Editing Skat (card game) (section)

== Rules ==
:''Note: Because of the many variations in the rules of Skat, the rules below are necessarily general, although rules not found in official German tournament play are marked as such.''

=== General principles ===
[[File:Forehand, Middlehand and Rearhand.png|thumb|Forehand, middlehand and rearhand in Skat]]

Skat is a game for three players, who are known as [[forehand (card player)|forehand]], [[middlehand]] and [[rearhand]], rearhand also being the dealer (''see picture''). At the beginning of each round, or "deal", one player becomes ''declarer'' and the other two players become the ''defending team''. The two defenders are not allowed to communicate in any way except by their choice of cards to play. The game can also be played by four players, in which case, the dealer sits out the round that was dealt, while the player to the right of the dealer will play the role taken by the dealer in the three-player variant. Players may agree at the outset how many rounds/deals they will play for.

A central aspect of the game is the three coexisting varieties called "suit", "grand" and "null" games, that differ in suit order, scoring and even overall goal to achieve.

Each round of the game starts with a bidding phase to determine the declarer and the required minimum game value (explained below). Then, ten tricks are played, allowing players to take trick points. Each card has a card value (except in null games) and is worth that number of points for the player winning the trick. The total value of all cards is 120 points. The declarer's goal is to take at least 61 points in tricks in order to win that round of the game. Otherwise, the defending team wins the round. Points from tricks are not directly added to the players' overall score, they are used only to determine the outcome of the game (win or loss for declarer), although winning by certain margins may increase the score for that round.

After each round a score is awarded in accordance with the game value. If the declarer wins they are awarded a positive score, if they lose the score is doubled and subtracted from the declarer's tally (i.e. a negative score). In tournaments a winning declarer gets an additional 50 points if they win, if the defending team wins however they receive 40 points each in addition to the declarer losing twice the game's value in points.

=== Cards ===

The pack consists of 32 cards. Many modern packs use the [[French-suited playing cards|French pack]] consisting of an [[ace]] (''Ass''), [[King (playing card)|king]] (''König''), [[Queen (playing card)|queen]] (''Dame''), [[Jack (playing card)|jack]] (''Bube''), [[pip cards|10, 9, 8 and 7]] in all four suits (clubs {{clubs}}, spades {{spades}}, hearts {{hearts}} and diamonds {{diamonds}}). Some players in Eastern and Southern Germany and [[Austria]] prefer traditional German packs with suits of [[Acorns (card suit)|acorns]] {{acorns}}, [[Leaves (card suit)|leaves]] {{leaves}}, [[Hearts (card suit)|hearts]] {{german Hearts}} and [[Bells (card suit)|bells]] {{bell}}, and card values of [[Deuce (playing card)|deuce (''Daus'')]], king (''König''), [[Ober (playing card)|''Ober'']], [[Unter (playing card)|''Unter'']], 10, 9, 8, and 7 in all four suits.<ref>{{cite web|author=John McLeod|url=http://www.pagat.com/class/german.html|title=Games played with German suited cards|publisher=pagat.com/|access-date=2010-11-25}}</ref> Until recently in [[Saxony]] and [[Thuringia]], for example, [[German-suited playing cards|German-suited packs]] were used almost exclusively. By contrast, regions of the former West Germany had adopted a French-suited pack.

Since [[German reunification]], a compromise ''Turnierbild'' ("Tournament Style") pack is used in tournaments that uses the shapes of the French suits but with corresponding German suit colors, green spades {{cards|s|spades_color=green}} imitating leaves and gold diamonds {{cards|d|diamonds_color=orange}} imitating bells.<ref name=pcg1>{{cite web|author=A. Pollett|url=http://playingcards.freewebpages.org/cards19.htm|title=Shapes, Sizes and Colors|publisher=a_pollett.tripod.com/|access-date=2010-04-13|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221095404/http://playingcards.freewebpages.org/cards19.htm|archive-date=21 February 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The choice of pack does not affect the rules.

