Klaberjass
Encyclopedia
Klaberjass or Bela is a widespread international trick-taking card game that is most popular in Jewish
communities. In its basic form it is a 6-card trick-and-draw game for two players using a 32-card piquet pack.
As in other point-trick games of the King–Queen group, players can score points for the "marriage" (bela) of king and queen of trumps. The distinguishing feature of Klaberjass is that the jack (Yass) and nine (Menel) of trumps are elevated to the highest ranks and highest card point scores.
The game appears to originate from the Low Countries
or the Alsace
region. An early form was first described in an 1821 Dutch book under a name that translates as Jewish Jass, Jass being Dutch for Jack. Klaberjass has spawned the Jack–Nine
family of card games, which consists mostly of four-player elaborations of the original game. In addition to the Dutch and Swiss national card games Klaverjas
and Jass
, the group contains Belote
, which is the most popular game in countries such as France, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia.
, but with more weight given to trick-play than to melding. The game begins by one player undertaking to make more points than the opponent. If that player wins, both players will score their points, otherwise only the opponent will score. Both players' hands are then completed to 9 cards. In the melding phase, players get a chance to quickly make a substantial number of points, but will automatically provide information to the opponent if they try to make use of that. In trick-play the cards have very unequal point values. Whenever otherwise allowed by the normal trick-play rules, players are obliged to win a trick with a trump.
Each player receives 6 cards in batches of 3, and another card is turned up to determine the preferred trump suit. Now players in turn get the chance to take the deal, i.e. bet to make more points than the opponent, with the preferred trump suit. If both pass, they in turn may choose to take the deal with a freely chosen trump suit. If both players pass again, the deal is aborted and the other player deals. Once this phase is completed successfully, both players' hands are completed to 9 cards.
In addition to the initial turn-up card, a second card is turned face up to give further information. If the trump suit is as determined by the (first) turn-up card, a player who holds the seven of trumps (dix) may exchange it with the (first) turn-up card. This must be done before melding.
In the melding phase, one of the players may meld any number of sequences of 3 or 4 cards in suit for 20 or 50 points, respectively. (For melding purposes the natural order of cards is used, and in particular tens rank between nines and jacks.) The player who holds the longest, highest-ranking such sequence is allowed to meld. This player is determined by a protocol that minimizes the information given to the opponent.
The melding phase happens simultaneously with the first trick. Elder hand leads a card to the first trick, and optionally announces 20 or 50. Dealer responds with good to let this stand or with not good if he or she can top that. If necessary, dealer asks how many cards?, how high?, in trumps? until it is established whose meld is better. At the end of the first trick, the player who won the right to meld shows the cards of the winning combination and optionally another combination that will also be scored.
At this point each player knows the precise locations of 11 of the 32 cards (the player's own hand plus the two face-up cards) and may have gleaned additional information from the opponent's melding behaviour. The melding player has revealed additional information to the other player, and if a player exchanged the dix this has also given the opponent information.
Ranks and point values of cards are as shown in the table.
In trick-play, a player who cannot follow suit must trump if possible, and any trump lead must be overtrumped. A player who holds both king and queen of trumps may score 20 for the marriage (bela) when playing out the second of these cards. For this it is necessary to announce bela when playing out the first of these cards, and from the bela when playing the second. The winner of the last trick scores 10 points.
At the end of the deal, for each player any points accrued for melds, bela and last trick are added to the card points in tricks taken to make the player's combined points. However, for a player who has won no tricks at all, only marriages but not melds factor into the combined points.
If the player who took the deal has made more combined points than the opponent, both players simply score their combined points. In the opposite case the opponent scores the sum of the points made by both. In case of a tie, the player who took the deal scores only their own combined points and the opponent scores nothing.
The first player who has a total score of 500 points or more at the end of a deal wins the game.
All players play separately, and the player who takes the deal must win more than each of the other players, not more than both opponents combined. If a plain suit lead has been trumped by the second player and the third player is also cannot follow suit, then the third player is obliged to overtrump if possible or otherwise play a lower trump if possible.
