Klaverjassen – The Most Sociable Card Game

The origins of klaverjassen date back to 1890–95, proclaimed by the Dutch, Swiss, French, and Hungarians. However, klaverjassen is considered to be the Dutch game, widely played throughout Netherlands. When you enter any café or a pub, you often see four people at a table, playing cards and enjoying their time. Most likely, they play klaverjassen, or any of its variations, like Rotterdam or Amsterdam klaverjassen. Most often the variation of the game depends on the city you’re in.

What Are the Rules?

The rules of klaverjassen are pretty simple: it’s a trick-taking game, played by two teams of two payers, who sit opposite each other around the table. The game is played clockwise, with a piquet, a pack of 32 cards (6s are excluded). The aim of the game is to score more points for following the cards of the suit. Therefore, each player tries to win as much suits as he can.

Points are scored in klaverjassen not only for winning the suit, but for the card, which won it. Only the first suit brings 20 points to the winner. Usually, klaverjassen supposes using trumps, hence players should choose it. The most popular method of choosing trumps is when the second player, who is the next sitting clockwise from the dealer, picks a card out of the pack of cards. Thus, the players get trumps. However, the method can be very different depending on the klaverjassen variation.

What Makes You a Good Player

As the rules of klaverjassen are simple and easy to learn, knowing the rules only can’t make you a good klaverjassen player. In fact, you should know much more. You are supposed to know all variations of the game (each variation has its details in rules about using trumps, scoring, etc.) as well as signaling sings. Klaverjassen is played in pairs, so ideally you and your partner should understand each other well even on a distance.

Having your own strategy, some interesting and various experience is always a bonus. However, if you have a properly developed logical thinking and a little bit of time, you are almost guaranteed to become a great klaverjassen player. The only thing to do is to take your chances and play. Enjoy every moment of the game, play for fun, play at home and at social clubs, play with family and friends, and get your qualification of a wonderful klaverjassen player quickly.

Jan Kaas is specialized in writing about klaverjassen and online klaverjassen.