Schafkopf

How to play Schafkopf

Schafkopf is a trick-taking game. Four players get eight cards each and play clockwise. In every hand one player, or a pair, is the playing party and needs at least 61 of the 120 card points. The defenders win with 60.

• Starting left of the dealer, each player says "weiter" (pass) or names a game: Sauspiel, Wenz, Farbsolo, Wenz Tout or Solo Tout. The highest game is played.
• In a Sauspiel you and the holder of the Ace you called are partners. In every other game you play alone against three.
• The player left of the dealer leads. You must follow the led suit, or play a trump if trumps were led. If you can't, play any card.
• The highest trump wins the trick, otherwise the highest card of the led suit. The winner leads next.
• After eight tricks the card points are counted and the hand is paid out using the tariff.

The Bavarian deck and Schafkopf card points

Schafkopf uses the Bavarian German-suited deck: Eichel (acorns), Gras (leaves, also Laub or Blatt), Herz (hearts) and Schellen (bells). Each suit runs 7, 8, 9, 10, Unter, Ober, König and Sau, the Ace (also called Daus). The name Sau, sow, comes from the pig printed on old Bavarian Aces.

Our game draws this deck as crisp vector cards, and a toggle switches to French suits: Eichel becomes clubs, Gras spades, Herz hearts and Schellen diamonds, with the Unter shown as a Jack and the Ober as a Queen. Card points are the same as in Skat: Sau 11, Ten 10, König 4, Ober 3, Unter 2, and nothing for the 9, 8 and 7.

Schafkopf trumps: Ober, Unter and Herz

In a Sauspiel there are fourteen trumps: the four Ober, then the four Unter, then the Herz Sau, 10, König, 9, 8 and 7. Among Ober and Unter the order is always Eichel, Gras, Herz, Schellen, so the Eichel Ober, der Alte, is the highest card in the game.

The other three suits keep only six cards each: Sau, 10, König, 9, 8, 7. Remember that an Ober or Unter is a trump, not a card of its printed suit. If Gras is led and your only Gras card is the Gras Ober, you cannot follow suit with it.

Bidding in Schafkopf: weiter or a game

From lowest to highest the games are Sauspiel (Rufspiel), Wenz, Farbsolo, Wenz Tout and Solo Tout. A later player must name a higher game than the one already on the table. On equal games the earlier seat has priority, so if someone after you names a higher game, you may answer by matching it and keep the game.

Sauspiel (Rufspiel): calling an Ace

The Sauspiel, also called Rufspiel, is the everyday game. You call the Sau of Eichel, Gras or Schellen, never Herz, because Herz is trump. You must hold at least one card of the called suit (Ober and Unter don't count) and must not hold that Ace yourself. Whoever has it is your partner, but nobody says so: the partnership shows during play.

• When the called suit is led, the partner must play the called Ace.
• The partner may lead the called suit without the Ace only with four or more cards of it. This is davonlaufen, running away.
• The called Ace cannot be thrown away on another suit before the last trick.

Wenz and Farbsolo

In a Wenz only the four Unter are trumps. The Ober drop back into their suits, which now rank Sau, 10, König, Ober, 9, 8, 7, Herz included. You play alone against three.

In a Farbsolo you choose the trump suit: Eichel, Gras, Herz or Schellen. Ober and Unter stay on top, followed by your chosen suit, fourteen trumps in all. In an Eichel Solo, Herz becomes a plain suit. Alone against three, you want plenty of trumps and ideally some Ober.

Tout and Sie

Tout (said "too") is a promise to take every trick, as a Wenz Tout or Solo Tout. It outranks the plain solos and pays double, but it is lost as soon as the defenders win one trick.

A Sie is all four Ober and all four Unter in one hand. That player wins at once without playing, and a Sie pays double a Tout.

Schafkopf scoring: Laufende, Schneider, Schwarz and the tariff

Each game has a tariff. The default is 10/50: a Sauspiel is worth 10, a Wenz or Farbsolo 50. You can also pick 5/20, 20/50 or 50/100. These are score list points, not money. Extras each add one basic tariff (10 at the default):

• Laufende: unbroken top trumps of the playing party, held (mit) or missing (ohne), counted from three, or from two in a Wenz.
• Schneider: the losing side has 30 card points or fewer.
• Schwarz: the losing side took no trick.
• Example: a Sauspiel won with 3 Laufende and Schneider is 10 + 30 + 10 = 50, paid by each loser to a winner.
• Example: a Wenz won with the Eichel and Gras Unter, but not the Herz Unter, is 50 + 20 = 70 from each of the three opponents.

