Klaberjass

In its basic form it is a 9-card trick-and-draw game for two players using a 32-card piquet pack.

[2]: 200f [3] As in other point-trick games of the king–queen group, players can score points for the "marriage" (bela) of king and queen of trumps.

In addition to the Dutch and Swiss national card games Klaverjas and Jass, the group contains Belote, which is the most popular game in countries such as France, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia.

[6] According to David Parlett, this "popular and widespread two-hander has so many names, mostly variations on the same one, that it is hard to know which is best for universal recognition.

"[2]: 305  He lists the alternative names as "Clob, Clobby, Clobiosh, Klob, Kalabrisasz, Bela, Cinq Cents, Zensa".

[2]: 305  Other sources also list "Klabberjass, Senserln, Clobyosh, Kalabrias, Klab, Clabber, Clobber, Clubby".

This truly international game originates from the Low Countries and is particularly strong in Jewish communities.

In trumps, the jack (Jass) and the 9 (Manille) become the two highest ranking cards.

Whenever otherwise allowed by the normal trick-play rules, players are obliged to win a trick with a trump.

Now players in turn get the chance to take the deal, i.e. bet to make more points than the opponent, with the preferred trump suit.

If both pass, they in turn may choose to take the deal with a freely chosen trump suit.

(For melding purposes the natural order of cards is used, and in particular tens rank between nines and jacks.)

Elder hand leads a card to the first trick, and optionally announces 20 or 50.

A player who holds both king and queen of trumps may score 20 for the marriage (bela) when playing out the second of these cards.

However, for a player who has won no tricks at all, only marriages but not melds factor into the combined points.

In the opposite case the opponent scores the sum of the points made by both.

Also, on the second round of bidding a player may take on in "no-trumps" - that is, declare that there will be no trump suit, and hence no Jass, Manille, or Bela.