offers 1000 and 2500. These targets do not alter the values of sequences, four of a kind, Stöck, cards, the last trick or the match bonus. For example, a round that includes a winning Weis claim must first add the winning team’s Weis, including both partners’ melds. Add valid Stöck next. Add the trick points and the 100 match bonus where the team has taken all 9 tricks. If the target is crossed during the first block, the later blocks do not move the win to the other team. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How can you check a Weis decision at the table? Check a Weis decision by recording the first-trick declarations, verifying the shown melds on the second trick and applying the comparison ladder in order. The procedure gives every disputed point a defined step without requiring partners to disclose their cards. First, note the value announced by each player as that player plays to the first trick. Record “twenty”, “fifty”, “a hundred” or the other announced value, but do not ask for the cards behind the declaration. Partners may not tell each other about a meld, and they may not ask about one. Second, wait for the second-trick showing by the team with the strongest claim. Check the actual cards. A sequence must run in one suit and follow the natural order. A four of a kind must contain four cards of the same rank. A card may appear in a sequence and a four of a kind at the same time, so do not reject a meld merely because one card appears in another combination. Third, compare the strongest melds. Use points first. If the values match, count the cards. If the lengths match, compare the highest card in natural order from six to ace. If the highest cards match, prefer a meld in the trump suit. If no difference remains, use seat position relative to the forehand. Fourth, award Weis only to the winning team. Add both partners’ melds together for that team. Do not add the losing team’s announced meld, and do not treat a declaration as a score before the strongest team has shown the actual cards on the second trick. Finally, check Stöck and the trick score separately. Stöck is available only where trumps apply, and the player must declare it while playing the second card of the king-and-Ober pair. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other. Use the [Weis reference tool](https://jasvel.org/tools/weis-calculator/) to check possible values, then confirm the result against the inserted Weis table and comparison order. Use the [card values guide](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) for ordinary trick scoring. Use [contract rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) to confirm whether the contract is Obenabe, Undenufe or a trump-suit form. If the target is crossed, apply Weis, Stöck and tricks in that order. The short answer Players announce only the value of their best meld while playing to the first trick. The team with the single best meld shows the cards on the second trick and records both partners’ melds; Weis keeps the natural six-to-ace order in Undenufe. ## Questions ### Who scores when both teams declare a valid Weis? Only the team with the single best meld scores Weis. That team records the melds held by both partners together, while the other team records nothing for Weis. ### Why does a five-card sequence beat four aces when both are worth 100? The point values are equal, so the comparison moves to the number of cards. Five cards beat four cards, and the sequence wins before the highest-card test is needed. ### Can a four of a kind with no listed value win a Weis comparison? Four sixes, sevens or eights are worth nothing. Such a four of a kind does not beat a meld with a positive Weis value. ### What information may partners exchange about Weis? Partners may not tell each other about a meld or ask about one. Only each player’s announced meld value is public before the strongest team shows its cards on the second trick. ### When does a player declare Stöck? A player declares Stöck while playing the second of the king and Ober of the trump suit. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. ## Sources 1. [Weis (Jassen)](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weis_(Jassen)) — Wikipedia 2. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 3. [Jass-Regeln: Schieber-Jass](https://www.swisslos.ch/de/jass/informationen/jass-regeln/schieber-jass.html) — Swisslos ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Stöck](https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/) Stöck is the 20-point combination of the trump king and Ober in one hand, declared as you play the second card. - [Weis calculator](https://jasvel.org/tools/weis-calculator/) Compare a Weis by points, card count, highest card, trump suit and seat position, then confirm the winning meld at the table. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass explained: rules, cards, scoring and Swiss variants** > Learn how Jass works: the 36-card pack, contracts, fixed teams, Swiss-German decks, trick play, scoring and regional variants. Source: https://jasvel.org/rules/what-is-jass/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) # What is Jass? Jass is a Swiss family of trick-taking games for four players, using a 36-card pack, fixed partnerships, contracts and nine tricks. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## What kind of card game is Jass? Jass is a Swiss family of trick-taking card games played by four players in two fixed teams. Partners sit opposite each other, and each player receives 9 cards from a 36-card pack. The teams compete to win tricks under a contract chosen for the round. A round contains 9 tricks. The contract determines how the suits rank and how the cards behave, so one pack supports several forms of play. The best-known contracts include trump play, Obenabe, meaning “above-down”, and Undenufe, meaning “below-up”. Obenabe and Undenufe use their own card orders rather than a trump suit. The contract changes the order of strength, but the central task remains familiar to players of other trick-taking games. One player leads a card, the other players follow the applicable rules, and the strongest eligible card wins the trick. The trick winner then leads the next trick. Jass rewards card memory, partnership judgement and timing. You must assess the cards in your hand, notice which important cards have appeared and decide when a lead will help your team. A card can win a trick, draw out a dangerous card or preserve an entry for a later lead. A worked example shows why the contract matters. Suppose the chosen contract is trump play and a player leads a side-suit card. The player who holds the suit’s trump may be able to win the trick by playing that trump, subject to the detailed rules of the contract. Under Obenabe or Undenufe, no trump suit changes the result; the relevant high-to-low order decides the winner instead. Jass therefore has a compact framework but a demanding decision pattern. Players must combine the chosen contract with the information revealed by each trick. The [card values and trick order](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) explain the shared mechanics, while the variants determine which wider format the table is using. > **Figure 1.** The 36-card pack and its four Swiss-German suits. The word Jass covers several formats rather than one table’s complete local practice. A careful explanation names the contract, the variant and any regional scoring rule instead of treating one description as universal. *Partners sit opposite. Cards are dealt three at a time and play runs counter-clockwise, so the forehand — the player to the dealer’s right — both chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How does a Jass round begin and proceed? A Jass round begins with a deal of 36 cards, given three at a time to four players. Each player receives 9 cards, and play proceeds counter-clockwise. The dealer rotates each round, so the dealing responsibility moves around the table. The player to the dealer’s right is the **forehand**, meaning the player who chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Forehand may push the choice across to the partner exactly once. This action is called **schieben**, or passing the choice. The partner must then choose the contract and may not push the choice back. After the contract has been chosen, forehand leads the first trick. The remaining players play in counter-clockwise order. The contract determines which card wins the trick, and the winner leads the next trick. The same process continues until all 9 tricks have been played. Consider a round in which forehand holds an uncertain hand but expects the partner to have stronger cards. Forehand can use schieben to transfer the decision once. The partner then carries the responsibility for naming the contract; the transfer is not an exchange that can travel back and forth. The seating plan gives the partnerships their shape. Partners sit opposite each other rather than side by side, so each player has an opponent on either side. A lead can expose a suit, protect a partner’s likely winner or force an opponent to commit a valuable card. A later discard can also provide information when the contract permits it. The deal does not settle the round by itself. A hand may contain a strong trump, a long side suit or a useful sequence without making every trick certain. Players must plan from the contract, count cards as they appear and keep enough strength for the later tricks. The positions change from round to round even though the teams do not. The dealer rotates, and the forehand is always the player to the dealer’s right. This movement gives each player opportunities to deal, choose, pass the choice and lead without changing the fixed partnerships. The [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) give the passing procedure its full context. The essential sequence is precise: forehand chooses or schiebt exactly once, the partner chooses if the choice is passed, and forehand leads the first trick. *The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line is the border between the two decks: east of it Jass is played with Swiss-German cards — bells, shields, roses, acorns — and west of it with French ones. The Swiss National Museum traces the same line back to the frontier between the Duchy of Swabia and the Kingdom of Burgundy. Boundaries: swisstopo. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Which Jass variants should a new player know? The main Jass variants are Schieber, Coiffeur, Differenzler and Handjass. These formats share the 36-card pack and the basic trick-taking structure, but they can organise contracts, scoring and decisions differently. No single variant represents every table in Switzerland. **Schieber** is the partnership format built around passing the contract choice. Forehand may schieben to the partner exactly once, and the partner must then choose. The procedure gives a partnership a controlled way to handle an uncertain hand while keeping the decision within the team. **Coiffeur** is a planned format in which the players work through a programme of contracts. The format therefore differs from an ordinary Schieber session, where the choice arises through the forehand procedure. The [Coiffeur guide](https://jasvel.org/variants/coiffeur-jass/) explains that format separately rather than folding its programme into a general description of Jass. **Differenzler** centres on predicting or targeting a result and comparing the outcome with that expectation. The exact scoring and contract selection depend on the rules in use. Players should agree the local version before treating a particular prediction or scoring method as standard. **Handjass** is a more direct form of play around the hand and table rather than through a fixed programme. The name identifies a format, but local practice can still affect the precise contracts and scoring. The [Jass variants reference](https://jasvel.org/variants/) sets out these differences without presenting one regional table as the only correct one. The choice of variant matters before the first deal. If one player says “Jass”, that word may identify the game family without identifying the contract schedule or scoring method. Experienced players often recognise the intended format from the setting, but a mixed group should state the variant before play begins. The contracts also have regional variation. Trump play names one suit as trumps. Obenabe and Undenufe use special orders without a trump suit. A rule description should therefore identify both the wider variant and the contract rules that apply within the round. A useful comparison is to separate format from contract. Schieber describes the way the choice can pass between partners. Obenabe describes a card order. Coiffeur describes a planned programme. These terms answer different questions, so they should not be treated as interchangeable labels for one ruleset. Regional practice can affect declarations, scoring blocks and the selection of contracts. The common foundation remains recognisable, but a reader outside Switzerland should confirm the table’s local rules before applying a value from another format. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Which cards and decks does Jass use? Jass uses a 36-card pack divided into 4 suits, with 9 cards in each suit. Switzerland has two equivalent deck traditions: Swiss-German cards in the east and French-suited cards in the west. The artwork and names change between the decks, but the underlying score system does not. The Swiss-German suits are **Schellen** (bells), **Schilten** (shields), **Rosen** (roses) and **Eicheln** (acorns). They correspond exactly to the French suits: Schellen to diamonds, Schilten to spades, Rosen to hearts and Eicheln to clubs. The court cards use different names in the two traditions. Swiss-German cards have Under, Ober and König. The French deck has jack, queen and king. The Under of the trump suit is the **Puur**, a key Jass term for a trump card. The [Jass glossary](https://jasvel.org/jass-glossary/) gives these terms their short meanings. The scoring multiplier follows the suit’s position, never the picture printed on the card. Choosing the French deck therefore changes nothing about the score. A player who already knows a French-suited pack can transfer the general card knowledge directly, but must learn the Swiss names and the contract-specific order. A simple translation example prevents a common mistake. A French diamond is the equivalent of Schellen, not a new suit with a separate multiplier. A French jack corresponds to the Swiss-German Under, while a French queen corresponds to the Ober. The picture changes, but the position in the Jass system remains the same. The two deck traditions meet at the **Brünig-Napf-Reuss line**. Swiss-German cards are used to the east of the line, and French cards to the west. The line describes a regional division in deck use, not a division between unrelated games. The compact pack shapes the information available at the table. Every player holds 9 cards, and the tricks gradually reveal which suits and important cards remain unseen. Terms such as Puur and Nell make Jass sound different from many other trick-taking games, even when the player already understands leads, following suit and winning tricks. > **Figure 2.** Swiss-German and French-suited names for the Jass deck. The deck choice is therefore a matter of regional tradition and recognition, not a choice between different scoring engines. Learning the equivalent names lets players move between the two card traditions without changing the basic account of the round. Swiss French *One game, two decks. These are the same three cards under different signs: the Under becomes the jack, the Ober the queen, and the acorns become clubs. The score does not notice. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Why is Jass important in Swiss culture? Jass has a recognised place in Swiss social life because people play related forms of the game in restaurants, clubs, the army and on television. Those settings give Jass a public presence beyond one household. The game functions as a shared reference even when players prefer different variants or decks. That cultural role does not mean that every Swiss table uses identical rules. Jass is a family of games, and local players may differ over contracts, declarations, scoring details or the preferred deck. The common identity comes from the recognisable pack, vocabulary, partnership structure and trick-taking foundation. The language of the table carries part of that identity. Terms such as Puur, Nell, Stöck and schieben identify cards, declarations and actions that may be unfamiliar to a reader who knows only French or English card-game terminology. Learning those words helps a player understand how people discuss Jass, not merely how to translate its rules. Regional identity appears in the deck traditions. The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line divides the country into an eastern area associated with Swiss-German cards and a western area associated with French cards. Both traditions belong to the same Jass family, and the suit positions retain their scoring relationship across the divide. A practical example shows how the shared identity survives local difference. One table may use Swiss-German cards and Schieber, while another uses French-suited cards and a planned Coiffeur programme. The players may use different names, contracts or scoring sequences, yet both settings remain recognisably Jass because the underlying trick-taking culture connects them. Jass also works across generations and settings. A family round, a club session, a restaurant table and a televised match can preserve the same broad structure while retaining local habits. The common core is strong enough for recognition, but the variants leave room for regional practice. For readers outside Switzerland, the useful conclusion is measured rather than absolute. Jass is widely associated with Swiss life and has a vocabulary familiar at many Swiss tables. That does not make one local ruleset binding everywhere. Players should identify the variant and contract before relying on a particular scoring custom. The [Jass boundary reference](https://jasvel.org/rules/swiss-or-french-cards/) explains the regional divide in deck traditions. A regional account should distinguish the geographic pattern from a universal rule: the line helps explain why a table uses one deck tradition, but local preferences can still matter. ## How are Jass points and special declarations counted? A Jass round contains 152 card points, plus 5 points for the last trick, making 157 points in the round. Winning all 9 tricks adds 100 points for the match, bringing the round’s possible total to 257 before a special declaration is considered. The principal special declaration is **Stöck**, the king and Ober of the trump suit held in one hand. Stöck is worth 20 points and belongs to that team regardless of the Weis comparison. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe because those contracts have no trump suit. Timing controls the Stöck declaration. The player declares it while playing the second of the two cards, not while playing the first. If the next player has already covered that second card before the declaration is spoken, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other, so the player holding the cards must recognise and declare the combination personally. Imagine a player holds the king and Ober of trumps. Playing the king does not yet permit the Stöck declaration, because the second card has not been played. When the player plays the Ober, the declaration must be made at that moment. If an opponent covers the Ober before the player says Stöck, the team receives no 20 points for the combination. **Weis** means a recognised card combination declared under the applicable rules. Weis forms part of the scoring order, but the combinations and comparisons can vary with the contract or regional rules. Stöck remains credited to its team regardless of the Weis comparison. Practice targets include 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000 points. The app offers 1000 and 2500. When a round takes a team past the target, the points are counted in this order: Weis first, Stöck second, then tricks. A team crossing in an earlier block wins. The order affects the result, not merely the record-keeping. A team can have enough points in the round as a whole, yet the order of the counted blocks decides which team crosses the target first. Players must track declarations and tricks as they occur rather than wait for one final total. The [card-values reference](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) explains the card points and trick order in detail. The terms describe separate parts of the score: card values produce points, Weis records combinations, Stöck records one qualifying trump holding, and tricks determine the round’s result. Regional rules can alter the wider scoring method, so the table’s agreed variant remains decisive. The short answer Jass is a family of related Swiss trick-taking games rather than one universal ruleset. Its common structure uses four players in two fixed teams, a 36-card pack, a chosen contract, nine tricks and a score built from cards, declarations and tricks. ## Questions ### Does every Jass table use the same contract and scoring rules? No. Jass includes Schieber, Coiffeur, Differenzler and Handjass, and regional practice can change contracts, declarations and scoring. Players should agree the variant before the deal. ### Why are French-suited cards valid for Jass? French-suited cards correspond exactly to the Swiss-German suits. The suit position, multiplier and score system stay the same, so the different artwork does not create a different game. ### Who chooses the contract in a Jass round? Forehand chooses the contract. Forehand is the player to the dealer’s right and may schieben exactly once, after which the partner must choose without passing the decision back. ### What is the difference between Obenabe and Undenufe? Obenabe and Undenufe are contracts without a trump suit. Each uses its own card order, so neither contract has Stöck. ### When must a player declare Stöck? The player must declare Stöck while playing the second of the king and Ober of the trump suit. A declaration made after the next player has covered that card loses the 20 points. ### How many tricks does a Jass round contain? A round contains 9 tricks. Each of the four players receives 9 cards, so every card is played during the round. ## Sources 1. [Jassen — das Schweizer Nationalkartenspiel](https://jasswiki.ch/jassen/) — JassWiki 2. [The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line: a cultural boundary through Switzerland](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2023/10/the-bruenig-napf-reuss-line-a-cultural-boundary-through-switzerland/) — Swiss National Museum 3. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/rules/what-is-jass/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass mistakes: trump, Weis and scoring rules** > Learn the Jass mistakes that lose card points or Weis, from misreading the Puur and Nell to undertrumping and incorrect scoring. Source: https://jasvel.org/tactics/beginner-mistakes/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Tactics](https://jasvel.org/tactics/) # What are the common Jass mistakes that cost points? The costliest Jass mistakes involve trump strength, following suit, undertrumping, Weis procedure and the final round calculation. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## Why does the Puur beat the ace in a trump suit? The Puur is the Under of the trump suit, and it is the strongest card in that suit. The Nell, the nine of trumps, ranks next, followed by the ace. An ace therefore cannot beat either the Puur or the Nell in a trump trick. Trump strength does not use the ordinary order for a plain suit. In a plain suit and in Obenabe, the ace is strongest, followed by the king, Ober, Under, ten and the lower cards. In a trump suit, the Puur moves above every other card and the Nell moves above the ace. The [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) table also shows the difference in scoring: the Puur and Nell carry the highest trump values as well as high trick strength. Separate **trick strength** from **card value** when you make a decision. The Puur wins against every other trump, but the trick also contains card points that matter to the team collecting it. The Nell has a similarly important position. The ace remains valuable, yet it ranks third in the trump suit rather than first. A worked example makes the order clear. Suppose the trump suit is hearts and the trick contains the heart ace. The heart king, Ober, Under and ten cannot beat that ace, but the heart Nell can. The heart Puur beats every one of those cards, including the Nell. A player who sees an ace and assumes that no trump can pass it will misplay the trick. Avoid these errors: - Do not play the ace expecting it to beat the Puur or Nell. - Do not carry the plain-suit order into a trump contract. - Do not treat the Puur as an ordinary Under. - Do not use card points as a substitute for the strength order. The complete trump order is **Puur, Nell, ace, king, Ober, ten, eight, seven, six**. The lower trumps still matter because players must obey the applicable following-suit rules, but no lower trump can defeat a higher card in that order. The card’s name does not determine its position by itself: the trump rule gives the Under its special name and its position at the top. *In a trump suit the Under (Puur) is the highest card and the nine (Nell) the second highest — above the ace. The order and the values are the same in every canton; only the multiplier changes. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## When is undertrumping illegal in Jass? Undertrumping is illegal when trump must be played and a player holds a higher trump than the trump already on the table. The player must play the higher trump rather than a lower one. A lower trump is not legal merely because it carries fewer card points or seems less useful later. The decision starts with the duty to follow suit. The [following-suit rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/following-suit/) set out the order: identify the suit led, check whether you hold that suit, and then determine what the contract requires if you do not. A player who holds the led suit must follow it. A player without that suit may have to play trump, and the overtrumping rule applies when a trump is already in the trick. Consider a plain-suit lead followed by a trump from another player. You have no card in the led suit, so trump is required under the applicable rule. Your hand contains the trump seven and trump king. Playing the seven under the king is illegal because the king is the higher trump you hold. You must play the king. The point value of the seven does not create an exception. Use the following check before placing a card: - Check whether you hold the suit that was led. - Play that suit when you hold it. - If you do not hold it, check whether trump must be played. - Compare your trumps with the strongest trump already played. - Play a higher trump when you hold one, rather than undertrumping it. Do not confuse undertrumping with having no winning card. If every trump in your hand is lower than the trump already played, you cannot overtrump. The error occurs when a player chooses a lower trump while a higher legal trump is available. The same principle applies whether the higher trump is the Puur, Nell or another card in the trump order. The rule protects the meaning of the trump hierarchy. Strength determines legality, while card value helps you judge the result of a legal play. Keep the [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) page available while learning, but compare rank rather than points when deciding whether a trump must overtake the card already played. *The trump suit as it is actually held: the Under (Puur) on the left beats the nine (Nell), and both beat the ace. Nothing else in the pack reorders itself like this, which is why the trump choice is the decision of the round. