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Königrufen or Königsrufen (German: "Calling the King"Dummett (1980), ''Twelve Tarot Games'', p. 147.) is a four-player,
trick-taking A trick-taking game is a card game, card- or tile-based game in which play of a ''Hand (card games), hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of ...
card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...
of the
tarot Tarot (, first known as ''trionfi (cards), trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play t ...
family, played in
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and Southern Tyrol, with a pack of 54 cards and variants for two, three and six players. As with other regional tarot card games, it is usually called Tarock (the German term for tarot card games) by its players. It is the only variant of Tarock that is played over most of Austria and, in 2001, was the most popular card game in Austria after
Schnapsen Schnapsen, Schnapser or Schnapsa is a trick-taking card game of the bézique (ace–ten) family that is very popular in Bavaria and in the territories of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and has become the national card game of Austria and Hung ...
and Rommé. By 2015, it had become "the favourite card game of Austrians". It has been described as the most interesting tarot game for four players, the "Game of Kings", a game that requires intelligence and, with 22 trumps in play, as good "training for the brain". In comparison with other card games, Königrufen may be played with a wide range of possible contracts. The name of the game comes from the practice in the most basic contracts of naming a specific King in order to choose a playing partner, known as "calling a King". In most contracts the four players form two sides – either two against two or one against three – who compete to score the majority of the card points. According to the rules, the 54 cards have a total value of 70 points. Although the basic rules of Austrian Königrufen are common, the contract announcements and bonuses and their values have a large number of variations. Many individual regions and families play by their own house rules. In addition, more widely accepted tournament rules have emerged, although these vary considerably from region to region. This makes Königrufen the most varied of all the Tarock games. Regular tournament series have been held since the 1990s and, since 2008, an annual Austrian Final has taken place. Stronghold of the game is
Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...
which also hosts the Austrian final. In a broader sense, the term ''Königrufen'' may be used for a family of closely related tarot games whose other members are mainly played in other regions of the former
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
, most notably in
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
.


History


Background

The original form of the
Tarock Tarock is German for Tarot and may refer to: * German Tarok, progenitor of a family of American and Austro-German card games * Bavarian Tarock, once popular Bavarian card game * Königrufen, most popular Austrian tarot game, often just called Ta ...
card game family emerged in Northern Italy during the
Early Renaissance Renaissance art (1350 – 1620) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occurr ...
, first evidenced in 1440. The most important feature of the new game was that 21 permanent trump cards, the ''trionfi'', were added to the existing suits.Parlett (2008), pp. 353, 367–368. Today these trump cards are also called ''Tarock'' in German-speaking countries and are usually numbered with
Roman numeral Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, ea ...
s. In addition to the trumps, a valuable card called the "Fool" was added, to which special
rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pertaining to the structure or behavior internal to a business * School rule, a rule tha ...
applied. The Fool is often wrongly regarded as a precursor of the Joker in modern card games.Parlett, (1991), p. 34. Called ''L'Excuse'' in French, since it was played with a ritualized apology, it was later changed to ''Sküs'' in German. According to the oldest known French rules of 1637 Tarock (or ''tarot'' in French) was a
trick-taking card game A trick-taking game is a card- or tile-based game in which play of a ''hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of that trick. The object of suc ...
for three players using 78 cards of designated values, the players vying with each other to score as many points as possible. In its heyday from about 1730 to 1830 Tarock was played with this rule framework across a large part of Europe. In addition, variants were developed for four players with two teams of two – usually similar in principle to the game of
Troccas Troccas is a member of the Tarot family of card games. It is a four player game played in the Romansh speaking part of the canton Grisons of Switzerland. It is not known exactly how this game entered Switzerland but it is generally thought to h ...
that is still widespread today in
Grisons The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; *Romansh language, Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...
. From the middle of the 18th century onwards, especially in the German-speaking world and in the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
, the Tarock game went through a series of profound reforms: *The most important innovation, introduced by the Spanish card game
L'Hombre Ombre (, pronounced "omber") or l'Hombre is a fast-moving seventeenth-century trick-taking card game for three players and "the most successful card game ever invented." Its history began in Spain around the end of the 16th century as a four-pe ...
, was the principle of
bidding Bidding is an offer (often competitive) to set a price tag by an individual or business for a product or service ''or'' a demand that something be done. Bidding is used to determine the cost or value of something. Bidding can be performed b ...
(in most German card games called ''bieten'' or ''reizen'', but in Austrian Tarock usually ''lizitieren''). Now players competed in an auction, before the actual game started, in order to be able to play against an alliance of the others, the defenders. From the four-player version of L'Hombre,
Quadrille The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six ''Contra dance, contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of ope ...
, came the idea of choosing a partner by "calling" for a King (hence ''König-rufen'' which literally means "King calling"). Tarock variants such as the German ''Tarok Quadrille'' and the Italian ''Chiamare il re'', whose name means the same as "Königrufen", were based on this principle. * The 78-card pack was stripped to make it easier to handle by omitting the lowest suit cards. This is how the 54-card pack, now produced almost exclusively in Central Europe, was created. Other Tarock variants also stripped out various (higher or lower) numbers of suit cards.Dummett, ''Twelve Tarot Games'', p. 9 *The Sküs lost its role as a special card and became the 22nd and highest trump card, while retaining its high value as well as its form and name."Tarock"
in ''Wien und Niederösterreich – eine untrennbare Beziehung?'' (2017), p.376. Retrieved 12 July 2018
*A talon was introduced, possibly from other card games, from which the winner of the auction could improve his hand. *As an additional element, a bonus was introduced when the smallest tarock, the ''
Pagat The trull is a trio of three special trump (cards), trump cards used in Tarock (card games), tarock games in Austria and other countries that have a much higher card value than the other trumps. The individual cards are known as trull cards (''T ...
'', won the last trick. In Austria, a rule was added that this could also be announced before the game as "Pagat Ultimo" or "Pagat zum Schluss". *The cards also changed in appearance: they used a
French pack French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. In ...
instead of Latin playing cards. The traditional motifs of the trump cards, known today mainly in the Tarot pack, were replaced by pictures of animals,
vedute A ''veduta'' (; : ''vedute'') is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting or, more often, print of a cityscape or some other vista. The painters of ''vedute'' are referred to as ''vedutisti''. Origins This genre of landscape originated ...
, social scenes or other images. The culmination of this development was the game of
Tapp Tarock Tapp Tarock (), also called Viennese Tappen (), Tappen or Tapper, is a three-player tarot card game which traditionally uses the 54-card Industrie und Glück deck. Before the ''Anschluss'' (1938), it was the preferred card game of Viennese coffee h ...
, once very popular in southern Germany and Austria, and considered a good introduction to Tarock games, but now only widespread in certain regions. In Tapp Tarock, each of the three players is dealt 16 cards and 6 cards form the talon. Players bid to be able to play against the other two using six, three or none of the cards from the talon.