Another common name is Klabrias. This truly international game originates from the Low Countries
and is particularly strong in Jewish communities.
(For an earlier form see the history of Jack–Nine card games.) It can be interpreted as a two-handed variant of Belote, and indeed three-handed Belote can be played in exactly the same way. Conversely, Tarbish, a game played in Nova Scotia, is a four-handed partnership game variant of this game. (Tarbish is played with 36 cards. This makes sense since in four-handed games it is normal to deal all cards, and thus the number of cards dealt to each player is the same as in the two-handed game.)
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
communities. In its basic form it is a 6-card trick-and-draw game for two players using a 32-card piquet pack.
As in other point-trick games of the King–Queen group, players can score points for the "marriage" (bela) of king and queen of trumps. The distinguishing feature of Klaberjass is that the jack (Yass) and nine (Menel) of trumps are elevated to the highest ranks and highest card point scores.
The game appears to originate from the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
or the Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
region. An early form was first described in an 1821 Dutch book under a name that translates as Jewish Jass, Jass being Dutch for Jack. Klaberjass has spawned the Jack–Nine
Jack–Nine card games
The Jack-Nine card games, also known as the Jass group, form a family of trick-taking games in which the jack and nine of the trump suit are the highest-ranking trumps, and the tens and aces of all suits are the next most valuable cards...
family of card games, which consists mostly of four-player elaborations of the original game. In addition to the Dutch and Swiss national card games Klaverjas
Klaverjas
Klaverjas, or Klaverjassen, is the Dutch name for a four player trick-taking card game using the piquet deck of playing cards. It is closely related to the Hungarian/Romanian card game klaberjass, also known as Kalabriasz, Klobiash, Clobiosh, and other similar spellings...
and Jass
Jass
Jass is a trick taking card game and a distinctive branch of the Marriage family, popularly supposed to be the progenitor of the American game of Pinochle...
, the group contains Belote
Belote
Belote is a 32-card trick-taking game played in France, and is currently one of the most popular card games in that country. It was invented around 1920, probably from Klaverjas, Klaverjassen, a game played since at least the 17th century in the Netherlands...
, which is the most popular game in countries such as France, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia.
Deck
The game is played with a French-suited Piquet deck, perhaps best known from the German game Skat. It consists of the ranks A 10 K Q J 9 8 7. In trumps, the jack (Yass) and the 9 (Menel) become the two highest ranking cards. So, trump is ranked J 9 A 10 K Q 8 7. The 7 of trumps (dix) also plays a special role.Game structure
The overall structure of the game is similar to that of PiquetPiquet
Piquet is an early 16th-century trick-taking card game for two players.- History :Piquet has long been regarded as one of the all-time great card games still being played. It was first mentioned on a written reference dating to 1535, in Gargantua and Pantagruel by Rabelais...
, but with more weight given to trick-play than to melding. The game begins by one player undertaking to make more points than the opponent. If that player wins, both players will score their points, otherwise only the opponent will score. Both players' hands are then completed to 9 cards. In the melding phase, players get a chance to quickly make a substantial number of points, but will automatically provide information to the opponent if they try to make use of that. In trick-play the cards have very unequal point values. Whenever otherwise allowed by the normal trick-play rules, players are obliged to win a trick with a trump.
Rules
| Trump suit |
Card points |
Other suits |
|---|---|---|
| J | 20 | |
| 9 | 14 | |
| A | 11 | A |
| 10 | 10 | 10 |
| K | 4 | K |
| Q | 3 | Q |
| 2 | J | |
| 0 | 9 | |
| 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 7 | 0 | 7 |
Each player receives 6 cards in batches of 3, and another card is turned up to determine the preferred trump suit. Now players in turn get the chance to take the deal, i.e. bet to make more points than the opponent, with the preferred trump suit. If both pass, they in turn may choose to take the deal with a freely chosen trump suit. If both players pass again, the deal is aborted and the other player deals. Once this phase is completed successfully, both players' hands are completed to 9 cards.
