boardgames.zone
Skat
Germany's national card game - 2 vs 1
- 3 players
- 20–30 min
- DifficultyHard
Lobby
No open tables right now
Open one and anyone browsing can join.
Top players
Full leaderboardHow to play
- Three players, with bidding for solo play
- Declarer plays alone against two defenders
- Jacks are highest trumps
- Score based on card points won
Questions
As soloist: Win the contract by scoring enough points. As defenders: Prevent the soloist from making their contract.
32-card deck (7s through Aces). 3 players. Deal 10 cards each in batches. Two cards go to the 'skat' (face-down kitty). Bidding determines the soloist.
Soloist scores the game value if successful, loses double if they fail. Defenders share equally if they succeed. Play to a point total or number of hands.
Bidding: Players bid game values based on trump suit and multipliers. Highest bidder becomes soloist. Soloist may pick up the skat and discard two cards, or play 'hand' (without looking at skat for bonus). Game types: Suit games (named trump), Grand (only jacks are trump), Null (soloist tries to take zero tricks).
Bid based on worst-case jack configuration - don't assume perfect trumps. The ten is more valuable than king or queen - protect your tens. As soloist, draw out opponents' jacks early to establish control.
Skat was developed in 1810-1820 in Altenburg, Germany, evolving from older games. It became Germany's most popular card game and has official tournament rules established by the International Skat Players Association.