Emergence and development

The earliest reference to a four-handed variant of Tapp-Tarock involving the calling of a King occurs in an 1827 book, but by then it had presumably been played for several decades.Mayr and Sedlaczek (2016), pp. 16–17 Königrufen was devised as a four-player variant of Tapp Tarock with each player being dealt 12 cards instead of 16, but the talon still comprising six cards. As in the variants mentioned above, the principle for choosing partners in Königrufen was adopted from Quadrille.Dummett, ''Twelve Tarot Games'', pp. 147–172 The first description of Königrufen is found in 1827 in an appendix to the second edition of the book ''Anweisung zur gründlichen Erlernung des beliebten Tarok-Tappen-Spiels sowohl durch genaue Bestimmung aller Regeln und Feinheiten, als auch durch die Beobachtung und Auseinandersetzung mehrerer angeführter, sehr schwieriger Beyspiele'' ("Instructions for a thorough learning of the popular Tarok Tappen game, both by clear explanation of all rules and details, as well as by the observation and discussion of several accompanying, very challenging examples"). The first edition of 1821 (which contains the first known description of Tapp Tarock) had not mentioned Königrufen,
for a copy of the 1821 publication. Retrieved 12 Jul 18.
from which it may be assumed that there had been a rise in the popularity of the game during the 1820s. Until recently, the second edition had been thought to have been lost; it was only made public in 2010, when the Lower Austrian State Library (''Niederösterreichische Landesbibliothek'') was able to acquire a copy from the Tax and Customs Museum in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
. According to these rules, the '
forehand The forehand is a shot used in most racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and pickleball, where the palm of the hand precedes the back of the hand when swinging the racket. In tennis, except in the context of the phrase ''forehand volley ...
', i.e. the player who started the auction and led to the first trick, could announce a ''Tapper'' if he had a poor hand of cards. This was the lowest ranking contract in Tapp Tarock where the forehand was allowed to pick up all six cards from the talon if no one bid a higher contract. However, because it was all too easy to win, this contract was already obsolete in Tapp Tarock and was not actually played; instead a win was paid out to the player at a low rate; this was also done in Königrufen. With better cards, the forehand could either call a King, announce a ''Dreyer'' (play three cards from the talon against the three other players) or a ''Solo'', which at that time did not mean the same as today's ''Solo Rufer'' but a ''Solo Dreier'' – where the declarer played alone against the other three without using cards from the talon. The other players could also bid these contracts. Until the original source from 1827 had been recovered, the 1829 ''Neueste Allgemeine Spielbuch'' ("Latest General Book of Games") was the oldest known source for Königrufen which, as it turned out, contained an edited copy of the 1827 rules under the heading ''Tappen mit König oder Tarokrufen'' ("Tappen with King or Tarock Call"). From this, Tarock experts assumed that a King or a high tarock could be 'called' in the original form of the game. This turned out to be wrong with the appearance of the 1827 rules, in which only a King could be called. In the event that the called King was beaten by the opponents (or remained in the talon), a high penalty had to be paid. This was felt to be so harsh by Königrufen players that some of them used to call Tarock XX instead, the loss of which was far less of a worry and, if it were lost, was only of low value anyway. This is what the 1829 rules say: This created a new line of Tarock games that developed into
Zwanzigerrufen Zwanzigerrufen or Zwanz'gerrufen is the leading trick-taking card game of the Tarock family in many regions of eastern Austria. Its rules are simpler than the game of Königrufen which is more widely played in the whole of Austria. As is common in ...
,
Neunzehnerrufen Neunzehnerrufen (German: "Call the Nineteen") is an Austrian card game of the Tarock (tarot) family for four players. Under the name Taroky or Czech Taroky it is the national Tarock variant of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but - with certain va ...
and Hungarian Tarock. Meanwhile, in Königrufen, "King Capture" (''Königfang'') was usually scrapped, or if retained, its consequences were largely mitigated. In 1840, the first book that dealt exclusively with Königrufen was published in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
: ''Thorough and easy-to-understand instructions for learning the popular game of Königrufen Tarock, or the art of learning to play the same in a short time, both theoretically and practically, according based on rules and examples.'' However, the rules differed considerably – in this description of Königrufen, players could only announce ''Rufer'' ("Caller") contracts, namely as a ''Dreier'' (with three cards from the talon) or as a ''Solo'' without talon. If you wanted to play alone, you could call a King in your own hand. Different bidding contracts have survived a long time. In the book ''Der praktische Tarockspieler'' ("The Practical Tarock Player") by Moriz Bermann (1894) three different contracts are presented, two of which correspond roughly to the above; in the third, two cards or even just one could be taken from the talon. However, a combination of ''Rufer'' and soloist games was to prevail, in each of which three cards from the talon or none (Solo contracts) could be played. In the 2nd edition of Sigmund Ulmann's ''Illustrirtem Wiener Tarokbuch'', only the forehand could play a ''Rufer'' with talon and without further announcements. Above this, a ''Rufer with Pagat'' and a ''Solo Rufer'' without a talon could be played. Even higher in the auction was the ''Dreier'', which had now freed itself meaningfully from the three talon cards and became the name for soloist games against three defenders; and the highest game was therefore the ''Solo Dreier'' without talon. By now, this was the basic structure of the game as it is today, with the difference that today, a ''Pagat Rufer'' always ranks higher than a ''Solo Rufer'' in the auction.


