What you are fighting for
Schotten Totten is a two-player duel by Reiner Knizia. Nine border stones sit in a line between you and your opponent. On each stone you each build a three-card formation on your own side, and the stronger formation takes the stone.
You win two ways at once:
- claim five stones anywhere on the line, or
- claim three adjacent stones in a row.
That second path is the whole game. Three in a row ends it at three claims instead of five, so the nine stones are not worth the same. Threaten a run of three in one place, and force your opponent to defend it while you take a fifth stone somewhere else.
Tap the border stones to claim them. Win with five total — or three in a row.
Setup, and a single turn
The deck is 54 Clan cards — values 1 to 9 in six colours, each value once per colour. Place the 9 border-stone tiles in a row and deal six cards to each player.
A turn is two steps and nothing else:
- Play one card face-up in front of a border stone, on your side. A side can hold at most three cards.
- Draw one card, if any remain.
That is the entire engine of the base game. All the depth is in which stone, and when you dare to claim.
The five formations
A stone goes to the stronger three-card formation. From strongest to weakest:
| Formation | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Colour run | three consecutive values, one colour | blue 5-6-7 |
| Three of a kind | the same value in three colours | 5-5-5 |
| Colour | three of one colour, any values | blue 1-4-9 |
| Run | three consecutive values, mixed colours | blue 5, red 6, green 7 |
| Sum | anything else — just the total | 2 + 5 + 9 = 16 |
Card players double-take at one line: three of a kind beats a colour. In a poker deck a flush is rare — but this deck has only six of each value, so a three-of-a-kind is rarer than a colour here. The ladder is a rarity ranking, not an arbitrary one.
Claiming a stone — the rule everyone gets wrong
You do not claim a stone by finishing your three cards. You claim it on your turn by proving your formation beats your opponent's at that stone.
If their side already has three cards, just compare. The subtle rule is the early claim: you may claim a stone whose opponent side is not yet full — but only if you can prove that no cards they could still get would let them beat you. "Cards they could still get" means any card not in your hand and not already on the table. Subtract what you can see from the deck of 54, and if nothing left can beat your formation, the stone is yours.
That makes Schotten Totten a deduction game. The tool below runs the real claim check: build a formation, and the engine tells you whether it is provably unbeatable yet.
Ties, and who wins them
When two completed formations are the same type, the higher total wins. Colour 9-8-7 beats colour 6-5-4.
If the totals are also equal, the stone goes to whoever completed their formation first. Your third card is a clock: on a formation you might tie, finishing early can win it outright.
The Tactics variant, briefly
Once the base game clicks, add the 10 Tactic cards. Played instead of a Clan card, they bend the rules: wild "leader" cards, a card that makes a stone count by sum only, one that needs four cards a side, plus cards to move, steal, or discard. You may hold them, but you can never play more Tactic cards than your opponent — so they are a resource, not a flood.
The base rules above are all you need to start. Learn to claim by proof, contest clusters over flanks, and the tactics layer will make sense fast.
The rules in six lines
- Nine border stones; build a three-card formation on your side of each.
- Win with five stones total, or three adjacent — the adjacency path ends the game early.
- A turn is: play one card in front of a stone (max three a side), then draw.
- Formation ladder, strongest first: colour run > three of a kind > colour > run > sum.
- Claim a stone by PROVING you win — if the opponent is incomplete, only when no unseen card can beat you.
- Ties break on the higher total, then on who completed the formation first.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Schotten Totten?
Each turn, play one Clan card in front of a border stone on your side (three cards maximum a side), then draw a card. Build a stronger three-card formation than your opponent at a stone to claim it. Win by claiming five stones, or three adjacent stones.
How many cards are in Schotten Totten?
54 Clan cards: values 1 to 9 in six colours, each value once per colour. You hold six cards at a time and draw back up to six at the end of your turn.
When can you claim a border stone?
On your turn, when you can prove your formation beats your opponent's. If their side is not yet full, you may claim only if no card they could still get — any card not in your hand and not on the table — could beat your formation.
Does three of a kind beat a colour (flush)?
Yes. In this 54-card deck a three-of-a-kind is rarer than a colour, and the formation ranking follows rarity: colour run > three of a kind > colour > run > sum.
How are ties decided?
Between two formations of the same type, the higher total wins. If the totals are equal too, the stone goes to whoever completed their formation first.