What is Kontra and Re?
In the standard game the declarer's score depends only on the game value: a won game scores it, a lost game costs twice as much. With Kontra and Re switched on, the defenders get a chance to raise the stakes once the game has been declared and before anyone plays a card.
Only a defender who took part in the bidding may say Kontra, that is a defender who made a bid or held one. They are asked in turn, forehand first. Each may say Kontra or let the game stand; a defender who never bid is not asked. As soon as one of them says Kontra, the game value is doubled and the declarer answers: Re doubles it again, or the declarer lets the Kontra stand. Then forehand leads the first card and the deal is played as usual.
The doubled value counts both ways. A won game scores the doubled value, and a lost game still costs twice the doubled value. In an open game the defenders decide before the declarer's cards are turned face up, since the hand is shown only once play begins.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Skat | Kontra and Re |
|---|---|---|
| Who may double | Standard SkatNobody: the game value is fixed by the declaration and the result. | Kontra and ReA defender who made or held a bid may say Kontra; the declarer may then answer with Re. |
| When | Standard SkatPlay starts as soon as the game is declared. | Kontra and ReAfter the declaration and before the first card. The defenders who bid are asked in turn, forehand first, then the declarer if anyone said Kontra. |
| Re | Standard SkatThere is nothing to answer. | Kontra and ReOnly after a Kontra, and only by the declarer. There is no further doubling after Re. |
| Game value | Standard SkatCounted from the matadors, the game and its extras. | Kontra and ReCounted the same way, then doubled by Kontra and doubled again by Re: four times the value after both. |
| A lost game | Standard SkatCosts the declarer twice the game value. | Kontra and ReCosts twice the doubled value, so a lost game after Kontra and Re costs eight times the plain value. |
| Open games | Standard SkatThe declarer's hand is shown as play begins. | Kontra and ReUnchanged: the defenders decide on Kontra before they see the declarer's cards. |
| Other options | Standard SkatRamsch, Bock rounds, tournament scoring, the number of rounds and a four-player table can be chosen. | Kontra and ReKontra and Re work with all of them. There is no Kontra in a Ramsch, which has no declarer. With Bock rounds on, a Kontra the defenders lose and any Re start a Bock round. With tournament scoring, the doubling applies to the game value only, not to the 50, 40 or 30 points. |
History
Doubling has a long history in Skat. Kontra, in a form with four steps called Kontra, Re, Zippe and Bock, was part of the official Skat rules until 1932. Today Kontra and Re are a common variant in play outside sanctioned tournaments, open to defenders who made or held at least one call, and some tables extend it with further steps called Supra and Resupra.
In one common description, Kontra is a call either opponent may make before playing to the first trick, answered by the declarer's Rekontra, with two common restrictions: some players allow Kontra only before the first lead, and some bar a player who declined to say yes to 18. Here Kontra is said before the first card, and only by a defender who made or held a bid.