Mittlere Jass: A Card Game for Three Players

Hey there! Did you know that Mittlere Jass is an exciting trick-taking card game that can be played by three players? It’s true! The whole point of the game is to see who can score the highest after 12 rounds of thrilling gameplay.

But hold on, there’s more! Let me tell you how it works. In Mittlere Jass, you and your fellow players will compete to earn something called “sticks.” These sticks are like game points, and you want to collect as many of them as possible. However, you’ll also need to watch out for “potatoes,” which are penalties that you definitely want to avoid.

Getting Started: Setup

Okay, here’s what you need to do to set up the game. First, you and your friends need to choose who will be the dealer. You can do this by picking randomly or any way you like. Once you’ve decided, the dealer will shuffle the deck and start dealing the cards to the players, going counterclockwise. Each player will receive three cards at a time.

Card Ranking and Points

Now, let’s talk about the cards themselves. In Mittlere Jass, the cards have a special order, or ranking. At the top of the ranking is the Ace, followed by the King, Ober, Under, Banner, 9, 8, 7, and 6. Each card also has a point value associated with it. The Ace is worth 11 points, the King is worth 4, the Ober is worth 3, the Under is worth 2, and the Banner is worth 10. The 9, 8, 7, and 6 cards have no point value.

Let’s talk about the ranking of cards in the game. The highest-ranking card is the Under, followed by 9, Ace, King, Ober, Banner, 8, 7, and 6. The point values for these cards, in order, are 20 points, 14 points, 11 points, 4 points, 3 points, 10 points, 0 points, 0 points, and 0 points.

If there are no trumps established during the game, then all 8s are now worth 8 points each.

Additionally, the player who wins the last trick is given five points.

Let’s Play!

Hey there! Let’s dive right into the game. First things first, the game kicks off with the player on the right side of the dealer, and it keeps going in a counterclockwise direction. You can start things off by playing any card you want for the first trick. Now, here’s the catch – the other players have to play a card of the same suit as yours, if they have one. If they don’t, they can throw in any card they please. Here’s where things get interesting: the first card that’s played out of suit sets the trump suit for the rest of the game. Bear with me, we’re almost there! The player who plays the highest trump card (if there is one) wins the trick. But, if there’s no trump card, it’s the person who played the highest card of the suit that was led. The cherry on top is that the winner of the trick gets to add those cards to their score pile and also gets to start the next trick. Phew! Got all that? Now, let’s start playing!

Once trump cards are determined, players have two options: either follow suit or play a trump card. If the lead suit is not a trump, a player can choose to play a trump instead of following suit. This puts the next player in a dilemma: they must either follow suit or play a higher-ranking trump. If neither option is viable, they are forced to play a lower-ranking trump. However, players always have the freedom to decide when they want to play the lowest-ranking trump card.

SCORING

Scoring comes into play after all the tricks have been won.

The scoring system involves the use of sticks and potatoes, represented by lines and circles, to keep track of points. Each stick represents a positive game point, while each potato represents a negative one.

When we play the game, we take turns deciding how we score points. We follow a list of scoring options, and whichever one happens first is the one we use.

The first option is if I win all the tricks. In that case, I get 2 points, and each of the other players gets 1 point. It’s like I get 2 sticks, and they each get 1 potato.

The second option is if I don’t win any tricks. Then, I get 2 points, but this time they each get 1 point. It’s like I get 2 potatoes, and they each get 1 stick.

The third option is if I score 100 points or more. In that situation, I get 2 potatoes, and the other two players get 1 stick each.

The fourth option is if I have the same score as another player. In that case, we both get 1 potato, and the other player gets 2 sticks.

So, here’s the deal: if you manage to score right in the middle among all three players, you’ll get 2 potatoes, while the other two players will get 1 stick each.

Now, when it comes to keeping score, each potato cancels out a stick. It’s like a balancing act, you know?

GAME OVER, FOLKS!

After all the rounds are completed, the game comes to an end. And guess what? The player with the most sticks is crowned the winner!

So, that’s it! It’s as simple as that. Keep playing, keep scoring, and aim for those potatoes while dodging those sticks. Good luck!