=== Dealing ===
At the beginning of each round each player is dealt ten cards, with the two remaining cards (the so-called ''Skat'') being put face down in the middle of the table. Dealing follows this pattern: deal three cards each, then deal the ''Skat'', then four cards each, then three cards again ("three–''Skat''–four–three"). In four-player rounds, the dealer does not receive any cards and skips actual play of the round. The dealer may peek into the hand of one other player (if allowed to do so) but never into the ''Skat''.

Dealing rotates [[clockwise and counterclockwise|clockwise]] around the table, so that the player sitting to the left of the dealer will be dealer for the next round.

=== Bidding ===
After the cards have been dealt, and before the deal is played out, a bidding or auction ({{langx|de|Reizen}}) is held to decide:

* Who will be declarer for the round, and thus eligible for picking up the ''Skat'' and choosing whether to have trumps and what the trump suit is
* The minimum game value needed for declarer to win

The goal for each player during the bidding is to bid a game value as high as their card holding would allow, but never higher than necessary to win the bidding. How the actual game value is determined is explained in detail below and is necessary to understand in order to know how high one can safely bid.

It is possible for a player to overbid, which leads to an automatic loss of the game in question. Often this does not become obvious before the player picks up the ''Skat'', or even not before the end of the game in question (in case of a ''hand'' game, when the ''Skat'' is not picked up). Players have therefore to exercise careful scrutiny during bidding, as not to incur an unnecessary loss.

The bidding may also give away some information about what cards a player may or may not hold. Experienced players will be able to use this to their advantage.

==== Game value ====
The game value (also called ''hand value'', {{langx|de|Spielwert}})  is what the game will be worth after all tricks have been played. It is determined not only by the 10 cards held, but also by the two-card ''Skat''. The ''Skat'' always belongs to the declarer, and if it contains certain high cards this may change the game value. It is therefore not possible in general to determine the exact game value before knowing the ''Skat''.

The game value is determined by the type of the game and the game level as explained below for the suit, grand and null games.

===== Suit game =====
In a suit game ({{langx|de|Farbspiel}}), one of the four suits is the trump suit.

Each suit has a base value ({{langx|de|Grundwert}}), as follows:

:{| class="wikitable"
|- 
!style="text-align:center"| suit (French pack)
!style="text-align:center"| suit (German pack)
!style="text-align:center"| base value
|-
| Clubs (''German:'' Kreuz) (<span style="font-size:larger;">♣</span>)
| Acorns (''German:'' Eichel) ([[file:Bay eichel.png|10px|]])
|style="text-align:center"| 12
|-
| Spades (''German:'' Pik) (<span style="font-size:larger;color:green;">♠</span>)
| Leaves (''German:'' Blatt / Grün) ([[file:Bay gras.png|10px|]])
|style="text-align:center"| 11
|-
| Hearts (''German:'' Herz) (<span style="font-size:larger;color:red;">♥</span>)
| Hearts (''German:'' Herz / Rot) ([[file:Bay herz.png|10px|]])
|style="text-align:center"| 10
|-
| Diamonds (''German:'' Karo) (<span style="font-size:larger;color:orange;">♦</span>)
| Bells (''German:'' Schellen) ([[file:Bay schelle.png|10px|]])
|style="text-align:center"| 9
|}

This base value is then multiplied by the multiplier game level ({{langx|de|Spielstufe}} or {{lang|de|Gewinngrad}}) to determine the game value, so:

:game value = base value × game level.

A game level of 1 for becoming declarer is always assumed. It is then increased by one for each of the following:

# For every [[matador (cards)|matador]] i.e. trump (German: ''Spitzen'') in unbroken sequence counting from the {{cards|Jc}} downwards. Example: 
#* Having all the jacks and the ace but not the 10 of the suit counts as "with 5"
# For every missing matador, if the {{cards|Jc}} is not held, in unbroken sequence from the top. Example:
#* Having the {{cards|Jd}} but no higher jack counts as "without 3"
# Playing a ''Hand'' game, i.e. without picking up the ''skat''
# Winning ''[[Schneider (cards)|schneider]]'', i.e. taking 90 or more card points
# Winning [[Schwarz (cards)|''schwarz'']], i.e. taking all tricks.

