Skat Game Value Calculator

What it is for

In Skat you have to know the value of your game before you bid: the bids are game values, and a declarer who bids more than the game turns out to be worth loses it as overbid. This calculator follows the International Skat Order (ISkO). You enter the game type, the matadors and the extras such as Hand or Schneider, and it shows the value, the calculation behind it and the highest bid the game covers.

With the optional bid and the declarer's card points it also settles the end of a game: won or lost, overbid or not, and what goes on the score sheet. It does not look at your cards — you count the matadors yourself — and it does not cover house rules such as Ramsch or Bock rounds.

Worked example

The default example is Clubs with 2, Hand, bid 48. The tool answers Clubs (Eichel) With 2, Game, Hand: 12 × 4 = 48: base value 12 for Clubs, multiplier 4 (two matadors, one for the game, one for Hand). The Highest bid covered is 48, so the bid was fine.

Now a declarer who bid 36 and then plays Hearts with 1, picking up the Skat. The game is worth only 10 × 2 = 20. The tool reports Overbid: yes and the game is lost as overbid and counts 40 — the next multiple of the Hearts base value that reaches the bid. With 71 card points the declarer would have won the cards, but the Score-sheet entry is still −80: lost games count double.

A Grand without 1 with Schneider and 92 card points, bid 72, gives 24 × 3 = 72, won, +72. The table Values of this game type lists the base value and the smallest and largest possible value of every game — 18 to 162 for Diamonds, 48 to 264 for Grand, 23 to 59 for Null.

How to read the result

• Value: the game value, the number that counts on the score sheet.
• Base value and Multiplier: the two factors; the Multiplier table lists every step (matadors, game, Hand, Schneider, announcements, Schwarz, Ouvert).
• Highest bid covered: bid at most this much with the game you plan.
• Overbid: “yes” means the game is lost whatever the cards bring.
• Score-sheet entry: shown when you enter card points — positive for a win, minus twice the value for a loss. With Seeger-Fabian it includes the extra 50 points.

Tips and common mistakes

• Matadors run unbroken from the Jack of Clubs: holding ♣J and ♠J but not ♥J is “with 2”, even if you also hold ♦J.
• In suit games the matadors continue into the trump suit (Ace, 10, King …); in Grand only the four Jacks count.
• The matadors include the Skat, also in Hand games, where you only see it at the end.
• Schneider and Schwarz announced only exist in Hand games; Ouvert implies Schwarz announced.
• Null games have fixed values: 23, Hand 35, Ouvert 46, Ouvert Hand 59.
• Leave the card points empty while planning a bid; fill them in to settle a finished game.

FAQ

Why does a lost overbid game count more than the game itself?

The ISkO values an overbid game at the lowest multiple of its base value that reaches the bid, and lost games count double on the list.

Does the declarer win with exactly 60 card points?

No. The declarer needs 61; with 60 the defenders win.

What does Schneider reached mean when the declarer loses?

If the declarer takes 30 card points or fewer, the declarer is Schneider; that level still raises the value, which is then lost.

Can I use this for the Playcards app's score?

Yes. The app and the tool use the same rule engine, so the numbers match the app's Points table.