Klammern card game rules

General rules of klammern

• Klammern is played with 4 players. The players sitting opposite each other form a team.
• The game is played with a 32-card piquet deck: 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of each suit.
• The goal is to score as many points as possible.
• Klammern is played clockwise.
• As in most card games, the player to the dealer’s left leads the first trick.
• The highest card wins the trick. If a trump is played, the highest trump wins the trick.
• The winner of each trick leads the next one.
• The last trick played may be reviewed by any player as long as the current trick is still ongoing.
• Players must follow suit if able. If unable to follow suit, any card may be played.

Dealing

• Each player receives 8 cards. The cards are usually dealt in a 3-2-3 sequence.
• The middle card of the dealer’s last 3 cards is placed face up on the table. This card proposes the trump suit.

Bidding

After dealing, the bidding phase begins:

• The player to the dealer’s left, called the forehand, may either accept or decline the proposed trump suit. A player accepts by saying “I’m in”.
• If the forehand declines, the next player has the option to accept the proposed trump. This continues until all players have had their turn.
• If no one accepts the proposed trump, the forehand may declare a trump suit of their choice. This is called little one.
• If the forehand passes again, the opportunity moves to the next player, and so on.
• After someone declares little one, another player may overbid by calling better, in which case clubs automatically become the trump suit.
• If no one declares little one or better, the cards are collected and redealt.

Points cards in klammern

Points are earned for the cards won in tricks. The order below also reflects the ranking of cards in tricks. The Jack of trumps (also called Jappa or Jass) is the highest card in the game, followed by the 9 of trumps (called Mia).

Trump card point values

• Jack: 20 points
• 9: 14 points
• Ace: 11 points
• 10: 10 points
• King: 4 points
• Queen: 3 points
• 8 and 7: 0 points

Non-trump card point values

• Ace: 11 points
• 10: 10 points
• King: 4 points
• Queen: 3 points
• Jack: 2 points
• 9, 8, and 7: 0 points

Bonus Points

In addition to tricks, players can earn extra points for holding certain combinations of cards called melds.

• Terz (three consecutive cards): 20 points
• Fifty (four or more consecutive cards): 50 points
• Bella: holding both the King and Queen of trumps in hand: 20 points

Only the team with the highest meld scores points for melds. A fifty always beats a terz. If both teams have a terz, the team with the highest terz wins, i.e., the one starting with the highest card. Cards always rank in their normal order for melds, even for trump suits. The Ace is always highest card.

If both teams have the same terz, the terz in trumps wins. If both terzes are in non-trump suits, the following suit ranking applies (from highest to lowest): ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣.

The same ranking applies if both teams have a fifty as their highest meld.

The team with the highest meld must reveal it, along with any other melds they hold. The partner may also show their melds. The winning team earns points for all melds revealed. Melds must be declared before the second trick. If not declared in time, they are forfeited.

Bella must always be declared when the first of the two bella cards is played. This does not need to happen during the first trick. If bella is not declared, no points are awarded.

The last trick of each round is worth 10 bonus points.

Scoring klammern

The team with the most points at the end of a round wins that round. If both teams score the same number of points, the defenders (the team that lost the bidding) win the round.

There are small points and big points:

• If neither Contra nor Re(contra) was announced, the winning team earns 1 small point.
• If Contra was declared, the winning team earns 2 small points.
• If Re(contra) was declared, the winning team earns 4 small points.
• The first team to reach 5 small points earns 1 big point. If this occurs while the opponents have no small points (5:0), a bonus big point is awarded, making 2 big points.
• After each big point, both teams reset to 0 small points.
• The game usually continues until a team reaches a pre-agreed number of big points.

Klammern Variants

In Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, several regional variations of Klammern exist with slightly different rules. Klammern also closely resembles the Dutch game Klaverjassen and the French game Belote.