Amazon.com: skate card game. Skip to main content.us. Hello Select your address All. SKAT is the most popular German card game adapted for your computer. Learn to play Skat - become an expert - enjoy the game whenever you like. SKAT offers you two computer opponents.
OBJECTIVE OF SCAT: Collect cards of a single suit totaling 31(or as close to 31 as possible).
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2-9 players
NUMBER OF CARDS: standard 52-card
TYPE OF GAME: Draw and Discard
AUDIENCE: All Ages
INTRODUCTION TO SCAT
Scat, also known as 31 or Blitz, shares names with other games and is not to be confused with:
- The German game ‘Skat’
- The banking game 31, which is played much like 21.
- The German game 31 or Schwimmen
- Dutch Blitz
THE PLAY
Skat Card Game online, free
Dealing
Dealers may be chosen however players wish and pass clockwise with each hand. After the cards are shuffled, starting with their left, the dealer passes each player cards one at a time until everyone has three cards.
After each player has a full hand, the top card of the deck is flipped over, this will start the discard pile. Discards piles are kept ‘squared up,’ so that the top card is visible and free to be taken.
Playing
The player to the left of the dealer starts and play passes clockwise. A turn consists of:
- Drawing a card from the top of the deck or discard
- Discarding a single card
You are not permitted to draw the top card from the discard and then immediately discard it. Cards drawn from the top of the deck (or stock), however, may be discarded in the same turn.
Knocking
If on your turn you believe your hand to be high enough to beat at least one opponent you may knock. If you choose to knock your turn ends and you stick with your present hand. Once the player to the right of the knocker discards, players reveal their cards. Players decide which is their ‘point suit’ and totals up the value of their cards within that suit.
The player who has the lowest hand loses a life. If the knocker ties with another player(s) for lowest hand, the other player(s) loses a life and the knocker is saved. However, if the knocker has the lowest score they lose two lives. In the event there is a tie for the lowest score between two players (neither of which were the knocker), they both lose a life.
Declaring 31
If a player reaches 31, they immediately show their cards and claim their victory! All other players lose. A player can declare 31 even if another player has knocked. If you lose while you are out of money (“on the dole,” “on welfare,” “on the county”), you are out of the game. The game continues until one player remains.
SCORING
Ace = 11 points
King, Queen, Jack = 10 points
Number cards worth their pip value.
A hand consists of three cards, you may add up three cards of the same suit to determine your score.
Typically, Scat is played with each player having 3 pennies. If a player loses a life, they put a penny in the kitty (and if you lose two lives you put two pennies in the kitty).
If a player calls 31 all players puts a penny in the kitty (including the knocker).
If you run out of pennies you are out of the game. The game ends when one player remains.
VARIATIONS
Three of a Kind counts for 30 points.
Straight Flush counts for 30 points. Except for A-K-Q which is 31 points.
Minimum Knock Score, could be 17-21, for example.
“Throw Down,” is a common variant. Without looking at the cards a player can call a throw down and expose their hand. Other players must follow suit. Throwdowns are treated like knocks in respect to lives.
Created by Ron Link (Canadian SkatChampion and member of the 2006, 2008, and 2016 Canadian Skat WorldChampion Teams) and Michael Buro(developer of the InternationalSkat Server and 2008 Alberta Skat Champion), 'SKAT-Link, TheUltimate Card Game' is produced in Canada and sold world-wide toteach and promote the game of Skat.
What is Included in the Game Box?
The Auction
The box includes a valuablehow-to-play instruction booklet, a deckof Skat cards for beginners that eases thetransition from anglo-american to German face cards which are commonlyused in Skat tournaments, four shiny game reference cards, and 50double sided score sheets with instructions. This makes a great giftfor friends and family! The suggested age for playing Skat is 10+.The game can be purchased online and through more than 20 retaillocations across Canada (list).
The Electronic Version
You can also download pdf-files for the booklet, the reference card,score sheets, and scoring instructions from this site to print themfor personal usage.
Skat-101
We recently added to the box the description of a game we callSkat-101 that teaches beginners the basic concepts of Skat such astrick-taking and counting card points without the complexities ofbidding. You can get download it here for free.
Skat: 'The Book'
Skat Card Game App
Learn how to play like a Champion! Sold separately. Details can befound here