Klaverjas () or Klaverjassen () is the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

name for a four player

trick-taking card game A trick-taking game is a card game, card or tile-based game in which play of a ''Hand (card games), hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of th ...

using the

piquet deck This is a list of traditional sets of playing cards or gaming tiles such as mahjong tiles or dominoes. A typical traditional pack of playing cards consists of up to 52 regular cards, organized into four suits, and optionally some additional car ...

playing cards A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a fi ...

. It is closely related to the card game

klaberjass Klaberjass () or Bela is a trick-taking Ace-Ten 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� ...

, which is popular internationally and also known as Bela, and various other names. It is one of the most popular card games in the Netherlands, traditionally played in cafes and social clubs. The game offers a considerable level of complexity and depth. It has numerous variants, but universal fundamental rules exists.

History

The name dates to 1890–95 from the Dutch word ''klaverjas'', combining ''klaver'' (the suit of clubs, literally "clover") plus ''jas'', the original name for the highest trump card.Random House Unabridged Dictionary 200

at

Dictionary.com Dictionary.com is an online dictionary whose domain was first registered on May 14, 1995. The primary content on Dictionary.com is a proprietary dictionary based on ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'', with editors for the site providing new ...

According to Scarne,John Scarne ''Scarne on Card Games: How to Play and Win at Poker, Pinochle, Blackjack, Gin and Other Popular Card Games'' pg. 414 Dover Publications (2004) its origin has been variously claimed by the Dutch, Swiss, French, and Hungarians. However, Parlett unequivocally states that the family of games to which Klaverjas belongs originated in the Netherlands and is now most highly developed in Switzerland.

Rules

The game is played clockwise by four players in two teams, partners sitting opposite as in

whist Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play. History Whist is a descendant of the 16th-century game of ''trump'' ...

. It uses a

, i.e. a set of 32 cards in the four French suits: Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 7–10. All cards are dealt to the players, in batches of 3–2–3 or 4–4.

Bidding

Starting with the

elder hand Card players are those participating in a card game. Various names are given to card players based on their role or position. Position Games of Anglo-American origin In games of Anglo-American origin played in English-speaking countries, ...

, the first player prepared to do so chooses a trump suit and thereby becomes obliged to win the deal. Various versions handle the special case when all players pass differently.

Trick-play

As in most trick-taking games, players must follow suit if they can, and the highest trump in the trick, or in the absence of trumps the highest card in the suit of the first card, takes the trick. But there are additional restrictions on the cards that may be played. There are two variants; both agree that following a trump lead all players must head the trick if they can. Rotterdam rules: A player who cannot follow suit must trump if possible. A player who plays a trump must head the trick if possible, even if the player's partner currently heads the trick. Amsterdam rules: Undertrumping is only allowed when it cannot be avoided. A player who cannot follow suit and whose partner is not heading the trick must head the trick if possible. Aces and tens are high, i.e. cards in ordinary suits rank Ace, 10, King, Queen, Jack, 9, 8, 7. The Jack ("Jas") and nine ("Nel") in the trump suit, however, are the highest trumps. Thus trumps rank Jack, 9, Ace, 10, King, Queen, 8, 7.

Scoring

The point values of cards are as in

Jass :Jass ''was also an early name for Jazz music. For other uses, see JASS.'' Jass ()David Parlett ''The Oxford guide to card games'', pg. 292-293, David Parlett (1990) is a family of trick taking, Ace-Ten card games and, in its key forms, a distin ...

and

Belote Belote () is a 32-card, trick-taking, Ace-Ten game played primarily in France and certain European countries, namely Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, North Macedonia (mainly Bitola), Bosnia and Herzegovina and als ...

. In addition, the last trick ("Slag") scores 10 points. Accordingly, the card values and the last trick add up to a total of 162 points. Additional points are scored by players who have certain combinations in a single trick: Four cards of the same rank (very rare) – 100 (or 200 for four jacks), 3 or 4 consecutive cards in the same suit – 20/50, King and Queen of trumps ("Stuk") – 20. These additional points combinations are called "roem", and must be declared explicitly, otherwise they don't count. Any 3 consecutive cards on the deck, 20pts (when K,Q are included with trump cards, +20pts) Any 4 consecutive cards on the deck, 50pts (idem, eg. A,K,Q of trump makes 40pts.) There is a reward of 100 points if the other team doesn't get any tricks. This is called a march ("pit"). At the end of each round, all points are tallied (card values and the last trick plus roem). It is up to the team of players who made the deal to win more points than the opposing team. If they obtain half of the points or less, then all points go to the opposing team (162 plus all the roem). This is called "nat". Normally the game is played over 16 rounds. At the end of the game, all points are summed up and the team who has the most points overall wins the game.

Variants

There are a wide number of variants of the game, with different names and spellings. The

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n version of the game is known as ''Klawerjas''.

Popular culture

It is the famous two-hand game played by the Broadway characters in

Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American newspaperman and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To ...

’s stories.

Notes and references

Bibliography

External links

''Klaverjassen''
at

pagat.com Pagat.com is a website containing rules to hundreds of card games from all over the world. Maintained by John McLeod, it contains information for traditional, commercial, and newly invented card games from all over the world. It has been described ...

{{Trick-taking card games Jass Dutch card games Year of introduction missing Jack-Nine games Four-player card games