How To Play Skat Card Game: Rules & Gameplay

Have you tried the Skat card game before? If you are into card games, then you must try this amazing trick card game played with three players. It is a national game in Germany and has been very popular in the United States since the 19th century. 

Skat card games can also be played with a fourth player, who will act as a dealer. The players make place bids on their turns based on the number of “tricks” they expect to win based on their hand. The player who scores 61 or more points at the end of the game wins. The International Skat Players Association (ISPA) is responsible for arranging tournaments and promoting the Skat Card game.

Here’s everything you must know about the Skat card game, from the gameplay to strategy, scoring, and skat card game rules.

What is a Skat Card Game?

Skat is a point trick-taking game invented around the 1800s in Altenburg, Germany. It is known as the national game of Germany. The game is played with three players and a deck of 32 cards. 

Jack is the highest-ranked card in the game, followed by Ace, 10, K, Q, 9, 8, 7. The game begins with a dealer who shuffles the deck of 32 cards, and each player gets 3 cards. The remaining card is kept at the center, face down on the table as a skat. The top card is flipped over to start a discard pile. 

The player left to the dealer goes first, and the game continues in the clockwise direction. The objective of the game is to score a predetermined winning score first. The three major variants of Skat games are Suit games, grand, and null. 

There are ten tricks to a game, and once all the tricks have been played, the points are counted for each side. The player who makes 61 or more points at the end of the game wins. 

The Cards

Skat was initially played with German Cards such as Acrons, leaves, bells, king, ober, etc. These German-suited cards are still used in the eastern and southern parts of Germany. In other places, Skat is played with French-suited cards such as Clubs, hearts, diamonds, Jacks, Queen, etc. 

The game is played with 32 cards: an Ace, Queen, King, Jack, 10, 9, 8, and 7 in all four suits: clubs, hearts, diamonds, and spades. Let’s briefly discuss the three variants and their card distributions.

Also Read: Top Single-Player Card Games to Play

Ranking of Cards

In Skat, we choose the type of game that we play. There are three popular variants: suit games, grand games, and Null games. 

Suit Games

In Suit games, the Jacks are trump cards, and the ranking goes in the order Jack, Ace, 10, King, Queen, 9, 8, 7. The ranking order for the trumps card is Jack of Clubs, Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds, A, 10, 9, 8, 7. 

Grand Games 

In the grand games, the four jack cards are the trump cards, followed by A, 10, K, Q, 9, 8, 7 

Null Games

In this variant, there are no trump cards; the ranking goes in the order A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7

Point values of Cards

Now, let us also discuss each card’s individual points in Grand and Suit games.

Trump Card Sequence

In Skat, trumps include the 4 jacks and 7 color cards for 11 trumps. For example, if spades are trumps, the order of cards from the highest to lowest is as given below.

• Jack of Clubs
• Jack of Spades
• Jack of Hearts
• Jack of Diamonds
• Ace of Spades
• Ten of Spades
• King of Spades
• Queen of Spades
• Nine of Spades
• Eight of Spades
• Seven of Spades

The Deal

The dealer is chosen randomly from the available players. If there are four players, the fourth one becomes the dealer. The dealer then shuffles the card and distributes three cards to each player. 

Two cards are left face down at the center of the table. They form the “Skat,” and then four cards are again given to each player and the other three cards. After dealing, each player has 10 cards in their hand. The fourth player (Dealer) takes no part in the hand after dealing cards. 

The dealing continues clockwise around the table. The player sitting to the left of the dealer will deal in the next round, giving everyone the chance.

The Auction/ Bidding 

After the cards are dealt, players must bid according to their choice. They must bid a value as much as they can score. They might decide this after carefully analyzing the cards in their hand. Do not overbid, as it may lead to a loss in the game. 

The bidding may give you an idea of the strength of your opponent’s hands. Bidding depends upon the type of game you choose, such as Suit games, Grand Games, and Null games. 

• The bid value in the Suit game is determined by multiplying the base value of the suit by the player’s multipliers, which are determined by their hand.
• Bidding in the grand game is similar to the suit game, but the bidding value is only 24.
• For Null games, fixed bid values (23, 35, 46, or 59) also depend on the type of null game.

The initial bid starts from forehand (F), player to the dealer’s immediate left. They usually start with a minimum bid raised by the other player’s middlehand(M) and rearhand(R). You can either pass or raise the bid. Once the bidding is over, choose the type of game you want to play: suit, grand, or null.

