Doppelkopf
for beginnersPut it next to your cards, take a quick look, keep playing.
What’s it about?
Who plays?
4 players, 48 cards. Every card exists twice, everyone gets 12.
The teams
Whoever holds a Queen of Clubs (an “Alte”) is Re. The others are Kontra. Who’s with whom stays secret at first!
The goal
Win tricks with lots of card points. Re needs 121 of 240, Kontra only 120.
You hold both Queens of Clubs? Announce a “Wedding” – the first player other than you to win a trick becomes your partner. Win the first three tricks yourself and you play alone.
Trumps high → low
26 trumps- 110♥DulleTen of Hearts
- 2Q♣AlteQueen of Clubs
- 3Q♠Queen of Spades
- 4Q♥Queen of Hearts
- 5Q♦Queen of Diamonds
- 6J♣CharlieJack of Clubs
- 7J♠Jack of Spades
- 8J♥Jack of Hearts
- 9J♦Jack of Diamonds
- 10A♦FoxAce of Diamonds
- 1110♦Ten of Diamonds
- 12K♦King of Diamonds
- 139♦Nine of Diamonds
Trump beats every plain suit. Two identical cards in one trick? The first one played wins – officially even with the Dullen. Many tables let the second Dulle win – agree on it beforehand.
Plain suits – everything that isn’t trump
♣ Clubs · 8 cards
♠ Spades · 8 cards
♥ Hearts · only 6 cards
Diamonds don’t exist as a plain suit – all Diamonds are trump. So is the Ten of Hearts, which is why Hearts run out fast and get trumped a lot.
Dullen, Queens, Jacks, then Diamonds – everything else is plain. And: follow suit if you can!
How a trick works
- The player left of the dealer leads, then play goes clockwise.
- You must follow suit: trump on trump, Spades on Spades (the Queen and Jack of Spades count as trump!).
- Can’t follow suit? Then you may trump or throw off any card.
- Whoever wins the trick leads next.
What’s it worth?
240 card points in total. Re wins from 121.
Game points for the winners
Winners add the points, losers subtract them.
Calls – fortune favours the bold
- “Re” / “Kontra” reveals your team. Worth +2 – to the opponents too if you lose.
- Only allowed while you still hold at least 11 cards.
- After that: “keine 90” (no 90), “keine 60” and so on, each +1. Miss it and the opponents win – those points included.
Bonus points (+1 each)
Pro tips for newcomers
- Lead your plain-suit Aces early – the first time round they usually get through.
- Playing a Queen of Clubs reveals your team. Watch closely!
- Your partner is winning the trick? Fatten it with points (Ace, Ten).
- Don’t give your Fox away for nothing.
Solos – one against three
AdvancedGot a monster hand? Play alone. Before the first lead everyone says “gesund” (all good) or “Vorbehalt” (reservation). Want a solo? Say “Vorbehalt”, then name it.
Queen solo
Only the 8 Queens are trump.
Every suit, Diamonds too: A › 10 › K › J › 9. The Ten of Hearts is just an ordinary Heart here.
Jack solo
Only the 8 Jacks are trump.
Every suit, Diamonds too: A › 10 › K › Q › 9. The Ten of Hearts is just an ordinary Heart here.
Suit solo
Clubs, Spades or Hearts becomes the trump suit instead of Diamonds. Diamonds turn into a plain suit.
Example: Clubs solo. Diamonds solo = same trumps as a normal game.
No-trump solo (Fleischloser)
No trumps at all – only the suits count.
Same in every suit – the Ten of Hearts is just a ten.
What’s different in a solo
- The soloist is Re and needs 121 card points.
- Game points count triple for the soloist – each opponent gets or pays them once.
- No bonus points: Fox, Charlie, Doppelkopf and “against the Alten” don’t count.
- A solo beats a Wedding.
- Silent wedding: both Queens of Clubs but said nothing? Then you’re secretly playing a Diamonds solo.
- Compulsory solo: under tournament rules everyone must play one solo per round and leads it themselves. At home, agree beforehand!