Doppelkopf uses 12 cards in 4 suits Clubs(C), Spades(S), Hearts(H), Diamonds(D). Each suit has (point value in brackets) 2 Aces(11), 2 Tens(10), 2 Kings(4), 2 Queens(3), 2 Jacks(2), 2 Nines(0). Therefore the total available points in each game is 240.

Doppelkopf is played with 4 players. In a regular game the 2 players holding a Club Queen play together (the Re-side) against the other 2 (the Kontra-side). It is also possible that a player plays alone against the other 3 (a solo).

You have to follow suit. If it is not possible to follow suit, you can choose to either play a trump or discard a card from another suit.

3.3.1. Regular game:
In a regular game the following cards are trumps from high to low: H10, CQ, SQ, HQ, DQ, CJ, SJ, HJ, DJ, DA, D10, DK, D9. As there are 2 of each card there are 26 trumps. In Clubs and Spades the order is: A, 10, K, 9. In Hearts the order is A, K, 9 (as the H10 is a trump). Therefore there are 22 non-trumps

3.3.2. Solo games:
3.3.2.1 Queen's solo:
All the Queens are trumps in the order C, S, H, D. There are only 8 trumps. All other cards are non-trumps in the order: Ace, 10, K, J, 9

3.3.2.2. Jack's solo:
All the Jacks are trumps in the order C, S, H, D. There are only 8 trumps. All other cards are non-trumps in the order: Ace, 10, K, Q, 9.

3.3.2.3. SuitSolo in C, S, H, D:
H10, all Queens and all Jacks are trumps as in the regular game. The DA, D10, DK and D9 are replaced by the same cards from the suit in which a solo is played. Attention: At a H-solo the H10 remains the highest trump. There are then 2 trumps less in the game.

3.3.2.4 Ace Solo(No trump):
There are no trumps. All suits have the order: A, 10, K, Q, J, 9.

3.3.3. Marriage:
When a player has both Club Queens he has a 'Marriage'. His partner will be the player that makes the first trick within the first 3 tricks that does not go to the 'Marriage'- holder (Clarifying trick). When a Marriage is not announced(S 3.4) or the Marriage holder makes the first 3 tricks, then the Marriage holder plays a Diamond Solo.

At the start of the play there is the Reservation phase. First the player left of the dealer decides whether he wants to make a reservation or play a regular game(then he chooses 'sauber'). When someone makes a reservation the other players can only make a higher reservation or pass. Once you choose pass or sauber you cannot make any further reservation. This continues clockwise until all players choose sauber or all pass after a reservation. The order of reservations is: Marriage, throw in the deal because you have either 5 nines or <= 2 trumps("Armut"), Solo. The order of the Solos is(high to low): Aces, Queens, Jacks, Club, Spade, Heart, Diamond. These can be raised further by Re, no90, no60 etc. Therefore a Spade solo with no90 is higher than a Queens solo with Re. The solo player can lead to the first trick. If there is no solo the player left of the dealer leads to the first trick.

3.5.1. Initial Announcement:
With the announcement 'Re' (Re-side) or 'Kontra' (Kontra-side) the announcer shows that he thinks to be able to win the game together with his partner (Careful: there are also a myriad of tactical reasons to make an announcement-there is not enough room here to cover these). The initial announcement is possible as long as you have at least 11 cards in your hand. When there is a Marriage no announcements can be made until after the clarifying trick. When the first trick is the clarifying trick you can announce as long as you have 11 cards. When it is the second you need 10 cards. When it is the third you need 9 cards.

3.5.2. Further Announcements:
After the initial announcement you can raise the worth of the game by further announcements. You can announce 'no90' as long as you have at least 10(9, 8) cards in hand, 'no60' with 9(8, 7) cards in hand, 'no30' with 8(7, 6) cards in hand, 'Schwarz' (no tricks) with 7(6, 5) cards in hand. The numbers between brackets are for a Marriage with the second/third trick as the clarifying trick. These announcements mean that you think the opponents will not reach 90(60, …)points. You can make these announcements earlier, but it is not allowed to skip one.

3.6.1. Game End
There are 240 points in the game. The Re-side wins when it reaches 121 points (or 151, … when they announced 'no90'). The Kontra-side wins when it reaches 120(151, …) points. A total of 16 games is played in which solos do not count toward those 16(of course the acquired points do count).

3.6.2 Scoring
A plus-minus scoring is used. After a regular game the losers get the same score as the winners, but as minus. Therefore the total amount of points in the game is always 0.
 

When there is a solo these points are tripled for the solo player (either plus or minus depending on the result). The other 3 players just receive the regular amount