Solo

A solo is Doppelkopf with one player as Re against the other three. The soloist takes all the risk and reward. The other players form Kontra and combine their card points.

Solos are harder because the opponents can work together. Strong cards are not enough. You need control of the tricks and a way to protect your points.

Declaring a solo

You must declare a solo before the first card is played. During the reservation round, the dealer asks each player whether they have a special contract. Say "Vorbehalt" if you want to reserve a solo. Say "gesund" if you want to play a normal game.

After everyone has answered, a player with the winning reservation names the contract. If more than one player reserved a contract, the players are considered in reservation order. A solo takes priority over a wedding when the rules require a contract to be chosen.

Once the contract is chosen, the teams are clear. The soloist is Re, and the other three players are Kontra. The soloist normally leads the first trick only when the solo is a compulsory solo. A voluntary solo follows the regular opening order.

The four solo types

The contract changes which cards count as trump. You still have to follow the effective suit, so a card that is a side-suit card in a solo must be followed like any other card of that suit.

Suit solo

A suit solo keeps the familiar top of the trump order: the Heart Ten, then the queens and jacks in their usual suit order. The chosen suit supplies the remaining trump cards. For example, in a clubs solo, the ace, ten, king, and nine of clubs are the low trumps, while diamonds no longer have their normal trump status.

Queens and jacks solos

In a queens solo, only the four queens are trumps. The Queen of Clubs is highest, followed by the Queen of Spades, Queen of Hearts, and Queen of Diamonds. A jacks solo works the same way with the four jacks. In both contracts, the other cards are ranked within their own suits.

Ace solo

An ace solo has no trumps at all. Every lead is a side-suit lead, and you must follow that suit when you can. The ace is highest in each suit, followed by the ten, king, queen, jack, and nine.

Playing the hand

The usual following-suit rule still applies, but the contract decides what counts as a suit. If a trump is led and you have a trump, you must play one. If a side suit is led and you have that suit, you must follow it. When you are void, you may discard or trump the trick.

A common solo plan is to draw the opponents' trumps early with your strongest trumps. That only works when you have enough trump strength to keep control afterward. In a queens or jacks solo, for example, the trump supply is small, so saving one winning trump can matter more than taking an early low-point trick.

Count the points in the tricks you have won as the hand develops. The three opponents can give their high cards to one another, so a soloist who wins many tricks can still lose on card points.

Scoring a solo

The soloist wins by the same card-point targets used for the game, unless an announcement changes the target. The important difference comes after the game value is calculated. The soloist receives or loses three times that value. Each opponent receives the normal single share in the opposite direction.

Re, Kontra, No 90, No 60, No 30, and Black can be announced under the usual timing rules. Their points affect the game value and are multiplied for the soloist as well. That makes a confident announcement expensive when the cards do not cooperate.

Normal-game bonus points do not apply to a solo. Capturing a Fox, winning a Doppelkopf trick, or taking the last trick with Karlchen does not add a special point to a solo score.

Silent wedding

A player holding both Queens of Clubs can also end up playing a solo without announcing one. If that player says "gesund" and nobody reserves a contract, the hand becomes a silent wedding. It is scored like a solo and uses the normal diamond trump order.

This is different from an announced wedding. In an announced wedding, the player starts alone but can find a Re partner during the first three tricks. In a silent wedding, there is no partner search. The player is Re alone for the whole hand.

Compulsory and voluntary solos

Some matches require every player to complete a compulsory solo, called a Pflichtsolo. Players may also choose a voluntary solo, called a Lustsolo, when the match rules allow it. A compulsory solo takes priority over a voluntary one when both are still outstanding.

If a compulsory solo is still missing near the end of the match, the player may have to play one with a hand they would normally pass. Discuss this rule before dealing. It changes how carefully players save a good solo opportunity for later.