Transition to modern Königrufen

Today's Königrufen has many more contracts than its predecessor, including those that can be played even with a weak hand of cards. Many of these have been imported from other card games during a long process that went on throughout the 20th century. As Königrufen boomed in the period between 1880 and 1920, it evolved into a form with just four possible bids: two with a partner and two solo. In each case the lower (easier) bid enabled the declarer to expose the talon and choose 3 of the cards; the upper (harder) bid was played without looking at the talon. As time went on, more and more contracts were added, many of which were 'negative games' where the aim was not to win tricks or to win just one, such as ''Piccolo''. Today there are no less than 13 contracts permitted in the Austrian Final which range in game value from 1 to 8 game points. In addition there are 8 special bonuses which include four '
Birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
'.


Development of the birds

The (usually four) lowest tarocks are called Birds (''Vögel'', usually dialectically ''Vogerln'' = "little birds"). Their special feature is the bonus to be made from the final tricks of the game, corresponding to their respective number. Thus if Tarock I wins the last trick or Tarock II wins the penultimate trick, etc., the player earns a bonus.The section is based on John McLeod: ''Owl or eagle? The Eagle Owl in Austrian Tarock'', The Playing-Card Volume 32, No 1, Jul–Aug 2003, pages 33–36, unless otherwise stated. Consequently, there is also a penalty for losing a bird in such an attempt. The oldest bird is the Tarock I, the
Pagat The trull is a trio of three special trump (cards), trump cards used in Tarock (card games), tarock games in Austria and other countries that have a much higher card value than the other trumps. The individual cards are known as trull cards (''T ...
. Its role in the last trick is clearly older than Königrufen itself. It was first attested in Italy during the 16th century. It has been known as ''bagatto ultimo'' in
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
since the 18th century. At that time
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
belonged to the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
, and in this way the bonus and the term came to Austria. There it was further introduced that the ''Pagat ultimo'' can also be declared beforehand, very probably taken from a similar announcement in ''Hundertspiel'', an Austrian version of the originally Italian card game,
Trappola Trappola is an early 16th-century Republic of Venice, Venetian trick-taking card game which spread to most parts of Central Europe and survived, in various forms and under various names like Trapulka, Bulka and Hundertspiel until perhaps the midd ...
. The ''Pagat ultimo'' became a characteristic feature of almost all Tarock variants in the Habsburg Empire. Although there were already similar bonuses in ''Hundertspiel'', it was only in the 20th century that the idea arose of extending the bonus of the ''Pagat ultimo'' to higher tarocks and earlier tricks, initially to the Eagle Owl (''Uhu''). In 1937, this name was first used for the Tarock II in Franz Unger's ''Kleiner Lehrbuch des Tarockes in seinen schönsten Arten'' ("Little Textbook of Tarock in its Best Ways"); there, however, the bonus was awarded for playing the Owl in the last trick. Later, the penultimate trick became the norm. Traditionally, the term 'Eagle Owl' was assumed to be a humorous nickname for the eagle on the card, itself inspired by the Austrian
imperial eagle The eagle is used in heraldry as a charge, as a supporter, and as a crest. Heraldic eagles can be found throughout world history like in the Achaemenid Empire or in the present Republic of Indonesia. The European post-classical symbolism of ...
, and analogous to the term '
cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( ) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( ). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are somet ...
' (''Kuckuck'') being used for a pledge seal. However, research revealed that the term first appeared in 1902 in
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
in the card game Alsós, a variant of
Jass Jass ()David Parlett ''The Oxford guide to card games'', pg. 292-293, David Parlett (1990) is a family of trick taking, ace–ten card games and, in its key forms, a distinctive branch of the marriage family. It is popular in its native Switz ...
for three players, which was heavily influenced by Tarock and was also played in Austria under the name ''Vannakspiel''. There, the Deuce of Bells was called the Eagle Owl and a bonus was awarded if it took the penultimate trick. Why it was called an eagle owl is unclear; the same word, ''Uhu'', is used in Hungarian for an
eagle owl The American (North and South America) horned owls and the Old World eagle-owls make up the genus ''Bubo'', at least as traditionally described. The genus name ''Bubo'' is Latin for owl. This genus contains 10 species that are found in many pa ...
, but its connexion with playing cards is not clear. From the game of Alsós the concept was transferred to Hungarian Tarock and was part of an essential refinement of the game in the 1920s, which led to the variant, ''Illustrated Hungarian Tarock''. Now the ''Pagát uhu'' could also be played, i.e. the Pagat in the penultimate trick. The migration of the term to Austria seems to have led to its meaning being transferred to the Tarock II. Apparently in analogy to the eagle owl, the Pagat was now nicknamed the 'Sparrow', which gave rise to the concept of "Birds". It was now obvious to include higher tarocks as well. This happened several times independently, resulting in several different names for the higher "Birds". Often bird names with the appropriate number of syllables were preferred. Thus the names Cockatoo (''Kakadu''), Pelican (''Pelikan'') and Canary (''Kanari''), among others, were coined for the Tarock III. For the Tarock IIII, names included Marabou (''Marabu'' i.e. the Marabou Stork), Bearded Vulture (''Lammergeier''), Cock-a-Doodle-Doo (''Kikeriki'') and Wild Boar (''Wildsau''); however ''Quapil'', a German family name of Czech origin (from ''kvapil'' = "he has hurried") has become generally accepted. In this case, too, it is unclear how this became the name of the card. Playing up to the ''Quapil'' is the norm today; of the larger player communities the ''Raiffeisen Tarock Cup'' was the last to introduce it, in 2022. But some circles even play the Tarock V or VI as a Bird, the former being referred to as the
Dodo The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinction, extinct flightless bird that was endemism, endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest relative was the also-extinct and flightles ...
(''Dronte'').


