Sheepshead

Full rules

1. Overview
2. The cards
3. Trumps and fail
4. Setup and deal
5. Picking
6. Calling a partner
7. Playing a trick
8. Scoring
9. Leaster
10. Winning the game
11. Tips for beginners
12. Variants

Overview

Sheepshead is the American form of Schafkopf, brought to Wisconsin by German immigrants. It is a trick-taking game: each player plays one card, and the highest card wins them all – together they form a trick. The cards in your tricks are worth card points. In every hand one player, the picker, takes the two spare cards (the blind) and plays with a secret partner against the rest. The picker's side needs 61 of the 120 card points to win.

• Players: 3–5; the rules below are for 5, the most popular form. See Variants for 3 and 4.
• You need: one standard 52-card deck, paper and pencil.

The cards

Take out the 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K and A of every suit – 32 cards. The 2s to 6s are not used.

All cards together are worth 120 card points.

Trumps and fail

Trumps are special cards that beat every other card. In Sheepshead the trumps are always the same 14 cards, from highest to lowest:

1. Q♣ Q♠ Q♥ Q♦
2. J♣ J♠ J♥ J♦
3. A♦ 10♦ K♦ 9♦ 8♦ 7♦

The other three suits – ♣ ♠ ♥ – are called fail. Each has six cards, ranking A 10 K 9 8 7 – the 10 ranks above the King.

A Queen or Jack belongs to the trumps, not to its suit: the J♥ is a trump, not a heart.

Setup and deal

1. Pick the first dealer at random; afterwards the deal passes to the left.
2. The dealer shuffles, the player on the right cuts, and the dealer deals clockwise 3 cards to each player, then 2 cards face down in the middle, then another 3 cards each. Everyone has 6 cards; the two cards in the middle are the blind.

Picking

Starting with the player to the dealer's left, each player in turn may pick (take the blind) or pass. The first one to pick is the picker; nobody else gets a chance. If all five pass, you play a leaster (see below).

The picker adds the blind to their hand and then buries two cards: lays them face down in front of them. The buried cards count as one of the picker's tricks – their points belong to the picker's side.

Calling a partner

The picker now calls the Ace of a fail suit – for example "I call the Ace of Spades". Whoever holds that Ace is the picker's partner, but must not say so: everyone finds out when the Ace is played. The other three are the defenders.

• You may only call an Ace you don't hold, and you must keep at least one card of that suit (the hold card) until the suit is led.
• If you hold all three fail Aces, call a fail 10 you don't hold instead; keep that suit's Ace until the suit is led.
• If you can't make a legal call – say all your fail cards are Aces – you may call an Ace of a suit you have none of and lay one card face down as the unknown (or "under") card. It is played when that suit is first led, stands for that suit, but cannot win the trick. Its points still go to whoever wins the trick.
• The picker may also say "alone" before the first lead and play without a partner.

When the called suit is led for the first time, the partner must play the called Ace – even with other cards of that suit.

Playing a trick

The player to the dealer's left leads any card. Then, clockwise, everyone plays one card:

• Follow suit: if a fail suit is led, you must play that suit if you can. If a trump is led, you must play a trump if you can.
• If you can't follow, you may play any card – a trump to win the trick, or a fail card.

The highest trump wins the trick. If there is no trump in it, the highest card of the led suit wins. The winner takes the trick and leads to the next one.

Example: Anna leads K♠. Ben plays 9♠. Carla has no spades and plays J♦ – a trump. Dan plays A♠ – the called Ace, so he is Anna's partner. Eva plays 7♠. Carla wins 4 + 0 + 2 + 11 + 0 = 17 card points for the defenders.

Scoring

After six tricks each side counts its card points, including the buried cards.

• 61 or more: the picker's side wins. At 60–60 the picker's side loses.
• Schneider: the picker's side has 30 or fewer, or the defenders 29 or fewer (the picker's side escapes with 31, the defenders with 30). It counts double.
• No trick: the losing side won no trick at all. It counts triple.

Each defender loses 1 point (2 for Schneider, 3 for no trick). The picker's side wins what they lose: the picker gets 2 parts, the partner 1. If the picker's side loses, it's the other way round.

A picker alone takes the partner's share too: +4 / +8 / +12, or −4 / −8 / −12. Every hand adds up to zero.

Example: Ben picks and calls the A♥; Eva holds it. They take 94 card points, the defenders 26 – Schneider. Ben scores +4, Eva +2, Anna, Carla and Dan −2 each.

Leaster

If everyone passes, play a leaster: everyone for themselves, no partner, and the goal is reversed – take as few card points as possible. The blind goes to whoever wins the last trick (house rules vary: some give it to the first-trick winner or ignore it). The player with the fewest card points wins and gets 1 point from every other player; you must win at least one trick to be the winner.

Winning the game

There is no fixed end. Play a set number of rounds (everyone deals equally often) or an agreed time. The player with the highest total wins.

Tips for beginners

• Pick with trumps. Count trumps and Aces together – with a good handful of both, and at least one high Queen or Jack, pick.
• Bury points. Bury fail Aces and 10s you can't protect – their points are safe in your pile. Keep the hold card!
• Call a short suit. Then you can soon trump that suit yourself.
• Defenders: lead the called suit. It forces the partner to show the Ace, and someone may be able to trump it.
• Give points to your side. When your partner is sure to win a trick, play an Ace or 10 on it.

Variants

All optional – agree before the game.

• Jack of Diamonds partner: instead of calling an Ace, whoever holds the J♦ is the picker's partner. If the picker holds it, they play alone or call the next Jack they lack.
• 3 players: 10 cards each, 2 in the blind. The picker plays alone against two; each defender pays or receives 1 / 2 / 3.
• 4 players: 7 cards each, 4 in the blind, the picker alone – or 8 cards each, no blind, and the two black Queens play together.
• Doublers: if everyone passes, redeal and play the next hand for double stakes instead of a leaster.
• Cracking: a defender may crack (knock on the table) to double the stakes; the picker may recrack to double again.
• Forced pick: if the first four pass, the dealer must pick.
• Double on the bump: a losing picker pays double.