Binokel it developed into the similar game of Pinochle. Binokel is also played in Switzerland. Binokel belongs to the family of melding and trick-taking games. Unlike others in the family, special card combinations (family, 4 of a kind, etc.) score additional points. After the deal, there is an auction to bid for the "dabb" (stack of undealt cards c.f. Skat) or "tapp". Players bid depending on the card points they expect to score from taking tricks and making melds. The team with the highest bid has to win the game, i.e. score more points in tricks and melds than they bid.
History of Skat Altenburg suit bidding ("Altenburger Farbenreizen") and the point bidding system used today was that the suit bidding offered only the basic values of the games. Except in special cases, a player could not be overbid by an unfavourable Unter/Jack in the Skat, since the position of the Unters was not taken into account when bidding. "Matadors" ("Spitzen") were not taken into account until after the game. In addition, the game types differed from today's: Little is known about the early history and origins of point bidding. The first Skat Congress failed in its attempt to found an all-German Skat Association