Present-day situation

Austrian law views Königrufen – like all variants of Tarock card games – as a
game of skill A game of skill is a game where the outcome is determined mainly by mental or physical skill, rather than chance. Alternatively, a game of chance is one where its outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device, such as dice, spinn ...
(i.e. it depends more on the ability of the player than on chance), which is why it does not contravene the act on gambling monopolies despite usually involving (small) amounts of money being wagered. Since 2004, it has also been possible to play Königrufen online at the game platform ''GameTwist.at'' (formerly ''Stargames.at'').


Tournaments

Only in relatively recent years have tournaments been organised for Königrufen. Since 1995, the ''Raiffeisen Tarock Cup'' has been held annually in
Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...
(especially in the district of
Mühlviertel The Mühlviertel () is an Austrian region belonging to the state of Upper Austria: it is one of four "quarters" of Upper Austria, the others being Hausruckviertel, Traunviertel, and Innviertel. It is named after the three rivers ', ', and '. ...
). In 1997, the ''
Hausruckviertel The Hausruckviertel is one of the four traditional "quarters" () of the Austrian province of Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and th ...
Tarock Cup'' began, which also includes parts of the state of
Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
. These two cups use largely identical rules and from September to March each year they jointly organize just over 50 tournaments with up to 300 participants each. With the number of competitors in four figures, this makes Upper Austria the stronghold of Austrian Königrufen. The largest competition outside Upper Austria is the ''Wiener Zeitung'' Tarock Cup, founded in 2002, initially held as the Vienna Tarock Cup (''Wiener Tarockcup'') with three tournaments and supported by the daily newspaper,
Die Presse (, ) is a German-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vienna, Austria. It is considered a newspaper of record for Austria. History and profile was first printed on 3 July 1848 as a liberal (libertarian)-bourgeois newspaper within the ...
. Since 2005, it has been sponsored by the ''
Wiener Zeitung ''Wiener Zeitung'' () is an Austrian newspaper. First published as the ''Wiennerisches Diarium'' in 1703, it is one of the oldest newspapers in the world. Until April 2023, it was the official gazette of the government of the Republic of Austria ...
'' and since then also bears their name. It became the umbrella for all public Königrufen tournaments in Vienna and Lower Austria, with occasional tournaments in
Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
and
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
. In addition, there is the smaller Tyrolean Tarock Cup (''Tiroler Tarockcup'') which began in 2008. In Styria, there has been a Tarot Cup since 2013, which is currently being sponsored by Casino Graz.


Austria Final

Since 2008, there has been an annual Austria Final (''Österreich-Finale'') in April in the Casino Linz, in which over 200 of the best players from the various cup competitions compete for the title of Austrian Tarock Champion (''Österreichischer Tarockmeister'').''Das Tarock-Österreich-Finale''
at tarockoesterreich.jimdo.com. Retrieved 12 July 2018
The competition uses the rules from the Hausruckviertl Tarock Cup. The top three to date have been:


