Doppelkopf: rules and basics

In short: Doppelkopf is a popular German trick-taking game for four people, usually played two against two. What makes it special is that at the start you often do not know who is playing with whom.

In more detail: It is played with a double pack, so every card appears twice. A team’s aim is to collect more than half of the 240 card points in its tricks. House rules vary a great deal, so agree on them before playing.

In detail

• Cards: The usual pack has 48 cards (nine to ace in four suits, each twice); many groups play without the nines using 40 cards, and everyone receives the same number of cards.
• Card points: Ace 11, ten 10, king 4, queen 3, jack 2, nine 0; there are 240 points in the game in total.
• The teams: Whoever holds a queen of clubs belongs to the Re team, the others form the Kontra team; who belongs together only becomes clear during play.
• Winning: The Re team wins with at least 121 points; the Kontra team wins on a tie at 120 points.
• Trumps: In a normal game the tens of hearts are the highest trumps, followed by all queens, then all jacks and finally the remaining diamonds.
• Following suit: As in other trick-taking games you must follow the suit led; if you cannot, you may discard or play a trump.
• Wedding and solo: If someone holds both queens of clubs they can announce a wedding, in which that person looks for a partner; in a solo one person plays alone against three.
• Announcements and extra points: By calling Re or Kontra you can announce victory and raise the value of the game; extra points are awarded, for example, for a trick worth at least 40 points, called a Doppelkopf.
• Getting started: It is best to join an experienced group and write down the house rules beforehand; anyone who knows Skat will soon find their feet (skat-regeln-und-grundlagen, brettspiele-fuer-einsteiger).