Seeger-Fabian: tournament scoring in Skat, with Bierlachs and the score sheet
Anyone who knows Skat only from the kitchen table usually just writes down the game value: plus for the declarer when they win, minus double when they lose. Clubs and tournaments of the German Skat Association have used the Seeger-Fabian scoring (named after its two inventors) since the late 1990s; it adds fixed bonuses and penalties to every hand. This page explains how it counts, why, and how it differs from Bierlachs, the pub scoring. In Grand Skat the score sheet keeps both systems for three or four players at a real table, Ramsch included.
The rules
- Won game: the declarer gets the game value plus 50.
- Lost game: the declarer gets twice the game value plus 50 as a minus. The opponents get 40 points each at a three-player table and 30 points each at a four-player table, where the dealer who sat out gets them too.
- All pass: no entry. Tournaments do not play Ramsch.
- Kontra and Re double the game value before the calculation, not the bonus.
| Hand | Declarer | each opponent |
|---|---|---|
| Hearts with 2, game 3 (30), won | +80 | 0 |
| Hearts with 2, game 3 (30), lost | −110 | +40 (three) / +30 (four) |
| Grand with 3, game 4 (96), won | +146 | 0 |
| Grand with 3, game 4 (96), lost | −242 | +40 / +30 |
| Null Ouvert (46), lost | −142 | +40 / +30 |
The opponents' bonus is what sets this apart from home scoring: at a four-player table the table collects 90 points together for every lost game, at a three-player table 80. That is why defeating a game pays, and why a tight game "with 61 points" is worth more at a tournament than at the regulars' table: losing not only costs double, it also hands the others the bonus.
Why this scoring
- Comparability: a tournament plays series of 48 hands at a four-player table (36 at three). The 50 points per won game reward playing at all instead of passing along; otherwise a table full of Grands could not be compared with a table full of diamond games.
- Risk has a price: an overbid game or a lost Grand Hand tears holes that no single won game fills. Whoever does well under Seeger-Fabian plays games they also win.
- The dealer is not a spectator: at a four-player table the dealer who sits out also gets the 30 points. Over 48 hands that adds up, so the seat at a four-player table is no disadvantage.
Bierlachs: the pub scoring
In Bierlachs there are only minus points, and whoever reaches the limit first has lost and buys the round (hence the name). Two rules:
- Won game: every opponent gets the game value as a minus.
- Lost game: the declarer gets twice the game value as a minus.
The table agrees on the limit, 501 or 1001 points are common; the score sheet in Grand Skat starts at 500 and can be changed. At a four-player table only those who took part in the hand count in Bierlachs; the dealer is untouched. Ramsch is played: the loser gets their card points as a minus, doubled for a Jungfrau, and on a Durchmarsch the others go 120 into the minus (under Seeger-Fabian the Durchmarsch player would get the 120 as a plus).
Bierlachs is fast and merciless: two lost Grands are enough for an evening. It is no use for a series you want to compare, but it makes every single trick felt.
The score sheet in Grand Skat
The score sheet (menu "Score sheet", free) keeps both: enter the players, choose Seeger-Fabian or Bierlachs with a limit, and per hand tap the game type, matadors, hand, Schneider, Schwarz, Ouvert, Kontra and won or lost. It calculates the game value itself and lets you override it when the table simply writes "48". At a four-player table it sits the dealer out automatically, Ramsch with Jungfrau and Durchmarsch is included, and the last entry can be taken back. The full version keeps the series.
If you do not have the game values in your head yet: the bidding table lists them all, and the free tutorial has a lesson on scoring. Play now on grandskat.com. Legal notice in the Impressum.