Jass–Belote card games

The Jass–Belote family of card games is a group of card-point trick-taking games in which the Jack ("jass") and Nine of the trump suit are the highest-ranking trumps, and the Tens and Aces of all suits are the next most valuable cards. Games in this family are typically played by 2 or 4 players with the 32 French-suited cards of a piquet deck.

Variants of 2-handed Klaberjass are played worldwide, especially in Jewish communities. 4-handed Belote with its numerous variants is the French national card game and has spread as far away as Cyprus and Saudi-Arabia. Other notable members of the family include the Swiss and Dutch national card games (Swiss Jass and Dutch Klaverjas) and Twenty-Nine, a popular game in South Asia.

In the South Asian games trick-play is governed by the simple standard rule (familiar from whist-like games) that suit must be followed if possible and a player who is blank in the suit led may play any card. All other games in this family have slightly different rules that encourage trumping, typically by requiring players to trump a trick when they cannot follow suit. The Swiss games are special in that they are less restrictive than whist, allowing players to trump a trick even when they can follow suit. The methods for determining the trump suit vary as in other groups of related games. In many games players can meld certain combinations in their hand to score additional points in exchange for giving information to the opponents, and score by a different mechanism for holding a "belote" (King and Queen of trumps).

History

Most modern games

Trump suit	Typical value	Other suits
J	20
9	14
A	11	A
10	10	10
K	4	K
Q	3	Q
	2	J
	0	9
8	0	8
7	0	7

Smoojas (1821)

Trump suit	Typical value	Other suits
J	20
9	14
A	11	A
K	3	K
Q	2	Q
	1	J
10	10	10
	0	9
8	0	8
7	0	7

The earliest recorded member of this family appears to be the 2-handed game described in a Dutch book from 1821 as Smoojas ("Jewish Jass"). As far as basic gameplay is concerned, it is very similar to modern variants, but the following differences can be observed:

1. The picture cards in Smoojas (other than the Jack of trumps) have scoring values as in Manille or All Fours, but greater by one as in Skat in most modern games.
2. In Smoojas the Tens rank in their natural position, in most modern games they rank high between Ace and King, corresponding to their high scoring values.
3. In Smoojas the second player to a trick must follow suit if possible, and must take the trick if possible while following suit. In most modern games the second rule has been relaxed and made more complicated in the process.

The low, All-Fours-like scoring values might be a characteristically Dutch phenomenon; they appear, together with Tens in their natural position, in a number of games that are still being played in the Netherlands.

Basic 2-handed game

According to David Parlett, "[t]his 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. Klaberjass is probably closest to the original." He lists the alternative names as "Clob, Clobby, Clobiosh, Klob, Kalabrisasz, Bela, Cinq Cents, Zensa". The game appears to be of Jewish and/or Hungarian origin.

Ranks and point values of cards are as shown in the table above for "most modern games". Having received 6 cards, players in turn get the chance to take the deal, i.e. bet to make more point than the opponent, with the randomly determined trump suit. If both pass, they in turn may choose to take the deal with a freely chosen trump suit. After a successful bidding phase both hands are completed to 9 cards.

In addition to the card that determined the preferred trump suit, a second card is turned face up to give additional information. If the trump suit is as determined by the first face-up card, a player who holds the seven of trump may exchange the two cards.

In the melding phase, one player may meld any number of sequences of 3 or 4 cards in suit for 20 or 50 points, respectively. (For melding purposes the natural order of cards is used.) The player who holds the longest, highest-ranking such sequence is allowed to meld. This player is determined by a protocol that minimizes the information given to the opponent. Any melding player must show the best sequence held during the first trick, and may show any other sequences held and score for them as well.

In trick-play, a player who cannot follow suit must trump if possible, and any trump lead must be overtrumped. A player who holds both King and Queen of trumps may score 20 for the marriage when playing out the second of these cards. The winner of the last trick scores 10 points.

If the player who took the deal has made more combined points from card points in tricks taken, melds, marriage and last trick than the opponent, both players simply score their points. In the opposite case the opponent scores the sum of the points made by both.