Klammern
| Alternative names | Klappern, Klapperjazz, Klapperjass, Klapper Jas |
|---|---|
| Type | Klabberjass |
Klammern is an
Klapperjass may be over a century old as the word is recorded in an Alsatian dictionary in 1899 as a card game and as a children's word for a beating or spanking, from which verklapperjassen, "to beat at cards" or "to beat by cheating" , is derived. No rules are given.[2]
Rules
In Klammern, 4 players play in two teams of 4 using a 32-card
The aim of the game is to score as many points as possible.
Cards
Cards have the usual
- 7, 8, 9: 0 points
- Jack: 2 points
- Queen: 3 points
- King: 4 points
- Ten: 10 points
- Ace: 11 points
- Mie: 14 points
- Jappa: 20 points
The ranking of the cards in the trump suit in descending order is: Jappa (J) > Mie (9) > A > 10 > K > Q > 9 > 8 > 7. In the
Deal and trumps
The cards are always dealt in packets of 3-2-3. The middle of the dealer's last 3 cards is revealed as the proposed trump suit.[3]
If no player wants to play the suit of the upcard, the dealer takes the card back and forehand may then announce a "little one" (Kleines), which he can use to specify a trump suit, unless another player calls "better" (Besser). If no player announces "better", the player who announced "little one" may choose the trump suit. However, if a player has called "better" then Clubs is automatically trumps. If forehand does not have a trump suit that is worthwhile playing (i.e. too many low cards or too few cards in one suit), he can reject a "little one" and the next player is then asked. If all players reject a "little one", the cards are thrown in and the same dealer redeals.
Play
During the game it is mandatory to
It makes tactical sense to give your partner a high value card in order to get a higher total of points at the end.
First trick
Forehand opens and may play any card. It is now necessary for each player in turn to
The played trick cards remain face up until it is clear who has the highest meld.
A fifty is always higher than a Terz. If 2 or more players have a Terz, the highest Terz always wins. If someone has a Terz headed by the queen and someone else has a Terz up to the king, the latter wins. If 2 players have a Terz of equal value, for example both have a Terz up to the queen (10, J, Q), the one in the trump suit wins; if neither is in trumps the first meld wins (a variation that is not very common: the higher-ranking suit wins. The suit ranking in this case is: ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣) The precedence of Fifties is treated in the same way.
The winner with the highest meld must show it to everyone else along with any other melds held. The winner's partner can now also show melds if held. A Terz scores 20 bonus points and a fifty scores 50 bonus points. These points are added to the total points earned by the team for that deal.[3]
Once Terz and fifty melds have been decided, the opponents now have the option of announcing "
Terz and fifty must be announced before the second
Other melds and bonuses
In addition to the bonus points for melding Terzen and fifties, players may score further bonuses during subsequent play as follows:
- Bella
Bella or Belle is the king and queen of the trump suit. A player with this meld must announce "Bella" when discarding the first of the two cards (it doesn't matter which one). This scores 20 bonus points. Bella is not announced during the first trick. Moreover, the trump king and queen have no special value on their own; they are normal trump cards and do not have to be announced. If Bella is not announced when discarding the trump queen or trump king, the bonus points are forfeited.[3]
- Last trick.
Winning the last trick attracts a 10 point bonus.[3]
Example
Player A has a Terz (9, 10, jack), B has a Terz (7, 8, 9), C has 2 Terzen (2 × 8, 9, 10), and D has a Terz (Q, K, A). Thus, player D has the highest meld and B and D get the bonus for their team. In this case, B and D receive 40 points, since the two players have two Terzen between them. However, if D did not have a Terz, A and C would win and they score 60 points since the two players have three Terzen between them.
In every game there is Jappa, Mie and the last trick. These together score 44 points. In addition, there are 120 points for the rest of the pack making 164 in toto. Half of the maximum, excluding melds, is 82 points. If melds are announced (Terz, fifty, Bella, etc.), the so-called Beet (half of all possible points) increases by half the value of the melds. For example, a Terz increases the total by 10 points and a fifty by 25 points, resulting in a Beet of 92 or 107 points.
Scoring
There are "small games" and the "big games". The team that starts a game and then wins it and plays it themselves get a small point.
If the opposing team says "Contra", the winning team then receives 2 points.
If the opposing team played and lost, the game is worth 2 small points (with Contra: 4 points).
If there was a tie, i.e. both teams score e.g. 82 points without there having been a meld, the game counts as lost for the playing team. The playing team must always get one more point to win.
It takes 5 small points to earn a "big" point. If you win the small game 5:0, this is a Kalte and scores 2 big points.
If the big game is won, the next game starts again at 0:0, even if the previous game was won e.g. 6:3.
If a team has 4 points in the "small game", it is in the Laube (trees). This means the opposing team to play every subsequent game if possible.
Revoking
Following suit is mandatory. If a player
Matches
In order that a Klammer evening doesn't just consist of 2 or 3 games (Partien), a league format is usually used. This is how a full match (Liga-Partie) goes, e.g. up to 51 points. The points counted after an individual game are converted into "match points" (Augen). One match point is worth 10 game points (e.g. 50 game points= 5 match points; 110 game points= 11 match points). 5 game points are rounded up to the next highest multiple of 5 (e.g. 55 game points = 6 match points; 115 game points = 12 match points; 64 game points = 6 match points).
March
It is possible to win the match early. All that is required is a game without a “countertrick” (Gegenstich). A player confident of playing a game and taking every trick may announce this before the deal starts. This move is called a march (Klammer Jass or Durchmarsch). If the march is successful, that player wins the entire match. That's how it is possible to win a match outright, even if you are 50 game points behind.
However, if the opponent manages to take a trick, the match is also over and the player who attempted the march has lost. The match is won by the opponent with the most match points in the match at that point.
Rule variations
In the Hamburg area, the game is called Klabberjazz and is scored as follows: A player who plays the faced suit, i.e. the original trump, plays what is called an Orgi ("Original"). If all reject the upcard as trumps, a player playing in a different suit, plays a "little one". At the end of a deal the points are counted, but these are only evaluated from deal to deal. A game won is indicated by turning a die, which starts at "six". Each player or team (if there are four players) has a die. The player or team whose die comes back to “six” first wins the round. A successful Orgi scores 2 points to the player who played trumps. If the Orgi is lost, the opponents receive 4 points. If the "little one" is won, the player who declared trump gets 1 point. If the player loses his "little one", the opponents receive two points.
Example: Ben wins an Orgi that he played himself in the first deal of a round, so he may turn his die from six to two. Sue wins a "little one" in the first deal of a round, which she played herself, so she turns her die from six to one.
References
Literature
- ISBN 3-905219-96-4
- Martin, E. and Hans Lienhart (1899). Wörterbuch der elsässischen Mundarten. Strassburg: 1899.
External links
- Klabberjass - rules from Das Alte Landregion of North Germany.
- Klammern website