In case of a ''Hand'' game, the following special cases are allowed. Each one increases the game level by another point:

# ''Schneider'' is announced by declarer after the bidding
# ''Schwarz'' is announced by declarer after the bidding 
# ''Ouvert'', where the declarer plays with open cards and takes all tricks; that is ''Schwarz'' has to be announced in order to declare ''Ouvert'' in a suit game

To summarize in tabular form:

:{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
! !!Ordinary Skat game!!Hand game
|-
| Matador's jack straight (with or without)||1 each||1 each 
|-
| Game (for becoming declarer)||1||1 
|-
| Hand (the Skat is not picked up)||{{n/a}}||1 
|-
| Schneider (win with 90 or more points)||1||1
|-
| Schneider announced||{{n/a}}||1
|-
| Schwarz (win all tricks)||1||1
|-
| Schwarz announced||{{n/a}}||1 
|-
| Ouvert (declarer plays with open hand)||{{n/a}}||1 
|}

Cards in the trump suit are ordered as follows (this is important to know when counting the length of the matador's jack straight):

# Jack of clubs, {{cards|Jc}} or {{cards|Bc}} or {{color|black|'''U'''}}{{acorns}} (''German pack:'' Unter of acorns/Acorn Unter)
# Jack of spades, {{cards|Js}} or {{cards|Bs|spades_color=green}} or {{color|green|'''U'''}}{{leaves}} (''German pack:'' Unter of leaves/Green Unter)
# Jack of hearts, {{cards|Jh}} or {{cards|Bh}} or {{color|red|'''U'''}}{{german Hearts}} (''German pack:'' Unter of hearts/Red Unter)
# Jack of diamonds, {{cards|Jd}} or {{cards|Bd|diamonds_color=orange}} or {{color|orange|'''U'''}}{{bell}} (''German pack:'' Unter of bells/Bell Unter)
# Ace of trumps
# 10 of trumps
# King of trumps
# Queen of trumps (''German pack:'' Ober)
# 9 of trumps
# 8 of trumps
# 7 of trumps

{{cards|Jc}} is the highest-ranking card in a suit game and is called in German ''der Alte'' ("the old man").

The non-trump suit cards are ranked A-10-K-Q-9-8-7 (or A-10-K-O-9-8-7 for the German pack respectively).

As mentioned above, the cards in the ''Skat'' are to be included when determining the multiplier game level (also in case of the ''Hand'' game, where the ''Skat'' is unknown until after the deal has been played out). During bidding, each player therefore has incomplete information regarding the true game value. The final game value is calculated by multiplying the base value for the suit by the multiplier game level:

===== Grand game =====
Grand game is a special case of suit game, in which only the Jacks are trumps in the same order as in the suit game:

# Jack of clubs, {{cards|Jc}} or {{cards|Bc}} or {{color|black|'''U'''}}{{acorns}}
# Jack of spades, {{cards|Js}} or {{cards|Bs|spades_color=green}} or {{color|green|'''U'''}}{{leaves}}
# Jack of hearts, {{cards|Jh}} or {{cards|Bh}} or {{color|red|'''U'''}}{{german Hearts}}
# Jack of diamonds, {{cards|Jd}} or {{cards|Bd|diamonds_color=orange}} or {{color|orange|'''U'''}}{{bell}}

All other cards are ranked the same as in a suit game: A-10-K-Q-9-8-7.

The base value for the grand game is 24 in the official rules. It used to be 20 until 1932, and many hobbyists continued to use 20 well into the postwar era.

All other rules for determining game value are as in a suit game, that is, the base value of 24 is multiplied by the multiplier game level.

===== Null game =====
In the null game, declarer promises not to take any tricks at all. There is no trump suit, 10s are sorted directly above 9s, and jacks are treated as normal suit cards sorted between 10 and queen. Thus the cards are ordered: A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7. The game values of null games are fixed, as follows:

* 23 for a simple null game
* 35 for a ''Null Hand'' game (the ''Skat'' is not picked up by declarer)
* 46 for a ''Null Ouvert'' game (declarer plays with open cards)
* 59 for a ''Null Ouvert Hand'' game (combination of the above two)

===== Examples =====
The following examples give a player's holding and the contents of the ''Skat'' (which will be unknown to all players during the bidding) and explain how to derive the game value.

