Scoring
Calculating the score
When the game is over (all 9 hands have been played), the team with the least number of cards should count their score. The other team subtracts that score from 157 (the total number of points in any game, regardless of trump) to get their own score. If one team gets all 9 hands in a game, then they get a 100 point bonus, for a total of 257 points. Before writing the score, it is multiplied by a modifier, depending on the trump. The modifiers are as follows:
Red trump (hearts, diamonds):
single
Black trump (clubs, spades):
double
No trump (normal, reverse): triple
Therefore it is possible to score 771 points (257 x 3) in one game!
Extra points
When a player declares a combination, they also score points for their team (see Declaring cards:Determining a winner). The possible combinations are as follows:
Sequence of 3 cards | 20 points | |
Sequence of 4 cards | 50 points | |
Sequence of 5 cards or more | 100 points | |
4 of a kind | 100 points | |
4 Jacks | 200 points | |
Stöck | 20 points |
These points are also multiplied by the modifier for the current trump.
Writing the score
One player from each team keeps track of the score for a match. The scorers should alternate between matches. Score is traditionally kept on a small chalkboard, but a sheet of paper works well too. Divide the sheet as shown below, keeping track of most of the points in the main section to the left, with strokes.
Any remainders should be written in a column to the right. Keep the remainders as small as possible and consolidate whenever possible. It should never be more than 20 points in total. This system makes it very simple to see the current score and eliminates the need for scratching out old scores, etc.
If a team scores more than 500 points in a single game, they may write a V in the hundreds row*.
*This is called the bird, or Vogel, in Swiss German, because it kind of looks like a bird. You may, at your discretion, pretend that you are a bird by flapping your arms, but gauge your opponent's sense of humor first. :-)
Winning a match
The first team to declare that they have reached 2500 points is the winner. The wording here is important. If a team reaches 2500 points, but does not declare it (usually by thanking the other team*), they have not won. If then the other team passes 2500 points and declares it, they win.** A team does not need to finish the game in order to declare that they won. A player may count points as the hands are won (multiplying by the appropriate modifier for that trump) and figure out that they won. A win can be declared at any time.
There is a rule is Swiss German that goes: 'Stöck, Vees, Stich'. When counting points for a hand, the points earned from a stöck are counted first, then points from a declaration (Vees), then the points from the hand (the first hand in this case). Normally, this doesn't matter, but if both teams are close to finishing, then order matters.
This opens up interesting possibilities for the last game of a match (see Strategies:End game for more scenarios).
*In Swiss German, you say 'Mir Bedanken Eus', which means 'we thank you both'.
**Yes, no matter how many points the first team has. Jass is about paying attention.
Tourney points
When a team wins a match, they get points in the tourney (see Basic gameplay). If the losing team has not made 1250 points, or made it halfway*, then the winning team gets 2 tourney points. There is no standard for tracking these points. Some people like to put a big 'X' through the score sheet on the winner's side. Considering the effort put into getting tourney points, there's usually not a problem remembering them.
*This is called making it 'aus dem schnieder', which literally means 'getting past the cut-off'.