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Why is wasting the Nell such a costly Jass mistake? The Nell is the nine of the trump suit. It is the second-strongest trump and is worth 14 card points, so using it without a clear purpose can surrender control and value. A player who treats the Nell as an ordinary nine may spend a card that a weaker trump would have made unnecessary. The Nell ranks immediately below the Puur and above the ace. It therefore defeats every trump below it: the ace, king, Ober, ten, eight, seven and six. It cannot defeat the Puur. The strength order and the point value work together, but they answer different questions. Strength tells you which trump wins; card value tells you what the card contributes when the trick is collected. Suppose a player leads a low plain-suit card and another player cuts with the trump eight. If you have the trump Nell, you can win that trick with the Nell, but you may not need to do so if a lower legal trump would also win. By contrast, if the trick already contains the trump ace, the Nell is the strongest trump still able to overtake it, unless the Puur is available and played. The same card can therefore be wasteful in one trick and essential in another. Wasting the Nell usually takes one of these forms: - Playing it when a lower trump would also win. - Spending it on a trick containing few card points. - Forgetting that only the Puur ranks above it. - Keeping a lower trump for a later trick that the Nell could have won, then losing the Nell elsewhere. The card has two strategic jobs. It can take control of a trick, and it brings 14 card points to the team that wins that trick. The [learn Jass guide](https://jasvel.org/rules/how-to-play-jass/) explains the wider structure, while the immediate choice depends on the cards already played, the cards you must legally play and the value of the trick. Keeping the Nell is not automatically correct. A legal opportunity to win a valuable trick may justify using it. The mistake is playing it without comparing the alternatives. Remember the short rule: **the Puur is above the Nell, the Nell is above the ace, and the Nell is worth 14 points**. *Only one team writes Weis, and this is the order the question is settled in. A five-card sequence and four aces are both worth 100 — the sequence wins on card count. Stöck is never part of this comparison: both teams always write their own. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Why does showing Weis not mean that the points are confirmed? Weis is a declared meld. On the first trick, each player announces only the value of their best meld while playing their card. The announcement is public, but the points remain provisional until the team holding the single best Weis shows the actual cards on the second trick. A player must not write an announced twenty, fifty or a hundred immediately. The announcement states the value being claimed, not the final result. Another player may announce a stronger Weis, or the comparison rules may give priority to another meld. Only the team holding the single best Weis writes anything. The other team writes nothing, even when its announced meld is valid. Partners must keep their information private from each other. A player may announce the value of their best meld in turn as they play on the first trick. Partners may not tell each other about a meld or ask about one. Only the announced values are public. A direct question, a coded remark or a partner’s reaction cannot be used to establish the cards in the meld. The correct procedure is: - On the first trick, announce only the value of your best Weis as you play. - Say the value, such as twenty, fifty or a hundred, without naming the cards. - Wait for the comparison to determine which team has the single best Weis. - On the second trick, the winning team shows the actual cards. - Write the Weis points only after that showing and confirmation. The [Weis rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/) describe sequences and four of a kind, including the comparison order. A card may belong to a sequence and to a four of a kind at the same time. That possibility does not allow both teams to write, and it does not make an announcement final before the comparison. A worked example is simple. One team announces fifty and the other announces a hundred. The team announcing fifty does not write its meld merely because its cards may form a valid sequence. The team with the better comparison result shows the cards on the second trick, and only that team records the points. The first announcement is evidence for the comparison, not a completed entry on the Jasstafel, the scoring board. ## How can the wrong Weis comparison change the score? The best Weis is decided by a fixed comparison order. Compare points first, then the number of cards, then the highest card in the meld, then a meld in the trump suit, and finally the seat position relative to the forehand. Skipping a stage can give the Weis points to the wrong team. Weis sequences always follow the natural order from six to ace. That rule remains in force in Undenufe, the contract in which the whole trick-strength ladder is inverted. Undenufe changes which card wins a trick; it does not reverse the order used to judge a sequence. Trick strength and Weis order must remain separate in your calculation. Sequence values are fixed. Three cards are worth 20, four cards 50, five cards 100, six cards 150, seven cards 200, eight cards 250 and nine cards 300. Four Under cards are worth 200, four Nell cards 150, and four aces, kings, Obers or tens are worth 100. Four sixes, sevens or eights are worth nothing. Compare these values before using the later tie-breakers. For example, a sequence of five cards is worth 100, while four Nell cards are worth 150. The four Nell meld wins on points, even though the sequence contains more cards. A sequence of four cards in the trump suit may matter at a later comparison stage only when the earlier tests do not decide the result. A high-looking card does not override a higher meld value. Common comparison errors include: - Choosing the meld with the highest card instead of the meld worth the most points. - Treating a longer sequence as automatically better. - Reading a sequence backwards in Undenufe. - Applying the trump-suit tie-breaker before comparing points or card count. - Forgetting the final seat comparison relative to the forehand. - Assuming that partners write separate melds for the same team. Partners’ melds are considered together for the team holding the single best Weis. The other team records nothing, even when its meld was valid. A card may support a sequence and a four of a kind at the same time, so check every qualifying combination before comparing the teams. Work through the order deliberately before the second-trick showing. The [tool for trick decisions](https://jasvel.org/tools/who-wins-the-trick/) can help separate card strength from card value, while the Weis rule supplies the correct meld comparison. A visually impressive meld is not necessarily the meld that wins. *The same nine ranks, read three ways. Obenabe is the ordinary top-down order; Undenufe turns it upside down, so the six wins the trick and the ace loses it. Weis is never inverted — it always counts from the six up. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Why must the round be counted with the contract multiplier? The card points collected in the tricks are not always the final round total. Every contract places exactly 152 card points in the pack, but the contract multiplier must also be applied when the round is scored. Recording only the visible card subtotal leaves the calculation incomplete. The card-value table provides the correct starting point. In a trump contract, the trump suit totals 62 card points and each plain suit totals 30. In Obenabe, the contract in which aces are high, each suit totals 38. In Undenufe, the contract with the inverted trick ladder, each suit also totals 38. The distribution changes, but every contract still contains exactly 152 card points. The common mistake appears after the tricks have been collected. A player counts the card values correctly, adds confirmed Weis and writes that subtotal without applying the multiplier for the contract in play. The subtotal may look credible because the cards were counted accurately. The round total is still wrong. Use this scoring order at the table: - Count the card points in the tricks. - Add the Weis confirmed for the team holding the best meld. - Identify the contract being scored. - Apply that contract’s multiplier. - Enter the resulting round total on the Jasstafel. Do not apply the multiplier to an unconfirmed Weis announcement. First determine which team holds the single best Weis and show the actual meld on the second trick. Then include the confirmed Weis in the calculation. The multiplier is a separate scoring step from card ranking and from the Weis comparison. The contract also changes individual card values. Under a trump contract, the trump Under is worth 20, the Nell 14 and the trump ace 11. A plain-suit Under in that contract is worth 2. In Obenabe, the eight is worth 8 in each suit. In Undenufe, the six is worth 11 and the ace is worth 0. These differences explain why the correct contract table matters before the subtotal is added. A final check catches both mistakes. Confirm the contract, use its card values, verify the 152-card-point total across the pack, add confirmed Weis and then apply the contract multiplier. That process prevents a correct trick count from becoming an incorrect round score. The short answer Read the trump order separately from card values, follow suit before choosing a discard, and do not undertrump when a higher trump is available. Treat an announced Weis as provisional until the winning team shows the meld on the second trick, then count confirmed Weis and apply the contract multiplier. ## Questions ### Is the ace ever the strongest card in Jass? The ace is strongest in a plain suit and in Obenabe. The Puur and Nell rank above the ace in a trump suit. In Undenufe, the ace is the lowest card in the inverted trick-strength ladder. ### Can a player play a lower trump while holding a higher one? Not when trump must be played and a higher trump has already appeared in the trick. The player must use the higher trump instead of undertrumping. When no higher trump is held, the applicable following-suit rule determines the legal play. ### What must a player say when announcing Weis? The player announces only the value of their best meld while playing a card on the first trick. The player must not name the cards or discuss the meld with their partner. The actual cards are shown on the second trick by the team that holds the best Weis. ### Can both teams score a valid Weis? No. Only the team holding the single best Weis writes the points. The other team writes nothing, even when its announced meld and cards form a valid combination. ### Does Undenufe reverse the order used to judge a Weis sequence? No. Weis sequences always use the natural order from six to ace. Undenufe reverses the order in which cards take tricks, but it does not reverse the order used for Weis. ### Why can an accurate card count still give the wrong round score? An accurate card count produces the card-point subtotal, not necessarily the final round total. Confirmed Weis must be included, and the multiplier for the contract in play must then be applied. Every contract contains exactly 152 card points, but the multiplier still changes the scored result. ## Sources 1. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 2. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Following suit](https://jasvel.org/rules/following-suit/) Farbzwang requires the led suit when possible; trump rules then decide whether you must overtrump, may undertrump or can keep the Puur. - [How to play Jass](https://jasvel.org/rules/how-to-play-jass/) Learn one complete round of Jass, from the deal and contract to legal tricks, card points, bonuses and the final entry on the Jasstafel. - [Rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/) Jass is a four-player trick-taking game in fixed teams: deal 36 cards, choose a contract, play nine tricks and record the score. - [Jasvel](https://jasvel.org/) A complete English guide to Swiss Jass Schieber, including the deal, contracts, trick play, declarations, scoring and regional practice. - [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) Learn the complete Schieber Jass round, from dealing and schieben to following suit, declarations, multipliers and the winning score. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/tactics/beginner-mistakes/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **How to choose a Jass contract from your hand** > Learn how to choose trump in Jass, compare the Puur and Nell, and decide when Obenabe or Undenufe fits your cards better. Source: https://jasvel.org/tactics/choosing-trump/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Tactics](https://jasvel.org/tactics/) # How to choose trump in Jass Choose the contract your hand can support: trump control, winning tricks, regional multipliers and useful Weis must point in the same direction. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## What should your hand contain before you choose trump? Your hand should contain a reliable source of tricks before you choose trump. Look for control in one suit, useful cards beside that control and enough strength outside the suit to keep your side active. A high multiplier cannot compensate for a contract that leaves your strongest card unsupported. The trump order is distinctive. The Under is called the **Puur**, and it is the strongest card in the trump suit. The nine is called the **Nell**, and it follows the Puur. The ace, king and Ober come next, while the trump ten sits below the Ober in trick strength. The complete ranking and card-point values appear on the [card values page](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/). A trump suit with the Puur and useful supporting cards gives you a clear plan. The Puur can take control when another suit is led, and additional trumps give you more chances to lead or follow the suit. The Nell adds considerable strength, but it is safer when the Puur is also available or likely to be removed before the Nell must win. A single attractive card rarely settles the decision. An isolated ace can win a trick, but it does not control the suit. An isolated Puur is powerful, yet a hand with no other route to tricks may still struggle after that card has been used. Compare the whole hand instead. Check these points before naming a suit: - Which suit contains your clearest winning card? - Can that suit produce useful tricks after its strongest card has been played? - Does the Puur or Nell have supporting trumps beside it? - Do your plain-suit aces and tens offer entries when trump is not led? - Can partner’s likely cards complete the plan? Every contract puts exactly 152 card points in the pack. A trump suit contains 62 card points, while each plain suit during a trump contract contains 30. Those totals describe the available points; your choice determines how well your side can control them. The [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) table helps you separate point value from trick-taking strength. *The trump suit is worth **62** of the pack’s **152** card points on its own — the Under alone is 20 and the Nell 14 — while each of the other three suits holds **30**. That imbalance is why the trump choice decides most rounds. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How do the Puur and Nell affect a trump decision? The Puur and Nell deserve special weight because they sit above every other card in a trump suit. The Puur is the Under of the trump suit, and the Nell is the nine. A hand containing either card has a reason to consider that suit; a hand containing both has a much stronger starting point, provided the remaining cards create a workable plan. The Puur is the highest trump. No other card in that suit can beat it. That makes the Puur a dependable way to take a trick, protect a lead or remove a dangerous opposing trump. Its value also depends on timing. Playing it too early may give opponents information or leave your side without later control, while holding it too long may prevent your partner from establishing a winning sequence. The Nell is the second-highest trump. The Puur beats it, so a Nell without the Puur does not provide complete control. A bare Nell can still win after the Puur has been played, when the opposing Puur is known to be absent, or when the suit has been reduced. Treat the Nell as a major reason to inspect the suit, rather than as automatic proof that the suit should be named. Supporting trumps make both cards more useful. The Puur with the Nell and further cards in the suit gives you authority and continuity. The Nell with an ace and additional trumps can also form a credible contract, especially if your side can force the Puur out before the Nell is required. Side-suit winners matter as well, because they provide leads when trump is not yet safe to play. Use this order of judgement: - Give the Puur the greatest weight. - Treat the Nell as strong evidence, while checking where the Puur may be. - Add the ace, king and Ober as supporting trump strength. - Assess plain-suit winners before deciding that the trump plan is complete. - Consider length as support, not as a substitute for control. The [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/), meaning the passing form of Jass, can change which player receives the decision and what information the table has revealed. A strong Puur-based hand remains a strong candidate, but the lead and partner’s cards can alter the best timing. *The trump suit as it is actually held: the Under (Puur) on the left beats the nine (Nell), and both beat the ace. Nothing else in the pack reorders itself like this, which is why the trump choice is the decision of the round. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## When is Obenabe better than naming a trump suit? Obenabe is better than a trump contract when your strength is spread across suits and depends on high cards. **Obenabe**, the top-down contract, uses the ace as the strongest card in every suit. The order then runs through the king, Ober, Under and ten before the lower cards. This contract rewards breadth rather than concentration in a single trump suit. Obenabe gives each suit 38 card points. The ace, ten and eight carry the main card-point weight, while the king, Ober and Under also contribute. The distribution differs from a trump contract, where the trump suit contains 62 card points and each plain suit contains 30. The figures do not decide the contract by themselves, but they explain why Obenabe can suit a hand with winners in different suits. Look for aces across the suits. A hand with high cards in different suits can create multiple leads and make it harder for opponents to control the round through a single suit. Aces supported by kings, Obers or Tens are more useful than isolated aces because the supporting cards can help preserve the lead or establish later tricks. Do not choose Obenabe merely because the Puur is absent. A hand with a strong Nell and useful cards in its suit may still prefer trump. A hand with a single ace and disconnected lower cards may also fail in Obenabe. Compare the hand’s shape rather than counting its most impressive card. A practical comparison looks like this: - Prefer trump when one suit has the Puur, Nell or a convincing group of supporting trumps. - Prefer Obenabe when aces and other high cards are distributed across suits. - Prefer Obenabe when your best cards can lead in different suits without relying on trump control. - Reconsider Obenabe when your high cards are isolated and cannot create follow-up tricks. The [contracts guide](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) places Obenabe beside the other contract choices. Its multiplier can matter in a close comparison, but it cannot turn scattered cards into a dependable sequence. First ask how your side will win tricks. Then consider how the agreed scoring table changes the result. *The factor multiplies everything written that round — tricks, Weis and Stöck, for both teams. The left-hand table is the one most tables use and the one this app writes by default; the other two are just as real, so agree on the table before the first deal. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## When does Undenufe fit the hand better? Undenufe fits a hand that gains strength from low cards rather than high cards. **Undenufe**, the bottom-up contract, reverses the usual ladder: the six is strongest, followed by the seven, eight, nine and ten, then the Under, Ober and king, with the ace lowest. A hand rich in connected low cards can therefore succeed where Obenabe would make those cards weak. The reversed order requires careful inspection. In Undenufe, the six is the top card and the ace has no trick-taking strength. The ten and eight carry substantial card points, while the six is the strongest card by rank. Each suit has 38 card points under Undenufe. The seven and nine can be useful winners because of their position even though they contribute no card points. Look for connected low-card groups. A six beside a seven or eight gives your side a natural route to an early trick and may help establish the suit. Low cards spread across suits can also support Undenufe, provided your side can lead them before opponents establish their own winners. An isolated six is less convincing because surrounding cards may leave it without a useful continuation. Undenufe offers a genuine alternative when the hand has no dependable trump base and its aces are poor. Inspect the lower cards instead of judging the hand by the usual high-card standards. A hand that looks weak under Obenabe may contain the exact structure needed for Undenufe: sixes, connected ranks and enough cards to continue after the first winning trick. Use these rules of thumb: - Find the sixes before judging the low-card plan. - Look for connected sixes, sevens and eights in the same suit. - Give extra attention to low-card strength spread across suits. - Reject Undenufe when the hand relies mainly on aces or disconnected high cards. - Check whether your side can lead the strong low suits at a useful moment. The [partner play guide](https://jasvel.org/tactics/playing-with-a-partner/) explains why entries and suit communication matter after the contract has been chosen. Undenufe rewards a clear plan for reaching low-card winners. Its regional multiplier should be considered only after the inverted strength order genuinely fits the hand. ## How should the regional multiplier affect your choice? The multiplier should separate close, credible contracts rather than create a contract from nothing. It multiplies the whole written round for both teams, including tricks, **Weis**, the declared combinations, and **Stöck**, the king-and-Ober combination in the trump suit. The factor does not apply only to the team that chose the contract. The common table, and the table the app writes by default, gives Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×1, Schellen ×2, Schilten ×2, Obenabe ×3 and Undenufe ×4. These are not the only regional values. A widely published variant gives both Obenabe and Undenufe ×3. An ascending variant gives Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×2, Schellen ×3, Schilten ×4, Obenabe ×5 and Undenufe ×6. The agreed table changes the comparison between marginal choices. Under the common table, Undenufe has a larger factor than Obenabe. Under the widely published variant, those contracts share the same factor. Under the ascending variant, every named suit has a different factor, and the contract choice affects the multiplier in a clear progression. Use the multiplier after judging trick control. If a trump suit gives your side a reliable Puur-based plan and another suit offers only a slightly higher factor, the sounder hand usually matters more. If Obenabe and Undenufe both look playable, the agreed regional table can help you choose between them. A higher factor is not a reason to select Undenufe with an ace-heavy hand, and a lower factor is not a reason to abandon a contract that clearly fits. The multiplier also affects Weis and Stöck because both form part of the written round. A useful Weis pattern can strengthen a close decision, but it cannot repair a contract that lacks winning tricks. The factor rewards a sound plan for both teams; it does not protect the team that chose poorly. Before comparing close contracts, confirm: - Which multiplier table does the table use? - Does your preferred contract remain reliable under its actual strength order? - Will the factor improve a sound choice rather than tempt you into a weak one? - Have you included tricks, Weis and Stöck in the whole-round calculation? The [Jasstafel](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/), meaning the scoring board, records the agreed contract and its scoring values. Regional practice matters, so name the variant rather than treating a single multiplier table as universal. *In a trump suit the Under (Puur) is the highest card and the nine (Nell) the second highest — above the ace. The order and the values are the same in every canton; only the multiplier changes. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How can you choose the contract at the table? Choose the contract by assessing control, continuation and the agreed multiplier in that order. Start with the cards most likely to win tricks, compare the three contract families, then check Weis, Stöck and the regional scoring table. A fixed process keeps an attractive factor from distracting you from the actual hand. Inspect each possible trump suit first. Find the Puur and Nell, then assess the ace, king and Ober in that suit. Check whether further trumps support the plan and whether plain-suit aces or tens provide useful entries. A suit containing the Puur, Nell and supporting cards deserves serious consideration because it combines immediate authority with a route to later tricks. Next inspect Obenabe from the top down. Look for aces in different suits and ask whether kings, Obers or Tens can help those aces remain useful. A broad high-card hand can be safer than a thin trump plan because it can create leads in different suits. An isolated ace without continuation should not carry the whole decision. Then inspect Undenufe from the bottom up. Find the sixes, sevens and eights, and look for connected low-card groups. Ask whether your side can reach those cards before opponents establish their own winners. A hand with several high cards but no low-card structure should not choose Undenufe simply because its multiplier is attractive. Use this final checklist: - **Control:** Which contract contains the clearest winning cards? - **Continuation:** Can your side make useful plays after the first trick? - **Coverage:** Is the strength concentrated in a suit or spread across suits? - **Support:** Can partner’s cards complete the plan? - **Scoring:** Which regional multiplier applies to this table? - **Extras:** Do Weis or Stöck support the choice without replacing trick strength? The [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieben/) explain the passing decision when the hand does not offer a convincing contract. Passing gives the next decision to the other side, so it still requires judgement. The [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) is part of the tactical choice, not a way to avoid examining the hand. These rules of thumb leave room for the lead, known cards and partner play. Choose the contract that gives your side the clearest route to tricks, then let the agreed regional table settle close comparisons. The short answer Choose a trump suit when the Puur, Nell or supporting trumps give your side reliable control. Choose Obenabe for broad high-card strength, or Undenufe for connected low cards. Use the regional multiplier to separate sound choices, not to rescue a weak contract. ## Questions ### Is the Puur enough reason to choose its suit? The Puur is a powerful reason to consider its suit, but it is not always enough by itself. Supporting trumps, side-suit winners and a workable route to later tricks make the decision stronger. An isolated Puur may still leave the hand short of control after its winning trick. ### Should the highest multiplier decide the contract? The highest multiplier should not decide the contract on its own. The factor multiplies the whole written round for both teams, including tricks, Weis and Stöck. Use it to separate contracts that already offer similar trick control. ### What makes Obenabe different from Undenufe? Obenabe makes the ace highest in every suit and rewards broad high-card strength. Undenufe reverses the ladder, making the six highest and the ace lowest. The better contract depends on whether the hand is built around high cards or connected low cards. ### How should you judge a Nell without the Puur? A Nell without the Puur is strong evidence for its suit, but it does not provide complete control. Check for further trumps and side-suit winners before naming that suit. The Nell becomes safer after the Puur has been played or is known to be absent. ### Can Weis determine the contract? Weis can influence a close choice because it forms part of the written round and receives the contract’s multiplier. The hand must still support the chosen contract’s strength order and trick plan. Weis should reinforce a sound decision rather than justify a weak one. ## Sources 1. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod 2. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Schieben](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieben/) Schieben passes the contract choice from the forehand to the partner once, while the forehand remains responsible for leading the opening trick. - [Tactics](https://jasvel.org/tactics/) Good jass tactics begin with the contract: identify where the points sit, then protect them through disciplined play. - [Dealing and seating](https://jasvel.org/rules/dealing-and-seating/) Seat partners opposite, deal counter-clockwise in groups of three, and let the player on the dealer’s right choose the contract and lead. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/tactics/choosing-trump/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass partner play: legal signals and card reading** > Learn how Jass partners communicate through legal card play, read suits and trumps, use Schieben correctly, and avoid private signals. Source: https://jasvel.org/tactics/playing-with-a-partner/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Tactics](https://jasvel.org/tactics/) # Jass playing with a partner Jass partners communicate through legal card play, using the contract, suits, ranks and visible tricks rather than speech or secret signals. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## How do you play Jass with a partner? Jass is played by four players in two fixed teams, with partners sitting opposite each other. Cards are dealt three at a time, and play runs counter-clockwise. You support your partner through legal card choices while keeping all information in the cards and the tricks on the table. The forehand is the player to the dealer’s right. The forehand chooses the contract and leads the first trick. The forehand may pass the choice to the partner exactly once through **schieben**, meaning that the contract decision is pushed across the table. The partner must then choose the contract and may not push it back. That decision takes place before any card has been played. The forehand should examine the hand’s strongest suit, the likely value of the contract and the team’s possible plan. The partner who receives a schieben decision must judge the contract from their own cards. They cannot ask the forehand for information, wait for a coded reaction or return the choice. After the contract is chosen, both partners work from the same public record as the opposing team. Every played card shows a suit and rank. A player who follows suit confirms that they held that suit when the card was played. A player who cannot follow and discards shows that the led suit was absent from their hand at that point. The contract gives those cards their practical meaning. In a trump contract, a trump can win a trick led in another suit. In **Obenabe**, meaning a contract with no trump suit, the ordinary rank order applies in every suit. In **Undenufe**, meaning a contract with the rank order inverted, low cards are stronger than high cards. The complete strength orders appear in [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/). Your partner cannot see your full hand, and you cannot see theirs. Good partnership play therefore means making decisions that are useful even when your partner lacks private information. Choose cards for clear strategic reasons. Let the contract, the lead and the visible tricks explain your play. *Partners sit opposite. Cards are dealt three at a time and play runs counter-clockwise, so the forehand — the player to the dealer’s right — both chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What can the cards tell your partner? The cards can tell your partner which suits you still hold, which suits may be absent and how you value the current trick. They cannot reveal your complete hand or guarantee your intention. Your partner must read each play alongside the contract and the cards already shown. Following suit provides the clearest information. When you play the led suit, your partner knows that you held that suit at the time of play. When you discard from another suit because you cannot follow, your partner learns that the led suit was not available to you. That information can shape the next lead and help your partner judge which suits opponents may lack. Rank adds further context. In a trump contract, the Under is called the **Puur** and the nine is called the **Nell**. The trump order, strongest first, is U, 9, A, K, O, 10, 8, 7, 6. A high trump may show control of the trick, while a lower trump may win economically against the cards already present. Your partner must also remember which trumps have appeared. In plain suits and Obenabe, the order is A, K, O, U, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6. In Undenufe, the entire ladder is inverted: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, U, O, K, A. A card’s practical purpose therefore changes with the contract. An ace that looks powerful in Obenabe is the weakest rank in Undenufe. The lead supplies information about position. The player who leads selects the suit that everyone must follow when possible. Later cards show which ranks remain in that suit and who can overtake. Watch the cards that defeat your partner’s card as well as the tricks your partner wins. A partner may play to force out a stronger opposing card, preserve a later entry or avoid taking the lead. > A public signal is useful only when every player can interpret it from the same cards and rules. Do not assign a fixed meaning to a single discard or trump. The same card can serve different purposes after different leads. Read the entire trick record. The [following-suit rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/following-suit/) provide the basis for interpreting that record without inventing private messages. ## When should you trump or hold back? Trump when winning the trick helps the team’s plan, and hold back when the win would spend a useful card without enough benefit. The decision depends on the contract, the cards in the trick, the trumps already shown and the likely tricks still available. A trump can win a trick led in a plain suit when you cannot follow. It can remove an opposing trump, protect a valuable card or take the lead for the next trick. It can also tell your partner that the current trick matters. These purposes can conflict, so do not treat every trump as an automatic command to win. Suppose your partner leads a suit and an opponent is close to taking the trick. Playing a trump may preserve the team’s position. A lower trump may be sufficient against the cards already present, allowing you to keep the Puur or Nell for a stronger contest. A high trump may guarantee the trick but remove control that would matter later. Your partner can judge the choice only from the visible cards and the contract. Holding back can be equally purposeful. Allowing an opponent to win may preserve a card that controls a later trick. It may also leave the lead with a player whose position is less useful to the opponents. Do not hold back merely to appear clever. Hold back when the remaining cards show a sound reason to preserve strength. Trumping a partner’s winning card is usually wasteful when no opponent can overtake. It can also obscure the partnership plan and remove a trump that your team needs later. Before playing over your partner, check the cards already in the trick, the rank order for the contract and the trumps that remain visible. The contract changes every judgement. Obenabe has no trump suit, so you cannot cut a plain-suit lead with a trump. In Undenufe, the six is strongest and the ace is weakest. In a trump contract, the Puur is strongest, followed by the Nell, then the ace, king, Ober, ten, eight, seven and six. The contract decision itself also shapes the partnership plan. The forehand may use [schieben](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieben/) exactly once when the partner is better placed to choose. The receiving partner must then take responsibility. A [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) describes this rule-governed transfer of the contract choice, not a private conversation between partners. *The trump suit is worth **62** of the pack’s **152** card points on its own — the Under alone is 20 and the Nell 14 — while each of the other three suits holds **30**. That imbalance is why the trump choice decides most rounds. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How do you make your own play readable? Make your play readable by following suit whenever the rules require it, choosing cards for consistent strategic reasons and keeping your actions ordinary. Your partner should be able to explain your play from the public position, even when the explanation remains uncertain. Legal clarity comes first. When you can follow the led suit, play that suit. When you cannot, your discard shows that absence to every player. If you have a choice of cards in the led suit, select the card that best serves the contract and the trick rather than trying to manufacture a secret message through an unusual choice. Keep card choices connected to the contract. In a trump contract, a trump can show that you need the trick, want to gain the lead or are removing an opposing trump. In Obenabe, show strength through the ordinary rank order and through purposeful leads. In Undenufe, remember that low cards carry the strength. A six may command the trick, while an ace may fail to do so. Use the lead with care. Leading a suit can expose strength, test an opponent’s holding or give your partner a useful chance to follow. It can also remove a suit from your hand and make a later discard easier for opponents to predict. Your partner will interpret the lead with the contract and the visible cards, so do not expect a single lead to carry a fixed meaning. Avoid theatrical play. Do not place a card unusually, delay to suggest a suit, change your manner when holding a strong card or use a card with no ordinary strategic explanation. A readable partnership does not perform signals. It makes lawful decisions that follow from the position. The opposing team can see the same pattern, so every plan must survive public scrutiny. After each trick, review the position. Ask which suits have appeared, which suits may be absent, which trumps remain, who holds the lead and which cards can still control the next exchange. Then choose the card that best serves the team under those facts. [Beginner mistakes](https://jasvel.org/tactics/beginner-mistakes/) often arise when a player treats a dramatic card as communication instead of reading the whole trick. Consistency gives your partner useful information without creating a code. Protect a winning card when the position calls for protection. Avoid needless overtrumping. Lead with purpose. Your partner can plan around those habits, while opponents can still see and challenge the same public pattern. *The trump suit as it is actually held: the Under (Puur) on the left beats the nine (Nell), and both beat the ace. Nothing else in the pack reorders itself like this, which is why the trump choice is the decision of the round. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What counts as cheating between partners? Table talk, signs and coded behaviour are not part of legal partner communication in Jass. Partners must not exchange private information through words, gestures, facial expressions, card placement, tone, timing or an agreed meaning attached to an ordinary action. Do not use speech to identify a suit, rank, contract preference or intended play. A remark can become a signal even when it sounds harmless if partners have attached a special meaning to it. The relevant question is whether the action gives your partner information that the opposing team cannot obtain from the cards and the rules. Do not ask for a signal or invite one. A question about a partner’s suit, a comment about the lead or a request for a particular contract gives information outside the card play. The forehand may [schieben](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieben/) exactly once, but that is a defined rule. It does not permit negotiation, hints or a coded response. The boundary includes physical habits. A player must not tap, sigh, point, stare at a card, change posture, hold a card differently or pause in a coded way. The message may be deliberate or accidental, but the effect is the same if the partner receives information unavailable to the opponents. Handle cards normally and let the public record carry the information. The app’s computer partner works from the public information available during the hand. That information includes the contract, the cards played, the visible tricks and the legal choices at the turn. The computer partner does not receive a private explanation from you, and you cannot send one through table talk or signs. The result is a useful test of disciplined reading: base your plan on what the play reveals. When a partner makes an unexpected choice, do not answer with a correction or a coded reaction. Reconstruct the position instead. Check the contract, the lead, the cards that have appeared, the relevant strength order and the suits each player may still hold. Respond through lawful play rather than trying to repair the hand through communication. Fair partner play is both a rule and a method. Keep information in the cards. Let your partner read ordinary strategy, and accept that the opponents can read the same record. That shared public record makes partnership play demanding, precise and trustworthy. The short answer Partners communicate through cards that every player can see, not through speech, gestures or coded behaviour. Read the contract, the suits shown and the tricks won, then choose cards that give your partner sound public information. The app’s computer partner uses the same visible play available to you. ## Questions ### Can partners discuss the contract before the forehand chooses? No private discussion should influence the contract choice. The forehand chooses the contract or uses schieben exactly once to pass the choice to the partner. The receiving partner must choose and cannot pass the decision back. ### Does a discard always show that a player wants a particular lead? No. A discard primarily shows that the player could not follow the led suit. Its rank and suit may provide further context, but the meaning depends on the contract, the cards already played and the remaining tricks. ### Can a player trump after failing to follow suit? The correct choice depends on the applicable regional rules and the contract in use. When trumping is legal, consider whether the trick needs to be won, which trumps have appeared and whether your partner’s card already controls the trick. ### Why can the same card be strong in one contract and weak in another? Jass uses different strength orders for trump contracts, Obenabe and Undenufe. The Puur and Nell are the strongest trump ranks, while Undenufe reverses the ladder so that the six is strongest and the ace weakest. ### Can a partner signal by playing unusually slowly? No. Timing, pauses and changes in manner must not carry a private meaning. Partners should play at a normal pace and communicate only through legal choices that every player can observe. ### What should you do after a partner makes an unexpected play? Read the public position again instead of asking for an explanation or reacting with a sign. Check the contract, the lead, the cards shown, the remaining strength and the suits that may be absent. ## Sources 1. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod 2. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Schieben](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieben/) Schieben passes the contract choice from the forehand to the partner once, while the forehand remains responsible for leading the opening trick. - [Tactics](https://jasvel.org/tactics/) Good jass tactics begin with the contract: identify where the points sit, then protect them through disciplined play. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/tactics/playing-with-a-partner/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Coiffeur Jass scoresheet: rules and printing guide** > Learn how to fill a Coiffeur Jass scoresheet, record only the tens, use each contract column and choose the correct sheet variant. Source: https://jasvel.org/tools/coiffeur-scoresheet/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Tools](https://jasvel.org/tools/) # How do I fill in a Coiffeur Jass scoresheet? A Coiffeur scoresheet records each contract once, keeps only the tens of every round and uses the printed factor for the selected column. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) Write the tens of the round: 129 points is 12, a match of 257 is 25. | Contract | Eicheln | Rosen | Schellen | Schilten | Obenabe | Undenufe | Joker 1 | Joker 2 | Total | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Factor | ×1 | ×2 | ×3 | ×4 | ×5 | ×6 | ×7 | ×8 | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | Reset Print Runs in the browser. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is stored on a server. The short answer A Coiffeur scoresheet gives each contract a column and each team a box for its result. Record only the tens of the round, apply the factor attached to the correct column and compare the totals when every box is filled. ## What does a Coiffeur Jass scoresheet record? A Coiffeur scoresheet records one result for every contract that each team plays. Each team plays each contract exactly once, so the completed sheet gives a contract-by-contract record rather than only a running total. A contract is the declared form of a round, such as a suit contract, Obenabe (high cards win) or Undenufe (low cards win). The published standard sheet has eight columns. The columns are Eicheln (acorns) at ×1, Rosen (roses) at ×2, Schellen (bells) at ×3, Schilten (shields) at ×4, Obenabe at ×5, Undenufe at ×6 and two joker columns for free choice at ×7 and ×8. The factor printed above a column belongs to that contract. The physical layout can vary between printed sheets, so read the headings before recording a round. The contract column tells you where the result belongs. The column does not identify the player who declared the contract, and it does not change after the round. Once a contract has been played, enter the result in the matching box for the team concerned. A later result goes into the box for its own contract, not into the next box simply because that box is empty. Coiffeur notation shortens each round result. Only the tens of a round are written into a box. A round worth 129 points becomes 12 on the sheet. A match worth 257 becomes 25. The units are left out, and the entry is not a rounded total or a contract number. A completed sheet therefore lets you check three things at a glance: which contracts have been played, which team recorded each result and which factor belongs to each contract. An empty box means that the relevant contract has not yet been recorded. The team with the most points when every box is filled wins. For the card totals behind the score, see [card values in Jass](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/). The [Coiffeur rules](https://jasvel.org/variants/coiffeur-jass/) page sets out the wider format, while the scoresheet keeps the contract order and the recorded results visible during paper play. *In Coiffeur nobody chooses freely: each team plays every contract exactly once, and the column decides the factor. Only the tens of the round are written — 129 points becomes 12 — so the two joker columns, worth seven and eight times, are where a Coiffeur is won. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How do I fill in a Coiffeur score box? Fill a Coiffeur score box after the round has ended by writing only the tens of the round’s points. A result of 129 points becomes 12 in the box. A result of 257 becomes 25. The entry therefore records the tens and leaves out the units. Identify the contract before you write. Find the heading for that contract, then locate the box belonging to the team whose result you are recording. Write the tens in that box. A free-choice contract belongs in the selected joker column, not in a suit column that happens to resemble the cards used during the round. Use a fixed paper routine: - confirm the contract that was played; - confirm the team whose result is being entered; - read the round result; - keep the tens and leave out the units; - write the tens in the matching box; - check the heading and factor before moving on. Suppose a team records 129 points in a Rosen contract. The box under Rosen receives 12. Suppose a team records 257 points in a free-choice contract. The box under the selected joker column receives 25. The examples show why the round result and the contract heading must be checked separately: the number in the box comes from the result, while the location comes from the contract. Do not write the full result into the box. Do not treat an empty box as zero. An empty box shows that the contract still needs a recorded result. Keep any separate running check beside the scoresheet rather than changing the required notation inside the box. A completed team record should contain an entry for every contract in the sheet variant being used. Compare both team records only after checking that the same contracts have been recorded for each side. The [Jasstafel](https://jasvel.org/tools/jasstafel-scoreboard/) can keep the visible table score organised while the Coiffeur sheet preserves the contract record. | Contract | Factor | | --- | --- | | Eicheln | ×1 | | Rosen | ×2 | | Schellen | ×3 | | Schilten | ×4 | | Obenabe | ×5 | | Undenufe | ×6 | | Joker 1 | ×7 | | Joker 2 | ×8 | ## How does the Coiffeur factor affect the recorded score? The Coiffeur factor belongs to the contract column and is applied through that column. Record the tens of the round in the matching box; do not add the factor to the box as a separate notation. The factor printed in the heading identifies how that contract contributes to the sheet’s score. The standard sheet shows factors from ×1 to ×8. Eicheln carries ×1, Rosen carries ×2, Schellen carries ×3, Schilten carries ×4, Obenabe carries ×5 and Undenufe carries ×6. The two joker columns carry ×7 and ×8 for free-choice contracts. The factor is therefore tied to the selected contract, not to the team, the player or the order in which the result was written. A round worth 129 points is entered as 12 before the column factor is taken into account. A round worth 257 is entered as 25. If the 129-point round was Eicheln, the entry belongs under Eicheln. If the 257-point round used a joker contract, the entry belongs under the selected joker heading. The same tens can appear in different columns, but the column changes the factor attached to the result. Do not multiply the tens again by hand when the printed sheet already provides the factor. A second manual multiplication would apply the column instruction twice. Do not move a result to a column with a more convenient factor either. The column must match the contract that was actually played. A reliable check reads the box and its heading together. Ask whether the recorded tens match the round result, whether the contract name is correct and whether the factor above that contract is the one the sheet specifies. A plausible number in the wrong column still produces the wrong record. Contract rules can differ between regional and house formats, so consult [special contracts](https://jasvel.org/variants/slalom-guschti-molotow/) when a contract needs more explanation. The [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) give context for the familiar form of Jass in which players choose contracts in sequence, while the Coiffeur sheet assigns every selected contract its own place. *The factor multiplies everything written that round — tricks, Weis and Stöck, for both teams. The left-hand table is the one most tables use and the one this app writes by default; the other two are just as real, so agree on the table before the first deal. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Which columns belong on a Coiffeur scoresheet? The published standard Coiffeur scoresheet has eight columns: Eicheln at ×1, Rosen at ×2, Schellen at ×3, Schilten at ×4, Obenabe at ×5, Undenufe at ×6 and two joker columns at ×7 and ×8. The joker columns provide free choice. The printed headings, rather than the left-to-right position alone, determine where a result belongs. The four suit names stay in Swiss German. Eicheln means acorns, Rosen means roses, Schellen means bells and Schilten means shields. Obenabe is the contract in which high cards win the tricks. Undenufe is the contract in which low cards win them. These glosses identify the contracts for readers who do not know Swiss German, but the Swiss German headings remain the terms used on the sheet. A joker column records a free-choice contract. The standard sheet provides two such columns, marked ×7 and ×8. A table should follow the selected joker heading used by its sheet. The result does not move to a suit column because the cards or the declared choice seem related to a suit. Regional and house versions can use a ten-column sheet instead of the eight-column standard. The ten-column version adds Slalom and Guschti. Slalom alternates between an Obenabe trick and an Undenufe trick, trick by trick. Guschti uses five tricks one way and four the other; Guschti is also called Mary. The eight-column standard and the ten-column version are both recognised sheet formats. A ten-column sheet is not a correction of the standard sheet, and the standard sheet is not a mistake when a table uses the eight-column format. The difference lies in the contracts included by that regional or house variant. Scan the complete heading row before play. Check the contract names, the factors and the presence of Slalom or Guschti. When the headings are clear, the recording method stays consistent: identify the contract, write the tens of the round and use the matching column. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How should I print and use a Coiffeur scoresheet? Print the Coiffeur scoresheet for a paper table that wants the contract headings, boxes and factors visible during play. Place the sheet where every player can read the complete heading row. Keep a pen beside the sheet and record each result after the relevant round has ended. Use the eight-column standard when the table follows Eicheln, Rosen, Schellen, Schilten, Obenabe, Undenufe and the two joker columns. Use the ten-column version when the table includes Slalom and Guschti. Regional and house variants can arrange the columns differently, so compare the headings on the printed page before play rather than relying on position alone. Follow a consistent paper procedure: - identify the contract before recording the result; - locate the matching heading; - find the box for the relevant team; - write only the tens of the round; - leave the units out; - use the factor printed above the contract; - inspect the box before the next contract is played. A clear example helps with the notation. A round worth 129 points receives 12 in its contract box. A match worth 257 receives 25 in its contract box. The printed factor remains in the heading, so the box does not need an extra multiplication mark or a full round total. Keep the headings uncovered. Do not fold the page so that the contract names or factors disappear, and do not replace the box entry with a separate notation. A running check can sit beside the sheet, but the Coiffeur record should continue to show the tens in the relevant contract boxes. When the contract sequence is complete, inspect every required box for both teams. Compare the totals only after the sheet has been filled and the entries have been checked against their headings. The team with the most points when every box is filled wins. Use the [Coiffeur scoresheet](https://jasvel.org/variants/coiffeur-jass/) as the format reference and keep the printed page beside the cards. The [Jasstafel](https://jasvel.org/tools/jasstafel-scoreboard/) can support a visible table record, while the Coiffeur sheet shows which contracts have been played and how each result was recorded. ## Questions ### Why does a Coiffeur box show less than the round result? Coiffeur notation stores only the tens of the round. The shortened entry makes the contract sheet compact while the column heading retains the factor used for that contract. ### What should I do if a result has been written under the wrong contract? Correct the entry so that the result sits under the contract that was actually played. The factor depends on the column, so leaving the number in the wrong column changes the record. ### What does a joker column mean in Coiffeur? A joker column records a free-choice contract. The published standard sheet has two joker columns, marked ×7 and ×8. ### How can I tell if I am using the ten-column variant? Look for Slalom and Guschti among the headings. Slalom alternates Obenabe and Undenufe trick by trick, while Guschti is also called Mary and uses five tricks one way and four the other. ### Can a house use a different order of Coiffeur columns? Yes. Regional and house sheets can arrange the headings differently or use the ten-column variant. Match the contract name and printed factor on the sheet before entering the tens. ## Sources 1. [Anleitung und Jassregeln für den Coiffeur-Jass](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/coiffeur-jass) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 2. [Jass-Regeln: Coiffeur-Jass](https://www.swisslos.ch/de/jass/informationen/jass-regeln/coiffeur-jass.html) — Swisslos ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Coiffeur](https://jasvel.org/variants/coiffeur-jass/) Coiffeur fixes the contracts in advance, records only the tens of each round and uses regional factors to value the complete score. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/tools/coiffeur-scoresheet/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Differenzler scoring: a complete round explained** > Learn how Differenzler scoring records targets, tricks, Stöck, Weis and the last-trick bonus, with totals checked for every round. Source: https://jasvel.org/tools/differenzler-scoresheet/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Tools](https://jasvel.org/tools/) # How do Differenzler scoring rules work? Record the target, the scored blocks and the trick result, then check the 157-point base total before carrying the game forward. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) Rule of thumb for the prediction: count the points in your hand and count your trump twice. | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Predicted | | | | | | Actually taken | | | | | | Difference | — | — | — | — | Add the round Undo Reset Running total · Lowest total wins Runs in the browser. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is stored on a server. The short answer A complete Jass round contains 152 card points and 5 points for the last trick, giving a base total of 157. Record Stöck and Weis in their proper scoring blocks, then apply the target order: Weis, Stöck, tricks. ## How do you enter a Differenzler round correctly? A Differenzler scoresheet records each team’s target and the result reached in that round. Start with the [Differenzler tool](https://jasvel.org/variants/differenzler/), choose the game target, and enter the scored blocks after the play has finished. Keep the target separate from the result: the target is the figure a team aims to reach, while the result records what the team actually achieved. A complete round uses 36 cards. The deal gives 9 cards to each of 4 players, and the players contest 9 tricks. Those tricks determine the card points and the winner of the last trick. Record the card result before adding any separate scoring items that apply to the contract. The targets used in practice are 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000. The app offers 1000 and 2500. Choose the target before recording the rounds, and keep the same target visible throughout the game. A clear sheet shows the target, the round result and the running total as separate pieces of information. The contract determines the value and order of the cards. In a trump contract, the trump suit totals 62 card points and each of the 3 plain suits totals 30. Obenabe is the ace-high contract, while Undenufe is the six-high contract. Each suit totals 38 in both Obenabe and Undenufe. The [card values reference](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) gives the full values used by each contract. Read it alongside the scoresheet rather than trying to remember the card order from the result alone. The [Jasstafel guide](https://jasvel.org/tools/jasstafel-scoreboard/) explains a related scorekeeping layout for players who prefer a physical-style display. Enter the result only after the tricks, the last-trick bonus, Weis and any valid Stöck have been settled. Stöck means the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand. The sheet should show which scoring block produced the points, not merely the final figure that appeared in the hand. *The trump suit is worth **62** of the pack’s **152** card points on its own — the Under alone is 20 and the Nell 14 — while each of the other three suits holds **30**. That imbalance is why the trump choice decides most rounds. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Why does a complete round contain 157 points? A complete ordinary round contains 157 base points because the pack contains 152 card points and the last trick adds 5 points. The team that wins the final trick receives the 5-point bonus. The scoresheet uses this base total to expose missing or duplicated trick points. The contract changes where the 152 card points sit, but it does not change the total in the pack. A trump contract puts 62 card points in the trump suit and 30 in each of the 3 plain suits. The calculation is therefore 62 plus 30 plus 30 plus 30, producing 152 before the final-trick bonus. Obenabe and Undenufe distribute the points evenly by suit. Each suit totals 38, and 4 suits therefore provide 152 card points. Add 5 for the last trick, and the base round total becomes 157. The card order differs between the contracts, but the total check remains the same. Stöck must be kept distinct from this base trick total. A valid Stöck is worth 20 points and is credited to the entitled team. Record it in the Stöck block rather than hiding it inside the card result. Weis also belongs in its own scoring block, because Differenzler applies the blocks in a stated order when a team crosses the target. All 9 tricks form a match. When a team wins all 9 tricks, the match adds 100 points, making 257 for the round. The 257 figure applies to a complete match, not to an ordinary division of the 9 tricks. The 152 card points and 5 last-trick points remain part of that calculation. Use the total check as a correction method. Confirm the contract, add the card points from the tricks, identify the winner of the last trick, and enter the 5-point bonus. Then review Stöck and Weis separately. If the trick portion does not reconcile with 157, inspect the cards and the last trick before changing a team’s result. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Which team receives the 5 points for the last trick? The team that wins the 9th and final trick receives the 5-point last-trick bonus. The bonus does not belong automatically to the team with the higher card total. Add the 5 points to the team that took the final trick, then check the base round total. Card values account for 152 points in the pack. The final trick adds 5 points outside those card values, so the ordinary round total is 157. A scoresheet that records only the card values will show 152 and will be missing the final-trick bonus. For example, imagine that the teams have divided the card points between them and that Team A wins the 9th trick. Team A receives the 5-point addition even if Team B has collected more valuable cards during earlier tricks. The final trick decides the bonus; the overall card total does not. The same last-trick rule applies in trump contracts, Obenabe and Undenufe. The card values change with the contract. In a trump contract, the trump Under is worth 20 and the Nell, the trump nine, is worth 14. In Obenabe and Undenufe, the contract changes the hierarchy and the values, but every contract still puts 152 card points in the pack. Do not combine the last-trick bonus with Stöck when identifying its recipient. Stöck is the 20-point credit for holding the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand. The last-trick bonus belongs to the team that won the final trick. Stöck belongs to the team that holds and properly declares the qualifying pair. If the round total is wrong, inspect the final trick before assuming that a card value has been entered incorrectly. Confirm the winner of the 9th trick and add 5 to that team’s result. Then check the contract values, Stöck and Weis in their own blocks. This method prevents the 5-point bonus from being assigned to the team with the larger-looking result. ## How should you record Stöck and Weis in Differenzler? Stöck is a 20-point bonus for holding the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand. Credit the 20 points to that team regardless of the Weis comparison. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe, because neither contract has a trump suit. The declaration must be made while the player plays the second of the pair. A player who holds the king and Ober does not declare Stöck when playing the first card. If the next player has already covered the second card before the declaration is made, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other. Record Stöck separately from the card points and the 5-point last-trick bonus. First establish the card result from the tricks. Next identify the winner of the final trick and enter the 5 points. Then enter 20 for Stöck when the contract and declaration both qualify. Weis remains a separate block. Weis means declared combinations that are compared for scoring. Stöck is not awarded to the team with the stronger Weis. The team holding the qualifying king and Ober receives Stöck regardless of that comparison, provided the declaration was made at the required time. Differenzler applies a specific order when a round takes a team past its target. Count Weis first, Stöck second and tricks third. A team crossing the target in an earlier block wins. The scoresheet therefore needs to preserve the order of the blocks instead of reducing every part to an unexplained combined figure. Regional practice can affect the handling of some Jass rules. Check the [variants reference](https://jasvel.org/variants/) when a table uses a regional rule for Weis, declarations or the comparison of scoring items. The arithmetic still needs a clear record: enter the card result, the last-trick bonus, Stöck where valid and Weis in the agreed block. A useful example is a trump contract in which a team holds the trump king and Ober. The player plays the king, then plays the Ober and declares Stöck before the next player covers it. The team receives the 20-point Stöck credit. If the declaration comes after the card has already been covered, the team receives no Stöck credit, even though the pair was in the hand. *In a trump suit the Under (Puur) is the highest card and the nine (Nell) the second highest — above the ace. The order and the values are the same in every canton; only the multiplier changes. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Can you estimate a Differenzler result before the round ends? A scoresheet cannot estimate the result of an unplayed round. It can record the target and check the points entered after the play. The players must estimate the likely result from the contract, the hand, the expected tricks and the cards likely to carry points. In a trump contract, inspect the trump cards first. The trump Under is worth 20, the Nell is worth 14, the ace is worth 11 and the Banner, the trump ten, is worth 10. The trump king is worth 4 and the trump Ober is worth 3. The trump six, seven and eight have no card points. Plain suits follow a different scale during a trump contract. Their ace is worth 11, their ten is worth 10, their king is worth 4, their Ober is worth 3 and their Under is worth 2. The remaining cards in a plain suit have no card points. A hand can therefore win several tricks without collecting the cards that carry the largest values. Obenabe and Undenufe require a different estimate. In Obenabe, the ace is worth 11, the ten 10, the eight 8, the king 4, the Ober 3 and the Under 2. In Undenufe, the six is worth 11, the ten 10, the eight 8, the king 4, the Ober 3, the Under 2, and the ace has no card points. The nine and seven also have no card points in Undenufe. Include the last trick in the estimate because its winner receives 5 additional points. A team that appears close to a target can finish on a different figure if the other team takes the final trick. Consider Stöck only in a contract with a trump suit, and only when the king-and-Ober pair can be declared correctly. After the 9 tricks finish, replace the estimate with the actual result. Record the card points, assign the 5-point final-trick bonus, enter valid Stöck and Weis, and apply the blocks in order. A failed total check indicates an entry or allocation problem. It does not prove that the original estimate was unreasonable. Targets used in practice are 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000, while the app offers 1000 and 2500. Estimation helps a player choose a realistic round result against the selected target, but the scoresheet remains a record of points actually earned. It does not award points for a prediction. ## Questions ### What does the 157-point check include? The 157-point base check includes 152 card points and 5 points for the last trick. Record Stöck and Weis in their own scoring blocks rather than treating them as card values. ### Does the team with the most card points also receive the last-trick bonus? Not necessarily. The 5-point bonus goes to the team that wins the 9th and final trick, even when the other team has collected more card points. ### Can Stöck be declared in Undenufe? No. Stöck requires a trump suit, and Stöck does not exist in Undenufe or Obenabe. A trump contract is required before the king-and-Ober pair can qualify. ### What is the value of a complete match? Winning all 9 tricks adds 100 points. The complete round total then becomes 257, including the 152 card points and the 5-point last-trick bonus. ### What happens if Stöck is declared too late? The 20 points are lost if the next player has already covered the second card before the declaration. The declaration must be made as the second card of the pair is played. ### In what order are Differenzler scoring blocks counted? When a team takes a round past the target, count Weis first, Stöck second and tricks third. A team crossing the target in an earlier block wins. ## Sources 1. [Jass-Regeln: Differenzler-Jass](https://www.swisslos.ch/de/jass/informationen/jass-regeln/differenzler-jass.html) — Swisslos 2. [Jassregeln: Wie geht der Differenzler?](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/differenzler) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Differenzler](https://jasvel.org/variants/differenzler/) Differenzler Jass is a four-player game in which each player predicts a points total, scores the difference, and aims for the lowest running score. - [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) Learn the complete Schieber Jass round, from dealing and schieben to following suit, declarations, multipliers and the winning score. - [Jasstafel scoreboard](https://jasvel.org/tools/jasstafel-scoreboard/) A Jass scoreboard records each team’s round, applies the agreed factor and displays the result in traditional Jasstafel notation. - [Writing the score](https://jasvel.org/rules/jasstafel-scoring/) A Jasstafel records each team’s score with grouped strokes, symbols and a remainder, then preserves the order in which a target is reached. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/tools/differenzler-scoresheet/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass scoreboard guide: read and use a Jasstafel** > Learn how a Jass scoreboard records tricks, Weis and Stöck, applies regional factors and writes each team’s score on a Jasstafel. Source: https://jasvel.org/tools/jasstafel-scoreboard/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Tools](https://jasvel.org/tools/) # How do you use a Jass scoreboard and Jasstafel? A Jass scoreboard records each team’s round, applies the agreed factor and displays the result in traditional Jasstafel notation. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) 0 0 Contract Eicheln Rosen Schellen Schilten Obenabe Undenufe Target 1000 2500 1500 3000 Multiplier table Common (Undenufe ×4) Obenabe and Undenufe ×3 Ascending 1–6 We They Card points Weis Stöck Card points of both teams must add to 152, or 157 with the last trick. Write the round Undo Reset Print ## Rounds written | Round | Contract | Factor | We | They | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | No round written yet. Runs in the browser. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is stored on a server. The short answer A Jasstafel records each team’s score in a separate column, using strokes for hundreds, fifties and twenties, with larger symbols and a plain remainder where needed. The selected factor multiplies tricks, Weis and Stöck for both teams. The tool records the figures you enter but does not check the cards or preserve the board after the page closes. ## How do I use a Jass scoreboard for a round? A Jass scoreboard records a round after you select the game form and enter the points for both teams. The Jasstafel — the traditional Jass scoreboard — then displays the result in two separate columns. Choose the factor that matches the game form used at the table. The choice may represent a trump suit, Obenabe (top-down play) or Undenufe (bottom-up play). The common factor table is loaded by default, but regional tables also exist. Confirm the agreed table before you enter the result. Enter the round in its scoring parts: - **Tricks:** enter the card points taken by each team, including the last-trick bonus where applicable. - **Weis:** enter the valid announced combinations credited to each team. - **Stöck:** enter the trump king and Ober combination when one team has declared it correctly. Confirm the entries only after checking both team columns. The tool applies the selected factor to the complete written round and draws the result as strokes. The display therefore resembles a physical Jasstafel rather than a plain list of totals. A round contains 9 tricks. The pack contains 152 card points, and the last trick adds 5, making 157 card points before any factor, Weis or Stöck is included. If one team wins all 9 tricks, the match bonus adds 100, making 257 before other scoring elements. Those figures give you a useful check when the table has finished counting. For example, a team may enter its trick points first, then add a valid Weis and Stöck before confirming the round. The factor does not belong to the tricks field alone. The complete written result receives the factor, and the opposing team’s result receives the same factor. The scoreboard is a recording aid rather than a card table. It does not deal cards, follow tricks, decide which card wins or determine whether a play was legal. You supply the result agreed by the players, and the Jasstafel gives that result a traditional visual form. The drawing also helps you check the running score. Each team remains on its own side of the vertical dividing line. A group of strokes shows the larger score blocks, while the lower-right plain number shows what the stroke notation cannot express. For the physical layout, read [writing a Jasstafel](https://jasvel.org/rules/jasstafel-scoring/). For the values assigned to cards, see [card values in Jass](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/). **Figure caption:** A Jasstafel score view places one team in each column, separated by a vertical line, with grouped strokes and the remaining plain number shown at the lower right. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How are points written on a Jasstafel? A Jasstafel writes each team’s score in one of two columns divided by a vertical line. Strokes run from left to right in three rows: hundreds on the top row, fifties in the middle and twenties at the bottom. The layout is a compact notation for a running score. The fifth stroke crosses the four strokes before it, creating a recognisable group. Fifties use two strokes drawn across the group. These marks allow players to count the score visually without writing every result as a long ordinary number. The upper right contains two larger symbols. **X** stands for 1000, and **V** stands for 500. The lower right contains a plain number for anything that the strokes cannot express. That number may be negative, and only one such plain number stands at a time. Read a column from its rows and symbols rather than treating every mark as an isolated stroke. The top row represents hundreds. The middle row represents fifties. The bottom row represents twenties. The upper-right X and V extend the notation for larger scores, while the lower-right number records the current remainder outside those groups. For example, a score can contain completed hundreds on the top row, a fifties group in the middle row and twenties at the bottom. A fifth stroke crossing the preceding four tells you that the group is complete. If the remaining amount does not fit those stroke groups, the plain number at the lower right supplies the exact remainder. The lower-right number is not an additional permanent score column. It is the one current amount that the stroke notation cannot show. If a later round changes the remainder, the plain number changes with the rest of the board. A negative remainder is permitted, but the notation still shows only one plain number at a time. The two-column arrangement keeps the teams independent. A stroke in the left column belongs to that team, and a stroke in the right column belongs to the other. The vertical line does not represent a scoring deduction or bonus. It marks the boundary between the two running totals. The app reproduces this convention after you enter a round. It places hundreds, fifties and twenties in their respective rows and uses X or V in the upper right when the score requires those symbols. You do not need to draw the marks by hand or translate every group into a conventional total before using the tool. A conventional number remains useful when you check the round. The Jasstafel drawing supplies the familiar table view, while the number confirms the exact result. Both forms describe the same score, not separate scoring systems. The notation remains readable during a long game because new results extend an established pattern. A crossed fifth stroke is easier to recognise than a dense sequence of individual marks, and each team’s column prevents the two scores from becoming mixed. *A chalk Jasstafel counts in rows, not in columns: hundreds on top, fifties in the middle, twenties at the bottom, each written left to right. The fifth stroke is drawn across the four before it — two strokes across for the fifties. Anything the strokes cannot express is a plain number in the lower right, and it may be negative. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What does the factor multiply in Jass? The factor multiplies the whole written round for both teams. Tricks, Weis and Stöck therefore receive the same factor treatment as one combined round, rather than the factor applying only to the team that chose the game form. The common table is the table the app writes by default: - Eicheln ×1 - Rosen ×1 - Schellen ×2 - Schilten ×2 - Obenabe ×3 - Undenufe ×4 These factors are regional, so the default table is not the only valid table. A widely published variant gives both Obenabe and Undenufe ×3. An ascending variant uses Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×2, Schellen ×3, Schilten ×4, Obenabe ×5 and Undenufe ×6. Agree the table before scoring the round, especially when players have learned different regional customs. In a suit game, the selected suit determines the relevant factor. Obenabe and Undenufe use their own game-form entries. Obenabe means top-down play, where the card order favours higher cards. Undenufe means bottom-up play, where the card order favours lower cards. The factor describes the value of the complete round under that game form. Consider the order of calculation. First establish the entries that belong to each team: tricks, Weis and Stöck. Then apply the chosen factor to the written round. If the selected factor is ×2, the trick points, Weis and Stöck for both teams are all multiplied by ×2. Multiplying only the tricks would produce an incorrect result. Stöck means the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand. Stöck is worth 20 points, credited to that team regardless of the Weis comparison. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. In a suit game, however, Stöck forms part of the written round, so the selected factor applies to it with the tricks and Weis. The factor also affects the team that did not choose the game form. The chosen game form sets the multiplier for the round, not a private bonus for one side. Both columns on the Jasstafel must therefore reflect the same factor, even when one team has taken more tricks or announced more Weis. For the declaration timing and value of the combination, read [Stöck in Jass](https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/). For the announcement rules, read [Weis in Jass](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/). Those rules establish which points enter the round. The scoreboard records the figures after the table has established them. The app’s default is the common table because that table is widely used. The default does not remove the regional alternatives. Groups using the ×3 Obenabe and ×3 Undenufe variant or the ascending table should use the values agreed for their game rather than treating the default as universal. A factor is therefore not a decoration on the score view. It changes the value of every scored part of the round for both teams. Check the game form and table before confirming the entry, then read the resulting Jasstafel columns as the multiplied totals. ## How do the round score and winning order work? A Jass round contains 9 tricks and begins with 157 card points: 152 points in the pack plus 5 for the last trick. Winning all 9 tricks adds 100, making 257 before Weis, Stöck or the factor is included. The round score has distinct parts. The cards provide the trick points. The last trick adds its 5-point bonus. Weis adds valid announced combinations. Stöck adds 20 when one player holds the king and Ober of the trump suit and declares the combination at the correct moment. The selected factor then multiplies the complete written round for both teams. The order for crossing the target is also specific. When a round takes a team past the target, count the blocks in this order: 1. Weis 2. Stöck 3. Tricks A team that crosses the target in an earlier block wins. The largest final total is not the only point to consider, because the order in which the round’s points are counted determines which team crossed first. For example, compare two teams whose round entries together take the score beyond the target. Count the Weis block first. If neither team crosses there, count Stöck. Count tricks only after those blocks. The team that reaches the target during the earlier block wins, even if the other team would have a larger total after every block had been added. Stöck also has a declaration rule that can change the entry before the score is written. Declare Stöck while playing the **second** of the two cards, not the first. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other. The timing matters because Stöck is not an automatic addition that the scoreboard can infer from the final cards. A player must make the declaration during play. If the declaration is late, enter no 20 points for Stöck. The tool can display an amount that you enter, but it cannot decide from a total whether the declaration was timely. Practice targets are 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000. The app offers 1000 and 2500. A target belongs to the match rather than to one individual round. Calculate and record the round first, then compare the running score with the agreed target using the Weis, Stöck and tricks order. A Schieber — the partner-passing form of Jass — still requires careful entry of the round result, although local scoring customs can vary. Read [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) for that game form and [match targets](https://jasvel.org/rules/match-and-target-score/) for target choices and regional treatment. The players remain responsible for agreeing the game form, factor, target and declarations. The Jasstafel makes the result easier to read, but the winning order must come from the rules agreed at the table. *The factor multiplies everything written that round — tricks, Weis and Stöck, for both teams. The left-hand table is the one most tables use and the one this app writes by default; the other two are just as real, so agree on the table before the first deal. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What does the Jass scoreboard not do? The Jasstafel tool records the score that you enter. It does not play Jass, deal cards, evaluate tricks, check legal plays or verify the arithmetic against the cards in the round. The players must establish the result before using the scoreboard. Enter the trick points, Weis and Stöck for each team, select the agreed factor and confirm the round. The app then applies the factor to the figures supplied and draws the corresponding Jasstafel notation. A neat drawing does not prove that the underlying entry is correct. The tool cannot know which cards each player held, which card won a trick, whether a player followed suit or whether a declared combination qualifies as Weis. It also cannot reconstruct the play from a final number. Stöck shows why that distinction matters. Stöck is worth 20 when the king and Ober of the trump suit are in one hand and the player declares the combination while playing the second card. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. The scoreboard can record 20 when you enter 20, but it cannot inspect the trick and award or remove the points automatically. Card arithmetic still belongs to the players. The pack contains 152 card points, the last trick adds 5 and taking all 9 tricks adds 100. These values help the table check its result. The tool does not compare a card-by-card record with the totals entered into the fields. The same limit applies to regional rules. The common factor table is the app’s default, but a widely published variant gives both Obenabe and Undenufe ×3, while an ascending variant runs from Eicheln ×1 through Undenufe ×6. The app can display the factor you use, but the players must know which regional table the game follows. The current board also ends when the page closes. The tool does not preserve the score after that point. Record any result that you need to keep before leaving the page, since a later visit cannot recover the previous board. This narrow purpose is useful at the table. The app provides the traditional two-column drawing, applies the selected factor and shows the running score in a familiar form. It does not replace the players’ decisions about cards, declarations, regional rules or the target. Use the scoreboard after the table has agreed the round. Check the two team columns, confirm the factor and verify Weis and Stöck before accepting the drawing. A short review is especially valuable when the group uses a regional factor table or when Stöck was declared during a close trick. The tool therefore supports recording rather than adjudication. It makes the agreed result visible, while responsibility for the play and the rules remains with the players. ## Questions ### What does the X symbol mean on a Jasstafel? The X in the upper right stands for 1000. The V in the same area stands for 500. Both symbols extend the stroke notation for larger running scores. ### Can a Jasstafel show a score below the stroke total? Yes. The lower-right plain number may be negative. Only one plain number appears there at a time, representing what the strokes cannot express. ### Does the factor apply to the team that did not choose the game form? Yes. The factor multiplies the complete written round for both teams. Tricks, Weis and Stöck all receive the same factor treatment. ### When must a player declare Stöck? A player must declare Stöck while playing the second card of the king-and-Ober combination. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost, and a partner may not give a reminder. ### Which Jass targets can the app use? The targets used in practice are 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000. The app offers 1000 and 2500. ### Does the scoreboard check whether a round’s card points are correct? No. The scoreboard displays the values entered by the players. It does not inspect the cards, reconstruct tricks or verify the arithmetic against the pack. ## Sources 1. [Wie schreibt man beim Jassen](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schreiben-jassen-uebersicht) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Writing the score](https://jasvel.org/rules/jasstafel-scoring/) A Jasstafel records each team’s score with grouped strokes, symbols and a remainder, then preserves the order in which a target is reached. - [Tools](https://jasvel.org/tools/) Use the Jasstafel for a running team score, the Weis tool for declarations, and Coiffeur for a contract sheet covering every agreed round. - [Jasvel](https://jasvel.org/) A complete English guide to Swiss Jass Schieber, including the deal, contracts, trick play, declarations, scoring and regional practice. - [Differenzler scoresheet](https://jasvel.org/tools/differenzler-scoresheet/) Record the target, the scored blocks and the trick result, then check the 157-point base total before carrying the game forward. - [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) Learn the complete Schieber Jass round, from dealing and schieben to following suit, declarations, multipliers and the winning score. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/tools/jasstafel-scoreboard/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass Weis Calculator: Compare Melds and Ties** > Use this Jass Weis calculator to compare sequences and four of a kind, announce melds correctly and resolve every tie-break. Source: https://jasvel.org/tools/weis-calculator/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Tools](https://jasvel.org/tools/) # Jass Weis Calculator Compare a Weis by points, card count, highest card, trump suit and seat position, then confirm the winning meld at the table. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) Tap the cards in your hand 6 7 8 9 10 U O K A 6 7 8 9 10 U O K A 6 7 8 9 10 U O K A 6 7 8 9 10 U O K A Melds found No meld yet — a sequence needs three cards in one suit. Best meld 0 Total if your team writes 0 ## Compare with the other team Their best meld Cards in it Reset Runs in the browser. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is stored on a server. The short answer A five-card sequence and four aces are each worth 100 Weis points, so the sequence wins because five cards beat four. A card may belong to a sequence and four of a kind at the same time, but only the single best Weis held by a team counts. ## What does a Jass Weis calculator compare? A **Weis** is a meld declared during the first trick of Jass. A Jass Weis calculator compares qualifying sequences and four of a kind, then applies the tie-break order used when competing melds have similar values. Use the calculator after checking the cards in your hand. Select or enter the melds that the cards actually form, then read the result as a comparison of the rules rather than as a separate scoring system. Only the team holding the single best Weis writes anything. That team writes both partners’ melds together. The other team writes nothing, even if one of its players announced a valid meld. A sequence must use cards in one suit. Weis always reads a sequence in the natural order from six to ace. The sequence values are: - three cards: 20 points; - four cards: 50 points; - five cards: 100 points; - six cards: 150 points; - seven cards: 200 points; - eight cards: 250 points; - nine cards: 300 points. Four of a kind uses four cards of the same rank. Four Under are worth 200 points, four Nell are worth 150 points, and four aces, kings, Obers or tens are worth 100 points. Four sixes, sevens or eights are worth nothing. A card may belong to a sequence and to four of a kind at the same time, so check both possibilities before comparing them. The calculator does not replace the declaration procedure. On the first trick, each player states only the value of their best meld as they play their card. A player says “twenty”, “fifty” or “a hundred”, rather than naming the cards. The team that turns out to hold the best Weis shows the actual cards on the second trick. Only then are the points certain. For the complete meld rules, see [Weis in Jass](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/). The separate [Jass card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) page covers the values used when cards win tricks, not the value of a Weis. This distinction helps prevent a card’s trick value from being confused with its meld value. Regional rules can differ. The comparison described here uses the stated Weis order and applies to games using [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/), the partnership format in which players choose the trump suit, unless the players have agreed a local variant. *A sequence of three is worth **20** and each further card roughly doubles the reward up to **300** for a nine-card run. Four Unders are **200**, four Nells **150**, four aces, kings, obers or banners **100** — and four sixes, sevens or eights are worth nothing at all. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How do you compare a five-card sequence with four aces? A five-card sequence beats four aces when both melds are worth 100 Weis points. The points tie first, so the comparison moves to the number of cards. Five cards beat four cards, making the sequence the single best Weis. This example is settled before the highest card, trump suit or seat position matters. The five-card sequence has 100 points and four aces have 100 points. The sequence contains five cards, while four aces contain four cards. The second comparison therefore produces a clear result. The result does not depend on which player announced first. Announcement order makes the meld value public, but an early announcement does not defeat a meld that wins under the comparison order. The cards must still be shown by the team holding the best claim, and the claimed meld must be valid. Consider the comparison in the same order every time: - Compare the points of the melds. - If the points tie, compare the number of cards. - If the card count ties, compare the highest card. - If the earlier tests tie, prefer a meld in the trump suit. - If all those tests tie, compare seat position relative to the forehand. A high card cannot overturn an earlier result. A sequence with a higher point value beats a lower-valued four of a kind before card count is considered. A longer sequence wins a tied point comparison even if the opposing meld contains a card that appears higher in the trick order. The five-card sequence and four aces example concerns Weis only. Ordinary trick points are recorded separately according to the cards played and the game mode. The [card values in Jass](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) page explains that separate system. A meld’s 100 points do not change the value of the cards in later tricks. If both melds belong to one team, the team does not write 200 points by adding them together. The team writes only the single best Weis, which is the five-card sequence in this example. If opposing teams hold the melds, the team with the sequence writes the 100 Weis points and the other team writes nothing. | Cards | Points | Four of a kind | Points | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 3 | 20 | U × 4 | 200 | | 4 | 50 | 9 × 4 | 150 | | 5 | 100 | A × 4 | 100 | | 6 | 150 | K × 4 | 100 | | 7 | 200 | O × 4 | 100 | | 8 | 250 | 10 × 4 | 100 | | 9 | 300 | 8 × 4 | 0 | 100 100 *Both of these are worth **100**. The sequence wins the comparison because it holds five cards against four — points first, then card count, then the highest card. This is the argument the comparison ladder exists to settle. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Can one card count in a sequence and four of a kind? Yes, one card may belong to a sequence and to four of a kind at the same time. The card remains available for both checks, but the team does not score both melds together. Suppose a card completes a five-card sequence in its suit and also forms part of four cards of the same rank. Check the sequence and the four of a kind independently. Record the value of each qualifying meld, then compare the melds by points, number of cards, highest card, trump suit and seat position relative to the forehand. The overlap does not create an extra bonus. A team with both melds writes only its single best Weis. If the sequence is worth 100 and the four of a kind is also worth 100, the five-card sequence wins on card count against a four-card meld. If the four of a kind has a higher value, points settle the comparison before the number of cards is considered. Competing melds held by opposing teams use the same process. A card appearing in both formations does not give either team a special priority. The calculator resolves the melds that the cards form, not the number of ways a player can describe the same card. Check sequences in the natural order from six to ace. That order always applies to Weis, including **Undenufe**, the Jass mode in which the trick order is inverted. Undenufe changes which cards win tricks; Undenufe does not reverse the order used to judge a sequence. A sequence that runs from six upwards therefore remains a valid natural-order sequence in that mode. The same distinction matters in **Obenabe**, the Jass mode without a trump suit. Obenabe has no trump category for the fourth comparison stage, while a trump game can use that stage if all earlier tests remain tied. Neither mode changes the rule that a card may appear in a sequence and four of a kind. For the separate values of cards in tricks, consult [Jass card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/). For the complete treatment of melds, use the [Weis rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/). Those pages should be read alongside the local rules agreed before the hand, because regional Jass variants can alter how players resolve unusual cases. *Only one team writes Weis, and this is the order the question is settled in. A five-card sequence and four aces are both worth 100 — the sequence wins on card count. Stöck is never part of this comparison: both teams always write their own. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How is a Weis announced at the table? Each player announces only the value of their best meld during the first trick, in turn as they play their card. The announcement can be “twenty”, “fifty” or “a hundred”; the player does not name the suit, rank, sequence length or actual cards. The value announcement is public to both teams. Partners may not tell each other about a meld or ask about one. Each player must assess their own cards and announce the value of their own best meld without receiving information from their partner. The team’s final claim comes from the melds that the team actually holds. The announcement remains provisional until the second trick. The team that turns out to hold the best Weis then shows the actual cards. Only at that point are the Weis points certain. A stated value without a qualifying meld does not win the comparison, and an invalid claim cannot be used to defeat a valid meld. The announcement describes a value, not a card pattern. A player should say “a hundred” rather than “a five-card sequence” or “four aces”. That limited announcement gives both teams the same public information while keeping the cards concealed until the correct stage. The order of play does not automatically decide the result. Seat position matters only at the final comparison stage, after points, card count, highest card and trump status have all tied. The first announcement therefore does not automatically win, although the players’ positions relative to the forehand can settle a complete tie under the stated order. The team that wins the comparison writes both partners’ melds together, but only the single best Weis counts. The other team writes nothing, even if a player on that team announced a valid value. A team cannot add a second-best meld to the winning meld or use a partner’s undisclosed cards to strengthen its claim. For the partnership format, read about [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/). For the separate king-and-queen meld called **Stöck**, meaning the designated trump king-and-queen combination, see [Stöck](https://jasvel.org/rules/stoeck/). Stöck follows its own rule and should not be folded into the ordinary sequence-versus-four-of-a-kind comparison. ## What is the full tie-break order for Weis? The full Weis tie-break order is points, number of cards, highest card, trump suit and seat position relative to the forehand. Stop at the first test that separates the melds. A five-card sequence against four aces stops at card count because both melds have 100 points and five cards beat four. **Points come first.** Compare the declared meld values before considering any card feature. Four Under are worth 200 points, four Nell are worth 150 points, and four aces, kings, Obers or tens are worth 100 points. Four sixes, sevens or eights are worth nothing. Sequence values rise from 20 for three cards to 300 for nine cards according to the stated card counts. **Number of cards comes second.** Count the cards in the meld, not the cards remaining in the player’s hand. A five-card sequence therefore beats four aces when both melds are worth 100 points. A longer sequence can win this stage even when the other meld appears to contain a higher individual card. **The highest card comes third.** Reach this test only when both points and card count tie. Read a sequence from six to ace in natural order. Undenufe reverses the trick order but does not reverse the order used for Weis, so the mode cannot turn a natural-order sequence into a descending Weis. **Trump suit comes fourth.** If points, card count and highest card all tie, a meld in the trump suit beats the equivalent meld outside trump. Obenabe has no trump suit, so this stage cannot separate the melds in that mode. A regional rule may provide a local convention for any tie that remains. **Seat position comes last.** Compare the seats relative to the forehand only after every earlier test has tied. The announcement sequence is not a substitute for this final rule. The calculator follows the stated order so that players can identify the exact test that decides a close comparison. Regional Jass rules can differ, so agree the local convention before the hand. The rule set described here gives a consistent method for the calculator: the team holding the single best Weis writes its value, writes both partners’ melds together, and the other team writes nothing. The [Weis rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/) provide the wider explanation, while [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) places the comparison in its partnership format. ## Questions ### Does a five-card sequence beat four aces when both are worth 100? Yes. Both melds tie on 100 points, so compare their card counts. The sequence has five cards and four aces have four, making the sequence the best Weis. ### Can the same card be used in two Weis melds? Yes. One card may belong to a sequence and to four of a kind at the same time. The team still writes only its single best meld rather than adding both melds together. ### When do players show the cards in a Weis? Players announce only the value of their best meld during the first trick. The team holding the best claim shows the actual cards on the second trick, when the points become certain. ### May partners ask about each other’s melds? No. Partners may not tell each other about a meld or ask about one. Only the announced values are public before the cards are shown. ### Does Undenufe reverse the order of a Weis sequence? No. Weis sequences always use the natural order from six to ace. Undenufe reverses the trick order, not the order used to judge a sequence. ### What decides a tie after the melds have equal points? Compare the number of cards first, then the highest card, then whether a meld is in the trump suit, and finally seat position relative to the forehand. The first difference settles the result. ## Sources 1. [Weis (Jassen)](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weis_(Jassen)) — Wikipedia 2. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Weis](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/) Jass Weis compares declared melds, and only the team with the single best meld scores Weis for both partners. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/tools/weis-calculator/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Jass trick winner: trump, suit and rank explained** > Learn who wins a Jass trick by checking the led suit, trump cards and the correct rank order in Obenabe, Undenufe and trump contracts. Source: https://jasvel.org/tools/who-wins-the-trick/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Tools](https://jasvel.org/tools/) # Who wins a trick in Jass? The strongest card in the controlling suit takes the trick, with the contract deciding the rank order and any trump taking priority. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) Contract Eicheln Rosen Schellen Schilten Obenabe Undenufe Choose the four cards in the order they were played Seat 1 *Led* 6 7 8 9 10 U O K A Eicheln Rosen Schellen Schilten Seat 2 6 7 8 9 10 U O K A Eicheln Rosen Schellen Schilten Seat 3 6 7 8 9 10 U O K A Eicheln Rosen Schellen Schilten Seat 4 6 7 8 9 10 U O K A Eicheln Rosen Schellen Schilten Takes the trick — Worth 0 Runs in the browser. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is stored on a server. The short answer A trump beats every card in a plain suit, and the strongest card among the winning suit takes the trick. In Undenufe, the six is highest; the tool identifies the winner, while [following suit](page:following-suit) explains whether each play was legal. ## What decides who wins a Jass trick? The winner of a Jass trick is the strongest card in the suit that controls the trick. A trump controls the trick whenever a trump has been played; without a trump, the led suit controls it. The contract then supplies the rank order used to compare the cards. Start with the card that was led. If no trump appears, remove every card from another plain suit from the winning comparison. Only cards in the led suit can win a non-trumped trick. In the ordinary high-down order, used for plain suits and Obenabe, the ace stands above the king, Ober, Under and the lower cards. The ten is below the Under, so a ten does not defeat an Under in that order. A trump changes the controlling suit. Any trump beats every card from a plain suit, even an ace of the led suit. Once a trump appears, compare the trumps with the trump ladder rather than with the ordinary order of the suits printed on the cards. The strongest trump takes the trick. The trump ladder contains two named cards that often cause mistakes. The Under of trumps is the **Puur**, meaning the trump Under, and the nine of trumps is the **Nell**, meaning the trump nine. The Puur is above the Nell, and the Nell is above the ace in the trump order. The complete order table gives the position of every remaining trump. The contract also matters when no trump controls the trick. **Obenabe**, meaning high-down, uses the familiar high-card direction. **Undenufe**, meaning low-up, reverses the ladder, so the six stands above the seven and the ace falls to the bottom. These contract variants must not be mixed: a card can win under Obenabe and lose under Undenufe. Rank and card points answer different questions. Rank decides who takes the trick. Card points decide how much the captured cards contribute to the score. The [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) table gives the point distribution for trump contracts, Obenabe and Undenufe, but a card worth more points does not automatically win. Every contract puts exactly 152 card points in the pack. That total does not alter the winner of an individual trick. The tool therefore settles the ranking question by applying the led suit, the presence of a trump and the active contract's order. *The same nine ranks, read three ways. Obenabe is the ordinary top-down order; Undenufe turns it upside down, so the six wins the trick and the ace loses it. Weis is never inverted — it always counts from the six up. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Does a trumped trick always go to the trump? A trick containing a trump goes to the strongest trump that was played. No card from a plain suit can defeat a trump, including the ace of the led suit. The led suit matters for the cards played before the trump appears, but the trump suit controls the result once a trump is present. Consider a plain-suit ace led into a trick. A player who plays a trump takes control, even if that trump would look low in the ordinary printed sequence of its suit. The comparison has changed from the plain-suit ladder to the trump ladder. The ace remains a card of the led suit, while the trump now belongs to the controlling suit. Compare all trumps in the trick with one another. The trump Under, the **Puur**, is strongest. The trump nine, the **Nell**, follows the Puur. The trump ace follows the Nell, and the remaining trump cards follow the exact order shown in the strength table. A plain-suit king, ace or ten cannot enter that comparison once a trump has appeared. A worked comparison makes the rule clear. If a trick contains a plain-suit ace and a trump seven, the trump seven wins because every trump outranks every plain-suit card. If the same trick also contains the trump nine, the Nell wins because the Nell stands above the trump seven. If the Puur is present as well, the Puur wins the trump comparison. Card points can make the winning card look surprising. The trump Puur is worth 20 card points, and the trump Nell is worth 14. Those values do not cause the cards to win. The Puur and Nell win because of their positions in the trump rank order; the card-values table records their contribution after the trick has been captured. The tool applies the trump comparison to the cards entered and identifies the winning trump. The result does not establish whether every play was legal. A player may have had to follow the led suit, or may have had a permitted option under the relevant contract rules. Read [the rules on following suit](https://jasvel.org/rules/following-suit/) for that separate question. Regional Jass practice can differ in the obligations attached to a missing suit. The ranking principle remains clear: when a trump is present, the strongest trump takes the trick. The contract page explains the named contract variants, while the strength table settles the card order within the selected variant. | Contract | Strongest first | | --- | --- | | In trump | U · 9 · A · K · O · 10 · 8 · 7 · 6 | | Obenabe | A · K · O · U · 10 · 9 · 8 · 7 · 6 | | Undenufe | 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · U · O · K · A | *The trump suit as it is actually held: the Under (Puur) on the left beats the nine (Nell), and both beat the ace. Nothing else in the pack reorders itself like this, which is why the trump choice is the decision of the round. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Why does the six win an Undenufe trick? The six is the highest card in every suit during an Undenufe trick without a trump. It defeats the seven, eight, nine, ten, Under, Ober, king and ace of the same suit. Undenufe uses a complete inverted ladder rather than a special exception for one card. **Undenufe** means low-up. The name describes the direction of strength: the low end of the suit rises to the top, while the ace falls to the bottom. The full order is six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Under, Ober, king and ace. Use that order for every suit when Undenufe controls the comparison. Suppose a suit is led and the trick contains its six. The six wins unless a trump is present under a rule set that includes trumps. A seven cannot beat the six. Neither can an eight, nine, ten, Under, Ober, king or ace of that suit. The same ladder applies to every suit, so the suit symbol changes but the direction does not. The result can seem wrong to a player who carries the ordinary ace-high order into Undenufe. That order belongs to plain suits in the usual high-down arrangement and to Obenabe. It does not apply to Undenufe. The contract changes the strength ladder before the cards are compared. The six's card-point value is separate from its rank. In Undenufe, the six is worth 11 card points. Other cards receive the values shown in the card-values table, including 10 points for the ten and 8 points for the eight. The six wins because it is first in the Undenufe order, not because a general Jass rule makes the lowest card worth the most. Undenufe must not be confused with a trump contract. Undenufe is a no-trump contract in the comparison described here, so the inverted ladder applies to the led suit. A trump contract uses the special trump order instead, with the Puur above the Nell. The [contracts page](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) gives the named contract structure, and the strength table settles the individual trick. Regional tables may use different terminology for contract choices, but Obenabe and Undenufe are the named variants used here. The rank direction remains the practical point: Obenabe places the ace at the top of the plain-suit ladder, while Undenufe places the six at the top. Entering the correct contract prevents the tool from applying the wrong order. *In a trump suit the Under (Puur) is the highest card and the nine (Nell) the second highest — above the ace. The order and the values are the same in every canton; only the multiplier changes. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What happens if somebody cannot follow suit? A player who cannot follow the led suit does not change the ranking method used to find the winner. A trump controls the trick if one has been played; otherwise the led suit controls it. An off-suit plain card cannot win a non-trumped trick merely because its printed rank is high. The result and the legality of a play are separate matters. The result asks which entered card is strongest under the selected contract. Legality asks whether the player was allowed, or required, to play that card from the hand available at the time. In a trick with no trump, compare only the cards in the led suit. An off-suit discard sits outside the winning comparison. For example, a plain-suit ace from a suit that was not led cannot beat a led-suit ten in a non-trumped trick. The led-suit ten wins because the other ace does not belong to the controlling suit. If a trump appears, compare the trumps instead. An off-suit plain card still cannot win, but a trump can take the trick even when the player could not follow the led suit. The exact obligation to follow, trump or discard depends on the applicable Jass rules. Regional practice can differ, so do not treat one table's procedure as universal. The contract variants named Obenabe and Undenufe also require the correct rank ladder when the trick contains no trump. Obenabe uses the high-down order. Undenufe uses the inverted order, with the six highest. A player can therefore play legally yet fail to win because another card occupies a stronger position in that contract's ladder. A winning card can also have been played illegally. The tool can identify the strongest card among the entries without knowing the player's complete hand or the table's procedural rule. Do not infer permission from the winner. Check the follow-suit rule separately, then use the tool to confirm the ranking result. For obligations, exceptions and the meaning of a missing suit, read [following suit](https://jasvel.org/rules/following-suit/). If the disagreement concerns a mistaken comparison rather than an illegal play, [common beginner mistakes](https://jasvel.org/tactics/beginner-mistakes/) covers the errors that most often produce the wrong winner. The distinction keeps a correct card comparison from becoming an incorrect ruling about the play. ## How should the Jass trick tool settle an argument? Enter the selected contract and every card in the trick, then read the indicated winner as a ranking result. Check the led suit, check for a trump, and apply the contract's rank ladder. That sequence keeps suit control, trump control and card strength distinct. For a non-trumped trick, identify the led suit and exclude cards from every other plain suit. In Obenabe, compare the remaining cards with the high-down order: ace, king, Ober, Under, ten, nine, eight, seven and six. In Undenufe, compare them with the inverted order: six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Under, Ober, king and ace. For a trumped trick, stop comparing the led card with the ordinary plain-suit order. Identify every trump in the trick and compare those cards with the trump ladder. The Puur is above the Nell, the Nell is above the trump ace, and the rest of the trumps follow the displayed order. A plain-suit ace cannot beat any of them. A worked example can be recorded in a compact form. Write down the contract, the led suit, whether a trump appeared and the strongest rank in the controlling suit. Under Undenufe, a led-suit six wins a non-trumped comparison. Under a trump contract, a trump seven beats a plain-suit ace, while a trump Nell beats that trump seven. Check scoring only after deciding the winner. A trump contract assigns 62 card points to the trump suit and 30 card points to each plain suit. Obenabe assigns 38 card points to each suit, and Undenufe also assigns 38 card points to each suit. Every contract contains exactly 152 card points, but the point total does not decide which player captured the trick. The scoring table also explains why rank and value must remain separate. In a trump suit, the Puur is worth 20 card points and the Nell 14. In a plain suit during a trump contract, the Under is worth 2 card points. In Obenabe and Undenufe, the six, ten and eight have the values shown for those contracts. A low-value card can win, and a high-value card can lose. If the disagreement concerns a card from a suit that was not led, pause before treating the result as a ruling on legality. The tool can correctly identify the strongest entered card while leaving the duty to follow suit unresolved. Use the follow-suit rules for permission and the tool for the winner. A reliable explanation therefore names the contract, led suit, trump status and winning rank. That record accounts for a trumped trick going to the strongest trump, an Undenufe trick going to the six when no trump controls it, and an off-suit card failing to win a non-trumped trick. It also prevents card points from being mistaken for trick strength. ## Questions ### Can the ace of the led suit beat a trump? No. Every trump outranks every card from a plain suit. The ace can win only when no trump is present and the ace occupies the highest position in the active contract's ladder. ### What is the Puur in Jass? The Puur is the Under of the trump suit. It is the strongest card in the trump rank order and is worth 20 card points in a trump contract. ### What is the Nell in Jass? The Nell is the nine of the trump suit. It follows the Puur in the trump order and is worth 14 card points in a trump contract. ### Which card is strongest in Obenabe? The ace is strongest in a plain suit under Obenabe when no trump controls the trick. Obenabe uses the high-down order, so the six is below the other cards in that ladder. ### Can a plain-suit ace win an Undenufe trick? Yes, but only if the relevant comparison contains no higher card in the led suit and no trump controls the trick. The ace is the lowest card in the Undenufe ladder, so a six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Under, Ober or king of the led suit defeats it. ### Why can a card worth zero points still win? Card points and trick rank use different rules. A card with zero card points can occupy a strong position in the active ladder, while a card worth more points can rank below it. ## Sources 1. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod 2. [Schieber-Jass: eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/schieber) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Following suit](https://jasvel.org/rules/following-suit/) Farbzwang requires the led suit when possible; trump rules then decide whether you must overtrump, may undertrump or can keep the Puur. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/tools/who-wins-the-trick/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Coiffeur Jass rules, scoring and contract sheet** > Learn how Coiffeur Jass fixes contracts, records tens, applies regional multipliers and decides the winner when the sheet is complete. Source: https://jasvel.org/variants/coiffeur-jass/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Variants](https://jasvel.org/variants/) # What are the Coiffeur Jass rules and scoring system? Coiffeur fixes the contracts in advance, records only the tens of each round and uses regional factors to value the complete score. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## What are the basic Coiffeur Jass rules? Coiffeur is a form of Jass played with the trick-taking structure of [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/). Each team plays every contract on the agreed sheet exactly once. The sheet therefore fixes the programme for the match instead of leaving the contract open for every round. A standard Coiffeur sheet has 8 columns. The listed contracts are Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×2, Schellen ×3, Schilten ×4, Obenabe ×5 and Undenufe ×6. The final two columns are jokers, with free contract choice at ×7 and ×8. This ascending arrangement is one regional form of the sheet, not the only multiplier table used in Coiffeur. **Eicheln**, **Rosen**, **Schellen** and **Schilten** are the four Swiss suits. **Obenabe** is the top-down contract, in which the highest card wins the trick. **Undenufe** is the bottom-up contract, in which the lowest card wins. A suit contract has a trump suit; a direction contract does not. The [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) reference sets out the card order and points used in these contracts. A round uses 36 cards. Each of the 4 players receives 9 cards, and the players complete 9 tricks. The pack contains 152 card points. The last trick adds 5 points, making 157 points from tricks in a round before Weis and Stöck. When all 9 tricks form a match, a further 100 points brings that total to 257 before Weis and Stöck. **Weis** means declared scoring combinations. **Stöck** means the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand. Stöck is worth 20 points when declared correctly, but it does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. Coiffeur therefore tests both card play and score management: a team must handle every scheduled contract, including contracts that fit its cards poorly. | Contract | Factor | | --- | --- | | Eicheln | ×1 | | Rosen | ×2 | | Schellen | ×3 | | Schilten | ×4 | | Obenabe | ×5 | | Undenufe | ×6 | | Joker 1 | ×7 | | Joker 2 | ×8 | *In Coiffeur nobody chooses freely: each team plays every contract exactly once, and the column decides the factor. Only the tens of the round are written — 129 points becomes 12 — so the two joker columns, worth seven and eight times, are where a Coiffeur is won. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How does the Coiffeur sheet assign contracts? The Coiffeur sheet assigns the contracts that each team must play. Each team plays each contract exactly once, and the standard sheet has 8 columns: Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×2, Schellen ×3, Schilten ×4, Obenabe ×5, Undenufe ×6, followed by joker columns at ×7 and ×8. The sheet is a schedule rather than a list of optional calls. The four suit contracts use Eicheln, Rosen, Schellen and Schilten. In a suit contract, the named suit is trump and determines the relevant trump order. Obenabe has no trump suit: the highest card wins each trick. Undenufe also has no trump suit: the lowest card wins each trick. The contract affects the way players value entries, leads and cards that may win late in the round. A joker column allows the team to choose the contract when that column is reached. The choice is free because the column does not name a contract in advance, but its multiplier remains fixed. The joker at ×7 uses factor seven in the ascending arrangement, and the joker at ×8 uses factor eight. The selected contract applies to the round, and the factor applies to the complete round scores of both teams. Some regional sheets have 10 columns rather than 8. They add **Slalom**, which alternates Obenabe and Undenufe trick by trick, and **Guschti**, also called **Mary**, which uses 5 tricks in one direction and 4 in the other. These are additional contract forms. They do not remove the fixed-sheet principle: each team plays each listed contract exactly once. A team can see a compulsory contract before it reaches the table. That information allows the team to plan its card management, likely leads and declarations. A weak fit cannot be removed from the programme, so the team must limit the damage and preserve its better options for the relevant joker columns. The [Coiffeur tool](https://jasvel.org/tools/coiffeur-scoresheet/) helps record each fixed contract, each joker choice and the tens written into the sheet. A completed sheet shows the contract, the factor and the written result for every column. Reading the next obligation before play begins gives both teams a chance to plan rather than treat each round as an isolated hand. ## How does Coiffeur convert a round into written tens? Coiffeur writes only the tens of the completed round into the relevant box. A round worth 129 points is written as 12. A match worth 257 points is written as 25. The box is therefore a shortened record of the final round score, not a record of every individual point. Count the complete round before converting it into tens. Add the card points won in the 9 tricks, add the 5 points for the last trick, then add valid Weis and Stöck. Apply the contract factor to the whole result for both teams. Only after that calculation do you write the tens in the sheet. The 36-card pack contains 152 card points. The last trick adds 5 points, so the trick total for a round is 157 before Weis and Stöck. If one team wins all 9 tricks, the round receives the further 100-point match addition and reaches 257 before Weis and Stöck. That gives a useful arithmetic check: a complete match with no added Weis or Stöck is written as 25 before any contract factor is applied. The factor multiplies the complete written round. It includes tricks, Weis and Stöck for both teams. It does not apply only to the team that chose the contract. For example, a round with a complete pre-factor result of 129 uses the agreed factor for both teams’ scores before the tens are entered. The exact point total must be calculated first, even though the sheet keeps only the tens. The units digit is omitted from the box. Two full results can therefore produce the same written tens even when their exact totals differ. Keep the full arithmetic available when checking a target or deciding which team crossed first. The written box cannot show the discarded units, so it cannot replace the underlying calculation. The [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) reference explains the card points behind the trick total. The wider [contracts](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) guide explains how named contracts alter card order and play. Coiffeur adds the fixed schedule and written-tens method, so one trick result can carry a different value under a different factor. *The factor multiplies everything written that round — tricks, Weis and Stöck, for both teams. The left-hand table is the one most tables use and the one this app writes by default; the other two are just as real, so agree on the table before the first deal. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Which Coiffeur multiplier table applies in your game? Coiffeur multiplier tables are regional, so no single table applies everywhere. The common table, and the table the app writes by default, is Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×1, Schellen ×2, Schilten ×2, Obenabe ×3 and Undenufe ×4. This table differs from the ascending factors printed on the standard 8-column sheet. A widely published variant gives both Obenabe and Undenufe ×3. An ascending variant uses Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×2, Schellen ×3, Schilten ×4, Obenabe ×5 and Undenufe ×6. The ascending variant matches the standard sheet described for Coiffeur, including joker columns at ×7 and ×8. Agree the table before the first score is written. The factor multiplies the whole round for both teams. If the round contains tricks, Weis and Stöck, all of those parts belong to the multiplied result. The factor does not apply only to trick points, and it does not apply only to the team that selected the contract. A high factor can increase the successful team’s score while also increasing the opposing team’s score from the same round. Consider a suit contract with a complete pre-factor result of 129. Under a factor of ×2, multiply the entire round before entering the tens. That complete round includes valid Weis and Stöck as well as tricks. The example shows why a regional multiplier changes the sheet result even when the cards, tricks and declarations remain exactly the same. Obenabe and Undenufe require separate attention. Neither contract has a trump suit, so Stöck does not exist in either one. A player holding the king and Ober of a suit cannot claim Stöck during a direction contract. Other Weis practices may also vary by region, so use the agreed local rules rather than combining parts of different tables. The [special contracts](https://jasvel.org/variants/slalom-guschti-molotow/) guide is useful when a sheet includes Slalom or Guschti, also called Mary. Those contracts alter the direction of play, but the scoring principle remains the same: identify the agreed factor, calculate the complete round for both teams and then write the tens. ## Why do joker columns matter so much in Coiffeur? Joker columns matter because they are the only Coiffeur columns in which a team chooses the contract. The fixed columns impose Eicheln, Rosen, Schellen, Schilten, Obenabe or Undenufe at the factor printed on the sheet. A joker provides a contract choice, but it does not remove the remaining obligations. Assess a joker against the cards in hand, the joker’s factor and the current score on the sheet. A strong trump suit may support a suit contract. High cards spread across several suits may favour Obenabe. Low cards may favour Undenufe. The choice also affects the opposing team because the factor multiplies the complete round score for both sides. The fixed columns create the main pressure of Coiffeur. A team may have a poor fit for a compulsory contract and still have to play it. The team can manage the position with careful leads, entries and discards, then collect the tricks that its cards can support. It cannot replace the compulsory contract with a preferred one. A team can use an early joker for a dependable result or preserve a stronger contract for a later factor. A team behind on the sheet may choose a contract with greater potential, accepting that the opposing team can also benefit from the multiplied round. A team ahead may prefer a contract that reduces the chance of a large reversal. The best choice depends on the cards, the factor and the score position. A worked example shows the trade-off. A team holds cards suited to Obenabe and reaches a joker at ×7. Choosing Obenabe may produce a strong result if the hand controls high cards, but the opposing team’s tricks also receive the same factor. Choosing a safer suit contract may sacrifice some potential while reducing the chance that the other team scores heavily. The joker controls the contract, not the outcome. The [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) rules provide the trick-taking foundation, but Coiffeur changes the session-level decision. In Schieber, contract choice drives each hand. In Coiffeur, the sheet drives the session, fixed columns create obligations and joker columns provide limited control over when a chosen contract enters the programme. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How does a Coiffeur match end and who wins? The team with the most points when every box is filled wins the Coiffeur match. Practice targets include 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000 points. The app offers targets of 1000 and 2500. The target sets the finishing point, while the completed sheet supplies the full record used to compare the teams. When a round takes a team past the target, count the points in this order: Weis first, Stöck second and tricks third. A team crossing the target in an earlier block wins. This rule matters when both teams appear to reach the target during the same round. Do not compare only the combined round totals; identify the block in which each team crossed. Stöck is worth 20 points. It consists of the king and Ober of the trump suit held by one player. The player declares Stöck while playing the **second** of those two cards, not the first. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration is made, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other to declare it. Stöck belongs to the team that holds the two cards, regardless of the Weis comparison. It does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe because those contracts have no trump suit. A player cannot claim the 20 points later merely because the hand contained the king and Ober of a suit. The declaration must be made at the correct card and at the correct moment. The target makes the remaining columns strategically relevant. A team near 1000 or 2500 may value a dependable joker choice differently from a team that needs a large score to catch up. A fixed high-factor contract can create a substantial swing for both teams, while a missed Stöck declaration can remove 20 points from the crossing calculation. Use [match targets](https://jasvel.org/rules/match-and-target-score/) when comparing target formats and end conditions. The Coiffeur result is complete only after the required columns have been played, the round scores have been counted in the correct order and every box has been filled. The final winner is the team with the higher accumulated score. The short answer Coiffeur is a fixed-contract form of Schieber: each team plays every contract on the agreed sheet exactly once. A box records only the tens of the complete round, including tricks, Weis and Stöck after the contract factor has been applied. Regional multiplier tables differ, and the team with the most points when every box is filled wins. ## Questions ### Must both teams complete every Coiffeur column? Yes. Each team plays every contract listed on the agreed sheet exactly once. Fixed columns impose their named contracts, while joker columns allow a contract choice at the factor printed for that column. ### Can a team choose any contract in a joker column? A joker allows a free contract choice when that column is reached. The choice remains subject to the agreed sheet and its scoring rules, and the joker’s factor stays fixed even though the contract changes. ### What happens to the units digit in a Coiffeur score? The units digit is omitted from the box. A complete round of 129 is recorded as 12, while a complete match of 257 is recorded as 25. ### Does the contract factor affect Weis and Stöck? Yes. The factor multiplies the complete round, including tricks, Weis and Stöck, for both teams. The multiplier does not apply only to the team that selected the contract. ### When must a player declare Stöck? The player must declare Stöck while playing the second card of the king and Ober of the trump suit. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. ### Why is Stöck unavailable in Obenabe and Undenufe? Stöck requires a trump suit containing the king and Ober in one hand. Obenabe and Undenufe have no trump suit, so Stöck does not exist in either contract. ## Sources 1. [Anleitung und Jassregeln für den Coiffeur-Jass](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/coiffeur-jass) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 2. [Jass-Regeln: Coiffeur-Jass](https://www.swisslos.ch/de/jass/informationen/jass-regeln/coiffeur-jass.html) — Swisslos 3. [Coiffeur-Schieber](https://www.pagat.com/jass/coiffeur.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Coiffeur scoresheet](https://jasvel.org/tools/coiffeur-scoresheet/) A Coiffeur scoresheet records each contract once, keeps only the tens of every round and uses the printed factor for the selected column. - [Variants](https://jasvel.org/variants/) Schieber is only one form of Jass: the main variants change who chooses the contract, who shares a score and what counts as success. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/variants/coiffeur-jass/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Differenzler Jass scoring and prediction rules** > Learn Differenzler Jass rules: predict points, score the difference, handle totals below or above 157, and win with the lowest running score. Source: https://jasvel.org/variants/differenzler/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Variants](https://jasvel.org/variants/) # Differenzler Jass Rules Differenzler Jass is a four-player game in which each player predicts a points total, scores the difference, and aims for the lowest running score. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## How does Differenzler Jass scoring work? Differenzler Jass is played by four individual players, not by partnerships. Each player receives nine cards from the 36-card pack, predicts a points total, and then tries to finish as close as possible to that prediction. The player with the lowest accumulated score wins. A round contains nine tricks because each player holds nine cards. Every player contributes one card to each trick. The contract may be a trump suit, Obenabe, meaning the high-card arrangement, or Undenufe, meaning the low-card arrangement. The contract determines which cards can win and how many points the cards carry. Each player announces an individual prediction before the first card is played. The prediction concerns points taken in tricks, not the number of tricks won. One trick can contain several valuable cards, while another can contain few card points but still include the last-trick bonus. A points prediction must therefore account for card values, trick control and timing. After the ninth trick, count the points in each player’s tricks. Compare each result with that player’s prediction. The difference becomes the score for the round. A close prediction adds only a small amount to the running total, while a distant prediction adds more. An exact prediction adds no difference. The 36-card pack gives four players nine cards each and produces nine tricks. The full round contains 152 card points, plus 5 points for the last trick, for 157 points. The distribution of those points matters to each prediction, but the four predictions do not need to add up to the round total. Differenzler rewards accurate judgement rather than maximum capture. A strong hand may justify a high prediction, but strong cards can also force unwanted tricks. A weak hand may justify a low prediction, but even a cautious player can receive valuable cards through the play of the round. *Figure caption: A Differenzler score sheet records one prediction, one result and one round difference for each player.* *The trump suit is worth **62** of the pack’s **152** card points on its own — the Under alone is 20 and the Nell 14 — while each of the other three suits holds **30**. That imbalance is why the trump choice decides most rounds. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How should you predict your points in Differenzler? A Differenzler prediction should estimate the points a player can realistically take under the chosen contract. Begin with the cards that can control tricks, then allow for cards that opponents can overtake, draw or force out. The best prediction describes a probable result rather than the strongest result the hand could produce. The [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) table provides the starting point. In a trump contract, the trump Under is the Puur, the strongest trump, and the trump nine is the Nell. The trump ace and ten also carry substantial value. In a plain suit during a trump contract, the hierarchy and values differ. Obenabe and Undenufe use different card orders again, so the same hand can support different predictions under different contracts. Count cards that you expect to win, but do not treat every valuable card as guaranteed points. A high card may lose to a stronger card in the same suit. A trump may be drawn before you can use it. A card with a useful printed value may become stranded if another player controls the trick. Assess the route to the points, not only the values printed on the cards. For example, a hand with the Puur and Nell may have strong trump control, but the prediction still depends on the remaining trumps and on the number of valuable cards that can be reached. A hand with several aces may appear promising in Obenabe, yet the aces can become less useful if the suits are led at awkward times. A hand with low cards may still take the last trick and receive its bonus. Differenzler has no partner who can protect a card or convert a planned trick into a shared result. Every prediction belongs to one player. Consider the cards already exposed during play, the suits that remain dangerous, and the players who may be trying to avoid points themselves. Do not lower a sound prediction merely because a small target feels comfortable. Do not raise a weak prediction because one attractive card catches the eye. A disciplined estimate combines card value, likely winners, the contract and the full sequence of nine tricks. The [Differenzler tool](https://jasvel.org/tools/differenzler-scoresheet/) can support practice with that judgement. Compare the announced prediction with the final result, then identify the cards that created the difference. The useful question is not only whether the prediction was high or low. Examine which expected winners failed, which unwanted cards won, and whether the last-trick bonus changed the result. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Why is a low prediction not always safer? A low prediction is not automatically safer because Differenzler scores the distance from the prediction. A player who predicts very little and takes more points can record a large difference. A player who predicts more and takes slightly fewer points can record the same kind of penalty. The game creates two opposite risks. A high prediction fails when the player cannot reach the announced total. A low prediction fails when valuable points arrive despite the player’s efforts to avoid them. Choosing the smallest possible target does not remove either risk. The target must fit the hand and the contract. A player may be forced to win a trick because the remaining cards offer no safe alternative. A high card may retain control after stronger cards have gone. A suit may be led when the player holds its best remaining card. Valuable cards from other players may fall into a trick that the player expected to keep small. The final trick can also add 5 points to the player’s result. Consider a player who predicts a low total while holding a card that can win a late trick. If opponents have already removed the cards that could beat it, the player may receive the trick without choosing to take it. The prediction then misses from below. A player with a higher target might have planned for that same trick and finished closer to the target. The absence of partnerships increases the uncertainty. In a partnership game, a player may sometimes use a partner’s known strength to control the flow of a trick. Differenzler gives each player a separate objective. A card that helps one player reach a target can make another player’s prediction harder to achieve. Watch the cards already played and update the estimate during the round. If the predicted result is already within reach, avoid unnecessary winners. If the result remains below the prediction and a realistic route to points remains, use that route rather than abandoning the estimate after one failed attempt. The safest prediction is the most accurate prediction available before play. A low target suits a hand that is genuinely likely to take few points. A low target does not suit a hand with unavoidable control, valuable cards or a credible chance of taking the last trick. Regional rules can affect declarations and scoring. Consult the [regional Jass variants](https://jasvel.org/variants/) before applying a convention from another form of Jass to Differenzler. ## What happens if the predictions do not add up to 157? The four Differenzler predictions do not need to add up to 157. The round continues without an adjustment when the combined predictions fall below or above the points available. Each player is scored against their own prediction. The 36-card pack contains 152 card points. The last trick adds 5 points, so a normal round contains 157 points. Every contract places exactly 152 card points in the pack before the last-trick bonus. The contract changes the distribution and the order of the cards, not the total available in the pack. Suppose the four predictions together fall below 157. The table has collectively estimated too few points, but no player receives a shared correction for the missing amount. Each player’s actual result is compared with that player’s own prediction. One player may take more than predicted, another may take fewer, and neither difference cancels the other. Suppose the four predictions together rise above 157. The table has collectively estimated too many points, but no automatic reduction follows. The actual tricks decide each player’s result. A player who predicted a high total may finish close, while another player with a similarly high prediction may finish far away. The combined prediction has no power to redistribute the 157 points. For example, three players may expect to take substantial totals while the fourth expects very little. The fourth player may still take a valuable trick because a card remains unbeatable. The other three players may then divide the remaining points in a way that leaves their individual results far from their predictions. The table total does not repair those differences. The combined prediction can still provide useful information before play. A total near 157 suggests that the table’s estimates are collectively balanced. A total far below or above 157 shows disagreement about who will take the valuable cards. That observation may help a player reassess the hand, but it does not create a compulsory bid adjustment. Differenzler therefore differs from formats in which declarations must fit a fixed combined total. Each player owns the risk of their own prediction. A player cannot transfer an overestimate to another player, and a player cannot claim unused points because the table predicted too little. The round remains governed by the cards, the contract and the last-trick bonus. Count the individual results after the final trick, then record the separate differences. The four predictions may be collectively inaccurate while one player still makes an excellent individual prediction. *In a trump suit the Under (Puur) is the highest card and the nine (Nell) the second highest — above the ace. The order and the values are the same in every canton; only the multiplier changes. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How do you count a Differenzler round correctly? Count the cards in each player’s tricks, add the last-trick bonus to the player who took that trick, and compare each result with the prediction. Record the difference for each player as the round score. The running total, rather than the round’s raw points, determines who is ahead in Differenzler. The [card-values table](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) gives the values for each contract. In a trump contract, the trump suit totals 62 points and each plain suit totals 30. Obenabe gives each suit 38 points. Undenufe also gives each suit 38 points. Across every contract, the cards provide 152 points before the last-trick bonus. The contract can change both rank and value. The Puur is the Under of the trump suit, while the Nell is the nine of the trump suit. In a plain suit under a trump contract, the Under has a different role from the trump Under. Obenabe and Undenufe have no trump suit, and their card orders must be read according to the selected contract rather than borrowed from a trump hand. The last trick adds 5 points to the player who takes it. Include that bonus before comparing the result with the prediction. A player who avoided valuable cards throughout the round can still finish above a low prediction if the last trick falls to them. A match means that one side takes all nine tricks. A match adds 100 points, giving 257 for the round. The match value belongs to the applicable scoring convention. Do not confuse the match addition with the individual difference used for a Differenzler prediction. Stöck means the king and Ober of the trump suit held by one player. Stöck is worth 20 and is credited to that team regardless of the Weis comparison. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. Declare Stöck while playing the second of the two cards, not the first. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other. Because Stöck is a team credit, apply it only under a scoring convention that gives the relevant side that credit. Differenzler has individual predictions, so the score sheet must distinguish the individual trick result from any team-based declaration used by the chosen regional rules. If a target is crossed in a round, count Weis first, then Stöck, then tricks. A team crossing in an earlier block wins. Keep the prediction, the card result, the last-trick bonus and any applicable declarations visible while scoring. ## How can you improve your Differenzler results? Strong Differenzler play begins with an accurate prediction and continues with careful control of the cards that remain. The running score rewards repeated accuracy, so a player should reduce avoidable differences rather than chase every available trick. The best plan can change as the nine tricks remove cards from the pack. Before play, separate certain control from exposed strength. The Puur and Nell may give a trump hand considerable power, but their value still depends on the trumps that opponents hold. Several aces may look strong in Obenabe, yet a suit can become awkward if another player controls the lead. In Undenufe, read the low-card arrangement directly rather than assuming that high cards will behave as they do elsewhere. Make the prediction from likely points, not from a simple count of attractive cards. Ask which card can win now, which card can win later, and which card may be forced out before a useful lead. Allow for the last trick and its 5-point addition. Treat a possible winner as a risk factor until the cards played make the result more certain. During play, track the valuable cards and the trumps that have appeared. Note which suits can still force you to win. If the result is already close to the prediction, avoid an extra valuable trick unless the contract or the remaining cards makes it unavoidable. If the result is below the prediction and a realistic route to points remains, pursue that route with a clear view of the likely difference. Differenzler has no shared target between partners. In [Schieber](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/), partners work towards a team result, but Differenzler gives every player a separate prediction. Read the other players’ cards and choices as evidence about their targets, while remembering that their interests may conflict with yours on every trick. Choose the game target before the first round. Practice targets include 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000; the app offers 1000 and 2500. The selected target is the finishing threshold for the accumulated score. The lowest total wins under the chosen game arrangement. If a round takes a team past the target, count Weis first, then Stöck, then tricks. A team crossing in an earlier block wins. Record each block in that order as soon as the round ends. Accurate arithmetic protects a good prediction from being obscured by a scoring error. Review every large difference after the round. Identify whether the error came from an overconfident card estimate, an unavoidable trick, a missed opportunity, the last-trick bonus or a declaration rule. That review turns the score into practical information for the next prediction. The short answer Each of the four players predicts an individual points total before the first card is played. After nine tricks, each player records the difference between the prediction and the points taken. The lowest accumulated score wins. ## Questions ### How many cards does each Differenzler player receive? Each of the four players receives nine cards from the 36-card pack. Those cards produce nine tricks in the round. ### Does Differenzler use teams or individual scores? Differenzler uses individual predictions and individual round differences. Stöck and some target-crossing rules refer to a team under the applicable scoring convention, so the chosen regional rules must be clear before play. ### What does a player record after taking the tricks? The player records the difference between the announced prediction and the points actually taken. The last-trick bonus belongs in the actual result before that difference is calculated. ### Can four predictions total more than the points in the round? Yes. The predictions can collectively sit above or below 157 without changing the deal or creating a table-wide penalty. Each player remains responsible for the difference between their own prediction and result. ### How many card points does each contract contain? Every contract contains 152 card points in the 36-card pack. The last trick adds 5, giving 157 points for the normal round. ### What is a match worth in Jass scoring? A match means taking all nine tricks. A match adds 100 points, making 257 for the round under the applicable scoring rules. ### Can a player declare Stöck after playing the first card? No. Stöck is declared while playing the second card, the king or Ober of the trump suit held with the other card. If the next player covers that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. ## Sources 1. [Jass-Regeln: Differenzler-Jass](https://www.swisslos.ch/de/jass/informationen/jass-regeln/differenzler-jass.html) — Swisslos 2. [Jassregeln: Wie geht der Differenzler?](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/differenzler) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Differenzler scoresheet](https://jasvel.org/tools/differenzler-scoresheet/) Record the target, the scored blocks and the trick result, then check the 157-point base total before carrying the game forward. - [Variants](https://jasvel.org/variants/) Schieber is only one form of Jass: the main variants change who chooses the contract, who shares a score and what counts as success. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/variants/differenzler/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Two-player Jass rules and Schieber app support** > Learn how two-player Jass differs from four-handed Schieber, including the deal, trump order, Weis and the app's supported format. Source: https://jasvel.org/variants/jass-for-two-players/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Variants](https://jasvel.org/variants/) # Jass for two players Two-player Jass follows regional handjass methods, while the app supports four-handed Schieber with fixed teams, defined card orders and team Weis. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## How do you deal and play Jass for two players? Two-player Jass uses a locally agreed handjass method rather than one universal national procedure. Players must agree how the deal works, how undealt cards are handled, who chooses the contract, who leads the first trick and how the result is recorded. Four-handed Schieber rules cannot simply be transferred to a two-player table. The fixed reference format uses **four players in two fixed teams**, with partners sitting opposite each other. The dealer deals cards **three at a time**, and play runs **counter-clockwise**. The player to the dealer's right is the **forehand**, meaning the player who chooses the contract and leads the first trick. The dealer rotates each round. In four-handed Schieber, the forehand may pass the contract choice to their partner exactly once. This action is **schieben**, meaning that the choice is pushed across to the partner. The partner must then choose the contract and may not push the choice back. A two-player table has no partner sitting opposite the forehand, so this procedure needs a local adaptation before it can be used. A two-player method should state its table procedure before the deal. The players should agree who has the first choice, who leads, how the dealer changes and how the score is written on the **Jasstafel**, the Jass scoreboard. The agreement should also identify the handjass variant in use, because a regional method may not use the same contract or scoring procedure as another method. A practical comparison helps separate the formats. Four-handed Schieber assigns every player a partner, gives the forehand a defined seat relative to the dealer and allows exactly one pass of the contract choice. Two-player Jass has no fixed partnership structure. A local handjass rule must therefore replace the partner decision with a procedure that belongs to that variant. The app does not implement a two-player table. The app supports four-handed Schieber only, so it does not provide a two-player deal, a two-player contract sequence or a separate handjass score. The broader regional picture appears on the page about [Jass variants](https://jasvel.org/variants/), while the [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) describe the format used by the app. *Partners sit opposite. Cards are dealt three at a time and play runs counter-clockwise, so the forehand — the player to the dealer’s right — both chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Which trump order applies in two-player Jass? The card-strength order depends on the contract, not on the number of players. In a trump suit, the order from strongest to weakest is **Under, nine, ace, king, Ober, ten, eight, seven, six**. The trump Under is the **Puur**, and the trump nine is the **Nell**. A plain suit uses **ace, king, Ober, Under, ten, nine, eight, seven, six**. **Obenabe**, the contract in which aces are high, uses the same order. **Undenufe**, the contract in which the low cards are high, reverses the complete ladder: **six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Under, Ober, king, ace**. These ladders give the tricks their strength order when a local two-player method uses the same contracts. The strongest card is not always the ace. In a trump suit, the Puur is strongest and the Nell follows it. In Obenabe, the ace heads the plain-suit order. In Undenufe, the six heads the inverted order. A worked comparison shows why the contract matters. A trump Under beats every other trump card because the Puur stands at the top of the trump ladder. A trump nine is the next card in that ladder. The same Under is lower than the ace in a plain suit or in Obenabe, while an Under in Undenufe stands above the Ober, king and ace. The contract changes the order; the number of players does not. A regional two-player variant may use a different way to choose the contract while retaining these card orders. Keep those questions separate. The ranking states which card is stronger within the chosen contract. The regional variant states how players select that contract, how they deal and how they score the hand. For a complete explanation of the Puur, Nell, Obenabe and Undenufe, read the guide to [Jass card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/). The app uses the reference trump, plain-suit, Obenabe and Undenufe orders in its four-handed Schieber format. The app does not apply them to a separate two-player mode because no two-player mode is supported. When a player records a result on a Jasstafel, the contract chosen for that hand determines which ladder applies. Do not use the trump order for Obenabe or Undenufe. Do not treat the Puur as the strongest card outside the trump suit. Read every card through the contract that was actually selected. *In a trump suit the Under (Puur) is the highest card and the nine (Nell) the second highest — above the ace. The order and the values are the same in every canton; only the multiplier changes. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How does Weis work in a two-player game? Two-player Jass has no single universally accepted Weis, or meld, procedure. A handjass group must agree which melds count, how competing melds are compared and who records the result. The reference procedure belongs to four-handed Schieber and depends on its two fixed teams. In the reference rules, players declare Weis on the **first trick**. Each player states only the value of their best meld as they play their card. The announcement gives the value, such as twenty, fifty or a hundred, but it does not show the cards. The team that turns out to hold the best meld shows the actual cards on the **second trick**. Only then are the points certain. Partners may not tell each other about a meld or ask about one. Only the announced values are public. The team holding the single best Weis writes the result, including both partners' melds together. The other team writes nothing, even if that team announced a meld. This team-based rule cannot be copied directly to a two-player table because a two-player game has no partners and no opposing team. The reference meld values are precise. A sequence in one suit is worth **20** with **3 cards**, **50** with **4 cards**, **100** with **5 cards**, **150** with **6 cards**, **200** with **7 cards**, **250** with **8 cards** and **300** with **9 cards**. Four Under cards are worth **200**. Four Nell cards are worth **150**. Four aces, kings, Obers or tens are worth **100**. Four sixes, sevens or eights are worth nothing. Only the single best meld is compared. The comparison order is: - points; - number of cards; - the highest card in the meld; - a meld in the trump suit; - seat position relative to the forehand. Weis always counts a sequence in its natural order from six to ace. That remains true in Undenufe, even though trick strength is inverted there. A card may belong to a sequence and a four of a kind at the same time. The full declaration and comparison procedure appears on the page about [Weis in Jass](https://jasvel.org/rules/weis-melds/). A two-player game can adopt these values, but players must agree how the winning player announces, proves and records the meld. The app supports the four-handed team procedure only and does not supply a separate two-player Weis method. 100 100 *Both of these are worth **100**. The sequence wins the comparison because it holds five cards against four — points first, then card count, then the highest card. This is the argument the comparison ladder exists to settle. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## What is the difference between four-handed Schieber and two-player Jass? Four-handed Schieber uses four players in two fixed teams, with partners sitting opposite each other. Two-player Jass has no equivalent partnership structure. That difference changes the contract procedure, the meaning of schieben and the way Weis is awarded. At a four-handed Schieber table, the dealer deals cards three at a time. Play runs counter-clockwise. The forehand is the player to the dealer's right. The forehand chooses the contract and leads the first trick, or passes the choice to their partner by schieben. The forehand may make that pass exactly once. The partner must choose and may not push it back. The dealer rotates each round. The rotation gives every seat a defined position in relation to the forehand. That position matters in the final comparison of Weis. If two melds remain level after points, number of cards, highest card and trump-suit status have been considered, seat position relative to the forehand completes the stated comparison order. A two-player table cannot reproduce that structure without an agreed replacement. There is no partner to receive the contract choice, no opposing team to receive or lose the Weis result and no four-seat order for the final seat comparison. A handjass method must state who chooses, how any pass works, who proves the meld and who records the points. The distinction is therefore more substantial than the number of seats. In Schieber, the best Weis belongs to a team for scoring purposes, and both partners' melds are written together. In a two-player game, the meld procedure must state whether the winning player records the result directly or whether the chosen regional method uses another arrangement. Three-player Jass also has regional forms rather than one universally correct table. A local method may differ in its deal, use of any undealt cards, contract choice, partnership arrangement or Weis treatment. Do not infer a three-player rule from Schieber merely because both formats use the Jass card orders. The app does not support two-player handjass or a three-player table. The app supports four-handed Schieber only. Players using physical cards can select a local handjass or three-player variant, then agree the deal, contract procedure, trick procedure, Weis comparison and scoring before play begins. The regional background is covered further in [Jass variants](https://jasvel.org/variants/). *A sequence of three is worth **20** and each further card roughly doubles the reward up to **300** for a nine-card run. Four Unders are **200**, four Nells **150**, four aces, kings, obers or banners **100** — and four sixes, sevens or eights are worth nothing at all. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## Which two-player and three-player Jass rules does the app support? The app supports **four-handed Schieber only**. It does not support Jass for two players or a three-player table. The supported format uses four players in two fixed teams, partners opposite each other, counter-clockwise play, a rotating dealer and a forehand who chooses the contract. The app's Schieber procedure includes exactly one pass of the contract choice. The forehand may schieben to their partner. The partner must then choose and may not schieben the choice back. This procedure relies on the fixed seating arrangement and the partnership, so it does not describe a two-player handjass game. The supported card orders are the reference orders for trump, plain suits, Obenabe and Undenufe. In trump, the Puur is above the Nell, followed by the ace, king, Ober, ten, eight, seven and six. Plain suits and Obenabe use ace, king, Ober, Under, ten, nine, eight, seven and six. Undenufe uses six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Under, Ober, king and ace. The app also follows the four-handed Weis procedure. On the first trick, each player announces only the value of their best meld in turn as they play. The team that holds the best meld shows the actual cards on the second trick. Only that team records the meld, and it records both partners' melds together. Partners may not tell each other about a meld or ask about one. A player who wants to use two-player Jass must use a locally agreed method outside the app. That method should settle the deal, contract choice, lead, trick procedure, Weis comparison and scoring before play begins. A player who wants a three-player table must likewise choose a regional method or house rule and state how its deal, cards, partnerships and scoring operate. The app's scope is clear rather than general. The app provides four-handed Schieber rules, not an engine for every regional table. The [Schieber rules](https://jasvel.org/rules/schieber-jass-rules/) explain the supported format. The page on [Jass variants](https://jasvel.org/variants/) places two-player and three-player methods in their regional context. The app does not select one regional handjass method as the universal rule. The short answer Two-player Jass has no single universal deal, contract procedure or Weis method. The app supports four-handed Schieber only: four players form two fixed teams, the forehand chooses the contract, and the standard card orders and team Weis rules apply. ## Questions ### Is handjass the same as Jass for two players? Handjass commonly refers to two-player Jass, but its deal and scoring can vary by region. Four-handed Schieber is a different table format because it uses fixed teams and a partner who can receive the contract choice. ### Can the forehand schieben in a two-player game? Schieben is defined in the four-handed rules as passing the contract choice from the forehand to their partner exactly once. A two-player table has no partner, so any similar pass must be agreed as part of the chosen local variant. ### Does Weis use the reversed card order in Undenufe? No. Weis counts sequences in the natural order from six to ace, even though trick strength in Undenufe runs from six down to ace. Meld order and trick order remain separate. ### What happens when two melds have the same Weis value? The reference comparison then considers the number of cards, the highest card, whether the meld is in the trump suit and seat position relative to the forehand. A two-player variant must decide how its final seat comparison works. ### Can the app be used for a three-player Jass table? No. The app supports four-handed Schieber only. Three-player Jass has regional forms, so the app does not choose one of them as the single standard. ## Sources 1. [Jassen — das Schweizer Nationalkartenspiel](https://jasswiki.ch/jassen/) — JassWiki 2. [Schieber Jass](https://www.pagat.com/jass/schieber.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/variants/jass-for-two-players/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0). --- **Slalom and Guschti in Coiffeur Jass** > Learn how Slalom and Guschti change card order in Coiffeur Jass, and how regional Molotow, joker and Bock rules need agreement. Source: https://jasvel.org/variants/slalom-guschti-molotow/ · updated: 2026-08-10 [Home](https://jasvel.org/) / [Variants](https://jasvel.org/variants/) # What are the Slalom and Guschti Jass contracts? Slalom changes direction trick by trick, while Guschti changes after five tricks; Molotow and Bock require a stated local rule. Updated 10 August 2026 · [Merey Tleugazin](https://jasvel.org/about/) ## What contracts appear on a Coiffeur Jass sheet? A standard Coiffeur Jass sheet has eight contract columns, while a ten-column sheet adds Slalom and Guschti. The standard columns are Eicheln at ×1, Rosen at ×2, Schellen at ×3, Schilten at ×4, Obenabe at ×5, Undenufe at ×6, and two joker columns at ×7 and ×8. Guschti is also called Mary. Each team plays each contract exactly once. The team chooses a contract for a column, plays the hand under that contract, and records the result in the matching box. The team with the most points when every box is filled wins. The broader sheet structure appears in [Coiffeur scoring](https://jasvel.org/variants/coiffeur-jass/), while [Jass contracts](https://jasvel.org/rules/trumpf-obenabe-undenufe/) explains the main contract choices. The added columns do not create one universal rule set. Slalom and Guschti have the definitions stated on this page. Molotow and the joker or Bock column can carry different meanings in different regions. A Jasstafel, or score sheet, may show the chosen names, but a name alone does not settle the card order, trick sequence or scoring method. Before the hand begins, agree on the contract in full. The agreement should cover the direction of play, the number of tricks in each phase, the treatment of trumps, the card order and the result entered on the sheet. A clear announcement gives both teams the same target and prevents a regional name from being mistaken for a universal rule. Coiffeur recording uses only the tens of a round. The units are left off when the result goes into a box. For a worked example, a round worth 257 points is reduced to the tens entry for the sheet rather than copied in full. The written box therefore gives a compact score, not every point won in the hand. The special columns are best treated as agreed contracts rather than as one international standard. Slalom, Guschti, Mary, Molotow, joker and Bock may all be familiar names, yet their local definitions can differ. Correct play starts with a precise agreement and ends with the agreed result in the correct box. *In Coiffeur nobody chooses freely: each team plays every contract exactly once, and the column decides the factor. Only the tens of the round are written — 129 points becomes 12 — so the two joker columns, worth seven and eight times, are where a Coiffeur is won. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How does Slalom work in Jass? Slalom alternates Obenabe and Undenufe trick by trick. One direction governs the first trick, the other governs the next, and the alternation continues through the hand. The table must agree which direction starts because the contract name does not identify the opening direction. Obenabe uses the normal descending order: A, K, O, U, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, strongest first. Undenufe reverses the complete ladder: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, U, O, K, A. The Under is called the Puur, and the nine is called the Nell. The [card values](https://jasvel.org/rules/card-values/) reference provides the card-order terminology used in these contracts. A Slalom hand therefore changes the value of cards from one trick to the next. A card that is strong during an Obenabe trick may be weak during the following Undenufe trick. Players must apply the order assigned to the current trick, not the order used for the trick just completed. *Figure: Slalom alternates Obenabe and Undenufe from one trick to the next.* A practical announcement might identify the opening trick as Obenabe and the next trick as Undenufe, then continue the same alternation. The table may instead begin with Undenufe. The important point is that the sequence is fixed before play and does not change because one direction produces an unfavourable result. Slalom is not a choice between two separate hands. The alternation belongs to one contract and applies throughout that hand. Players should not switch direction after a poor trick, use Obenabe for the whole deal, or use Undenufe for the whole deal while still calling the contract Slalom. The plain-suit order also matters when players discuss card strength. In plain suits and Obenabe, the order is A, K, O, U, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6. In Undenufe, the whole ladder is inverted. Swiss German card names remain unchanged when the direction changes: the Under remains the Puur and the nine remains the Nell. *The same nine ranks, read three ways. Obenabe is the ordinary top-down order; Undenufe turns it upside down, so the six wins the trick and the ace loses it. Weis is never inverted — it always counts from the six up. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How does Guschti or Mary work in Jass? Guschti uses five tricks in one direction and four tricks in the other. Guschti is also called Mary. The table must agree which direction comes first, because the contract fixes the length of each phase but does not fix the opening direction. If Obenabe starts, the opening five tricks use A, K, O, U, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, strongest first. The remaining four tricks use Undenufe, whose order is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, U, O, K, A. If Undenufe starts, the opening five tricks use the inverted order and the remaining four use Obenabe. The direction changes after the fifth trick. The Puur is the Under, and the Nell is the nine. Those names identify the cards in both phases. Their relative strength depends on the direction in force. A player who holds a strong high card during Obenabe must reassess that card when the hand reaches the Undenufe phase. Guschti differs from Slalom through the shape of its sequence. Slalom changes direction after every trick. Guschti keeps one direction for five tricks, then changes once and keeps the other direction for four tricks. The player can therefore plan around a stable opening phase while preserving useful cards for the later phase. The Guschti result belongs in the Guschti column on a Coiffeur sheet, using the recording method agreed for that sheet. A standard sheet writes only the tens of a round into a box. A result of 257 points supplies the worked score example: the sheet records the tens portion rather than reproducing the full result. Any multiplier assigned to an added column must be agreed as part of the ten-column layout. Mary is another name for Guschti, not automatically a separate contract. If a player calls the contract Mary, the table should confirm the five-trick phase, the four-trick phase and the starting direction. That short confirmation gives the familiar regional name a precise meaning for the hand being played. A caller can announce the opening direction before the first trick and announce the change after the fifth. Such an announcement helps players apply the correct order without carrying the opening phase into the closing phase. The hand remains one Guschti contract even though its card order changes once. ## What do Molotow and the joker or Bock columns mean? Molotow and joker or Bock are regional or house-rule contracts rather than one fixed method supplied for every table. The standard Coiffeur sheet defines the two joker columns as free choice, at ×7 and ×8. The supplied rules do not define one universal Molotow method or one universal Bock method. A joker column gives the team a free choice of contract under the standard sheet. The chosen contract still needs to be named before the hand begins, and the table should agree what choices the column permits. Calling a free-choice column Bock does not, by itself, establish the card order, trick sequence, trump treatment or scoring method. Molotow needs the same careful announcement. Regional practice may attach a particular pattern or scoring treatment to the name, but players should not infer that method from the label alone. The caller should state the complete rule before cards are played, especially if the local version differs from the method used by another group. A useful house-rule announcement covers the following points: - whether the column is free choice or a named fixed contract; - whether play uses a suit, Obenabe, Undenufe or an alternating pattern; - which direction starts and when any change occurs; - whether trumps apply and which order governs the trump cards; - how the round is entered in the Coiffeur box. If the agreed contract uses trumps, the trump order is U, 9, A, K, O, 10, 8, 7, 6, strongest first. The trump Under is the Puur and the trump nine is the Nell. That order belongs to trump play and should not be transferred to a non-trump contract unless the table has expressly agreed to use trumps. The [Coiffeur tool](https://jasvel.org/tools/coiffeur-scoresheet/) can support the sheet structure, but a tool cannot decide an unspoken house rule. Record the agreed meaning beside the column or announce it clearly before play. The [Jass variants](https://jasvel.org/variants/) reference gives the right context for regional differences: a variant is manageable when the table states its rule before the hand. A table should also distinguish a free choice from an additional named contract. The standard sheet has two joker columns, and each team plays each contract exactly once. The group should therefore identify the chosen contract for the relevant joker box rather than treating the box as an unexplained repeat. *Every round contains exactly **152** card points. The last trick adds **5**, so a complete round is **157**; a team that takes all nine tricks adds **100** more for **257**. If your two columns do not add to 157, something was miscounted. Free to reuse with a link to this page.* ## How should players agree special contracts before a hand? Players should agree every special contract before the first deal. State the contract name, its card-order sequence, the starting direction and the method for recording the result. The agreement matters most for Molotow and joker or Bock, because regional usage does not give those names one fixed meaning. For Slalom, confirm that the direction changes after every trick and identify the opening direction. For Guschti or Mary, confirm the five-trick opening phase, the four-trick closing phase and the direction used first. The caller can give the complete sequence before play, then announce the current direction when necessary. For a joker column, confirm the free choice available to the team. The standard sheet contains two joker columns, at ×7 and ×8. Each team plays each contract exactly once, so the table should state which chosen contract fills which free-choice box. That prevents a joker box from becoming an unmarked repeat or from acquiring a different meaning after the hand has begun. For Molotow, ask for the complete local definition rather than relying on the label. The table should be able to state the card order, the trick sequence, any change of direction and the scoring treatment. If the group cannot state those details clearly, the contract is not ready to play. Choose an agreed contract or write the house rule down first. The score-recording method should be agreed as well. Only the tens of a round are entered in a Coiffeur box, with the units omitted. A result of 257 points is a useful worked example: the box takes the tens portion rather than the full number. The same compact method applies to the relevant boxes unless the table has agreed a different regional sheet practice. Once the hand starts, keep the sequence visible. A caller can announce the direction at the start of each Slalom trick. In Guschti, the caller can mark the change after the fifth trick. Such calls help players apply the correct order instead of relying on memory, assumption or a rule learned in another region. The winning condition remains the same: the team with the most points when every box is filled wins. Special contracts change the pattern of play, but they do not remove the need for a shared rule. Regional terminology works as shorthand only after the table has given the term a precise meaning. The short answer Slalom alternates Obenabe and Undenufe on every trick. Guschti uses five tricks in one direction and four in the other, and is also called Mary. Molotow and joker or Bock rules vary by region, so the table must agree on their details before play. ## Questions ### Is Mary a separate contract from Guschti? No. Mary is another name for Guschti. The contract uses five tricks in one direction and four tricks in the other, with the opening direction agreed at the table. ### Does Slalom always begin with Obenabe? No fixed opening direction is supplied here. Slalom alternates Obenabe and Undenufe trick by trick, and the table must agree which direction starts. ### What happens when a Slalom hand changes direction? The card order changes for the next trick. Obenabe uses A, K, O, U, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, while Undenufe uses the inverted order from 6 through A. ### Can a joker column repeat a contract already used? The standard sheet describes the joker columns as free choice, but the table should agree the permitted choices before play. The chosen contract should be identified for the relevant joker box. ### How should a table define Molotow? Players should state the local rule before the first deal. The announcement should cover the card order, trick sequence, any direction change, trump treatment and score recording. ### Why does Guschti change direction only once? Guschti keeps one direction for five tricks and then uses the other direction for four tricks. That single change distinguishes Guschti from Slalom, which alternates after every trick. ## Sources 1. [Anleitung und Jassregeln für den Coiffeur-Jass](https://jassverzeichnis.ch/coiffeur-jass) — Schweizer Jassverzeichnis 2. [Coiffeur-Schieber](https://www.pagat.com/jass/coiffeur.html) — pagat.com — John McLeod ## A real Schieber table, in your pocket Both decks, every contract, the full written score with Weis and Stöck, and a computer partner that never sees your cards. It plays without a connection, without an account and without advertising. [What the app does](https://jasvel.org/jasvel-app/) App Store · Coming soon Google Play · Coming soon Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play ## Read next - [Coiffeur](https://jasvel.org/variants/coiffeur-jass/) Coiffeur fixes the contracts in advance, records only the tens of each round and uses regional factors to value the complete score. --- HTML version: https://jasvel.org/variants/slalom-guschti-molotow/ Structured data for this site: https://jasvel.org/api/v1/openapi.json · https://jasvel.org/llms.txt Free to quote and reuse with a link back to the source URL above (CC BY 4.0).