Prominent players

The most famous player in the history of Königrufen was
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
. In responding to a friend's criticism of his worn Tarock cards, he jokingly replied "let us have a little pleasure in 'unculture'" – an allusion to his work '' Civilization and Its Discontents'', whose original title was ''Das Unbehagen in der Kultur''. In Vienna, Königrufen is also popular with politicians, journalists and the advertising industry. For example, the former federal chancellors
Julius Raab Julius Raab (29 November 1891 – 8 January 1964) was a conservative Austrian politician who served as Federal Chancellor of Austria from 1953 to 1961. Raab steered Allied-occupied Austria to independence, when he negotiated and signed the Austr ...
(ÖVP),
Franz Vranitzky Franz Vranitzky (; born 4 October 1937) is an Austrian politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), he was Chancellor of Austria from 1986 to 1997. Early life and career As the son of a foundryman, Vranitzky was born in ...
(SPÖ),
Wolfgang Schüssel Wolfgang Schüssel (; born 7 June 1945) is a retired Austrian politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007. While being recognised as a rare example of an active reformer in contemporary A ...
(ÖVP) and
Alfred Gusenbauer Alfred Gusenbauer (; born 8 February 1960) is an Austrian politician who until 2008 spent his entire professional life as an employee of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) or as a parliamentary representative. He headed the SPÖ from 2 ...
(SPÖ) were, or are, prominent Königrufen players. After his political career, Schüssel even designed his own set of Tarock cards, the proceeds of which were donated to charity.
Karl Renner Karl Renner (14 December 1870 – 31 December 1950) was an Austrian politician and jurist of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. He is often referred to as the "Father of the Republics" because he ...
's passion for Tarock has been recorded, but it is not known specifically which he played. Other Königrufen players include the ÖVP's former vice-chancellor,
Wilhelm Molterer Wilhelm Molterer (born 14 May 1955 in Steyr) is an Austrian politician who currently serves as the managing director of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). Between 2011 and 2015 he was the vice-president and member of the Manageme ...
, head of the Senior Citizens' Association,
Andreas Khol Andreas Khol (born 14 July 1941) is an Austrian politician of the centre-conservative Austrian People's Party, President of the National Council from 2002 to 2006. Andreas Khol was born in Bergen auf Rügen, Germany, and raised in the town of ...
, and Minister of Economics, Reinhold Mitterlehner. Among SPÖ politicians, Königrufen players include former Minister of Transport, Rudolf Streicher, and former Federal Whip, Josef Kalina. The former President of
Caritas Austria Caritas Austria (German language, German: ) is an Austrian social aid organisation of the Catholic Church in Austria, Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1903. It consists of a national office and nine regional Diocese, diocesan Caritas organisatio ...
, Franz Küberl, also plays Königrufen. He hosts a charity tournament every year just before Christmas in
Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
. The best-known Königrufen players among journalists are editor-in-chief,
Michael Fleischhacker Michael Fleischhacker (born 26 May 1969 in Friesach, Carinthia) is an Austrian journalist. He was director and editor-in-chief of Austrian daily ''Die Presse'' from 2004 until 2012. Early life Fleischhacker was raised in Sankt Lambrecht in Sty ...
(''Die Presse''), former editor-in-chief, Andreas Unterberger (''Die Presse'' and ''Wiener Zeitung''), former ORF director, Gerhard Weis, the ORF Head of Television, Heinrich Mis and ORF Editor, Roland Adrowitzer. Prominent women who indulge in the game are cabaret artist Lore Krainer, Vienna ORF regional director, Brigitte Wolf, cultural journalists Gabriele Flossmann and Eva-Maria Klinger, the former president of the Austrian National Bank, Maria Schaumayer, and former vice president of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Ingrid Tichy-Schreder.


Literary accounts

In Friedrich Torberg's 1975 collection of anecdotes, ''Die Tante Jolesch'', about the interwar Austria, the game of Tarock surfaces again and again. A complete paragraph of the book is dedicated to a type of Königrufen: According to
Robert Sedlaczek Robert Sedlaczek (born 1952) is an Austrian journalist, Germanist, expert for Austrian German, and non-fiction author.
, Torberg, a non-tarocquist, was probably mistaken in thinking that the name of the bonus ''Rostopschin'' was used for the whole game. The game gave its name to the novel ''Königrufen '' by Peter Marginter. Although this is not about the game itself, the plot is reminiscent of a ''Rufer'' game in which the partnerships are also unknown at the beginning. In Eva Holzmair's thriller, ''Rose, Löwe, Rosmarin'', Königrufen plays a linking role. In 1945, four adolescents learn the game from a Jewish refugee in the last days of the war. More than 40 years later, they find themselves together again for a game in Vienna's Café Central. After another quarter of a century there is the last meeting where the now eighty-year-olds are informed by a witness about a dramatic event a long time ago.


Cards

Königrufen uses the basic Tarock pack with a reduced number of cards – the full Tarock pack contains 78 cards. The 54-card pack is divided into two groups: 22 tarocks and 32 suit cards. The card design is that of the ''
Industrie und Glück Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...
'' series, which, conceived in 1824, developed into the standard design for Austrian tarock cards in the 19th century. Some of the motifs are from older tarock series, such as the Pagat and Sküs from the Chinese Tarock (''Chineseentarock'') pack, others from the Nationality Tarock (''Nationalitätentarock'') series, which portray Austrian folk in their traditional costumes, or from an Occupations Tarock (''Berufetarock'') pack. Today Type Five (from 1860) and Type Six (from 1890) of the ''Industrie und Glück'' series are still in use.


Tarocks

Of the 22 tarocks, numbers I to XXI are sequentially numbered with
Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
; only the highest, the ''Sküs'', is unmarked. They assume the role of permanent trumps or ''atouts'': in almost all games (apart from the '' Suit contracts'') they trump the suit cards.Mayr and Sedlaczek (2016), pp. 19–21 Six tarocks play a special role and are thus given names. Cards I to IIII are commonly called Birds (''Vogerl'' or ''Vögel''): * I – ''Pagat'' or ''Spatz'' ("Sparrow") * II – ''Uhu'' ("Eagle Owl") * III – ''Kakadu'' ("Cockatoo"), ''Pelikan'' ("Pelican") or ''Kanari'' ("Canary") * IIII – ''Quapil'', ''Marabu'' ("Marabou"), ''Kikeriki'' ("Cock-a-doodle-do"), Lämmergeier ("Vulture") or ''Wildsau'' ("Wild Boar") * XXI – ''Mond'' ("Mond") * ''Sküs'' or ''Gstieß'' (the Fool) – the unnumbered highest tarock, similar in appearance to the Joker in other card games. The Sküs, Mond and Pagat together form the 'Honours' or ''
Trull Trull is a village, Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, situated near Taunton. The parish, which includes Dipford and Staplehay, has a population ...
''. These three have a much higher card value than the other tarocks (see Card values). These names were originally derived from the French and
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
: ''excuse'' (pronounced "ex-kooz", meaning "excuse e), ''le monde'' (the world, corresponding to card XXI in
French tarot The game of French Tarot is a trick-taking strategy tarot card game played by three to five players using a traditional 78-card tarot deck. The game is played in France and also in French-speaking Canada. It should not be confused with French ...
– wrongly translated into German as ''der Mond'', "the moon") and ''il bagato'' (from ''bagatella'', meaning "triviality"). According to the classification devised by Tarock card game expert,
Michael Dummett Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett (; 27 June 1925 – 27 December 2011) was an English academic described as "among the most significant British philosophers of the last century and a leading campaigner for racial tolerance and equality." H ...
, Königrufen belongs to the Type 3 Tarock games – i.e. those where the ''Sküs'' is not a special card, but simply the highest tarock, effectively the Tarock XXII.


