Jass (Schieber)

Full rules

1. Overview
2. The cards
3. Setup and deal
4. Choosing trumps: schieben
5. Playing a trick
6. Weis
7. Stöck
8. Scoring a hand
9. Winning the game
10. Tips for beginners
11. Variants

Overview

Schieber is the most popular form of Jass, the Swiss national card game. Four players play in two teams of two; partners sit opposite each other. It is a trick-taking game: everyone plays one card, and the highest card wins all four – together they form a trick. The cards in your tricks are worth card points, and you score extra for Weis (card combinations in your hand) and Stöck (King and Queen of trumps).

Each hand, one player chooses the trump suit – or shoves the choice to their partner ("schieben", hence the name). The first team to reach 2500 points and say so wins.

• Players: exactly 4, in two fixed teams.
• You need: one standard 52-card deck, paper and pencil (or a slate and chalk).

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.

Cards rank and score differently in the trump suit:

Both tables list the cards from highest to lowest. So the Jack of trumps (the Puur) is the highest card and the 9 of trumps (the Nell) the second highest. The winner of the last trick gets 5 extra points, so every hand is worth 157 points in total.

Setup and deal

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

1. Everyone draws a card; the lowest card deals first. After each hand the deal passes to the right.
2. The dealer shuffles and lets another player cut.
3. The dealer deals 3 cards at a time, anticlockwise, until everyone has 9 cards.
4. The player to the dealer's right is forehand.

Choosing trumps: schieben

Forehand looks at their cards and either names the game or says "schiebe" ("I shove"). Then the partner must name the game – they can't shove back. Either way, forehand leads to the first trick.

The choices and their multipliers:

Everything scored in the hand – card points, match, Weis and Stöck – is multiplied.

• Obenabe: no trumps; every suit ranks A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6. The 8s count 8 points each (instead of 0), so the total stays 157.
• Undenufe: no trumps; every suit ranks 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K A – the 6 is highest. The 6 counts 11, the A 0, the 8 counts 8.

Playing a trick

Forehand leads any card. Then each player in turn, anticlockwise, plays one card. The winner of a trick leads to the next.

• Following: if you have a card of the suit led, you must play that suit – or a trump. You may trump even if you could follow suit.
• If you can't follow suit, play any card.
• No undertrumping: once someone has trumped a trick, you may not play a lower trump – unless you have nothing but trumps left.
• Trumps led: you must play a trump if you have one. Exception: if your only trump is the Puur, you don't have to play it.
• In Obenabe and Undenufe there are no trumps: just follow suit if you can.

The trick goes to the highest trump in it; if there's no trump, to the highest card of the suit led.

Example: ♠ trumps. Anna leads A♥. Ben has hearts but trumps with the 8♠. Carla may not play her 7♠ – a lower trump – while she still has other cards; she plays K♥. Dan trumps with the 9♠ (Nell) and wins: 11 + 0 + 4 + 14 = 29 points, × 2 = 58.

Weis

A Weis is a combination in your hand at the start of play:

For sequences the order is always A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 (so J-10-9 is a sequence, even in trumps). A card may count in a sequence and in a four of a kind.

Announcing: as you play your card to the first trick, announce your Weis ("fifty!") – if you hold several, announce them all, best first. After the trick, compare the best Weis of each team:

1. more points wins;
2. equal points: a sequence beats a four of a kind, the longer sequence wins, then the higher top card (in Undenufe, the lower);
3. still equal: a sequence in trumps wins, otherwise the one announced first.

Only the team with the best Weis scores – but then it scores all its Weis, from both partners. The other team scores nothing for Weis. Before the second trick, anyone may ask to see a scored Weis.

Stöck

In a game with trumps, holding the K and Q of trumps is Stöck: 20 points (× multiplier). Announce it when you play the second of the two cards. Stöck always counts, even if the other team has the better Weis.

Scoring a hand

After nine tricks, each team counts its card points plus 5 for the last trick – together 157. A team that wins all nine tricks makes match: 257 instead of 157. Multiply by the game's factor and add to the team's total.

Example: Ben chose ♣ (× 2). His team announced four in a row (50), which beat Anna's three in a row, and Ben played Stöck (20). His team took 102 card points, the other team 55. Ben's team scores (102 + 50 + 20) × 2 = 344, Anna's team 55 × 2 = 110.

Winning the game

The first team to reach 2500 points wins – but only if it says so: when you think you have enough, say "we're thanking" ("mir bedanke üs"). Play stops, even mid-hand, and your total is checked, counting the tricks you have won so far. If you have 2500, you win; if not, you lose.

If both teams could reach 2500 in the same trick, the order Stöck – Weis – Stich decides: Stöck is counted first, then Weis, then the trick.

Tips for beginners

• Shove with a poor hand. Your partner has to choose, but may hold just the right cards.
• Puur and Nell win games. Choose a suit where you hold the J or the 9 plus three or four other cards.
• After a shove, lead trumps once your partner has named a suit – draw out the opponents' trumps.
• High multipliers cut both ways: Obenabe with a handful of Aces is strong, but a weak ×3 game can hand the opponents a lot of points.
• Watch for match. If you can win every trick, 100 extra points (× multiplier) are worth a risk.

Variants

All optional – agree before you play.

• To 1000: all games count × 1; play to 1000.
• Schneider: a team that has less than half the target (e.g. under 1250) when the other team wins loses double.
• Old Undenufe: the A keeps 11 points and the 6 counts 0.
• Small Weis: a card may be used only once, sequences longer than five score 100, and fours of 8s, 7s and 6s don't count.
• Stöck – Stich – Weis: some tables count the trick before the Weis.
• Zurückschieben: the partner may shove back to forehand.
• 12 hands: play a fixed number of hands without Weis, Stöck and match; the higher total wins.
• First hand: instead of drawing, anyone deals; whoever gets a set card, usually the 7♦ or 7♥, is forehand.
• Swiss-suited cards: with Swiss German cards, Schellen (bells) and Schilten (shields) count double, Rosen (roses) and Eicheln (acorns) single. Swisslos pairs Schellen with ♣ and Eicheln with ♦ – hence the multipliers above. According to pagat.com, with French cards the red suits (♥ ♦) count double and the black suits single instead – agree beforehand.