Klaberjass

Klaberjass (German: [ˈklaːbɐˌjas]) or Bela is a trick-taking card game that is most popular in German communities. In its basic form it is a 9-card trick-and-draw game for two players using a 32-card piquet pack.

As in other point-trick games of the King–Queen group, players can score points for the "marriage" (bela) of king and queen of trumps. The distinguishing feature of Klaberjass is that the jack (Jass) and nine (Manille) of trumps are elevated to the highest ranks and highest card point scores.

The game appears to originate from the Low Countries or the Alsace region. An early form was first described in an 1821 Dutch book under a name that translates as klaver Jass, Jass being Dutch for Jack. Klaberjass has spawned the Jack–Nine family of card games, which consists mostly of four-player elaborations of the original game. In addition to the Dutch and Swiss national card games Klaverjas and Jass, the group contains Belote, which is the most popular game in countries such as France, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia.

The game is played with a French-suited Piquet deck, perhaps best known from the German game Skat. It consists of the ranks A 10 K Q J 9 8 7. In trumps, the jack (Jass) and the 9 (Manille) become the two highest ranking cards. So, trump is ranked J 9 A 10 K Q 8 7. The 7 of trumps (dix) also plays a special role.

The overall structure of the game is similar to that of Piquet, but with more weight given to trick-play than to melding. The game begins by one player undertaking to make more points than the opponent. If that player wins, both players will score their points, otherwise only the opponent will score. Both players' hands are then completed to 9 cards. In the melding phase, players get a chance to quickly make a substantial number of points, but will automatically provide information to the opponent if they try to make use of that. In trick-play the cards have very unequal point values. Whenever otherwise allowed by the normal trick-play rules, players are obliged to win a trick with a trump.

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