'''Example 1'''

:'''Holding''': {{cards|Jc|Jd|Ah|10h|Kh|8h|7h|9d|8d|7d}}
:'''Skat''': {{cards|As|Qs}}

The length of matador's jack straight will be 1 ({{cards|Jc}} is present, {{cards|Js}} is missing). The multiplier game level will be 2 (1 for matador's jack straight plus 1 for becoming declarer).

The possible game value now depends on which game is declared, for example:

* With hearts as trumps (base value is 10), the game value is 20 (10 × 2).
** If the ''Skat'' is not picked up, the game value is 30 (the multiplier game level increases from 2 to 3 for declaring ''Hand'').
** If declarer manages to win with at least 90 trick points, the game value will be 30 as well (the multiplier game level increases from 2 to 3 for achieving ''Schneider'').
* In the grand game (base value is 24), the game value will be 48 (24 × 2).

Of course, many other possibilities exist.

Note that game value is dependent not only on the cards held (including the ''Skat'') but also on which game is being declared and the outcome of the play. Each holding can thus be evaluated differently by different players. A risk-taking player might be willing to declare ''Hand'' on a holding on which another player might not—these two players will therefore give different valuations to the same holding. However, after all tricks have been played, it is always possible to determine the exact game value by combining the actual holding with the type of game and outcome of the play. Only then does it becomes apparent if declarer has won or lost (if the declarer overbid).

'''Example 2'''

:'''Holding''': {{cards|Jc|Js|Jh|Ah|10h|Kh|8h|7h|10c|7c}}
:'''Skat''': {{cards|Jd|Qs}}

Assuming a trump suit of hearts in a suit game, this holding will have a different valuation before and after the ''Skat'' has been examined.

Without knowledge of the ''Skat'' (assuming ''Hand'' is not declared)

* the multiplier game level is 4 (3 for the {{cards|Jc|Js|Jh}} straight, plus 1 for becoming declarer)
* the base value is 10 (for Hearts being the trump suit)

This holding can be safely valuated at 40 (10 × 4), regardless of the ''Skat''.  With Hearts as trump, the game value will always be at least that much.

Now, assuming declarer wins by taking 95 points in tricks, after having declared ''Hand'' and ''Schneider'', the actual game value will be as follows:

* The base value is 10 (for Hearts being the trump suit)
* The multiplier game level is 11
** 1 for becoming declarer
** 7 for the straight of {{cards|Jc|Js|Jh|Jd|Ah|10h|Kh}}
** 1 for declaring ''Hand''
** 1 for declaring ''Schneider''
** 1 for achieving ''Schneider'' (at least 90 points in tricks taken)
* The actual game value will be 110 (10 × 11)

The player could have bid up to that value (110) during the bidding.  In practice this would have been too risky because only {{cards|Jd}} in the ''Skat'' increased the length of matador's jack straight to 7.

'''Note:''' Most players will declare a grand game with the above hand, as it will be much more lucrative than a suit game in Hearts (declarer will concede at most two club tricks, probably achieving ''Schneider'' for a game value of at least 144 (24 × 6).

===== More examples =====
* {{cards|Jc|Js}}: with 2, plus 1 is 3.
* {{cards|Jc|Jh}}: with 1 (counting interrupted by the missing {{cards|Js}}), plus 1 is 2.
* {{cards|Jc|Js|Jh|Jd}} with 4, plus 1 is 5.
* {{cards|Jh|Jd}}: Without 2, plus 1 is 3.
* {{cards|Jh}} alone: This is also without 2 (counting is interrupted by the present {{cards|Jh}}), plus 1 is 3.

Now for the special cases: if you think you can do more than just win, you can add points for the special cases.

