How to Play

Jass is Switzerland's national 4-player partnership trick-taking game played with 36 cards. The trump Under (Puur) and 9 (Nell) dominate, and Weis declarations and Stöck add big bonuses.

Jass is Switzerland's national card game and the parent of the European Jass family (Klaverjas, Belote, Klabberjass, Schnapsen). It is most often played by four people in fixed partnerships using a 36-card Swiss or French deck. Each player gets 9 cards; one suit becomes trump for the deal, and the deal is then played out as nine tricks. Card capture is worth 152 points across the deck plus 5 for winning the last trick (157 in total), with declarations (Weis) and the King-Queen-of-trump bonus (Stöck) adding more. Matches are usually played to a target like 1000, 2500, or 'first team to two won deals to 157'. The most popular form in German-speaking Switzerland is Schieber, in which the dealer's partnership decides the trump and may pass ('schieben') the choice to their partner.

Players

Exactly 4 players in two fixed partnerships, partners sitting opposite. The deal rotates anti-clockwise (Swiss convention) or clockwise depending on region; play follows whichever direction the deal moves. Variants exist for 2 (Sidi-Jass), 3 (Differenzler-Jass for three), and 6 (six-handed Schieber), but the four-handed partnership game is by far the most common.

Card Deck

One Swiss-suited 36-card deck (Eicheln/Acorns, Schellen/Bells, Rosen/Roses, Schilten/Shields) or one French-suited 36-card deck (♠ ♥ ♦ ♣). Each suit has nine ranks: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Under (J), Ober (Q), King, Ace. In the trump suit cards rank Under (highest) > 9 > Ace > King > Ober > 10 > 8 > 7 > 6. In any non-trump suit cards rank Ace > King > Ober > Under > 10 > 9 > 8 > 7 > 6. Card-point values: trump Under (Puur/Bauer) = 20; trump 9 (Nell) = 14; every Ace = 11; every 10 = 10; every King = 4; every Ober/Queen = 3; every non-trump Under/Jack = 2; the 6/7/8 are worth 0. Card values total 152; the last-trick bonus adds 5 for a deal total of 157.

Objective

Win tricks containing high-value cards, declare valid Weis melds in the first trick, and (in Schieber) collect both Stöck and the match bonus. Reach the agreed match target (commonly 1000 points across many deals; 2500 in tournament Schieber).

Setup and Deal

1. Choose first dealer by drawing for the highest card. The dealer shuffles, the player to the dealer's right cuts, and the dealer deals 9 cards to each player anti-clockwise in batches of three.
2. Trump selection (Schieber): The player to the dealer's right (forehand) chooses one of six contracts for the deal: trump = Acorns, Roses, Bells, or Shields (each at standard 1 multiplier), trump = Hearts/♥ at multiplier 2, trump = Diamonds/♦ at multiplier 3, 'Obenabe' (no trump, high cards win, multiplier 3), 'Undenufe' (no trump, low cards win, multiplier 4), or 'Schieben' (push the decision to partner). If forehand schiebes, partner must choose one of the five non-Schieben contracts. The choice is announced before any card is led.
3. Stöck announcement: Whoever holds both the King and Queen (Ober) of the chosen trump suit announces 'Stöck' when they play the second of the two cards on a trick (not necessarily the first). Stöck adds 20 to that player's partnership.
4. Misdeal: A card exposed during the deal, or the dealer giving the wrong number of cards, voids the deal; the same dealer redeals.

Gameplay

1. Forehand (player to the dealer's right) leads to the first trick by playing any card face up.
2. Following suit: Each player in turn must follow the led suit if able. If void in the led suit, you may play any card, including a trump.
3. Overtrumping: If the led suit is not trump and a partner has not yet won the trick, an opponent must overtrump (play a higher trump than any trump already in the trick) when forced to play a trump. The Puur (trump Under) holder is the single exception: it is never forced to play the Puur on overtrumping, even if it is the only trump held.
4. Winning the trick: Highest trump wins; if no trump is in the trick, the highest card of the led suit wins. The winner gathers the four cards face down in front of their partnership and leads the next trick.
5. Weis declarations: Each player counts their best meld in their original 9-card hand. The strongest single Weis is announced when leading or playing to the first trick: a 5-or-more sequence, a 4-of-a-kind, a 4-card sequence, or a 3-card sequence. The partnership with the highest single Weis scores all of its members' Weis (their partner can also score any Weis they hold). Partnership with weaker single Weis scores nothing for Weis. Comparison order: any 5+ sequence beats any 4-of-a-kind, both beat any 4-sequence, all of those beat any 3-sequence; ties broken by sequence length, then by the highest card of the sequence, then by trump-vs-non-trump (trump wins), then by the position closer to forehand.
6. Continue until all 9 tricks are played. Each side counts captured card points and adds Weis, Stöck, the 5-point last-trick bonus, and any match bonus.

