Chratze

Full rules

1. Overview
2. The cards
3. The pot
4. Setup and deal
5. Chratze or out
6. Coming along
7. Exchanging
8. Playing the tricks
9. Paying out
10. Winning the game
11. Tips for beginners
12. Variants

Overview

Chratze is a quick trick-taking game for a pot of chips, played mainly in German-speaking Switzerland. Everyone gets just four cards. One player, the Chratzer, promises to win at least two tricks; the others decide whether to play along and win at least one, or to drop out. Whoever keeps their promise shares the pot; whoever fails must pay into the next one – so the pot can grow quickly.

• Players: 2–7, best with 4–5, each for themselves.
• You need: one standard 52-card deck and chips (or counters, matches) – the same amount for everyone. You play for chips, not money.

The cards

Take out the 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K and A of every suit – 36 cards. The 2s to 5s are not used.

In every suit, trumps included, the cards rank A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 – the Ace is highest. Unlike Jass, the Jack and the 9 of trumps are nothing special, and the cards have no point values: only the number of tricks counts.

A trick is one card from each player who is taking part. Trumps are the suit turned up by the dealer; any trump beats any card of the other suits.

The pot

Before every deal, each player puts 1 chip into the middle – the ante. All the chips in the middle are the pot. Players who fail to make their tricks pay extra into the pot for the next deal (see Paying out).

Setup and deal

Chratze is played anticlockwise: dealing, bidding and play all go to the right.

1. Agree on the first dealer, e.g. by drawing cards.
2. The dealer shuffles and lets the player on their left cut.
3. The dealer deals two cards to each player, themselves last, and turns the next card face up: its suit is trumps.
4. Then everyone gets two more cards, so each player has four.
5. The rest of the pack goes face down next to the face-up card as the stock.

Chratze or out

Starting with the player to the dealer's right, each player in turn says either:

• "Chratze" – you become the Chratzer and must win at least two tricks; or
• "Weg" ("out") – you pass.

As soon as someone says "chratze", this stops; there is only one Chratzer per deal.

Nobody chratzes: if everyone, the dealer included, says "weg", the dealer turns up the next card of the stock – its suit is the new trump suit – and everyone is asked again. After the third trump card without a Chratzer, everyone antes again and the same dealer shuffles and deals afresh. The dealer keeps dealing until someone chratzes; after that deal the player to the right deals.

Coming along

Now every other player is asked again, in turn from the Chratzer onwards – also those who said "weg" before:

• "Metcho" ("I'm coming along") – you play and must win at least one trick; or
• "Weg" – you are out of this deal and put your cards face down. Your ante stays in the pot.

Any number of players may come along. If nobody comes along, the Chratzer takes the whole pot without playing.

Exchanging

Before play, the players still in may exchange cards once, the Chratzer first and then anticlockwise:

• Lay any number of cards face down (they are out of play) and get the same number from the stock.
• If you lay down all four, you get five and must lay one of them away again.
• Whoever holds the 6 of trumps may swap it for the face-up trump card – best after all exchanges, so the others learn nothing from it.
• If the stock runs out, the remaining players can't exchange.

Playing the tricks

The Chratzer leads to the first trick. Then each player still in plays one card, anticlockwise:

• You must follow suit if you can.
• If you can't, you must play a trump – even a low one that can't win.
• Only if you have neither may you play any card.
• You never have to beat the cards already played.

The highest trump wins the trick; if there is none, the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads to the next trick. After four tricks the deal is over.

Example: Hearts are trumps. Ben is the Chratzer and leads the A♠. Carla has spades and plays the 9♠. Dan has no spades, so he must trump: the 6♥. Dan wins the trick and leads next.

Paying out

First the pot is shared out:

• The Chratzer made two tricks or more: the Chratzer takes two thirds of the pot (rounded up), and the players who came along and made at least one trick share the last third equally. If none of them did, the Chratzer takes it all.
• The Chratzer failed: the players who came along and made at least one trick share the whole pot equally.
• Chips that can't be shared equally stay in the pot.

Then the new pot is built:

• A Chratzer who failed pays twice the pot that was just shared out.
• Anyone who came along but made no trick pays the pot once.
• As always, everyone antes 1 chip.

Example: Anna deals to Ben, Carla, Dan and Eva; the pot is 5 chips. Dan chratzes, Carla and Ben come along. Dan wins two tricks, Carla two, Ben none. Dan takes 4 chips (two thirds of 5, rounded up), Carla 1. Ben pays 5 into the new pot, everyone antes 1: the next pot is 10.

Next deal Carla chratzes, but wins only one trick; Dan, who came along, wins three and Eva none. Dan takes all 10. Carla pays 20, Eva 10, plus five antes: the next pot is 35.

Winning the game

Chratze has no fixed end. Agree on a playing time; when it is up, play on until a deal in which nobody fails. Then stop, everybody takes back the ante lying in the pot for the next deal, and the player with the most chips wins.

Tips for beginners

• Chratze with a sure trick and a chance. You may still improve your hand by exchanging, so you don't need two certain tricks.
• The later you speak, the more you know. Last in turn, you already know whether anyone else wants to chratze.
• Lead a side suit when you're unsure. If the others can't follow, they must trump and may waste a trump; then take the lead back with a low trump and cash your high one.
• One low trump can be enough to come along – you may pick up more trumps when exchanging. Keep Aces of side suits.
• Don't be the Susi. If you are last to be asked and nobody has come along, at many tables it's good manners to play, so the pot isn't handed over without a fight.

Variants

All optional – agree before you play.

• Blind: after turning up trumps but before looking at their cards, the dealer may chratze "blind". The others can then only come along or drop out. The dealer gets the face-up trump card (nobody can take it with the 6 of trumps) and, after the second round of dealing, lays one card away. Worth it mainly when an Ace is turned up.
• Double blind: before the trump card is turned, the dealer may chratze "double blind": they get the face-up card and one extra card in the second round, six cards in all, and lay two away.
• Redeal instead of new trumps: if nobody chratzes, the cards are dealt again at once; after the third redeal the deal passes on.
• Zwicken (Bavaria): a related game with three cards each and a 32-card pack (7–A); only the dealer antes. The dealer turns up either the top card of the stock or the top card of their own hand (then they must play) for trumps; the 7♦ is often the second-highest trump. Everyone decides to play or drop out; each trick wins a third of the pot, and every player who stayed in without a trick pays the whole pot into the next one. If nobody plays, the dealer takes the pot, provided they hold a trump.