Doppelkopf – Rules
Play Doppelkopf against the computer
1. Overview
Doppelkopf (“Doko”) is a trick-taking game for four in which every card appears twice. Whoever holds a queen of clubs plays for the Re team, the other two for the Kontra team – but at the start nobody knows who their partner is. That only becomes clear during play.
| Players | 4 (with five, the dealer sits out each deal) |
| Duration | one game about 5 minutes, 24 games about 2 hours |
| Age | 12 and up |
| Difficulty | medium to demanding – above all you need to learn the trump order |
2. Goal
Take more card points with your team than the opponents – Re needs at least 121, Kontra at least 120 of the 240 points.
3. What you need
- Doppelkopf deck with 48 cards: two each of 9, 10, jack, queen, king, ace in clubs ♣, spades ♠, hearts ♥ and diamonds ♦. Every card exists twice.
- Pen and paper for the game points.
4. Setup
- Draw for the first dealer. After each game, the player to the left deals.
- Shuffle and cut: The player to the right cuts.
- Deal: Clockwise, starting left of the dealer, four rounds of 3 cards. Everyone has 12 cards.
- Ask for reservations: In turn, each says “healthy” (normal game) or “reservation” (they want to play a marriage or a solo). A solo beats a marriage.
- Teams: In a normal game you are Re if you hold a queen of clubs, otherwise Kontra. Don't say it – the others should find out first.
- The player to the dealer's left leads to the first trick.
5. Card values
Card points (counted at the end):
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace | 11 |
| 10 | 10 |
| King | 4 |
| Queen | 3 |
| Jack | 2 |
| 9 | 0 |
The deck holds 240 card points in total.
Trumps in a normal game (high → low) – 26 cards in total:
| Rank | Cards |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10 of hearts (“Dulle”) |
| 2–5 | queen of clubs, queen of spades, queen of hearts, queen of diamonds |
| 6–9 | jack of clubs, jack of spades, jack of hearts, jack of diamonds |
| 10–13 | ace of diamonds (“fox”), 10 of diamonds, king of diamonds, 9 of diamonds |
Plain suits (no trumps): clubs and spades each ace, 10, king, 9 – hearts only ace, king, 9 (the 10 of hearts is a trump).
Two identical cards in the same trick: the one played first wins.
6. How to play
A trick – step by step
Everyone plays one card in turn, clockwise. What you may do:
| Situation | What you must or may do |
|---|---|
| You lead | Play any card. |
| A trump was led | You must play a trump if you have one (queens, jacks, diamonds and the 10 of hearts too). |
| A plain suit was led | You must follow that suit. Queens, jacks and the 10 of hearts don't count as part of it! |
| You can't follow | You may trump or discard any card. |
The trick goes to the highest trump, otherwise to the highest card of the suit led. The winner takes the four cards and leads to the next trick. After 12 tricks each team counts its card points.
Finding your partner
- Whoever plays a queen of clubs is Re.
- Or they announce it: “Re” or “Kontra” may be said as long as you still hold at least 11 cards. This reveals your team and gives the winning team 2 extra points.
Further announcements (for advanced players)
After “Re” or “Kontra” the team may promise that the opponents stay below a limit: “no 90” (up to 10 cards), “no 60” (up to 9), “no 30” (up to 8), “schwarz” (up to 7). If they fail, they lose – even with more card points.
Marriage
Whoever holds both queens of clubs may announce “marriage”. The partner is the first other player to win a trick – at the latest in the third trick. Otherwise the marriage holder plays alone.
Solo
One player plays alone against three and changes the trumps:
| Solo | Trumps |
|---|---|
| Suit solo | Dulle, queens, jacks, then the chosen suit instead of diamonds |
| Queen solo | only the 8 queens |
| Jack solo | only the 8 jacks |
| Fleischlos (meatless) | no trumps |
7. Key terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Re / Kontra | The team with the queens of clubs / the other team – and the announcement for it |
| The old ones | The two queens of clubs |
| Dulle | 10 of hearts, the highest trump |
| Fox | Ace of diamonds |
| Charlie | Jack of clubs |
| Plain suit | Clubs, spades and hearts without queens, jacks and the 10 of hearts |
| Following suit | Playing the suit (or trump) that was led |
| Smearing | Giving your partner many points in a trick they will surely win |
| Announcement | A promise like “no 90” – the opponents stay below it |
| Doppelkopf | A trick worth at least 40 card points |
8. End of the game & scoring
After 12 tricks both teams count their card points. Re wins with 121, Kontra with 120 – so at 120 : 120 Kontra wins.