Weis (Declarations)

• 3-card sequence (Dreiblatt): 3 consecutive cards of the same suit in your original hand. 20 points. Sequence rank order is 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K A.6♠7♠8♠
• 4-card sequence (Vierblatt): 4 consecutive cards in one suit. 50 points.6♠7♠8♠9♠
• 5-or-more sequence (Fünfblatt or longer): 100 points for any sequence of five or more in one suit. Six-card or longer sequences score the same 100 (no extra).10♠J♠Q♠K♠A♠
• 4 of a kind: 100 points for four 9s, four 10s, four Aces, four Kings, or four Obers/Queens.9♠9♥9♦9♣
• 4 Unters/Jacks: 200 points (the strongest Weis in the game).J♠J♥J♦J♣
• Stöck: 20 points for holding the King and Ober/Queen of the trump suit; announced when the second of the pair is played to a trick.K♠Q♠

Scoring

• Card points: Total 152 across the deck; each side counts the value of cards in their captured tricks.
• Last-trick bonus: +5 to the partnership winning the final trick.
• Stöck: +20 to the partnership of whoever announces it.
• Weis: Add the winning side's Weis values; losing side scores zero for Weis.
• Multiplier (Schieber): Multiply the partnership total for the deal by the trump multiplier (1 for the basic suits, 2 for Hearts, 3 for Diamonds, 3 for Obenabe, 4 for Undenufe). Both sides apply the same multiplier.
• Match (Marsch / Stich): Winning all 9 tricks scores an extra 100 points before the multiplier is applied.
• Add multiplied total to the running session score. First side to the agreed target (typically 1000 or 2500) wins the match. If both sides cross the target on the same deal, the side with the higher final running score wins; tie at exact totals plays one further deal.

Winning

• Deal winner: The partnership with the higher multiplied total for that deal.
• Match winner: First partnership to reach the session target.
• Tie-breaker: If both sides reach the target on the same deal, the higher running total wins; if still tied, play one extra deal between the same partnerships.
• Bergpreis (mountain bonus): Some Schieber circles award a bonus when one team crosses a midway threshold (typically half the match target) before the other; this is a house rule and is announced before play.

Common Variations

• Schieber-Jass: The standard German-speaking Swiss variant; the contract chooser may push (schiebe) to their partner. Trump multipliers and Stöck always apply.
• Differenzler: Each player privately predicts how many of the 157 deal points their partnership will take; score is the absolute difference between prediction and reality (low score wins). Played to a target across many deals.
• Coiffeur: Each partnership must play one deal under each of the six contract choices; can only use each contract once per match. A purely strategic format with no choice in trump after a contract is used.
• Molotow: A more aggressive five-multiplier ruleset; rarely played outside specific Swiss circles.
• Sidi-Jass (2 players): A two-handed variant with eight cards each and an open trump card; uses the same Weis system.
• Mittlere Hand: Played without partnerships at three players; each plays alone, similar to French Tarot in spirit.

Tips and Strategy

• Lead with low cards in trump first when you hold the Puur and Nell. Drawing two opposing trumps for one of your cheap trumps swings most decks decisively.
• Hold a marriage (King + Queen of trump) and aim to play the second of the pair as early as possible to claim Stöck without giving away that you hold both.
• If you have nothing in trump but a high card in another suit (especially an Ace and a Ten of the same suit), lead the Ace to extract the Ten safely. The 10s are the most undervalued cards in beginner play.
• When deciding to schiebe, count partnership trump strength; if you hold a strong trump suit yourself, choose it directly. Schiebe only when you have no clear suit and a partner who likely does.
• In Obenabe (high-cards-win, no trump) the Aces and 10s become decisive; in Undenufe (low cards win) the 6s and 7s do, so manage card discards in those contracts very differently from a normal trump deal.
• Always announce Weis on the very first trick; a forgotten Weis at trick 2 or later cannot be claimed.

Glossary

• Puur (or Bauer): The Under (Jack) of the trump suit. Highest card in the deal at 20 points.
• Nell: The 9 of the trump suit. Second-highest at 14 points.
• Stöck: The King + Ober/Queen of the trump suit; +20 bonus when the second of the pair is played.K♠Q♠
• Weis: A meld declared in trick one (sequence of three or more, or four of a kind); see Weis section.
• Schieben: To 'push' the trump-naming choice to the partner; partner must then choose one of the five non-Schieben contracts.
• Obenabe: A no-trump contract played upward (high cards win), Aces high.
• Undenufe: A no-trump contract played downward (low cards win), 6 highest.
• Marsch (or Stich): Winning all nine tricks; +100 bonus before multiplier.
• Multiplier: A constant per contract that multiplies a partnership's total for the deal (1, 2, 3, or 4 in Schieber).