How to play Jass: a beginner’s guide

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 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.

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 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 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.

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 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.

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 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 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.