TallynightThe Sheepshead scoring chart
These are the game points for the classic five-player game, with double on the bump, as many tables and tournaments play it: when the picker's side loses, it pays double. Card points decide who wins the hand. Game points are what you write down.
| Picker's side takes | Picker | Partner | Each defender |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61 to 90 card points: a win | +2 | +1 | −1 |
| 91 or more: schneider | +4 | +2 | −2 |
| Every trick: schwarz | +6 | +3 | −3 |
| 31 to 60: a loss, on the bump | −4 | −2 | +2 |
| 30 or fewer: schneidered, on the bump | −8 | −4 | +4 |
| No trick: schwarz, on the bump | −12 | −6 | +6 |
Some tables, and many online games, don't double the bump: a losing picker's side pays what it would have won, so −2, −1 and +1 each, −4, −2 and +2 schneidered, and −6, −3 and +3 with no trick. Agree which before the first deal.
Every hand adds up to 0: what the winners get, the losers pay. A doubler, a crack or a blitz doubles the whole hand.
Card points and trump order
Sheepshead uses 32 cards, the 7s up to the aces. 14 cards are trumps, highest first: the four queens (clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds), the four jacks in the same order, then the ace, 10, king, 9, 8 and 7 of diamonds.
Clubs, spades and hearts are the fail suits, six cards each, ranked ace, 10, king, 9, 8, 7. The 10 beats the king. Card points are the same in trumps and fail:
- Ace
- 11
- Ten
- 10
- King
- 4
- Queen
- 3
- Jack
- 2
- 9, 8 and 7
- 0
That's 120 card points in every hand. The picker's side needs 61, so at 60 all the defenders win. The defenders need 30 to stay out of schneider, and the picker's side needs 31.
The picker, the blind and the partner
With five players, each gets 6 cards and 2 go face down as the blind. Starting at the dealer's left, each player picks up the blind or passes. The picker adds it to their hand and buries two cards face down. Card points in the bury count for the picker's side.
- Called ace
- The picker calls the ace of a fail suit they hold a card of, but not the ace. Whoever has it is the secret partner, and must play it the first time that suit is led. If every fail suit the picker holds has its ace, many tables let them call another ace with a face-down card, the unknown, standing in for that suit. With all three fail aces, the picker calls a 10.
- Jack of diamonds
- Whoever holds the jack of diamonds is the partner. If the picker has it, they play alone, or at some tables call up the jack of hearts.
- Going alone
- The picker can play without a partner and takes the partner's share too: +4, +8 or +12 for a win, and −8, −16 or −24 for a loss on the bump. Each of the four defenders pays or gets the same as in the chart.
Leasters, doublers and cracking
These are table rules, and tables differ on all of them. Agree before the first deal, and write them at the top of the sheet.
- Leaster
- When everyone passes, there's no picker and no partner. The player with the fewest card points wins, as long as they took at least one trick, and gets 1 from each other player (2 at some tables). The blind usually goes to whoever takes the last trick.
- Doubler
- Instead of a leaster, deal again and the next hand counts double. At some tables, two doublers in a row make the next two hands double rather than one hand worth four times.
- Forced pick
- Some tables make the dealer pick when everyone passes, and don't double the bump if they lose.
- Cracking
- After the pick, a player who didn't get the chance to pick, and isn't the partner, can crack, knocking on the table, to double the hand. The picker or partner can re-crack to double it again.
- Blitzing
- At some tables, showing both black queens, or both red ones, doubles the hand once more.
- No trick for the picker
- At some called-ace tables, if the picker's side takes no trick, the partner pays nothing and the picker pays it all.
With 3 or 4 players
The scoring works the same way: each defender pays or gets 1, 2 or 3 game points, doubled on the bump, and the picker takes the rest so the hand comes to 0.
- 3 players
- 10 cards each and 2 in the blind. The picker always plays alone against two: a win is +2 for the picker and −1 for each defender, and a loss on the bump is −4 and +2 each.
- 4 players
- 7 cards each and 4 in the blind, and the picker plays alone against three: +3 for a win, −6 for a loss on the bump. Some tables take out the black 7s, keep a blind of 2 and let the picker call a partner.
