How to play Deberts

Deberts (Деберц, also called Klabor in Odessa and Debchik in Kharkiv) is the two-player card game of Odessa, Kharkiv, Mariupol and the Russian-speaking world, a close relative of Klaberjass, Clobyosh and Belote. Two players share 32 cards; one of them takes a trump and promises to score more than the other, and in trumps the jack and the nine suddenly become the strongest cards. Runs of three or four cards add points before a card is played, the king and queen of trumps make a bella, and a player who takes the trump and falls short is "bate" and gives away everything. Judging a hand from six cards, counting trumps and remembering what has gone make it one of the most skilful two-handed games.

How to play on skill.games

When you open the game, the settings appear. Choose a difficulty (Easy, Normal, Hard or Crazy), the length of the match (301 or 501 points) and what happens when nobody takes a trump (Redeal or Dealer must play), then press PLAY.

• The table: you sit at the bottom and Yasha across from you. A "D" marks the dealer. At the top, the status line says whose turn it is, and two chips show the match score and the trump with the name of the player who took it.
• Taking the trump: after six cards each, a card is turned face up beside the pack. On your turn press TAKE to make its suit trump, or PASS. In the second round, tap another suit to name it as trump, or PASS. Each player's call shows in a bubble by their name.
• The trump seven: if the turned suit became trump and you hold its seven, a panel asks whether to SWAP the seven for the turned card or KEEP it.
• Playing: tap a card or drag it onto the table. Playable cards are lifted and glow; a card that isn't allowed shakes and the status line explains why, such as "Play a higher trump". Runs are announced with each player's first card, and after the first trick the game shows whose runs count.

After each hand a sheet shows the card points, last trick, runs, bella, both totals, whether the taker made it, and the match score; press NEXT HAND to continue. The menu button in the top-left corner pauses, starts a new match or turns the sound off. The match is saved as you play, so you can press CONTINUE later. At the end, the results screen shows the score and how many of each player's trumps were made, with your statistics.

Rules

The cards. 32 cards, seven to ace. In trumps the order is jack, nine, ace, ten, king, queen, eight, seven, worth 20, 14, 11, 10, 4, 3, 0 and 0. In the other suits it is ace, ten, king, queen, jack, nine, eight, seven, worth 11, 10, 4, 3, 2 and nothing. The last trick adds 10.

The deal. Each player gets six cards, three at a time, and the next card is turned face up. The non-dealer speaks first: take the turned suit as trump or pass; then the dealer may take it or pass. If both pass, each in turn may name another suit as trump, or pass again. If nobody takes a trump, the cards are dealt again by the other player; with the Dealer must play option the dealer has to name a suit in the second round instead. The player who chose the trump is the taker.

More cards. Once the trump is chosen, each player gets three more cards, so both play with nine. The bottom card of the pack is turned face up for everyone to see; the rest of the pack is not used. The turned card stays on the table, but if its suit is trump, the player holding the seven of trumps may swap the seven for it before play.

Runs. Three cards in a row in one suit are a terz, worth 20; four, five or six in a row are a fifty, worth 50. Runs use the ordinary order seven, eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, king, ace, so ace, king, queen is a terz. Only the player with the best run scores runs, and then all of their runs count: a fifty beats any terz, then the higher top card wins, then a run in trumps, and between equal plain runs the non-dealer wins. Runs only count for a player who takes at least one trick. Seven cards in a row is a deberts, which wins the whole match at once. The king and queen of trumps in one hand are a bella, worth 20, announced when the first of them is played.

The play. The non-dealer leads the first trick, and the winner of each trick leads the next. Follow the suit led. If trumps are led you must play a higher trump if you can. If you can't follow suit you must trump; only with no trumps may you play anything. The highest trump wins, otherwise the highest card of the suit led.

Scoring. Each player adds up card points, the last trick, their runs and bella. The taker must score strictly more than the other player. If so, both write down their own points. If not, the taker is bate and the other player writes down both totals. If the totals are equal, the other player writes their own points and the taker's points hang: they go to whoever wins the next hand. The winner of a hand deals the next one.

Winning. The first player to reach 301 points (or 501 in the long match) wins; if both pass it in the same hand, the higher total wins.

Strategy tips

• Count your trumps before you take. The jack and nine of trumps are worth 34 points together and win tricks on their own.
• Count your runs too. A fifty can carry a hand on its own, but it only counts if you take a trick.
• Draw the trumps when you are the taker and hold the top trump.
• Swap the seven. The turned card is almost always worth more than the seven of trumps.
• Don't lead a ten while its ace is still out.
• Remember the bottom card and the turned card. Neither will ever be played.
• Pass weak hands. Being bate gives away your points as well as the hand.

Difficulty levels

The difficulty sets how well Yasha plays:

• Easy: takes trumps by rough feel, doesn't keep track of what has gone, and often plays a careless card.
• Normal: tests its hand in many imagined deals before taking, and plays solid cards: it counts what is out, draws trumps, wins cheaply and ducks when it can't win.
• Hard: before each card it imagines several possible hands for you that fit what it has seen, plays each choice out and picks the best.
• Crazy: the strongest: many more imagined hands, it notices when you couldn't beat a trump, and it plays the last tricks perfectly.

Modes

• Game to: 301 points (short deberts, the usual match for two) or 501 (long deberts).
• All pass: Redeal, the classic rule, or Dealer must play, a common house rule in which the dealer has to name a trump in the second round. Statistics are kept for each difficulty.