Jass (Schieber)

How to play Jass (Schieber)

Jass is the national card game of Switzerland, and Schieber is its most popular form — a partnership trick game whose name comes from schieben, "to shove", because you can shove the trump decision to your partner. You (p0) partner the player across the table; the other two are your opponents. You play against three bots, racing to 1500 — or head online to fill the table with real people.

Play Jass online with friends

Choose Play online to be matched with other players in real time, or share a private invite link and gather three friends for a full partnership game. It runs right in your browser — no account and no app. The server deals the cards, tracks the Weis and the trump, and keeps all four seats in sync.

The cards

A 36-card pack — 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace in four suits (shown here with French suits) — dealt nine to each player. What a card is worth depends on the contract.

Choosing the contract

The forehand picks one of six contracts, or shoves (Schiebe) to make the partner choose. The choices are: any of the four suits as trump; Obenabe (tops-down, no trump, Ace high); or Undenufe (bottoms-up, no trump, the Six high). Every score that hand is multiplied by the contract factor: the two cheaper suits ×1, the two dearer suits ×2, Obenabe ×3, Undenufe ×4.

Card values

• Trump suit: the Jack (the Buur) is highest, worth 20; the 9 (the Nell) is second, worth 14; then Ace 11, Ten 10, King 4, Queen 3, the rest 0.
• Plain suits: Ace 11, Ten 10, King 4, Queen 3, Jack 2, the rest 0.
• Obenabe / Undenufe: no trump; the 11 moves from the Ace to the Six, and every 8 is worth 8. There are 152 points in the cards, plus 5 for the last trick.

Playing & the special rules

You must follow the led suit if you can — but you may always play a trump instead. You may not under-trump (play a trump lower than one already in the trick) unless your hand is all trumps, and the Buur is never forced when trump is led. The highest trump wins; with no trump, the highest card of the led suit.

Weis & Stöck

Weis are melds you hold: a run of three scores 20, four scores 50, five or more 100; four of a kind scores 100, except four Nells 150 and four Buurs 200. Only the team with the single best Weis scores — and they score all of theirs. Stöck — the King and Queen of trump in one hand — is worth 20. Take all nine tricks for a Match (+100). The first team to 1500 wins. Tap a card to play it; legal cards are highlighted. N starts a new game.