* {{cards|Jc|Js}}: With 2, plus 1 (game) plus 1 (for ''Hand'') is 4.
* {{cards|Jc|Js}}: With 2, plus 1 (game) plus 1 (for ''Schneider'') is 4.
* {{cards|Jc|Js}}: With 2, plus 1 (game) plus 1 (for ''Hand'') plus 1 (for ''Schneider'') plus 1 (for ''Schwarz'') is 6.
* {{cards|Jc|Js}}: With 2, game 3, ''Hand'' 4, ''Schneider'' 5, pre-declared ''Schneider'' 6, ''Schwarz'' 7, pre-declared ''Schwarz'' 8, ''Ouvert'' 9.

The highest possible multiplier game level is 18: that is with (or without) four jacks and all seven cards of trump suit (including those in the ''Skat'', if any) 11, plus the maximum of 7 for becoming declarer, ''Hand'', ''Schneider'', declaring ''Schneider'', ''Schwarz'', declaring ''Schwarz'' and ''Ouvert''. The lowest possible multiplier game level is 2: either with {{cards|Jc}}, or without {{cards|Jc}} and with {{cards|Js}} 1, plus 1 for becoming declarer.

==== Bidding mechanics ====
===== Order of bidding =====
The order of bidding is determined by the seating order. Starting from the left of the dealer players are numbered clockwise: the first seat ({{langx|de|Vorhand}}), the second seat ({{langx|de|Mittelhand}}) and the third seat ({{langx|de|Hinterhand}}). In a three-player game, the dealer will be the third seat.  In a four-player game the third seat will be to the right of the dealer.

Bidding starts by the player in second seat making a call to the player in first seat on which the latter can ''hold'' or ''pass''. If the first seat player holds, the second seat player can make a higher call or pass himself. This continues until either of the two players passes. The player in third seat is then allowed to continue making calls to the player who has not yet passed. Bidding ends as soon as at least two players have passed. It is also possible for all three players to pass.

The starting order can be memorized as “deal–respond–call–continue” ({{langx|de|"geben–hören–sagen–weitersagen"}}). The player who continues in this mnemonic is either the dealer (in a three-player game) or the player in third seat. The mnemonic is commonly used among casual players.

'''Example:''' Anna, Bernard and Clara are playing, and seated in that order around the table. Anna deals the cards. Clara makes the first call to Bernard, who passes right away. Anna then makes two more calls to Clara, who accepts both bids. Anna then passes as well. The bidding ends, with Clara being the declarer for this round.

===== Possible calls =====
The calling player (i.e. the player currently calling the bids) may either

* “pass”, leaving the bidding and forfeiting the chance to become declarer in this round, or
* bid any possible game value that is higher than the highest bid made so far in this round.

The responding player (i.e. the player currently responding to the bidder) may either

* “pass”, leaving the bidding and forfeiting the chance to become declarer in this round, or
* “accept” or "yes", staying in the bidding and waiting for further calls.
Responder must wait for caller to bid or pass before passing herself.

Except for "pass", only the possible game values are legal calls. Therefore, the lowest possible call is 18, which is the lowest possible game value in Skat. Players are free to skip intermediate values, although it is common to always pick the lowest available call while bidding.

The sequence of possible double digit game values, beginning with 18 is 18—20—22—23—24—27—30—33—35—36—40—44—45—46—48—50—54—55—59—60—63—66—70—72—77—80—81—84—88—90—96—99 (triple digit bids are possible albeit rare in a competitive bidding). Among German players the values representing null games, especially 23, the most common one, are often replaced by the call “null”. Also, numbers are frequently abbreviated by only calling the lower digit of a value not divisible by 10 (e.g. “two” instead of “22” or “five” instead of “45”); this is unambiguous if values are always called out in order and intermediate values never skipped, as is the custom. (As the German words for "null" and "zero" are identical, this yields the rather unintuitive sequence 18—20—2—0—4—7—30 and so on.)

===== Passing out =====
If all players pass, the hand is not played and the next dealer shuffles and deals. A dealer never deals twice in a row.

It is common in informal play to play a variant of Skat called ''Ramsch'' (junk, rummage) instead of skipping the hand and dealing for the next one. The objective in that variant is to make no ''trick'' as their points would score negatively. This is not part of the sanctioned rules, however.

