What is "klaberjass"

Klaberjass or Bela is a trick-taking card game that is most popular in German communities. In its basic form it is a 9-card trick-and-draw game for two players using a 32-card piquet pack.

As in other point-trick games of the King–Queen group, players can score points for the "marriage" (bela) of king and queen of trumps. The distinguishing feature of Klaberjass is that the jack (Jass) and nine (Manille) of trumps are elevated to the highest ranks and highest card point scores.

The game appears to originate from the Low Countries or the Alsace region. An early form was first described in an 1821 Dutch book under a name that translates as klaver Jass, Jass being Dutch for Jack. Klaberjass has spawned the Jack–Nine family of card games, which consists mostly of four-player elaborations of the original game. In addition to the Dutch and Swiss national card games Klaverjas and Jass, the group contains Belote, which is the most popular game in countries such as France, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia.