Handjass

What You Need

• A 36-card Swiss Jass deck, or a standard deck with the 2s through 5s removed.
• A slate or paper to mark strokes and potatoes.

Setup

1. The dealer deals four hands of 9 cards. One hand goes to each player. Two spare hands stay face down.
2. One spare hand is the blind, which a player may swap for. The other is the stock.
3. Turn the top card of the stock face up. Its suit is trumps for this deal.
4. The deal alternates each hand.

Choosing to Play

The non-dealer speaks first and has three options. Play with the hand you hold, drop out, or take the blind. Taking the blind means you throw your 9 cards face down and pick up the blind unseen. Once you take it you must play.

Then the dealer chooses from the same three options, except that the dealer cannot take the blind if the non-dealer already took it.

After both have chosen, whoever holds the 6 of trumps may swap it for the face-up trump card on the stock.

If either player drops out, no cards are played. The other player scores a stroke.

Card Ranking

In the trump suit, from high to low, the order is Jack (Under), 9 (Nell), Ace, King, Queen (Ober), 10, 8, 7, 6. In the other three suits it is Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6.

Card points. Trump jack 20. Trump 9 is 14. Every ace is 11, every 10 is 10, king 4, queen 3, non-trump jack 2. Everything else is 0. The winner of the last trick adds 5.

Playing the Tricks

1. The non-dealer leads to the first trick. The winner of each trick leads to the next.
2. If a plain suit is led and you hold that suit, you must follow suit or play a trump.
3. If you cannot follow, play anything.
4. If a trump is led, you must play a trump if you have one. Exception: if the trump jack is your only trump, you may keep it.
5. If a plain suit was led and a trump has already been played, you may not play a lower trump unless your whole hand is trumps.
6. The highest trump wins the trick. With no trump in it, the highest card of the suit led wins.
7. Play all 9 tricks. Only 18 of the 36 cards are in play.

Declarations (Weis)

Announce your best combination as you play to the first trick.

• A run of 3 cards in one suit is 20 points. A run of 4 is 50. A run of 5 or more is 100.
• Four aces, kings, queens or 10s are 100 points. Four jacks are 200. Four 9s, 8s, 7s or 6s count nothing.
• Runs use the natural order, 6 up to ace, even in trumps.

If both players declare, compare the best single combination. Ties break by number of cards, then highest card, then trumps over a plain suit. The winner scores all their combinations. The loser scores none.

Stöck. The king and queen of trumps together are worth 20 points. Say "Stöck" as you play the second of the two.

Scoring

Each player adds card points from tricks, plus any Weis, plus Stöck, plus 5 for the last trick. One stroke is scored per deal.

• The player with more points scores a stroke, but only with 26 points or more.
• A player under 26 points scores a potato instead, a circle worth minus 1.

Winning

The first player to reach 7 strokes wins. Potatoes count minus 1 each against your strokes. Some tables play to 5 or 9 strokes.

Strategy Tips

• Play with 3 trumps that include the jack or the 9. Drop out with 1 trump and no aces.
• The blind is a bet on 9 unknown cards. Take it only when your dealt hand is hopeless.

Variations

• The original game needed only 21 points to avoid a potato.
• Bessern: instead of a blind, each player may swap 3 cards for 3 unknown cards, with no obligation to play afterwards.