In a pass-out game, the player in first seat will be the last one to pass. If that player intends to become declarer, however, he or she has to make a call of at least 18 (picking up the ''Skat'' in that situation implies the call).

===== Example bidding =====
Players Anna, Bernard and Clara are seated in that order, clockwise; Anna is the dealer. The bidding proceeds as follows:

# Clara: "18"
# Bernard: "Yes"
# Clara: "20"
# Bernard: "Yes"
# Clara: "22"
# Bernard: "Pass"
# Anna: "23"
# Clara: "Yes"
# Anna: "24"
# Clara: "Yes"
# Anna: "Pass"
 
On this deal, Clara will be declarer with a final bid of 24 (the highest accepted bid).

=== Declaring ===
[[File:2023-08-26 Skatspiel 1DX 0740 by Stepro.jpg|thumb|A player puts the Skat down on the table]]

The winner of the bidding becomes declarer and will play against the other two players. Before the hand is played, declarer either

* picks up the ''Skat'', combines it with the hand cards, then puts two cards back face down on the table ({{langx|de|drücken}}) or
* declares ''Hand'' (in this case the ''Skat'' remains face down on the table).

In either case the two cards in the ''Skat'' count towards declarer's trick points.

After putting two cards back into the ''Skat'', declarer then either declares a suit game by announcing a trump suit, declares a grand game or a null game.

If ''Hand'' has been declared, the player may make additional announcements such as ''Schneider'', ''Schwarz'' and ''Ouvert''.

==== Variants ====
A common variant in non-sanctioned play allows the defenders to announce [[Kontra (cards)|"''Kontra''"]] just before the first trick is played, if they have made or held at least one call. In this case, the stakes will be doubled for the hand. Declarer, in turn, may announce “''Re''”, to redouble the stakes. In a less common further variation this process can be repeated twice more by announcing "''Supra''" and "''Resupra''" (or more colloquially, "''Bock''" ''[(roe) buck]'' and "''Hirsch''" ''[red deer]'', or the like, which are colloquial augments of "''Reh''" ''roe deer'').

=== Playing ===
The player in the first seat sitting to the left of the dealer leads to the first trick. The other two follow in clockwise direction. Every player plays one card to the trick, which is in the middle of the table. The winner of a trick stacks the cards face down in front of him and leads to the next trick, which is again played clockwise.

Completed tricks are kept face down in front of the players who won them, until all the cards have been played. Examining completed tricks (except for the last one) is not allowed. The tricks of the two players who are playing together are put together, either during or after play.

==== Suit game ====
The players must play a card in the same suit as the first card of the trick, if possible (“following suit”). A player who cannot follow suit may play any card (including a trump card). Trumps, including all four jacks, count as a single suit. If a trump is led, every player must also play a trump if able.

If there are trump cards in the trick, the highest trump in it wins the trick. If there are no trumps in it, the highest card of the suit led wins the trick.

The non-trump suit cards rank in order A-10-K-Q-9-8-7. The trumps rank the same way with the four jacks on top in the order {{cards|Jc}}, {{cards|Js}}, {{cards|Jh}}, {{cards|Jd}}.

==== Grand game ====
In the grand game, only the four jacks are trumps in the suit order given above for a regular suit game.  All other ranks are the same as in the regular suit game (10 is ranked just below the ace).  There are thus five "suits" in the grand game (if a jack is led to a trick, the other two players must play jacks too, if they have them).

==== Null game ====
In a null game there is no trump suit, and in each suit the cards are ranked A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7.

The goal of a null game is for declarer not to take any tricks. If declarer takes a trick in a null game, the game is immediately lost and scored.

==== Conceding and claiming ====
Declarer may, unilaterally, concede a loss while holding at least nine cards (i.e. before playing to the second trick). Afterwards approval of at least one defender is required. Defenders may concede at any time, but may be requested by declarer to complete the play (e.g. if declarer thinks that ''Schneider'' or ''Schwarz'' is still possible).