The winners get game points:
| Event | Points |
|---|---|
| Game won | 1 |
| Losers under 90 card points (“no 90”) | +1 |
| Losers under 60 | +1 |
| Losers under 30 | +1 |
| Losers without a trick (“schwarz”) | +1 |
| Kontra wins against “the old ones” | +1 |
| “Re” or “Kontra” announced | +2 each |
| Each further announcement | +1 each |
Extra points (only in a normal game and a marriage) – go to the team that earns them, even if it loses:
| Extra point | When | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Fox caught | An opponent's ace of diamonds ends up in your trick | +1 |
| Doppelkopf | Your trick is worth at least 40 card points | +1 |
| Charlie | A jack of clubs wins the last trick | +1 |
Writing it down: each winner adds the result, each loser subtracts it. A soloist wins or loses three times the amount, each opponent once. Play an agreed number of games; the highest total wins.
9. Special cases
What happens at 120 to 120?
Kontra wins, because Re needs at least 121 card points. Exception: if only Kontra was announced (and not Re), Kontra needs 121.
How do I know who my partner is?
At first you don't. Only a queen of clubs played or an announcement (“Re”, “Kontra”) reveals the teams.
Are diamonds a normal suit?
No. In a normal game all diamonds are trumps. Leading a diamond means leading a trump.
Both Dullen in the same trick – which one wins?
The one played first (tournament rule). Many groups play “the second beats the first” (section 10).
What if nobody else wins a trick in a marriage?
If the marriage holder wins the first three tricks themselves, they play alone against three (like a solo).
What is a “silent marriage”?
Whoever holds both queens of clubs and says nothing plays alone in secret. It counts like a solo.
What about mistakes?
Failing to follow suit when you could loses the game for your team. A late announcement doesn't count. If a card is exposed while dealing, the cards are redealt.
Can you play with three?
No, Doppelkopf needs four active players.
10. Variants & house rules
The rules above are the tournament rules of the German Doppelkopf Association (with nines). These variants are often agreed beforehand:
| Variant | What changes |
|---|---|
| Without nines | 40 cards, everyone gets 10. All announcement deadlines are two cards earlier. |
| Second Dulle beats the first | If both 10s of hearts are in a trick, the second one wins (often except in the last trick). |
| Piglets | Whoever holds both aces of diamonds makes them the highest trumps. |
| Poverty | Whoever has three trumps or fewer passes them to another player, who becomes their partner. |
| Throwing in | With a very bad hand (e.g. five nines) the cards may be redealt. |
| Bock rounds | After certain events, a round counts double. |
| Compulsory solo | In tournaments everyone must play one solo per round. |
When playing against the computer on cardgames.zone you can choose “Tournament rules (with nines)”, “Without nines” and “With piglets”.
11. Example round
You can also follow this round in the picture series “A first round”.
Starting position. Player 4 deals, everyone says “healthy”. Player 1 sits to Player 4's left and leads. His 12 cards: 10 of hearts, queen of clubs, queen of hearts, jack of clubs, jack of diamonds, ace of diamonds, king of diamonds, 9 of diamonds (these are 8 trumps), plus ace of clubs, 10 of clubs, ace of spades, king of hearts. He holds a queen of clubs → Player 1 is Re. Someone else holds the second queen of clubs – that's his partner.
- Trick 1. Player 1 leads the ace of clubs. Players 2, 3 and 4 follow with clubs (9, king, 9). The ace is the highest club – 15 points for Player 1.
- Trick 2. Player 1 leads the ace of spades. Player 2 (10 of spades) and Player 3 (9 of spades) follow. Player 4 has no spades left and trumps with the jack of diamonds – any trump beats a plain suit. 23 points for Player 4.
- Trick 3. Player 4 leads the ace of diamonds – diamonds are trumps, so everyone must play a trump. Player 1 plays the king of diamonds, Player 2 the jack of hearts. Player 3 plays the queen of clubs – now it's clear: Player 3 is Player 1's partner! He wins the trick, and since the ace of diamonds came from Player 4 (Kontra), Re has caught a fox (+1 extra point).
- Trick 4. Player 3 leads the 10 of diamonds. Player 4 plays the queen of spades, but Player 1 has the Dulle (10 of hearts) – the highest trump. Player 2 plays the 9 of diamonds. 23 points for Player 1.
- The rest and scoring. After 12 tricks Players 1 and 3 have 158 card points, Players 2 and 4 have 82. Re has more than 121 → won. Points: won 1 + Kontra under 90 (“no 90”) 1 + fox caught 1 = 3. Players 1 and 3 each score +3, Players 2 and 4 −3 each.
12. Common mistakes
- Treating diamonds as a plain suit. All diamonds are trumps.
- Thinking the 10 of hearts is a heart. It's the highest trump. If hearts are led, you may not follow with it.
- Following a suit with a queen or jack. Queens and jacks are always trumps, never clubs, spades or hearts.
- Giving away foxes. Don't play your ace of diamonds into a trick the opponents can win.
- Announcing Re/Kontra too late. Once you have fewer than 11 cards, it's too late.
- Holding on to aces too long. With so many trumps, plain suits are quickly trumped – play your aces early.
Origin & history
Developed in the 19th century from Schafkopf with a double deck ('Doppel-Schafkopf'), mainly widespread in northern Germany. The German Doppelkopf Association, founded in 1982, sets binding tournament rules; private groups have very many house rules.