How to Play Doppelkopf
Description
Two Queens of Clubs decide who is on whose side — and nobody says a word about it.
Also known as: Doko
Objective
Work out who your secret partner is, and take more than half the card points with them.
Setup
Two shortened decks combined — every card from Nine to Ace appears twice, 48 cards in all. Deal twelve to each of four players.
Whoever holds the two Queens of Clubs forms the Re party; everyone else is Kontra. Nobody announces it.
Rules
Trumps are all Queens, all Jacks, all Diamonds, and the Ten of Hearts, ranked in a fixed order with the Queen of Clubs highest.
Follow suit if you can; a trump lead must be followed with trump. Highest trump takes the trick, or highest card of the suit led.
The partnerships reveal themselves through play — a card only a partner would sensibly play tells you as much as an announcement.
Winning
The 48 cards carry 240 points between them. The Re party needs 121 to win; Kontra needs 120.
Bonus points go for special results: beating the Re party heavily, capturing a Fox (the Ace of Diamonds) from the opposition, or winning the last trick with the Jack of Clubs.