How to Play

Klabberjass is a sharp two-player trick-taking game with bidding, declarations, and a Jack-high trump structure. The trump-chooser must outscore the opponent or forfeit every point in the hand.

Klabberjass (also Clob, Klob, Clabber or Kalabriasz) is one of the sharpest two-player trick-taking games ever written. Built on the classic Jass structure, it packs a bidding phase, a meld-declaration phase, a trump-Jack-high card hierarchy, and a trick-taking phase into roughly ten minutes. The Jack of trumps (the Jass) and the 9 of trumps (the Menel) tower above every other card, together accounting for 34 of the 162 available points per deal. The trump-chooser's gamble is the heart of the game: win the deal or lose every single point on it to your opponent in a single swing.

Players

Klabberjass is strictly a 2-player game. Three- and four-player adaptations exist (notably Kalabriasz and Kalabasz) but the 2-player form is the classic one described here.

Card Deck

Use a 32-card Piquet pack (7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace in all four suits). No Jokers. Ranks differ between trump and non-trump suits. In the trump suit, high to low: Jack (Jass, 20 pts), 9 (Menel, 14 pts), Ace (11), 10 (10), King (4), Queen (3), 8 (0), 7 (0). In non-trump suits, high to low: Ace (11), 10 (10), King (4), Queen (3), Jack (2), 9 (0), 8 (0), 7 (0). Total points in the 32-card deck: 4 x 28 (non-trump totals) + 4 extra points distributed among the three extra trump values (Jass 20 vs 2 non-trump Jack, Menel 14 vs 0 non-trump 9), plus the last-trick bonus. The total per hand with last-trick included is 162 points.

Objective

Score more card points than your opponent in each hand. Accumulate hands across a match to be the first player to reach an agreed target (500 is standard). The player who chooses trumps in a hand must actually score more than their opponent, or every point in the hand goes to the opponent instead.

Setup and Deal

1. Set the match target (500 points is classical; 250 or 1000 are common alternatives).
2. Choose a first dealer by cutting for low card. The deal alternates each hand.
3. Shuffle the 32-card deck. Deal 6 cards to each player in batches of 3 (three to opponent, three to self, three to opponent, three to self), then turn the next card face-up beside the stock. This card proposes the trump suit.
4. The remaining deck sits face-down as the stock beside the face-up proposed-trump card.
5. The non-dealer (forehand) is the first to bid on trump.

Gameplay

1. Bidding phase - round 1 (proposed trump): Forehand speaks first. Options: 'Take' (accept the proposed suit as trump), 'Pass' (decline; dealer may then take), or 'Schmeiss' (offer to cancel the hand unless the dealer insists on playing the proposed trump). If both pass, move to round 2.
2. Bidding phase - round 2 (free choice): Forehand may now name any OTHER suit as trump. Options: name a suit and become trump-chooser, pass to dealer, or schmeiss. If both pass again, the hand is abandoned without scoring and the same dealer re-deals.
3. Schmeiss explained: A schmeiss offers the opponent a choice: accept that the hand is thrown in (no score) and redeal, or force the schmeisser to play on with the currently-proposed trump. Schmeiss is used when you hold a hand so weak that a bad trump is unplayable.
4. Third deal batch: Once trump is settled, deal 3 more cards to each player (9 cards each) and give the dealer the face-up proposed-trump card (either as the 10th card if taken, or as a private 9th card if a different trump was named).
5. Jack of trumps exchange (Dix): If a player holds the 7 of trumps, they may exchange it for the face-up proposed-trump card at any time before the first trick. This small but often useful exchange is called the Dix.
6. Meld declarations: Before leading the first trick, both players may declare melds: Bella (King + Queen of trumps), any sequence of 3+ consecutive cards in one suit (ranking for sequences uses natural order 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A regardless of trump status). Sequence values: 3 cards = 20 points, 4 cards = 50 points, 5-8 cards = 100 points. Only the player with the highest sequence scores all their sequences; ties go to the forehand. Bella is scored separately and can be claimed by whoever holds the K+Q of trumps.7♠8♠9♠10♠J♠Q♠K♠A♠
7. Declaring order: Forehand first announces their best sequence (or 'no sequence'); dealer then announces whether they can beat it. The winner of the sequence comparison shows all their sequences and claims the points. Bella is declared when the King or Queen of trumps is actually played (announce 'Bella!' as you play the first of the two cards).
8. Trick play: Forehand leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit. If unable to follow suit, they must trump if possible. If a trump was led or a player is void, they must still overtrump (play a higher trump) if able. Winner of each trick leads the next.
9. Trick winning: Highest trump wins; if no trump played, highest card of the led suit wins.
10. Last trick bonus: The player who takes the final (ninth) trick earns an automatic 10-point bonus added to their trick total.
11. End of hand: After all 9 tricks, each player totals: card points from won tricks, sequence points, Bella points, and last-trick bonus. This is their final hand score.

