What Is Skat?
Skat is Germany’s national card game and one of the most sophisticated trick-taking games ever designed. Three players compete each hand, but one player — the Declarer — plays alone against the other two working together as a team. The Declarer wins the bidding, takes two hidden cards to improve their hand, names a game type, and then tries to capture more than half the available card points in tricks. Skat requires careful bidding, strategic card play, and a good memory for which cards have been played.
What You Need
- A 32-card deck — remove all 2s through 6s from a standard deck. Keep 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace in all four suits.
- Exactly three players
- Score pad
Card Rankings — The Jacks Are Special
In Skat, the four Jacks are always the top four trumps regardless of which suit is named trump. From highest to lowest: Jack of Clubs (highest), Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds. These four Jacks outrank everything else.
After the Jacks, the trump suit ranks: Ace, 10, King, Queen, 9, 8, 7. Non-trump suits rank the same way: Ace, 10, King, Queen, 9, 8, 7.
Setting Up the Game
- Deal cards in this specific order: 3 cards to each player, then 2 cards face-down to the center (these are the Skat), then 4 cards to each player, then 3 more cards to each player. Each player ends up with 10 cards. The Skat has 2 cards.
- Bidding begins.
Bidding
Two players bid against each other while the third waits. One player names a value and the other says Yes (matching or raising) or Pass. The survivor then faces the waiting third player the same way. The player who names the highest value wins the auction and becomes the Declarer.
Bid values are based on game type multiplied by a multiplier based on how many top Jacks you hold consecutively. The minimum bid is 18. You do not need to understand the full calculation to start playing — simply bid a number you believe your hand can support and raise by small increments.
The Declarer Takes the Skat
- The Declarer picks up both Skat cards into their hand — now holding 12 cards.
- The Declarer selects any two cards to discard face-down back to the Skat. These discarded cards count as won tricks for the Declarer at the end.
- The Declarer announces their game type.
Game Types
- Suit Game: The Declarer names one of the four suits as trump. The four Jacks are still the top four trumps, followed by the named suit cards.
- Grand: Only the four Jacks are trump — no other suit has special status.
- Null: No trump at all. The Declarer must win ZERO tricks — not even one. Card rankings revert to normal (Ace high, 7 low). This is a very risky but high-value game.
How to Play
- The player to the Declarer’s left leads the first card.
- Going clockwise, players must follow suit. Remember — all four Jacks count as the trump suit. If trump is led and you have a Jack, you must play it.
- Highest trump wins if any trump was played. Highest of the led suit wins otherwise.
- The winner of each trick leads the next. Play all 10 tricks.
Scoring
Card point values: Ace = 11, 10 = 10, King = 4, Queen = 3, Jack = 2, others = 0. Total available: 120 points.
The Declarer must capture more than 60 of these 120 points to win a Suit or Grand game. In Null, the Declarer must win zero tricks.
If the Declarer wins, their game value is added to their score. If they lose, the same amount is subtracted. The two defenders’ individual scores are not counted — they simply try to defeat the Declarer.
Winning
Play an agreed number of rounds. The player with the highest cumulative score wins.
Tips for New Players
- The four Jacks are your most powerful cards in any Suit or Grand game — they beat everything except each other.
- In Null games, every trick you win means you lose — play your lowest cards and avoid winning at all costs.
- Count the card points as tricks are played — knowing whether you are on track to reach 61 is essential.