The complete rules - for a first-time player
Debertz is a trick-taking card game for four players in two partnerships. Every deal, one team becomes the trump-takers: they pick the trump suit and promise to win more than half of the points in that deal. Score them, fall short and you get "bitten", and race your rivals to the target score - 501 or 1001.
This is the heart of the game. Cards are worth points only when your team wins the trick that contains them. The same card is worth different amounts depending on whether it is a trump or a plain (non-trump) card.
All the cards together are worth 152 points, and whoever wins the last trick scores an extra 10. So a plain deal is worth 162 points in total - declarations (below) add more.
Notice the Jack and Nine: in their own trump suit they are the two strongest cards, but in a plain suit they are nearly worthless. The order a card beats another (strongest first) is:
| Where | Strongest to weakest |
|---|---|
| Trump suit | J, 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8, 7 |
| Plain suit | A, 10, K, Q, J, 9, 8, 7 |
Any trump, however small, beats any card of a plain suit.
After the deal, the teams decide who will take the trump and which suit it will be (your table's usual bidding or turn-up method works - the app does not mind how you choose). The team that takes trump is committing to score more than half of the deal. Choose a suit where you hold strong trumps - ideally the Jack and Nine.
The hand is played out in eight tricks. On each trick:
Collect the cards your team wins - their values are added up at the end.
Besides card points, players can score bonus points for combinations held in hand. These are announced during the first trick and add to your team's total for the deal.
| Combination | What it is | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Bela | King + Queen of the trump suit | 20 |
| Tertz | Three cards in a row, same suit | 20 |
| Poltina (the half) | Four cards in a row, same suit | 50 |
| Debertz | All eight cards of one suit in a row | 1001 |
For sequences, cards rank in natural order (7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A), not by trick strength. Bela is scored by saying "bela" as you play the second of the King and Queen.
The Debertz - holding all eight cards of a single suit - is the combination the game is named after. At 1001 points it is effectively an instant win, and it is as rare as it sounds.
This is what makes Debertz sharp, and what the app handles for you automatically.
Keep playing deals and adding up the scores. The first team to reach the target - 501 or 1001, agreed before you start - while ahead of the other team wins the game.
Debertz the app does the bookkeeping. After each deal you enter the point split and tap which team took trump; it works out bites, zero tricks, the three-bite penalty, eggs, and the running totals, and tells you the moment a team has won. You can focus on the cards.