Skat

Quick Rules

Skat is the national card game of Germany, and it travelled to America with German families, farm towns and social clubs. Three people play, but in every hand it is really one against two: whoever bids highest plays alone, and the other two team up against them for that hand.

  • The deck. 32 cards: 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace in each suit. Each player gets ten cards, and two go face down in the middle. Those two are the skat.
  • Bidding. Players name numbers (18, 20, 22, 23, 24, 27, 30…) to win the right to play alone. Each number is the value of some game, so you only bid as high as your hand is worth. Our bidding panel tells you what that is.
  • The skat. The winner, the declarer, may pick up the skat and put two cards back, or play "Hand" without looking for a higher score.
  • Naming the game. A suit (that suit is trump), Grand (only the Jacks are trump) or Null (no trumps, and the declarer must not take a single trick).
  • Trumps. The four Jacks are always the top trumps: clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds. Then the trump suit: Ace, 10, King, Queen, 9, 8, 7. Follow suit if you can; a Jack counts as a trump, not as its own suit.
  • Winning. Aces count 11, tens 10, kings 4, queens 3 and jacks 2; 120 in all. The declarer needs 61 card points, and the skat counts for the declarer.

The score for a hand is the game's value: a base value (diamonds 9, hearts 10, spades 11, clubs 12, Grand 24) times a multiplier that counts your top trumps ("with 2" or "against 3") plus one for the game and one for each extra. A lost game costs twice its value. That sounds like a lot to hold in your head, so our game works it out for you, one line at a time, at the end of every hand. Play differently at home? Open Settings for match length and Ramsch. See Skat rule variations.

Read the full Skat rules with worked examples and scoring tables

Tips for Winning at Skat

  • Count Jacks first. Two Jacks and five cards of one suit is the classic hand for a suit game with the skat.
  • Bid what the hand is worth, not more. A game worth less than your bid is lost even if you take 61 points.
  • As declarer, draw trumps. Lead your high Jacks early so the defenders can't trump your aces later.
  • As a defender, feed your partner. When your partner is sure to win a trick, throw an ace or a ten on it. It's called "schmieren".
  • Put a lone ten in the skat. A ten without its ace is easily caught, but in the skat its ten points are yours.

Read our Skat strategy guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this Skat game free?

Yes. You can play as many games of Skat as you like for free, with no account, no email and no download.

Does the computer cheat?

No. The computer players can't see your cards, each other's cards or the skat. They bid from their own ten cards, and when one of them picks up the skat it sees those two cards, just as you would. During play they remember the cards that have fallen and who could not follow suit, which any careful player can do. At the end of every hand, tap Show All Hands to see every card that was dealt. Every game has a deal number; tap Replay This Deal, or type the number in Settings, to play the same cards again.

I have never played Skat. Is it too hard?

Skat has a reputation for being hard, but you can learn it as you play here. When it is your turn to bid, the game tells you in plain words what your hand could play and how high you can safely bid. Once a game is named, the trumps are listed from high to low above the table, the running card points are always on screen, and at the end the game value is worked out for you line by line. Tap Hint whenever you are unsure.

Why are the Jacks trumps?

In every Skat game except Null, the four Jacks are the highest trumps, always in the same order: clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds. In a suit game the trump suit comes after them: ace, 10, king, queen, 9, 8, 7. In Grand only the four Jacks are trumps. A Jack always counts as a trump, not as a card of its own suit, so when a suit is led you cannot follow it with that suit's Jack.

What happens when everyone passes?

Under the standard rules the cards are thrown in, nobody scores, and the next player deals. Many clubs play Ramsch instead: everyone plays for themselves with only the Jacks as trumps, and whoever takes the most card points loses them. You can switch Ramsch on in Settings.

Does the game save my progress?

Yes. Your game is saved in your browser after every move. Close the page and come back later, and you can pick up where you left off on the same device.

Enjoy bidding games? Try Pinochle, Skat's American cousin with melds and trumps, or Euchre, where the Jacks are also the top trumps.

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