Rules for Jass (Swiss National Card Game): Schieber Jass for 4 Players

Jass (Swiss national game) is a family of trick-taking games. Most common: Schieber Jass (4 players, 2 partnerships). Rules below.

Deck & Setup

• Cards: 36 (Swiss/German suits: Shields, Acorns, Flowers, Bells) or French suits (A K Q J 10 9 8 7).
• Ranking (trump): J (20) > 9 (14) > A (11) > K (4) > Q (3) > 10 (10) > 8 (0) > 7 (0).
• Ranking (plain): A (11) > K (4) > Q (3) > J (2) > 10 (10) > 9 (0) > 8 (0) > 7 (0).
• Deal: 3-2-3 (9 cards each); dealer's partner chooses trump or "schiebt" (passes choice to dealer).

Play

• Forehand (left of dealer) leads first trick.
• Follow suit if possible.
• If void, may trump (no obligation to overtrump unless only trumps left).
• Highest trump wins; else highest card of led suit.
• Winner leads next trick.

Special Rules

• Stöck (King + Queen of trump): 20 pts if held; announced when playing 2nd of pair.
• Wiis (9 of trump): 14 pts; "Trump Nine" scores on trick win.
• Match (last trick): 5 pts bonus.

Scoring

• Card points per trick (see ranking above).
• Round total = 157 pts (card pts) + 20 (Stöck) + 5 (Match) = 182 max.
• Declarer's team must exceed opponents' total to "make" contract.
• Game to 1000, 1500, or 2000 pts (match = best of sets).

Major Variants

• Differenzler: Bid exact point difference; score = |bid - actual|.
• Coiffeur / Molotow: Bidding variants.
• Schnapsen (2-player): 20 cards; 66 pts to win hand; marriage (K+Q) = 20/40.
• Doppelkopf (4-player): 48 cards; partnerships unknown initially; rich conventions.

Learn by playing. Jass.ch, SwissJass apps, or local Swiss club. Rules are dense; feel is everything.