Suit cards

The 32 suit cards consist of eight cards each in the four French suits of Hearts,
Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...
, Spades, and
Clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands a ...
, all suits being of equal rank. Four cards in each suit form are the
court card A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts gene ...
s or "figures" (''Figuren''). In descending order they are the
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
(''König''),
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
(''Dame''),
Cavalier The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...
(''Cavall'') and
Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...
(''Bube''). The Cavalier, also called the Knight (''Reiter''), is unusual for Tarock beginners who are only familiar with games using the standard French pack. It is often confused with the Jack or King. The Cavalier (Italian ''cavallo'') is recognizable by being depicted on horseback, and unlike the King, wears neither a crown nor carries a
sceptre A sceptre (or scepter in American English) is a Staff of office, staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of regalia, royal or imperial insignia, signifying Sovereignty, sovereign authority. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and M ...
. The other half of each suit is made up of the four pip cards (variously known in German as the '' Skartindeln, Skatindeln, Glatzen'' or '' Blätter''). The difference in rank between the red and black pip cards reminds us that, in earlier Tarock variants, all the cards from Ace to 10 were used. Even then, the ranking in the red suits was reversed to the black ones. When reducing the hand, the six lowest suit cards were removed: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5 for Hearts and Diamonds, and Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 for Spades and Clubs.


General rules

There are no unified rules for Königrufen; indeed there is an "unbelievable variety of rules" in this variant of the Tarock game. This is seen as an attraction by many, but as a problem by others. Tournaments, of course, do publish strict rules which tend to vary little over time and offer some consistency.Mayr and Sedlaczek (2016), p. 125 Except where stated, the following description of the rules is based on
Mayr Mayr is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrea Mayr (born 1979), Austrian female long-distance runner * Ernst Mayr (1904–2005), German American evolutionary biologist * Franz Xaver Mayr (1875–1965), Austrian gastro ...
and Sedlaczek who, in turn, have drawn from the rules of the Austrian tournament series.


Overview

Königrufen is a game for four players and play is anti-clockwise. Like all Tarock games, it is a
point-trick game A trick-taking game is a card- or tile-based game in which play of a ''hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of that trick. The object of suc ...
where scoring is not primarily based on the number of tricks won, but the number of points within the tricks. Exceptions are the bonus of Valat, where the aim is to take all the tricks, and ''negative'' contracts like Bettel and Piccolo, where the aim, respectively, is to take no tricks at all or exactly one trick. There are no 'draws' in Königrufen – if the declarer does not score at least one point more than his opponents, he has lost. However, the basic contract game and the bonuses won and lost by either side may add up to 0 in a specific game. For example, a ''Rufer'' may be won by the caller and his partner (awarding them 1 game point), although the ''Trull'' is won by the opponents (so they also earn 1 game point), summing up to 0 points for the game in total. Each player receives a hand of twelve cards in two packets of six; and two packets of three cards are dealt face down in the middle as the talon. After determining which announcement will be played (and by whom), a specific player (depending on the contract) leads a card to the first trick on the table after possibly drawing from the talon. From now on – as in most similar card games – the winner of the last trick always leads to the next one, until either all twelve tricks have been played or the declarer has clearly failed to achieve his goal.


Trick rules


Playing to the trick

As in most other Tarock games, two irrevocable rules apply in Königrufen to following to a trick:Mayr and Sedlaczek (2016), pp. 22–24 * Players must follow suit ('' Farbzwang'' or '' Bedienzwang''). If a suit card is played, each subsequent player must play a card of the same suit to the trick, provided he has the same suit. This also applies to tarocks, i.e. if a tarock has been played, the following players must play a tarock to this trick. * Players must trump with a tarock if they cannot follow suit ('' Tarockzwang'' or ''
Trumpfzwang A trick-taking game is a card- or tile-based game in which play of a ''hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of that trick. The object of suc ...
''). If a player cannot follow suit because he has no card of the same suit, he must play a tarock card to the trick. If he has no tarocks either, he may play any card to the trick (which cannot win the trick). There is no requirement to head the trick or overtrump. An additional rule exists in Negative Contracts. Here, while players must follow suit, they must also head the trick if they can (''Stichzwang''). Each player must overtake the highest card, if possible, whilst still following suit. Players are largely free to lead a card of their choice to a trick. However, there are exceptions. * Cards that have been reserved by announcement for one of the last tricks (Birds, King ultimo) must be played in that trick, if it can be done legally, and cannot be played earlier unless forced to do so. * In negative contracts, the Pagat may only be led or played as the last tarock in the player's hand. * In the Suit games, players must lead suit cards first, unless they have only tarock left in their hand.