Skat Card Game Rules

It is important to be familiar with the Skat card game rules to gain a good lead against your opponents and avoid penalties. Below are some major rules of the Skat game.

• Cards are played in succession in a clockwise direction for each trick. 
• The first play of the first trick is started by the player to the left of the dealer.
• The game objective depends upon whether you are a declarer or a defender opponent. 
• Defender opponent must ensure that the declarer does not win a specific number of points in the game. 
• The game has 3 active players. It can also be played with 4 players, with one player sitting out each round.
• A deck of 32 cards is used in the game of Skat. 
• The Jack in suits are worth 2 points, and the Aces are worth 11 points. King is worth 4 points, Queen is 3, and 10s is worth 10 points, and the rest of the cards 9, 8, and 7 are worth 0 points in the game.
• There is a total of 120 points (11+10+4+3+2) x 4 across all formats in the game.
• Each player receives 10 cards, and the remaining 2 cards form “Skat”.
• The declarer might pick up the skat or play with their hand cards.
• Try to follow the suit led by the other players. If you have more than one card in the suit, you can play with it.
• If you do not have a card from the same suit, you can choose any card from your hand from another suit.
• There are no trumps in the null game, and one of the four suits is chosen as the trump suit in the Suit game.
• Only the Jacks are chosen as trumps in the Grand game.
• If there are no trumps, the trick winner is the player with the highest-ranking card in the suit led.
• If there is a trump card, the player with the highest-ranking trump card wins the trick.
• The game has ten tricks, and once all the tricks have been played, the points are counted for each side.
• If the declarer wins 30 card points or less, you are entitled to be the Schneider. However, if you lose every trick, you are Schwarz.
• If you are the dealer’s opponent and manage to take 30 points or fewer, you are entitled as Schneider. However, if you score 31 or more points, they are Scheider.
• The player with the highest score at the end wins the game.
• Defenders can double the stakes of the game, known as Kontra. The declarer can also respond by raising it again, known as Re.

Another fun card game: How To Play Crazy Eights Card Game

Skat Gameplay

If you want to learn how to play Skat card games, you must know its gameplay and rules. 

• The game continues in a clockwise direction, with the forehand of the player to the dealer’s left making the first move. 
• Every player must try to follow suit if they have it in their hand. A player with no matching suit cards can play with other suits. 
• In a suit or grand game, Jack is the trump suit. For example, if spades are trump, the Jack of Clubs is the highest spade compared to other cards. 
• The player having the highest ranking cards wins the trick. If a player has a trump, then, in this case, the highest trump wins. In Suit and grand games, Jack of Clubs is the highest, followed by Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts, and Jack of Diamonds.
• If there are no trumps, the trick winner is the player with the highest-ranking card in the suit led.
• If there is a trump card, the trick’s winner is the player with the highest-ranking trump card.
• The winner of a given round leads the next round in the game.
• If you are a declarer, you must have 61 card points (tricks + the skat) in the suit or grand game to win.
• However, if you are a declarer in Null Game/Null Ouvert, you win the game if you lose every trick. 

Highlights of the Jack

Jack is the trump suit in the Skat Card game. In Suit and Grand games especially Jack plays a major role. Let us know some major facts about Jack in Skat games.

• All Jacks (Jack of Clubs, Jack of Spades, Jack of Heart, Jack of Diamonds) are trumps, and they are the highest trumps in the game of Skat.
• The order Jack goes by is the following- the club is the highest, followed by spades, hearts, and diamonds, the lowest suit. 
• The value of each jack in skat is 2 points.
• Jack plays a significant role in the formation of game points and matadors. 

Calculating the Game Score

The actual game value scores differ based on the game we choose. There are three major variants. Let us know how to calculate scores in all these variants.

Suit game

In the Suit game, one of the four suits is a trump suit. Each suit has its own base value.

The base value is multiplied by the multiplier game level, which has different points at each level. In a grand contract, the base value is 24. 

Game Value = Base Value x game level 

The multiplier is the sum of the following items given below.

Here, n/a is not applicable.

The game value is calculated by multiplying the base value of the chosen game by the game type by the number of multipliers. Multipliers generally consist of Matadors, Game, Schneider, and Schwarz. Well, before calculating, let us understand what Matadors is.

Matadors

In Skat, Matadors are the top trumps in a consecutive sequence, starting from the Jack of Clubs downwards. The number of matadors a player possesses indicates how many of these top trump cards they have in an unbroken sequence. 

