Officers' Skat barracks, but not at the skat table, so often there was no third man." As a result, a variation of skat for two players was derived. The name coachman's skat ("Kutscherskat") comes from the fact that coachmen were supposed to have whiled away their waiting time with this game, while their gentlemen went off to a social event, there being often 2 coachmen (including the postilion per coach. The cards were laid out between the coaches on the coach box. Officers' Skat Officers' Skat ("Offiziersskat"), is a trick-taking card game for two players which is based on the rules of
Pinochle team or player has been "set". This means that the total bid amount is subtracted from the total game score, often accompanied by losing the points scored in meld for that hand as well. This can result in a negative score. A related though different style of bidding is for the players to bid individually, and partners' bids are then summed. The winning bid only decides trump; both (or all) teams' bids become their contract, meaning any team can score or be set. This creates a more balanced game. In some versions of pinochle, after the bid has been taken