Klaverjas: Why the Dutch Play With Roem Bonuses

Klaverjas has a rule called Roem that rewards you for holding specific card combinations in tricks. It's the most satisfying scoring bonus I've coded.

The Netherlands' Card Game

Every country has a national card game, and the Netherlands has Klaverjas — a 32-card trick-taking game played in partnerships. It uses the same Jass card ranking as Swiss Jass: the Jack of trumps is the highest card, followed by the 9 of trumps, then Ace, Ten, King, Queen. This 'Jack-Nine' hierarchy creates a trump suit where two seemingly weak cards become the most powerful cards in the deck.

I found Klaverjas while researching European card games. What struck me immediately was the overtrump obligation — if your partner is winning the trick, you can play any card. But if the opponent is winning, you MUST play a higher trump if you have one. No sandbagging. The game forces aggressive play, and that makes every trick tense.

Roem and Suriname

The Roem bonus system is what makes Klaverjas special. If you capture specific card combinations within a trick, you earn bonus points: three sequential cards in the same suit (Roem 20), four sequential (Roem 50), four of a kind (Roem 100), and the King-Queen of trumps (Stuk, 20 points). These bonuses are declared during play and can swing the entire round.

Klaverjas crossed the Atlantic with Dutch colonialism and is still played in Suriname, where it merged with local social traditions. Company tournaments in the Netherlands are a cultural institution — colleagues who barely speak in the office become fierce Klaverjas partners after hours. King's Day celebrations include Klaverjas tables alongside the orange bunting.

Play Klaverjas free on Cliko Games with full Roem scoring and overtrump obligation. Also try Euchre (another Jack-elevated game from the same family tree) and Schnapsen for Austrian trick-taking.