This section explains how you can adjust the Skat Program to suit your personal preferences.
2.1 Settings Menu Choice
This dialog box allows the user to set the general rules under which the games are played:
 
In the upper part, the size and type of cards is specified.
- Small Screen View
Two separate card sizes may be selected. The larger size is intended for 19 to 21 inch monitors.
The specific choices have the following meanings:
- Official Rules
This section sets the rules of play. Clicking “Official Rules” plays according to the official Skat rules (See the electronic handbook, “Skat for Beginners”). This mainly means that the cards will be re-dealt when all players pass.
- Other Common Variations
Alterations to the official rules often made by regular players can be enabled with the following menu choices:
The very-popular Ramsch game can be played when no player bids at least 18.
Clicking “Double/Redouble” gives players the opportunity to double and redouble the game values. When a defender thinks that the Soloist will lose the announced game, he or she can say, “Double.” Redoubling is then possible for the Soloist who believes that the game will be won anyway. These announcements result in a doubling and quadrupling of the score respectively. With some experience, you’ll learn when to double and when it is better not to do so.
Note: “Double” can be said only by a player who has bid at least 18 and must be announced before the first trick has been removed from the table.
- Mode
These choices allow you to select between a normal 3-Person game or Learn Mode.
In Learn Mode a couple of additional windows are available that cannot be activated in a normal game.
These include:
- Display of your opponents’ cards (Call up under Window Menu).
- Display of cards already played (Call up under Window Menu).
- A hand can be played again with the same cards. (Call up under Game Menu).
In learn mode, however, the score sheet is not updated
.
In "3-Person Mode" each player can have an individual name. The more important setting, however, is the playing style for each computer player that is entered with the Popup Menus.
 
Selecting “Mechanical” causes the player to bid progressively to the maximum in every case, while “Very Cautious” means that the player will make no bids that are very risky. Try alternative settings and see which suits you best.
The “Optimized” setting causes the computer to change the player’s style depending on the score. A player with a substantial lead in the score becomes cautious. Similarly, “Poker Jack” leaves little to chance. Rather, the computer player “peeks” in the Skat before bidding. Given this, one must be very careful not to under bid in Poker Jack.
- Suggestion Type
This popup menu allows you to enter the playing style that the computer uses when making a suggestion for you.