Card ranking

A higher-ranked suit card beats a lower card of the same suit; a higher tarock beats a lower tarock. The trick is won by the player who has the highest card in the led suit, if no tarock is played. Otherwise the highest tarock wins. That said, tarocks do not trump a led suit card in Suit games, albeit they must be played under the trump/tarock rules which still apply. An often-used special rule is that if all three Trull cards are played to the same trick, the
Pagat The trull is a trio of three special trump (cards), trump cards used in Tarock (card games), tarock games in Austria and other countries that have a much higher card value than the other trumps. The individual cards are known as trull cards (''T ...
wins. This special rule is usually called the Emperor's Trick (''Kaiserstich'') or Fairy Tale Trick (''Märchenstich'') and may or may not be tied to a certain sequence of Trull cards. There is also no hard and fast rule about whether it also applies in Negative and Suit contracts – in the latter however only if the tarocks have been played out.


Players

The individual players take different roles:


Dealer

The dealer's role is to
shuffle Shuffling is a technique used to randomize a deck of playing cards, introducing an element of chance into card games. Various shuffling methods exist, each with its own characteristics and potential for manipulation. One of the simplest shuff ...
the cards and deal them counterclockwise to all the players. Beginning with
forehand The forehand is a shot used in most racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and pickleball, where the palm of the hand precedes the back of the hand when swinging the racket. In tennis, except in the context of the phrase ''forehand volley ...
, he deals 6 cards to each player, sets the ''talon'' down in the middle of the table and deals another 6 cards to each player.Beck (1983), pp. 18–20


Cutter

The cutter is the player to the left of, or opposite, the dealer who cuts the shuffled pack into two packets, which are then reassembled by the dealer in reverse order. This gives the cards an additional shuffle and ensures the dealer does not cheat. The cutter is usually given the option of "knocking" instead of cutting. In this case, the talon is placed down first and then four stacks of twelve cards are counted out next to the talon. The players – starting at the right of the dealer – choose any stack as their hand.


Forehand, middlehand and rearhand

Forehand The forehand is a shot used in most racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and pickleball, where the palm of the hand precedes the back of the hand when swinging the racket. In tennis, except in the context of the phrase ''forehand volley ...
(''Vorhand'') sits to the right of the dealer,
middlehand Card players are those participating in a card game. Various names are given to card players based on their role or position. Position Games of Anglo-American origin In games of Anglo-American origin played in English-speaking countries, ...
(''Mittelhand'') to his right and
rearhand Card players are those participating in a card game. Various names are given to card players based on their role or position. Position Games of Anglo-American origin In games of Anglo-American origin played in English-speaking countries, ...
(''Hinterhand'') is to the left of the dealer. Forehand starts the auction (''Lizitation''), usually simply with the announcement "forehand" (''Vorhand'') or "my game!" (''Mein Spiel''). He also usually leads to the first trick, except in Negative Contracts (''Negativspiele''). In addition, forehand has the right to make certain special announcements reserved only for him – the Forehand contracts (''Vorhandspiele''). In the following game, forehand becomes the dealer.


Declarer or soloist

The player who announces the highest-value bid during the auction earns the right to play his chosen contract and becomes the declarer or soloist (''Spielersteher'' or ''Spielersteiger''). If a partner game (''Rufer'' = “Caller”) is announced, the declarer calls out a partner. Only then does he select one half of the talon (again depending on the current game) and select his bonuses (''Prämien''). In a Negative Contract, he leads to the first trick himself, otherwise forehand leads.


Partners

Who partners with whom, depends on the contract. In Negative Contracts or a ''Dreier'' ("Threesome") game, one player plays against all the others. In ''Trischaken'' everybody plays everybody else; in ''Rufer'' usually two play against two. In the narrower sense, a partner is the partner of the declarer, in a broader sense it can mean all players playing in the current game.


Auction

The auction (''Lizitation'') is where players bid for contracts ("games"), and it takes place, like the dealing of cards, in an anti-clockwise direction. Forehand usually starts the bidding by announcing "forehand!" Then the players in turn say whether they want to bid for a contract or pass. The player who bids a contract with the highest game value may play it. If a player does not wish to bid, he just says "pass" or "next!" (''weiter!'') and therefore bows out of the auction. A typical auction could look like this: * Player 1: "Forehand!" (''Vorhand!'') * Player 2: "Pass!" (''Weiter!'') * Player 3: "Solo Rufer!" (''Solorufer!'') * Player 4: "Bettler" (''Bettler!'') * Player 1: "Pass!" (''Weiter!'') * Player 2: may no longer bid as he has already passed. * Player 3: "Threesome!" (''Dreier!'') * Player 4: "Pass!" As a result, Player 3 secures a ''Dreier'' contract, and Player 1 (forehand) leads to the first trick.


Talon and laying off

The six cards that are dealt face down in two groups of three cards each in the middle of the table are called the talon. Most game announcements result in the player exposing the talon visibly to all players and selecting one of its two halves for his hand. He picks them up and places three cards face down, which belong to his tricks. This is called 'discarding' (''verlegen'').Dummett, ''Twelve Tarot Games'', p. 158 Only suit cards ranking below a King may be laid. Only if a player has fewer than three such cards in his hand, may he lay a tarock – but then it has to be face up. Kings and Trull cards may not be laid off. The remaining half of the talon becomes one of the opponents' tricks. However, other things can also happen with the talon: * The talon stays hidden and counts at the end with the opponents' tricks (Solo contracts). * The player takes all six cards and discards six cards (''Sechserdreier''). * The talon plays no part in the game (Negative contracts, including Trischaken). * In Trischaken, the six cards of the talon are played individually to the first six tricks (Vienna Tarock Cup, Styrian Cup) or go to the player who wins the last trick (Raiffeisen Cup and Hausruck Cup).


