Disputes are settled by the German Skat Court in Altenburg. The official rules are defined in the Internationale Skatordnung (International Laws of Skat) of 1998, the common ruleset of the Deutscher Skatverband and the International Skat Players' Association.
Outside Germany it is confined mostly to areas with a large German community. Since the end of the 19th century it has been the German national game. Skat was invented in Altenburg, Germany in the early 19th century. It is reputedly one of the best three-player games. Skat is a sophisticated card game in the Schafkopf group of trick-taking games, played with a piquet pack or an equivalent 32-card pack with German suits.
