Play Klawerjas Card Game Online

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Klawerjas is a Dutch card game played by four players. This game has gained popularity particularly in South Africa and The Netherlands, so if you know it here is your chance to show off your skill!

How to Play

The game begins with a deck of 32 cards, namely: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8 and 7, from each suit. The cards are dealt clockwise, and the order of play is also clockwise. At the start of the game, each player is dealt 3 cards, followed by 2 cards and then finally another 3 cards (* cards in total).

The game is played by two teams, with each player positioned across from their teammate. The first trick is led by the player who is on the left side of the dealer; this player must also pick a trump suit.

Once the game begins, grasping it will be simple if the player keeps this one thing in mind: follow the suit played before you whenever possible. If it is not possible to follow the suit, there are three possibilities available to the player:

  1. If the player’s partner has played the highest-ranking card in the trick, the player can play any random card he desires
  2. If an opponent has played the highest-ranking card in the trick and the player has a trump, the player must play their trump card.
  3. If an opponent has played the highest-ranking card in the trick and the player has no trumps, the player can play any random card he desires.

At the end of each trick, the team that played the highest-ranking card from the requested suit or the highest-ranking trump card, wins the trick and scores points.

Scoring points

Each card earns a team a specific number of points.

For the trump suit, the points are allocated as follows:

  • Jack: 20 points
  • 9: 14 points
  • Ace: 11 points
  • 10: 10 points
  • King: 4 points
  • Queen: 3 points

For the non-trump suit, the points are allocated as follows:

  • Ace: 11 points
  • 10: 10 points
  • King: 4 points
  • Queen: 3 points
  • Jack: 2 points
  • 9: 0 points

NB: 7 and 8 do not score any points.

Klawerjas Declarations

Bonus points are awarded for making specific combinations of cards in a trick (also called a declaration).

  • 3 cards of the same color: 20 points
  • 4 cards of the same color: 50 points
  • 4 cards of the same kind (A, K, Q, 10): 100 points
  • 4 Jacks (J): 200 points
  • Queen and King of a trump suit: 20 points
  • 3 cards of the same color that includes a Queen and King of trump suit: 40 points
  • 4 cards of the same color that includes a Queen and King of trump suit: 70 points

The sequencing order of the cards is as follows: 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A, whether it is a trump suit or not. The winner of the declaration trick scores points for his team overall.

The points are calculated at the end of every round. The game concludes when one team scores 500 points (some games can last until a team scores 700 points or more).

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