Basic rules
The four players take turns playing one card into the center to form a trick. After all four cards are played, the strongest legal card wins. The winner collects the cards face down and leads the next trick.
Your team wins by collecting more card points than the other team. Tricks are worth different amounts because the four cards in them have different values.
The deck
Doppelkopf uses a 48-card deck. The six ranks are Ace, 10, King, Queen, Jack, and 9. Each rank appears in clubs, spades, hearts, and diamonds, and every card appears twice. That gives 6 × 4 × 2 = 48 cards. The graphic shows one copy of each unique card. A real deck has two copies.
Two copies of each card
Card values
Each card is worth a fixed number of card points. When your team wins a trick, add the values of all four cards. These points decide which team wins the game.
| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| Ace | 11 |
| 10 | 10 |
| King | 4 |
| Queen | 3 |
| Jack | 2 |
| 9 | 0 |
Aces and 10s are worth the most points. Card value tells you how many points a card contributes. Card strength tells you which card wins the trick. The next chapter covers that order.
Card strength
Cards fall into two groups, trumps and non-trumps. Trumps beat non-trumps, and each group has its own order. The next chapter explains that order in detail.
Trump
Strongest to weakest
Non-trump
Strongest to weakest
The flow of the game
Dealing cards
Shuffle the deck and deal 12 cards to each player. Each player then has a full hand for the game's 12 tricks.
Playing cards
Players add one card to the current trick in turn. After all four players act, the strongest legal card wins. The winner leads the next trick. Play continues until everyone has used all 12 cards.
Teams and secrecy
The two players who hold a Queen of Clubs form team Re. The teams are not announced at the start, so watch the play to work out who is with you. The teams chapter explains how this works.
Scoring
After the last trick, each team adds the card points in its tricks. In a basic game, a team needs at least 121 card points to win. Some cards and plays add bonus points. The scoring chapter explains those bonuses.
Games, rounds, and matches
One game has 12 tricks. Four games make a round, which lets each player lead one game. A match usually contains several rounds.