In addition to the initial turn-up card, a second card is turned face up to give further information. If the trump suit is as determined by the (first) turn-up card, a player who holds the seven of trumps (dix) may exchange it with the (first) turn-up card. This must be done before melding.
| Score | Meld |
|---|---|
| 50 | sequence of 4 or more in suit |
| 20 | sequence of 3 in suit |
The melding phase happens simultaneously with the first trick. Elder hand leads a card to the first trick, and optionally announces 20 or 50. Dealer responds with good to let this stand or with not good if he or she can top that. If necessary, dealer asks how many cards?, how high?, in trumps? until it is established whose meld is better. At the end of the first trick, the player who won the right to meld shows the cards of the winning combination and optionally another combination that will also be scored.
At this point each player knows the precise locations of 11 of the 32 cards (the player's own hand plus the two face-up cards) and may have gleaned additional information from the opponent's melding behaviour. The melding player has revealed additional information to the other player, and if a player exchanged the dix this has also given the opponent information.
Ranks and point values of cards are as shown in the table.
In trick-play, a player who cannot follow suit must trump if possible, and any trump lead must be overtrumped. A player who holds both king and queen of trumps may score 20 for the marriage (bela) when playing out the second of these cards. For this it is necessary to announce bela when playing out the first of these cards, and from the bela when playing the second. The winner of the last trick scores 10 points.
At the end of the deal, for each player any points accrued for melds, bela and last trick are added to the card points in tricks taken to make the player's combined points. However, for a player who has won no tricks at all, only marriages but not melds factor into the combined points.
If the player who took the deal has made more combined points than the opponent, both players simply score their combined points. In the opposite case the opponent scores the sum of the points made by both. In case of a tie, the player who took the deal scores only their own combined points and the opponent scores nothing.
The first player who has a total score of 500 points or more at the end of a deal wins the game.
Variations
- Instead of taking the game with the preferred trump suit or passing, elder hand may schmeiss (throw) the game. In this case the dealer cannot take the game, but may choose to force elder hand to take the game with the preferred trump suit.
- If both players make exactly the same number of combined points, then neither player scores. The total is added to the score of the winner of the next game.
- For the BavariaBavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n variant known as Zensa or Senserln, some additional melding combinations as in BeloteBeloteBelote is a 32-card trick-taking game played in France, and is currently one of the most popular card games in that country. It was invented around 1920, probably from Klaverjas, Klaverjassen, a game played since at least the 17th century in the Netherlands...
exist: A sequence of length 5 is worth 100 points, four jacks counts as 200 points, and four aces, four kings, four queens or four tens count as 100 points. - Under the bare Yass variation, a player who holds the jack of trumps but no further trumps is not obliged to trump a plain suit lead with it.
Three-handed play
Although this is not very common, the game can readily be adapted to three players. The following version was reported from Scotland.All players play separately, and the player who takes the deal must win more than each of the other players, not more than both opponents combined. If a plain suit lead has been trumped by the second player and the third player is also cannot follow suit, then the third player is obliged to overtrump if possible or otherwise play a lower trump if possible.
History and naming
According to David Parlett, this "popular and widespread two-hander has so many names, mostly variations on the same one, that it is hard to know which is best for universal recognition. Klaberjass is probably closest to the original." He lists the alternative names as "Clob, Clobby, Clobiosh, Klob, Kalabrisasz, Bela, Cinq Cents, Zensa". Other sources also list "Klabberjass, Senserln, Clobyosh, Kalabrias, Klab, Clabber, Clobber, Clubby".Another common name is Klabrias. This truly international game originates from the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
and is particularly strong in Jewish communities.
(For an earlier form see the history of Jack–Nine card games.) It can be interpreted as a two-handed variant of Belote, and indeed three-handed Belote can be played in exactly the same way. Conversely, Tarbish, a game played in Nova Scotia, is a four-handed partnership game variant of this game. (Tarbish is played with 36 cards. This makes sense since in four-handed games it is normal to deal all cards, and thus the number of cards dealt to each player is the same as in the two-handed game.)