Scoring

• Card point values: Jass (trump Jack) = 20, Menel (trump 9) = 14, Ace = 11, 10 = 10, King = 4, Queen = 3, non-trump Jack = 2, non-trump 9 = 0, 8s and 7s = 0.A♠K♠Q♠J♠
• Bella (K+Q of trumps): 20 points to the holder when declared at play time.
• Sequence bonuses: 3-card sequence = 20, 4-card = 50, 5+ card = 100. Only the higher sequence scores; ties go to forehand.
• Last trick: 10 bonus points.
• Trump-chooser's gamble: If the trump-chooser scored MORE points than their opponent, both players keep their scores and add them to their match totals. If the trump-chooser scored equal or less, the opponent receives the sum of both scores; the trump-chooser receives 0 for the hand.
• Match target: First player to reach 500 points wins the match. If both cross 500 on the same hand, whoever has more wins; a tie is broken by one more hand.

Winning

A hand is won by the higher card-point total (after the trump-chooser's gamble resolves). A match is won by the first player to reach the target (typically 500 points) across multiple hands. Match ties are broken by an additional hand.

Common Variations

• Kalabriasz (Hungarian variant): Three or four players, with the trump-chooser's gamble replaced by a fixed contract score.
• Jo-Jotte (Ely Culbertson's 1937 variant): Enlarged declarations including three-card combinations with wild cards; never became popular but is documented.
• Belote-style Klabberjass: Uses Belote declarations (tierce, quarte, quinte) in place of Klabberjass sequences, scoring the same way.
• Clob (American immigrant variant): Simplified schmeiss rules; the schmeiss is always accepted without dealer's option.
• Bela with 100 target: Play to 100 points per match for a quick evening game.

Tips and Strategy

• Never accept trump without either the Jass or the Menel. These two cards account for 34 of the roughly 162 points per hand; being without both is usually suicidal.
• The schmeiss is a tactical weapon: use it when your hand is too weak for any trump but the dealer's proposed suit, forcing the dealer into a bad choice.
• Declare melds honestly when you have them. The 20/50/100 bonuses dwarf many trick-point differences and can single-handedly swing a gamble.
• Save the Jass for trumping an opponent's Ace or 10. The 20 points of the Jass are best spent capturing 11 or 10 more, not winning a small trump trick.
• Count the trumps played. With only eight trumps in the deck, knowing when the last enemy trump has fallen turns your trump-Ace into a sure trick.
• Leading a low non-trump card early draws out your opponent's high cards while your own trumps remain in reserve.

Glossary

• Jass: The Jack of trumps; the highest card in the hand, worth 20 points.
• Menel (also Manille): The 9 of trumps; the second-highest trump, worth 14 points.
• Schmeiss: An offer to throw the hand in unless the opponent insists on the proposed trump.
• Dix: The exchange of the 7 of trumps for the face-up proposed-trump card, permitted once before the first trick.
• Bella: The King and Queen of trumps held together; worth a 20-point bonus when declared at play time.K♠Q♠
• Sequence (Tierce, Quarte, Quinte): Three, four, or five consecutive cards of the same suit, worth 20, 50, or 100 points respectively.
• Forehand: The non-dealer; leads the first trick and bids first on trump.
• Trump-chooser's gamble: The rule that the trump-chooser must outscore the opponent or forfeit all points in the hand.
• Piquet pack: The 32-card deck (7 through Ace in each suit) used in Klabberjass and related games.