See below for a list of the documents that can be downloaded using this page.
If you are planning to run a Duplikat Skat event, this page list the resources that you will need, and shows you how to obtain them.
In most Skat events, the cards are shuffled at the table, and each deal is played only once. Thus luck plays a considerable part in determining thhe result. A player who is dealt many aces and jacks will do well, even if he plays quite badly. But in Duplikat Skat (also called Synchron Skat), the cards are dealt before the event, and marked on their backs. Each deal will be played at several tables. A player gets a good result from a deal if he scores more than the other players who play the same hand at other tables.
These pages describe the way that Duplikat Skat events are run by the British Skat Association. This is slightly adapted from the way that was recommended by the Deutschen Skat-Gericht in about 2000.
We assume that you will have reasonably fast players, capable of playing four sessions, each of 18 boards. The numbers below are calculated accordingly. But if your players are new to tournament Skat, you may prefer to have fewer boards per session. In England, we find that fast players experienced with the Duplikat system can play 24 boards in 90 minutes, but slow players, new to the Duplikat system, may play at half this speed.
The quantities listed below assume fast players. If some of your players are slow, you should reduce the quantities accordingly.
If you have four sessions each of 24 boards, you will use 24 packs (and will be able to accommodate no more than 24 players). But, unless you know in advance exactly how many players you will have, you will need to bring more packs than this. This is because you don't know whether you will be playing three to a table or four to a table, and will need to allow for both. You will need eight packs in each of three colours, to allow for three-player tables; and six packs in each of four colours, to allow for four-player tables. This comes to a total of 30 packs. I recommend also bringing a few spare packs to use as replacements in case of accidents, four of each colour, for a total of 38: eight yellow amd ten each of the other three colours.
You can buy Duplikat packs from the British Skat Association. Our used packs are much cheaper, and may be better for your purposes, as you will not have the trouble of re-dealing them. If it is your intention to use our used packs, the ones marked with permanant marker pens are probably best; the ones marked with chinagraph pencil may have the marks somewhat rubbed out with use.
For used packs, the postage will exceed the cost of the packs.
A scoresheet is shown to the right.
You will need one scoresheet per table per session, plus a few spares in case of accidents. A scoresheet is available as a Microsoft Word file, downloadable from this link. To use it you will need a computer running Windows and Microsoft Office, or some other system capable of printing Word files. Alternatively, you can right-click on the image to the right to get a larger copy of it, and download and print multiple copies of that.
You may prefer to edit the file you have downloaded, to change the words "British Skat Association", before printing out your copies.
A start-card is shown to the left. You will need one start-card per player, plus a few spares. A page of eight start-cards is available as a Microsoft Powerpoint file, downloadable from this link. To use it you will need a computer running Windows and Microsoft Office, or some other system capable of printing Powerpoint files. Alternatively, you can right-click on the image to the left to get a larger copy of it, and download and print multiple copies of that.
Start-cards are best printed on thin card, rather than paper.
This spreadsheet can be downloaded from this link.
To use it you will need a computer running Windows and Microsoft Office, or running some other software such as LibreOffice or Open Office.
Not just the rules of play, but all the rules that explain how to handle irregularities such as revokes. You may prefer the official German Internationale Skatordnung, or The British Skat Association's English translation (made in 2001, from the then current official Skatordnung). Print out a copy, and take it with you so you can refer to it whenever necessary.
| Players | 3 per table | 4 per table | 6 | 2 | 7 | 2 * | 8 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 2 * | 10 | 3 * | 11 | impossible | 12 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 4 * | 3 * | 14 | impossible | 15 | 5 | 16 | 5 * | 4 | 17 | 4 * | 18 | 6 | 19 | 6 * | 20 | 5 | 21 | 5 * | 22 | 7 * | 23 | impossible | 24 | 8 | 6 | 25 | 8 * | 6 * |
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Most numbers of players are possible for a Duplikat Skat event, but some are not. This assumes that you are willing to play as either three to each table or as four to each table, and that you have an event organiser who is willing to play or not as necessary. The table to the right shows how many you can have at a table for each number of players.
An asterisk in the table means that the organiser does not play.
In England we have found that when there is a choice of three-player tables or four-player tables, as for example with 12 players, most people prefer three-player tables.
We have not found a way to have mixed sizes of table. With eleven players, for example, it would be good to be able to form a three-player table and two four-player tables; but no-one has been willing and able to do the scoring for such an event.
We have found it is best to have a firm deadline for entries, 15 minutes before play starts. Without a firm deadline, there is a danger that you will start play with, say, 15 people playing as five tables of three, and after a few hands a sixteenth player will arrive and plead with you to start again as four tables of four so that he can be included. To avoid this, we recommend that players who are not present 15 minutes before the start of play should not be included in the first session. We may allow players who are not yet present but have telephoned the organiser to say that they are on their way and will be present by the time play is scheduled to start.
There is no problem at all with players arriving, or leaving, between sessions. The scoring system we use handles events with different numbers of players in each session.
This is a checklist for the organiser of a Duplikat Skat event. It is not intended as instructions, just as a list of items that you may need to take with you when you go to run the event.
The use of these documents is described in the sections above.