Sheepshead is the American form of Schafkopf, the Bavarian game: the same queens and jacks on top and the same 120 card points, but diamonds are trumps, there's a blind to pick up, and the classic game is for five rather than four.
A scoring example
Five players, called ace, double on the bump and leasters. Five hands.
| Ana | Ben | Cleo | Dev | Eli | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand 1 · Ana picks, Cleo is her partner, 72: a win | 2 | −1 | 1 | −1 | −1 |
| Hand 2 · Ben picks, Eli is his partner, 94: schneider | −2 | 4 | −2 | −2 | 2 |
| Hand 3 · Dev goes alone and takes 58: bumped | 2 | 2 | 2 | −8 | 2 |
| Hand 4 · Everyone passes. Cleo takes the fewest in the leaster | −1 | −1 | 4 | −1 | −1 |
| Hand 5 · Eli picks, Ana is his partner, 27: schneidered and bumped | −4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | −8 |
| Total | −3 | 8 | 9 | −8 | −6 |
Every hand adds up to 0, so the totals do too: Cleo's 9 and Ben's 8 match Ana's 3, Dev's 8 and Eli's 6 below zero.
Without double on the bump, hand 3 would be −4 for Dev and +1 for each defender, and hand 5 would be −4 for Eli, −2 for Ana and +2 for each defender.
Keep score for Sheepshead in Tallynight
Sheepshead isn't one of Tallynight's built-in games yet, but it takes a minute to set up. Choose Something else, then Rounds, and under Who wins pick Highest. Leave Play to off, add everyone at the table, tap Add to favourites so it's ready next time, then Start game.
After each hand, type what each player won or paid on one keypad, with a minus sign for those who paid: +2 for the picker, +1 for the partner and −1 for each defender on a plain win. Tallynight doesn't know who picked, and it doesn't work out schneider, the bump or a crack, so use the chart. It shows the round's total as you type, which should come to 0. Tap End game when the night's over.
- Every player's points for the hand on one keypad, minus signs included
- The round's total as you type, to check it comes to 0
- Tap any hand to fix it
- A winner card for the family chat at the end
A Sheepshead score sheet to print
Playing on paper tonight? Print a free Sheepshead score sheet, or save it as a PDF.
Sheepshead score sheetQuestions
How do you score Sheepshead?
The picker and partner need 61 of the 120 card points. If they make it, each defender pays 1 game point: the picker gets 2 and the partner 1. Schneider (91 or more) doubles that and schwarz (every trick) triples it. If they miss, they pay instead, and many tables double that.
What is double on the bump in Sheepshead?
When the picker's side loses, it pays twice what it would have won: −4 for the picker, −2 for the partner and +2 for each defender on a plain loss. Many home tables and tournaments play it. Some tables, and many online games, don't.
What is schneider in Sheepshead?
Taking 91 or more card points, which leaves the other side 29 or fewer. The defenders need 30 to stay out of schneider and the picker's side needs 31. Schneider doubles the hand, and schwarz, taking every trick, triples it.
What is the trump order in Sheepshead?
14 trumps, highest first: the queens of clubs, spades, hearts and diamonds, the jacks in the same order, then the ace, 10, king, 9, 8 and 7 of diamonds.
Who is the picker's partner in Sheepshead?
At called-ace tables, whoever holds the fail ace the picker calls. At jack-of-diamonds tables, whoever holds the jack of diamonds. The partner keeps quiet until the card is played, and the picker can choose to go alone.
How are leasters scored in Sheepshead?
When everyone passes, the player with the fewest card points wins, as long as they took a trick, and gets 1 from each of the others. Some tables pay 2, and some play a doubler instead.
What does cracking mean in Sheepshead?
After someone picks, a player who didn't get the chance to pick, and isn't the partner, can crack, knocking on the table, to double the hand. The picker or partner can re-crack to double it again.
How do you play Sheepshead with 3 or 4 players?
With 3, deal 10 each and 2 to the blind, and the picker plays alone against two. With 4, deal 7 each and 4 to the blind, and the picker plays alone against three. Each defender pays or gets 1, 2 or 3, as in the five-player game.
