Klaverjas for beginners

What do you need?

• Four players, in two teams of two. Your partner sits opposite you.
• A deck of 32 cards: the 7 up to the ace of each suit. Take the 2 to 6 out of a normal deck.
• Pen and paper to keep score, such as our score sheet.

A round in five steps

1. Deal: everyone gets eight cards.
2. Choose trump: one suit becomes trump and beats all other suits. The team that chooses trump plays and must score the most points.
3. Lead: the player left of the dealer plays the first card.
4. Play tricks: in turn everyone plays a card. The highest card wins the trick, and the winner leads again. You play eight tricks.
5. Count: each team counts the points in its tricks. If the playing team didn't score more than the opponents, it goes wet.

A full game is called a boom and lasts 16 rounds. The team with the most points wins.

The three rules to remember

1. Follow suit: if you have the suit that was led, you must play it.
2. Trump: if you don't have it, you must trump if you can, and higher than a trump already played.
3. In trumps the jack is boss: the order is jack, 9, ace, 10, king, queen, 8, 7. In the other suits the ace is highest.

You'll pick up the rest as you go. All the details are in the rules.

Common beginner mistakes

• Underestimating the nine of trumps. In trumps the 9 is the second-highest card and worth 14 points.
• Giving away roem. If your card completes a run or a stuk in a trick the opponents win, they get that roem.
• Forgetting that a tie means wet. The playing team really has to score more.
• Playing too eagerly with a weak hand. With few trumps and no aces, passing is often smarter.

Practise without four players

No klaverjas club nearby? In the Klaverjas Club app you play with a computer partner against two computer players, or online with friends. Eleven short lessons teach you the game step by step, and on Beginner the computer takes it easy.