Jass Rules Explained: How to Play Schieber, Switzerland's Card Game
7 min read
Jass rules are something most Swiss people pick up at the kitchen table, yet visitors and newcomers often find the game baffling: the jack and the nine of trumps outrank the ace, and you may trump even when you could follow suit. This guide covers Schieber, by far the most widely played form of Jass. Four players, two teams, 36 cards and 157 points per round.
Cards and players
Jass uses 36 cards, nine in each suit. German-speaking central and eastern Switzerland plays with Swiss-German suits; western Switzerland and the French-speaking cantons use French suits.
| Swiss-German suit | French-suit equivalent |
|---|---|
| Eicheln (acorns) | Clubs |
| Schellen (bells) | Diamonds |
| Schilten (shields) | Spades |
| Rosen (roses) | Hearts |
The ranks are ace, king, Ober, Under, Banner, 9, 8, 7 and 6. In a French-suited pack the Ober is the queen, the Under the jack and the Banner the ten. This guide uses the French-suit names from here on.
Four players form two teams, with partners sitting opposite each other. Dealing and play run anticlockwise. Each player receives 9 cards, dealt in batches of three.
Choosing trump or passing (“schieben”)
The player to the dealer’s right, called forehand, looks at their hand and names the contract. If nothing suits, they may pass the decision to their partner. That is the schieben which gives the game its name. The partner must then choose and cannot pass back. The options are:
- one of the four suits as trump
- Obenabe (“tops down”): no trump, ace high
- Undenufe (“bottoms up”): no trump, six high
Whoever makes the call, forehand leads to the first trick.
Jass rules for card values: trump vs non-trump
In the trump suit both the ranking and the points change. The jack of trumps is the Buur (also Bauer or Puur), the strongest card in the game. The nine of trumps, the Nell, comes second.
| Card | Trump suit | Other suits |
|---|---|---|
| Jack | 20 (Buur) | 2 |
| Nine | 14 (Nell) | 0 |
| Ace | 11 | 11 |
| Ten | 10 | 10 |
| King | 4 | 4 |
| Queen | 3 | 3 |
| 8, 7, 6 | 0 | 0 |
Trick-taking order in trumps: jack, nine, ace, king, queen, ten, 8, 7, 6. In the other suits it is ace, king, queen, jack, ten, 9, 8, 7, 6. Note that the ten is worth 10 points but ranks below the picture cards.
The last trick earns 5 extra points, so every round contains exactly 157 points. A team that takes all nine tricks scores a match, worth a 100-point bonus for 257 in total.
In Obenabe and Undenufe there is no Buur or Nell. To keep the total at 157, each eight counts 8 points. In Undenufe the trick order is reversed, and under the commonly played rule the six is worth 11 and the ace 0.
Following suit and the trump exceptions
As in most trick-taking games, you must follow the suit led if you can. Jass adds three twists:
- You may always trump. Even when you hold the suit led, you are allowed to play a trump instead.
- No undertrumping. If a trump has already been played to the trick, you may not play a lower trump, unless trumps are the only cards left in your hand.
- The Buur never has to follow. When trumps are led and the jack is your only trump, you may hold it back and play any other card.
If you cannot follow suit, play any card or trump in. The highest trump wins the trick; with no trump in it, the highest card of the suit led wins. The winner leads next.
Weis (melds) and Stöck
A Weis is a meld that you declare as you play your first card:
| Meld | Points |
|---|---|
| Three cards in sequence, same suit | 20 |
| Four in sequence | 50 |
| Five in sequence | 100 |
| Four aces, kings, queens or tens | 100 |
| Four nines | 150 |
| Four jacks | 200 |
Only the team holding the single best meld scores, but it scores all of its melds. Equal melds are decided by the higher top card, then by a meld in trumps.
Stöck is the king and queen of trumps in one hand. It is worth 20 points, declared when the second of the two cards is played, and it cannot be beaten by the other side.
Scoring to 1,000 or 2,500
With plain scoring, a game usually goes to 1,000 points. Many groups multiply certain contracts, for example two of the suits double (Schellen and Schilten with Swiss-German cards) and Obenabe and Undenufe triple, and then play to 2,500. The multiplier applies to tricks, melds and Stöck alike. Agree the variant before the first deal, along with the order in which points count if both teams could reach the target in the same round (commonly Stöck, then Weis, then tricks).
Playing Jass online
Jass is hugely popular online in Switzerland, and plenty of apps and websites let you play for free against the computer or other people. That is a good way to learn. The software refuses illegal cards and does the counting for you.
Jass compared with casino card games
In Jass you play against other people and there is no bank. The 157 points are always shared out in full between the two teams. Luck of the deal decides a single round, but over an evening the better card counters, partners and bidders come out ahead.
Blackjack and baccarat are different. You play against the house, and the rules contain a fixed house edge that even perfect play does not overturn. You can see how that feels in our free table games. Poker sits in between: skill matters, but a casino takes a fee from the pot. See the poker rules guide for more.
FAQ
How many points are there in a round of Schieber? 157: 152 in the cards plus 5 for the last trick. A match makes it 257, and melds and Stöck come on top.
What happens when my partner passes to me? You have to choose the contract. Passing back is not allowed under the usual Schieber rules.
Can I trump even though I hold the suit led? Yes, that is a peculiarity of Jass. You just may not undertrump while you still hold other cards.