The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (68 page)

The multipliers are reckoned in the fol owing order, al being

added together as you go along.

Tops (Spitze). This denotes the number of consecutive top

trumps, counting from the J downwards, which you do or

do not hold in your hand. Thus:

If you hold J, then you are ‘with’ as many tops as you hold.

For example: holding J but not J, you are ‘with 1’ top. Holding

J J but not J, you are ‘with 2’. Holding J J J but not J,

you are ‘with 3’. And so on, up to a maximum ‘with 11’ in a suit

game, or ‘with 4’ at grand.

If you do not hold , then you are playing ‘without’ as many top

trumps as lie above the highest trump you do hold. For example: if

your highest trump is J, then you are ‘without 1’. If it is J, you

are ‘without 2’. If it is J, you are ‘without 3’. And so on, up to a

maximum of‘without 11’ in a suit game (which is unusual but not

impossible), or ‘without 4’ at grand (which is not unusual).

In counting tops, al that mat ers is the number of consecutive top

trumps involved: whether you are with or without them does not

af ect the score – though it may af ect the playability of your hand.

Next, to this number add ‘1 for game’ – that is, for

undertaking to take at least 61 card-points. If you think you

can take at least 90, you can mental y add another 1 for

schneider. If you think you can win every trick, you can add

yet another 1 for schwarz.

If intending to play from the hand, without taking the skat,

then add another ‘1 for hand’.

If – and only if – playing from the hand, you may further

increase your game value by declaring in advance that you

wil win schneider (90+ card-points) or schwarz (al 10

tricks), for 1 or 2 extra multipliers in addition to the 1 or 2

for actual y winning it.

for actual y winning it.

If – and only if – playing from the hand and declaring

schwarz, you may further increase your game value by playing

ouvert, that is with your hand of cards exposed on the table

before the first trick.

The valuations described above for suit and grand bids are

summarized in the fol owing Table:

if taking the skat

if playing from the hand

1 per top trump

1 per top trump

+1 for game (61+)

+1 for game

+1 for schneider (90+) +1 for hand

+1 for schwarz (10 tricks) +1 for schneider

+1 for schneider declared

+1 for schwarz

+1 for schwarz declared

+1 for ouvert

The lowest possible game value is therefore 18 (diamonds, with or

without 1, game 2, times 9 for diamonds = 18). The highest valued

suit game would be 216 (clubs, with 11, game 12, hand 13,

schneider 14, declared 15, schwarz 16, declared 17, ouvert 18,

times 12 for clubs = 216). The highest grand would be 264 (grand

ouvert with 4, game 5, hand 6, schneider 7, declared 8, schwarz 9,

declared 10, ouvert 11 = 264).

2. Nul games have invariable values as fol ows:

Null (with skat) 23

Null hand

35

Null ouvert

46