Claiming of remaining tricks is possible as well, but for a defender only if she would be able to take the remaining tricks herself.

A game in which the necessary trick points have been won can not be lost, regardless of claims.

=== Counting and scoring === <!-- [[Schneider (Skat)]] redirects here. -->
After the last trick has been played, the game is scored. Winning conditions for null game are different from suit and grand games.

==== Winning conditions for declarer ====
To win a suit or grand game, declarer needs at least 61 card points in tricks. If declarer announced ''Schneider'', at least 90 card points are needed in order to win. The two cards in the ''Skat'' count towards declarer's tricks. If declarer announced ''Schwarz'', all ten tricks must be taken to win.

:{| class="wikitable" style="float:right;"
|+Point values of cards
|-
! '''Rank'''
| J || A || 10 || K || Q || 9 || 8 || 7
|-
! '''Value'''
| 2 || 11 || 10 || 4 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0
|}

The highest-ranking cards for taking the tricks (the jacks) are not the highest scoring cards. The aces and 10s combined make up almost three quarters of the total points; taking as many as possible of them is thus imperative for winning. On the other hand, taking 7s, 8s and 9s – the [[Blank (playing card)|blanks]] (''Luschen'') – doesn't help (or hurt) at all, unless ''Schwarz'' was declared.

To win a null game, the declarer must not take any tricks. Null games are often not played to the end, either because declarer is forced to take a trick, ending the game prematurely, or because it becomes apparent to the defenders that they will be forced to take the rest of the tricks. There are no card points in a null game.

===== Overbid hands =====
Even with the majority in card points, declarer may still lose if the game value is lower than the value bid during the auction. This is called ''overbidding''. An overbid hand is automatically lost, leading to a negative score for declarer.

An overbid hand is scored by determining the lowest possible game value that is a multiple of the base value of declarer's suit (or 24 in case of a grand) which is at least as high as declarer's bid. This value is then doubled and subtracted from declarer's score (negative score).

'''Example:''' Declarer bids 30, missing the two top trumps (without 2), intending to play a club suit game (game value would be 12 × 3 = 36). They then find the {{cards|Jc}} in the ''Skat'' (with 1). Their game value is now only 24 (12 × 2) — they have overbid. Unless they manage to play at least ''Schneider'' (raising the game value to 36), or make a game other than clubs with a game value of at least 30, the game will be lost. They will receive a negative score of −72 (36 is the lowest multiple of 12, the base value of clubs, greater than the 30 they bid; 36 times two is 72). They can try to minimize their loss by declaring a game in Hearts instead of Clubs (base value 10 instead of 12). This will be worth only −60 points, unless opponents score ''Schneider'' against them.

==== Scoring ====
{{main|Skat scoring}}

The score is always assigned to the declarer (positive or negative) in the classical scoring system.

The score to be awarded is the actual game value. How high the player bid during the bidding is immaterial, as long as the game value is at least as high as declarer's bid (see [[#Overbid hands|Overbid Hands]] above). Note that often the score will be higher than the bidding value, because players typically do not bid as high as their hand would allow.

For a won game, that score is added to declarer's tally. For a lost game, the score is doubled and subtracted from declarer's tally (negative score).

Until 1998, lost ''Hand'' games did not count double, but this rule was dropped in that year. The reason was that in tournament play nearly all games played were ''Hand'' games. This increased the game level by one, but did not penalize as much as a normal game would have if lost.

In league games, 50 points get added for each game that is won by the declarer and 40 points each get added to the tally of the defending team shall they win to lower the chance factor and to stress the skill factor. In that situation, it becomes far more important for each player to bid his or her hand as high as possible.

'''Example 1:''' Anton is declarer. He bids 20 and declares a grand game. He then wins with 78 points in tricks. Declarer held {{cards|Jc|Js|Jd}}. The game value is 24 × (2 + 1) = 72 points. These are awarded to the declarer.

'''Example 2:''' Brigitte is declarer. She bids 30 and declares a ''Null Ouvert'' game. She, however, is forced to take the ninth trick, losing the game. The game value is 46, it will be doubled and subtracted from her total score (−92 points).