What are the Slalom and Guschti Jass contracts?

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, while Jass contracts 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.

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 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.

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 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 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.

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.