Doppelkopf – Without nines

Player: 4 active (often 5 at the table: the dealer sits out) · Cards: 2 × French deck 9–A (or 2 × Doppelkopf deck), 48 (variant without nines: 40) · Type: Trick-taking game (hidden partnerships)

Play Doppelkopf against the computer

Objective

Collect more card points than the opponents with your own (initially unknown) party: Re ≥121, Kontra ≥120.

Equipment & setup

All nines are removed from the Doppelkopf deck. Each player gets 10 cards. Reservations (solo, wedding) as in the basic form.

Card ranking & card values

Card points as in the basic form (240 in total). Trump in the normal game (high→low): 10 of Hearts (Dulle), Queen of Clubs, Queen of Spades, Queen of Hearts, Queen of Diamonds, Jack of Clubs, Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds, Ace of Diamonds, 10 of Diamonds, King of Diamonds. Side suits: A, 10, K (Hearts: A, K).

Gameplay

1) The player left of the dealer leads; play is clockwise.

2) Follow suit (trump counts as its own 'suit'); whoever cannot follow may trump or discard.

3) Of two identical cards, the one played first wins (exception Dullen: depending on the rule, the second beats the first, often except in the last trick).

4) Announcements: 'Re' or 'Kontra' until the 2nd card is played (with 12 cards: as long as you still have ≥11 cards); after that the declarations 'no 90', 'no 60', 'no 30', 'schwarz', each one card later.

Special rules & special cards

Wedding: whoever has both Queens of Clubs can announce a wedding – whoever takes the first (foreign) trick becomes the partner. Silent wedding = hidden solo. Solos: Queens, Jacks, suit, 'fleshless' solo (no trump) – the soloist plays alone against three.

Scoring & points

Game points (DDV): won 1; no 90/60/30/schwarz +1 each; 'against the old ones' (Kontra wins) +1; each Re/Kontra announcement +2; each declaration +1. Special points (normal game only): fox caught (opponents’ Ace of Diamonds) +1, Doppelkopf (trick with ≥40 card points) +1, Charlie (Jack of Clubs takes the last trick) +1. The soloist receives/pays triple.

End of game & winning

After an agreed number of rounds (tournament e.g. 24 games + compulsory solos).

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.