Card order and points
| Trump card | Points |
|---|---|
| Jack (de boer) | 20 - highest trump |
| Nine (nel) | 14 - second |
| Ace | 11 |
| Ten | 10 |
| King | 4 |
| Queen | 3 |
| Eight / Seven | 0 |
Plain suits keep the familiar ace-ten order: ace 11, ten 10, king 4, queen 3, jack 2, then 9, 8, 7 worth nothing. Note the ten directly under the ace — it outranks the king.
Choosing trump
Starting left of the dealer, each player in turn either names a trump suit or passes. Naming trump makes your team the playing team: you contract to out-score the defenders. If all four players pass, the player left of the dealer must choose. The player left of the dealer always leads the first trick.
Playing tricks: the Rotterdam obligations
- Follow suit if you can. Cards of the led suit are your only legal plays.
- Trump led: you must beat the highest trump in the trick when able; a lower trump is legal only when you hold nothing higher.
- Void in the led suit: you must play a trump if you hold one — even when your partner is winning the trick (the Rotterdam rule) — and you must overtrump the highest trump so far when able. Undertrumping is legal only when forced.
- Void with no trumps: play anything.
- The highest trump wins the trick; without trumps, the highest card of the led suit. The winner leads next.
Roem: meld points inside the tricks
| Combination | Roem |
|---|---|
| Three consecutive cards of one suit | 20 |
| Four consecutive cards of one suit | 50 |
| King + queen of trumps (stuk) | +20 |
| Four of a kind (aces, tens, kings or queens) | 100 |
| Four jacks | 200 |
Roem belongs to the team that wins the trick — including combinations the losers helped build. Runs use the natural card order, not the trump order, so trump 9-10-J is a valid run. Four nines, eights or sevens score nothing. This implementation detects and claims all roem automatically.
Scoring the hand: nat and pit
- Each team adds its card points + roem; the last trick is worth 10 extra card points.
- Playing team ahead: both teams bank their own points.
- Playing team equal or behind — "nat": the playing team banks NOTHING, and the defenders bank all 162 card points plus ALL roem made by both teams.
- Pit: a team taking all eight tricks banks a 100-point bonus.
A game is 16 hands (a "boompje"), the deal rotating each hand. The higher grand total wins; a tie after 16 hands is broken by extra hands.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to trump when my partner is already winning the trick?
Under the Rotterdam rules used here: yes. Void in the led suit means you must play a trump when you hold one, whoever is winning. Amsterdam tables relax this — but not this one.
Who gets roem made from cards of both teams?
The team that wins the trick. If your queen completes a run with two enemy cards and they win the trick, the 20 roem is theirs. Breaking up potential runs is real defence.
Is the last trick worth extra?
Yes, 10 points, bringing the hand's card points to exactly 162. In a tight hand the last trick alone decides who goes nat.
What happens on a 81-81 tie in points?
The playing team must score MORE than the defenders. An exact tie means they failed: nat, zero points, everything to the defenders. (With roem included ties are rare but real.)
Can the defenders go nat?
No. Only the team that named trump carries the contract. The defenders always keep whatever they score — and collect everything when the playing team fails.
What is a boompje?
The traditional 16-hand match — four deals by each player. Club evenings play several boompjes; here one boompje is one game, and a tie plays extra hands.
Is Klaverjassen the same as Belote?
Same family, different games. Both use the jack-nine trump order and 162 points, but Belote declares melds from the hand before play, while Klaverjassen finds its roem inside the tricks — and Belote has a bidding round with a turned card, where Klaverjassen simply names trump.
Related rulebooks
- Belote rules - the french classic - trumps, tierces and belote
- Whist rules - classic tricks, rotating trump, first to 7
- Sueca rules - portugal's partnership battle for 120 points
Last reviewed 2026-08-12 · play Klaverjassen online free