Doppelkopf is full of weird terms and special jargon. That’s true for German, and even more awkward for English-speaking players who have to put up with a mishmash of German phrases and haphazardly translated terms.

To make all of this a little easier, you’ll find a quick reference of common terms and jargon as well as their German equivalents below.

the blue one

German: die Blaue

The Q ♠ queen of spades .

bonus point

A point you get for winning certain cards or trick-constellations. Depending on the special rules and variations you apply, different kinds of bonus points can be added to a game. Common rules: Catching foxes, Doppelkopf, Charly.

card point

German: Augen

The point value of a card.

Charly

German: Karlchen

The J ♣ jack of clubs . If a party manages to win the last trick using the jack of clubs, they receive a bonus point — at least when you play with the rule “Charly”.

dealer

The player who shuffles and deals the cards. After each game the next player in clockwise order becomes the new dealer.

Kontra

One of the two parties in the game. The two players who don’t have the queen of clubs on their hands constitute the Kontra party. In a solo game, all players who are not playing solo constitute the Kontra party.

discard

To play a (low) non-trump card of a different suit than the led suit to a trick.

Doppelkopf

The name of the game. But also: A trick with more a value of 40 or more card points.

Dulle

The 10 ♥ ten of hearts . If you play with “Dullen”, the tens of hearts become the highest trump in the game.

flush

German: Flöte

Lots of cards of the same suit, ideally as a sequence without gaps. A flush is particularly useful when playing solo.

follow suit

The lead card determines which cards other players can play. If the lead card is a non-trump, other players have to follow suit and play a non-trump of the same suit if they can. If the lead card is a trump card, other players have to play a trump card if possible.

Fox

German: Fox

The A ♦ ace of diamonds . If a party manages to win the fox of the opposing party, they receive a bonus point — at least when you play with the rule “catching foxes”.

game point

A point you get for achieving certain winning thresholds in a game. At the end of each game you evaluate how many card points each party scored. You get game points for winning the game, announcing your party’s win, and successfully declaring bids.

lead card

The card that was first played to a trick.

long suit

If you have a lot of cards of a certain non-trump suit you have a short suit. A long suit can be useful in a solo game (mostly when you’ve got a flush but is often undesirable in a normal game as it means other players are unlikely to follow suit.

non-trump

German: Fehl

Any card that’s not trump.

Usually these are all cards that are not Q queens , J jacks , or ♦ diamonds . This can change when playing a solo.

the old one

German: die Alte

The Q ♣ queen of clubs . “The old ones” have a special meaning as they determine who belongs to the Re party.

party

There are two parties in Doppelkopf: Re and Kontra. These two parties play against each other and need to find their respective partners over the course of each game. Players of the same party combine their card points at the end of the game, they win together and lose together.

rank

German: Rang

The rank of a card: A ace , 10 10 , K king , J jack , or 9 nine .

Re

One of the two parties in the game. The two players who have the queen of clubs on their hands constitute the Re party. In a solo game, the player who plays solo constitute the Re party.

schmear

German: schmieren

To play a card with a high value (lots of card points to the current trick. This is often done to support your partner if they are likely to win the current trick.

short suit

If you have few cards of a certain non-trump suit you have a short suit. A short-suited ace is particularly useful if you’re leading to a trick, as it is likely that other players have to follow suit and you win the trick.

solo

A special type of game. One player plays against the other three players — in contrast to a normal game where two players partner up. There are different kinds of solos you can play that all change the trump order slightly.

suit

German: Farbe

The suit of a card: ♣ clubs , ♠ spades , ♥ hearts , ♦ diamonds .

trick

A set of 4 cards. The highest card of these cards determines who wins the trick. A game of Doppelkopf consists of 12 tricks (10 if you’re playing without nines). Each player plays a card to the current trick. The winner receives the trick and scores all card points.

trump

German: Trumpf

1. As a noun: A card that isn’t a non-trump.
2. As a verb: To play a trump card in order to win a trick.

Usually all Q queens , J jacks and ♦ diamonds are trumps. This can change in a solo game.