Officers' Skat choose trumps once both players have four cards, face up, before them. If both players pass, the game is played as "Ramsch", i.e. the is to get the lowest score. The feature of Harlequin Skat is the fact that a player only sees half his own cards, but also half of his opponent's. His opponent cannot see any of those cards, but can see all the others. The advantages of harlequin skat are that you need less space to play it, and a greater tactical depth because you know your opponent's cards before they are seen. The same rules apply
Pinochle and is forbidden. There are occasionally different meld values for a run and a pinochle; a run being 250 or 150 points, and a pinochle being 150 or 40 points. All other aspects of the game generally remain the same. Technical Misdeal If a player is dealt 13 or more non-counters and no aces, the player may declare a technical misdeal. This must declared before he or she plays the first trick. A technical misdeal nullifies all points melded for all players. The hand is then re-dealt by the original dealer of that hand. In triple-deck pinochle six play in