

Five quick games with Jass cards

How many cards do I have to deal again in "Hose abe"? Do I have to indicate the colour in "Schällejass"? In this article you will find all the rules for five quick games with Jass cards.
It's Saturday afternoon and you're sitting in the garden with your friends enjoying the beautiful weather. The ideal time to get out the cards. But how does this Jass go again? Do I have to deal four or five cards? In the following paragraphs you will find all the rules for five quick games with Jass cards bundled into one article.
A quick word about my Jass game.
A quick word about my rules of the game: There are different types of these games and some of you may follow different rules than I do. Therefore: These are my rules as I play them. They are not set in stone and may be adapted as you wish.
Tschau Sepp
By far the easiest game of all is "Tschau Sepp". You can play it with children as young as four or five. If you know UNO, you know "Tschau Sepp", because the rules are practically identical. Tschau Sepp" is best played with up to four people. If you are more people, I recommend mixing a second pack of cards into the game.
All players:inside receive five cards at the beginning. The remaining cards form the draw pile in the middle of the table, of which the top card is turned face up. The game starts with this card, which must be covered by the players in turn. Either with the same colour or the same value. If you cannot discard a card, you must draw one from the pile. However, you may discard it immediately if it matches.
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When you discard your penultimate hand card, you must say "Bye". If you forget to say this, you must pick up a card from the deck as a penalty. When you put down your last card, you have to say "Sepp". If you forget, you have to pick up four cards. If a:e winner:in is known, you can either stop and start again or continue the game until the last person is known so that a loser is also known.
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If you want to spice up "Tschau Sepp" and make it more exciting, you can assign a function to certain cards. For example, if you lay a seven, the next person must take two cards. Or if you lay an eight, the next person is left out. You can define such rules as you like and apply them to all kinds of cards.
Obe-Abe
Another simple jass is the "Obe-Abe". Since in this Jass all cards are dealt at the beginning, it is best played with four people. If there are five of you, you must take a card from the deck. Preferably a deep card. I usually take out the "Acorn 6".

The first person puts a card on the table. Now all the players in turn must place a card of the same suit. The highest card value makes the trick. If you cannot indicate the colour, you put down another card. However, it is worthless in this trick. The person who wins the trick is the first to play a new card. When all cards have been played, the person with the most tricks wins.
Schällejass
One of my favourite games is "Schällejass". I have spent whole nights playing this game with friends. As with the "Obe-Abe", all the cards are dealt out, which means that for every five players, one card has to be taken out of the deck.
The aim of "Schällejass" is to score as few points as possible. The same basic rules apply as in "Obe-Abe": The colour must be indicated and the highest card value makes the trick. However, the Jass cards with the colour "bells" have a special function. Either you try to get as few bells as possible in your tricks or you collect them all. Once all the cards have been played, the players do not count the number of tricks they have made, but the number of bells. You get one point per bell card. If you have collected all of them, nine points are deducted.

You can define a maximum value with your teammates at the beginning. For example, if you play to 50 points, the game is over as soon as one person reaches this value and thus loses.
If you play to 50 points, the game is over as soon as one person reaches this value and thus loses.
In my circle of friends we have added two extra rules to "Schällejass". One is that after the cards have been dealt, no bells may be played in the first round. The second rule is that every fourth game counts double. So each bell card gives you two points in that game, but if you get all of them, 18 points are deducted from your account.
Arschlöchle
I played the game "Arschlöchle" mainly in my youth. It is a Jass where you need to be at least four players:inside, but there is no upper limit. However, I recommend that you mix another pack of cards into the game if there are five or six or more people.
At the beginning of a round, all cards are distributed to all players. The person sitting to the right of the person who dealt the cards may start. He or she may place either a single card or several cards of the same value. The next person may discard the same number of cards, but the cards must have a higher value. If it is your turn and you cannot discard a card, you may pass. If you have laid the highest card of all, you win the trick and may start in the next round.

Once someone has discarded all their hand cards, that person becomes King:in. The second person becomes viceroy:in, the last person becomes asshole and the second last person becomes viceroy asshole. All players in between are citizens.
In the next game, the asshole has to distribute the cards. Only after the asshole picks up his hand cards, the remaining players are allowed to touch their cards. If you touch them beforehand, you automatically swap roles with the asshole. Until the asshole touches his cards, you are not allowed to talk to the asshole or answer his questions. If you do, you also have to change your role. When everyone has their cards in hand, cards are exchanged between the offices: The asshole gives the king:in his/her two best cards and receives two bad cards in exchange. Likewise, the vice-asshole gives his best card to the viceroy:in and gets a bad card in exchange. Then the round starts as usual.
Pants off
The more players there are in a "Hose abe", the more fun it is. However, it ends with eleven people. If your group consists of more people, I recommend splitting up instead of adding another deck to the game.
The game principle of "Hose abe" is very different from the other four games. The aim here is not to discard all cards, but to improve your hand cards. At the beginning, everyone is dealt three cards each. The person who is dealt may either keep his three cards or put them in the middle and take three more cards from the draw pile. Then the game begins.

The aim of "Hose abe" is to have as good cards as possible in your hand. On your turn, you may swap one of your hand cards with a card from the centre of the table. You can also put all your cards in the middle and take the other three cards. If you can no longer improve your hand cards with a swap, you may tap off. After you have tapped, your opponents may each make one more move or also tap, after which the game is over.
Scoring.
The scoring of the cards is simple: All cards from six to nine count as much as the value written on them. To be counted together, however, they must be of the same colour. "Picture cards, i.e. from ten upwards, count as ten points - except for the ace, which counts as eleven points. Three identical cards (for example: 8, 8, 8) are the second best hand and give 30.5 points. The best hand is a "Hose abe" and gives 31 points. It consists of an ace and two "Bildli" cards of the same suit. A "Hose abe" must be announced immediately, because then the game is over and all players add up their points.
Matching equipment


Riding my motorbike makes me feel free, fishing brings out my inner hunter, using my camera gets me creative. I make my money messing around with toys all day.