Doppelkopf: game rules
Doppelkopf
🃏 Goal: A four-player trick game with a doubled deck: two hidden parties (Re and Kontra) play against each other.
🤝 How it works: Whoever holds a queen of clubs belongs to the Re party, the others are Kontra. A player holding both declares a Hochzeit: their partner is the first other player to win a trick within the first three tricks – if nobody does, they play alone. Players lead in turn, and suit must be followed. Trumps are the ten of hearts (the Dulle, the highest trump), then queens, jacks and diamonds. Who is on which side becomes clear only during play.
🏆 Winner: Re wins with at least 121 of the 240 card points, Kontra with just 120. If only Kontra has announced, 120 are enough for Re too. After an Absage the announced target applies.
🎭 Solos: In the Vorbehalt step anyone can declare a solo: queens, jacks, a suit solo or Fleischlos. The solo player plays alone against the other three; the result counts threefold for them and there are no special points. A solo outranks a Hochzeit. Whoever holds both queens of clubs may also declare "gesund" and then plays a silent Hochzeit: alone against three who do not know it, scored like a solo.
🗣 Announcements: Re or Kontra can be announced by anyone still holding at least 11 cards. Every Absage needs one card fewer: “no 90” with 10, “no 60” with 9, “no 30” with 8, “black” with 7. Without nines it is two cards fewer each time, and after a Hochzeit that was settled late correspondingly later. You may still answer the other side's last announcement or Absage with Re or Kontra as long as you hold at most one card fewer than it required.
Settings & scoring
📣 Scoring: A won game counts 1 point, plus 1 each for playing the others “no 90”, “no 60”, “no 30” and “black”. An announced Re and an announced Kontra give the winner 2 points each, every Absage (“no 90” to “black”) 1 more – a party that misses what it announced loses. Special points in the normal game: Doppelkopf (a trick of 40 or more card points), Fuchs caught, Karlchen (the jack of clubs wins the last trick) and Against the Elders.
🔁 Match: The host sets how long a match is: one game, a number of rounds, or up to a point target. In a round everyone deals once. Once the point target is reached, the round is played to its end; whoever then has the most points wins. Length: one game, one to three rounds or a target of 10, 20 or 30 points. Presets: “Official rules” (default, after the tournament rules) or “Pub Doppelkopf” (second Dulle, piglets, throwing in, bock rounds, match to 20 points). Between games you see the result and the standings for 20 seconds; after the last game for 10 seconds, then the final standings follow.
🍺 House rules: The host can switch on house rules: second Dulle beats the first, Schweinchen, Armut, Schmeißen, Fuchs am End, catching the Karlchen, Bockrunde and Pflichtsolo – or play without nines. What applies is shown behind the gear icon.
- Second Dulle beats the first – if both ten of hearts fall in one trick, the second wins.
- Piglets – whoever holds both aces of diamonds has the two highest trumps; the others find out when the first one is played.
- Poverty – with three trumps or fewer you can declare poverty. If someone takes you along, they get your trumps, give back as many cards and play as your partner; if nobody does, the cards are dealt again.
- Throwing in – with five or more nines you may throw your hand in; the cards are dealt again and the game does not count.
- Fox at the end and catching Charlie – two more extra points: an ace of diamonds takes the last trick, or a jack of clubs of the other side is beaten in the last trick.
- Bock round – after a trick of four hearts, a 120 : 120 or a lost game with an announcement, a whole round counts double.
- Compulsory solo – everyone plays one solo in the match. Whoever has not played one by the last round must declare it in the game in which they lead. The standings show who still owes a solo; the final standings name who never played theirs. Only for a match over rounds.
🪑 Good to know: With five players the dealer sits out. The first dealer is drawn by lot, then the deal moves one seat on with every game; after a compulsory solo the same dealer deals again. Everyone declares their reservation at the same time. At the table an announcement marks only the player who made it – their partner stays hidden; with a wedding you see who declared it and, once known, the partner too.
🚪 If someone who is playing leaves the table, the current game ends at once and is not scored. In a match of several games the next one is then dealt to the others; a single game ends on the final standings. If fewer players remain than the game needs, the match is called off – games already scored stay in the statistics and the game history.
⚙ Which rules apply is shown to everyone behind the cog – in the lobby and in the game. The “?” next to the game's name shows the block “At this table” above it: preset, match length and every rule that differs from the rulebook. Matches with house rules carry the note “House rules” in the game history.