If the declarer has these cards, they are “with” that number of matadors. However, if the opponents collectively have these cards, the declarer is “against” that number of matadors. For example, Let us check the hand of the declarer.

J, J, J, A, 10, Q, 9, Here declarer is with 1 Matadors

J, J, A, K, Q, 7, Here, the declarer is against 2 Matadors

J, A, 10, K, Q, 7, Here, the declarer is against 3 Matadors

Did you get the above example? Well, let me explain the first one to you. The declarer has Jack of Clubs, Jack of Hearts, and Jack of Diamonds. However, it lacks a Jack of Spades, which breaks the sequence. Jack of Clubs is The highest sequence declarer, which makes “with 1”. 

Similarly, the second example declarer is missing Jack of Clubs and Jack of Spades, which must be in the opponent’s hand, making “against 2”. You must have got it by now. Let us now understand scoring in Null Contracts. 

Null Contracts

In Null Contracts, values are fixed, making it easy to find the amount value. There are four contract variants in Null; let’s check them below.

Scoring in the Skat Card Game

Let us understand how scoring works in Skat games.

• If the declarer wins the game and the game value is at least the bid raised, the game value is added to the declarer’s cumulative score.
• However, if the declarer loses the game and the game value is at least equal to the bid, the declarer loses twice the value of the game from their scores.
• If the game value is less than the bid, the declarer automatically loses, no matter the points they scored during the match. The amount subtracted is twice the least multiple of the base value needed to fulfill the bid. 
• If the declarer announces Schneider but fails to make 90 card points or they announce Schwarz or open and lose a trick or more, the declarer then loses and counts all the multipliers that would have applied to succeed. 
• If the declarer takes 30 card points or fewer, the opponents make the declarer Schneider, and the Schneider multiplier applies to the hand.
• If the declarer loses every trick, both Schneider and Schwarz multipliers apply. 

At the end of the session, the players are given scores according to the differences between their scores. The one with the lower score pays the one with the higher score, and the difference in their scores is multiplied by the stake. 

Winning in Skat

To win a game of Skat, players need 61 or more points from the cards in their pile at the end. Jacks are worth 2 points only but are trick winners and can capture control over the game. The Aces and Tens also have a high role in scoring due to their points value. 

If you win 6 of (aces and tens), it ensures your victory. However, if you lose 6 of them, you lose the game. This means two tricks can decide whether you lose or win the game.

Skat Card Game Strategy

Winning in a Skat game requires a combination of strategy and skill. To take the lead, it is important to understand the game scoring system. 

• Familiar with game types: You must know the difference in the gameplay and scoring of the different variants of Skat Card games, i,e. suit games, null games, and grand games.
• Bidding Strategy: You must bid after analyzing your hand cards properly. Overbidding can lead to losing unnecessary points in the game. Bid conservatively with weak hands and aggressively when you have a strong hand. 
• Choose the right game type: After bidding, you must choose the one that best suits your hand. If you have many trumps, then choose Suit Game. You can consider a Null game if your hand is weak.
• Maximize Scoring: Aim for Schneider or Schwarz for additional multipliers in the game and announce only when you are confident; otherwise, you will lose additional penalties. 
• Analyze your opponents: Your aim must be to stop the dealer from winning a key trick and making a winning score. If you limit the declarer to make Schneider, then they will face penalties.
• Practice more: The more you practice, the better your game. 

Interested in card games like Skat? You can also learn How To Play Thirteen Card Game.

Got Questions?

What does my Skat mean?

Skat is a three-handed trick-taking game played with 32 cards and no cards lesser than 7. Each player gets 10 cards, and to win a game of Skat, they need 61 or more points from the cards in their pile at the end of the game.

What is the order of the cards in Skat?

Jack is the trump suit in Skat, and the non-trump cards rank in order A-10-K-Q-9-8-7.

Which card has the highest value in Skat?

In Suit and Grand game, the highest game values are always the four highest trump cards, from Jack of Clubs, Jack of Spades, Jack of Heart, and Jack of Diamonds. Individually, Ace has the highest point i,e 11 

How many cards do you start with in Skat?

Each player in Skat gets 10 cards to begin from 32 cards. Two of the remaining cards are kept at the center of the table to be used as Skat.

Why is the card game called Scat?

This is a trick point game played with three players using German-suited cards. Each player receives 10 cards, and the two remaining cards are kept at the table. In the United States of America, this game is known as Scat.

What is Matadors in Skat card game?

Matadors are the top trumps in a consecutive sequence, starting from the Jack of Clubs, Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts, and Jack of Diamonds.