Ramsch in Schafkopf

If everyone says weiter and the Ramsch option is on, a Ramsch is played; otherwise the cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals. Everyone plays alone with the normal trumps, and the player with the most card points pays each of the others. A Jungfrau, a player who took no trick, doubles the payment, and a Durchmarsch, taking every trick, wins like a Solo.

Schafkopf against the computer: Easy, Normal and Hard

Easy is relaxed and good for learning. Normal plays steady, sensible Schafkopf. Hard tracks every card played and which suits each player is out of, simulates the hands others could hold and looks ahead to the end of the hand; its bidding is based on simulating the hand too.

Your hand is sorted with trumps first and legal cards are highlighted. You can review the last trick, follow a running score list and see a game value breakdown after each hand. Choose relaxed, normal or fast speed, a match of 16, 32 or 48 games, and your tariff. Local matches are saved in the browser, so you can close the tab and resume later.

Play Schafkopf online with friends

Open a room and share the six-character code or link, with a WhatsApp button built in, and friends join from their own phones. Computers fill empty seats and take over if a friend's connection drops. Quick match finds strangers to play with, and the table has chat with emoji, quick phrases and optional voice chat. An optional PlayNest account syncs your stats and unlocks achievements and the most wins leaderboard.

Schafkopf controls

Click a card to play it. On touch screens the first tap lifts the card and the second plays it. Bidding uses big buttons. On a keyboard, Tab and Enter choose and play cards, Esc opens the menu and L shows the last trick.

Schafkopf strategy and tips for beginners

• Call a Sauspiel with two or more Ober or Unter, some Herz, and only one or two cards of the called suit, so your partner's Ace can win that trick.
• Count trumps: fourteen in a normal game, four in a Wenz. Once they are gone, your Aces are safe.
• When your partner is winning a trick, add a Sau or Ten from a side suit. This is called schmieren.
• As the caller, lead trumps early to draw the defenders' trumps.
• Play a Farbsolo with six or more trumps, ideally two Ober, and a Wenz with at least two Unter and a long suit.
• When you are losing, fight for 31 points: escaping Schneider saves a whole tariff.

Regional Schafkopf rules not in this version

Schafkopf changes from village to village. Hochzeit, Geier, Farbwenz and Bettel, and doubling with Kontra (Stoß), Re or Klopfen, are popular regional extras that are not in our version, which plays the core games: Sauspiel, Wenz, Farbsolo, Tout, Sie and Ramsch.

Schafkopf vs Skat (and Sheepshead)

Schafkopf and Skat share the same 32 cards and card points. Schafkopf has four players with eight cards each, Ober and Unter as top trumps, and a 2 against 2 Sauspiel with a hidden partner. Skat has three players with ten cards each and two in the Skat, the declarer always plays alone, only the Jacks (Unter) are fixed trumps, and bids are numbers like 18, 20 and 22. You can [play Skat online](/game/skat) on PlayNest too.

Sheepshead is the American descendant of Schafkopf, brought by German immigrants and still loved in Wisconsin. It is a related but different game, usually played with French cards and often by five players with a blind.

History of Schafkopf

Schafkopf has been played in German-speaking lands since at least the late 18th century and is now part of everyday life in Bavaria, from pubs to club tournaments. The origin of the name is uncertain: one story links it to the Schaff, a tub whose lid served as a table; another to chalked scores that formed a sheep's head. Skat grew out of older games, among them a form of Schafkopf, in Altenburg in the early 19th century.

Auf Deutsch: Schafkopf online kostenlos spielen

Hier kannst du Schafkopf online kostenlos spielen, direkt im Browser auf Handy, Tablet oder PC, ohne Download und ohne Anmeldung. Gespielt wird mit dem bayerischen Blatt oder auf Wunsch mit französischen Karten. Du spielst Sauspiel, Wenz, Farbsolo und Tout gegen drei Computergegner in drei Stärken oder mit Freunden über einen Raumcode. Laufende, Schneider und Schwarz werden nach dem gewählten Tarif automatisch abgerechnet, und wenn alle weiter sagen, kann ein Ramsch gespielt werden.