Watten

How to play Watten

Watten is the roaring pub card game of Bavaria, Tyrol, Austria and South Tyrol — a four-player partnership trick game wrapped around a bluff. You and the player across the table are a team against two bots, and the aim of each hand is simply to win three of the five tricks. What makes Watten unique is that the trumps are chosen fresh every deal, and the two choices come from opposing teams. You can fill the table with friends online instead of bots.

Play Watten online with friends

Choose Play online to be matched with real opponents, or share a private invite link so your foursome can sit down together — all four seats in the browser, no account and no app. The server deals, tracks the stakes and keeps everyone in sync.

The cards

A 32-card pack (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7 in four suits — in the German game the Queen is the Ober and the Jack the Unter). Everyone is dealt five cards, in a packet of three and then a packet of two.

The Schlag and the Trumpf

Before play, the forehand (the player to the dealer's left) names a rank — the Schlag. Then the dealer names a suit — the Trumpf. Because forehand and dealer sit on opposite teams, each side gets to shape the trumps. The single card that is both the Schlag rank and the trump suit is the Hauptschlag, the best ordinary trump.

The three Criticals

Three cards are always the very highest trumps, no matter what is chosen — the famous Criticals, from high to low:

• Maxi — the King of Hearts
• Belli — the 7 of Diamonds (the Bells)
• Spitz — the 7 of Clubs (the Acorns)

Below the three Criticals comes the Hauptschlag, then the other three cards of the Schlag rank (the Blinde — all equal, so when two are played to a trick the first one played wins), then the rest of the trump suit (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7), and finally the plain cards, which can only win as the highest card of the suit that was led.

Playing and raising

The forehand leads to the first trick. There is no obligation to follow suit — you may play any card. The highest trump wins a trick, or, if no trump is played, the highest card of the led suit; the winner leads the next. A won hand is worth 2 points, but at any point a team may raise ("Go!") to 3, then 4, and so on. The other team either accepts (play continues for the higher stake) or folds, conceding the stake as it stood before the raise. The first team to 11 points wins.

Strategy

The Criticals are gold — a hand with two or three of them is close to unbeatable, and holding all three is a guaranteed three tricks (a "Maschine"). As forehand, name a Schlag you hold several of so the off-suit copies become strong Blinde; as dealer, choose the trump suit that hands your side the Hauptschlag. Raise when you are strong or to bluff a weak opponent into folding, and fold cheaply when a hand is hopeless rather than feed the other team a fat stake. Tap a card to play it; legal cards are highlighted, and the Schlag, Trumpf and current stake are shown above the table. N starts a new game.