Calling a king

Unlike many other card games, there are no fixed partners in Königrufen. The cards and the bid-for contract decide who plays with whom. If, during the auction, a ''Rufer'' contract is called, which is one of the "positive contracts", has won the auction, the successful declarer announces a King of his choice. The player who has the King of the chosen suit in his hand becomes the player's partner, the other two players play as the opposing team or "defenders". If the player has three Kings, he can call "the fourth" without naming its suit. If the player has all the Kings, some rules allow him to 'call a Queen' (Vienna Cup, Styrian Cup), while others forbid a ''Rufer'' to be played in such circumstances (Raiffeisen Cup, Hausruck Cup). If the called King is in the talon, the player can give up and pay the game to everyone. Alternatively, he can play the game against all three or, depending on the house rules, the defenders can double the stakes by calling ''
Kontra A kontra (, 'three-stringed viola') is a Hungarian, Czech, Polish, Romanian, Slovak and Romani instrument common in Transylvania. Construction The ''kontra'' can be constructed new, but is most often a classical viola which has undergone s ...
'' (see below), or the game may be turned into a ''Dreier''. Some house rules prohibit the ''Kontra'' in this case in order to reduce the number of abandoned games.


''Kontra''

If an opponent does not believe that the declare contract ("game") or bonus will be won, he can say '' "Kontra!"''. This doubles the value of the game or bonus. Games and bonuses can be ''kontra'd'' independently of one another. If the player thinks he can still win, he can double the value again with a ''"Rekontra!"'' (''Re'', ''Reh'' or ''Retour''). Depending on the rules agreed, the opponent can counter with a ''"Subcontra!"'' (''Sub'', ''Superkontra'' or ''Hirsch''), which now increases the value eightfold. Some rounds play with even more levels, such as ''Mordkontra'' which is worth x 16.Mayr and Sedlaczek (2016), pp. 57/58 In positive matches, one ''Kontra'' always counts for the whole team, but in negative matches everyone can ''Kontra'' individually (''contra ad personam''). In Trischaken, because everyone plays against everyone, there is no ''Kontra''.


Bonuses

In addition to winning a positive game by scoring the majority of points, other goals, the so-called 'bonuses' (''Prämien''), may also be involved. The most obvious – similar to other card games – is to win all the tricks. In Königrufen this is called ''Valat''. A Valat either multiplies the basic game value or has a constant, high, value, depending on the rules agreed. The other bonuses are divided into two fundamentally different groups, the first of which, however, is rarely played today: * Hand Bonuses (''Prämien aus der Hand''), which the player announces based on cards he holds in his hand; * Trick Bonuses (''Prämien in den Stichen''), which represent a goal to be achieved during the course of the game. Trick bonuses may usually either be 'silent' or 'announced' without prior notice, usually counting double when announced. If they are announced, they can be ''Kontra'd'' in any case. Hand bonuses are statements of fact about the constellations in a player's hand ''before'' the game that are ''only'' awarded if announced. The gamble is that part of the player's hand will be revealed to the others in exchange for a bonus or as information for the partner. Since the announcement automatically results in a bonus, it cannot be ''Kontra'd''. Adopted from older Tarock variants, they are no longer played in today's tournaments and are therefore only mentioned below among the rarely played variants. Many game rules divide the bonuses in the tricks into two further sub-groups: * Game Bonuses (''Spielprämien'') that can be won during the game; * Material Bonuses (''Materialprämien''), which have to be achieved in the cards won after the game. This distinction is useful when the two groups are treated differently in the case of Valat: game bonuses are independent of Valat and are therefore valid without restrictions. Material bonuses are achieved almost automatically with the Valat (the opponents only have 0, 3 or 6 talon cards) and are therefore not valid when 'silent', but only when they had been announced before. However, this distinction is not a generally accepted standard. In the different player communities, different variants occur such as "No bonus counts with Valat", "All bonuses only count when announced", up to the co-multiplication of some bonuses.


Game bonuses


Material Bonuses


Vögel (the birds)

The birds are the lowest tarocks: * I – Pagat (The Fool) Also: ''Spatz'' (Sparrow) * II – ''Uhu'' ( Eagle Owl). * III – ''Kakadu'' (Cockatoo). Also: ''Pelikan'' (Pelican) or ''Kanari'' (Canary).Bamberger (2011), pp. 93–96 * IIII – ''Quapil''. Also: ''Marabu'' (Marabou Stork) or ''Wildsau'' (Boar). The Pagat is a special "Bird" as it also belongs to the Trull. The birds count as bonuses, if they win the appropriate trick. The Pagat must be won in the last trick, the Uhu in the penultimate, the Kakadu in the third to the last, and the Marabu in the fourth to the last. In the variant of the rules played in
Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...
, the Marabu bonus trick is not played. They must win the trick if they are to count as bonuses. Even if the taker's partner captures a bird Tarock, the bonus is lost and counts as negative. They are also lost if they are announced and not successfully achieved.


King Ultimo

The King Ultimo bonus is scored, if the called king wins the last trick. The bonus is also scored if the taker's partner takes the called king in the last trick.


Mondfang (capture of the XXI)

In some variants, Mondfang is scored if the second highest tarock (the Mond or XXI) is taken by the highest (the Sküs).


Games by groups


Ordinary positive games

Positive games or positive contracts (''Positivspiele'') is the collective term for those games in which the aim (possibly among others) is to win a majority of points. The positive games are the various types of Rufer and Dreier, including their Solo contracts.


Rufer games

In a ''Rufer'' ("Caller"), a partner is called. The ''Rufer'' contracts include: * Common Rufer with talon – Forehand Contracts * Solo Rufer – Rufer without talon * Besser Rufer – Rufer with the announcement of a Bird


Dreier

A ''Dreier'' contract (''Dreierspiel'') is a positive game in which a soloist plays the other three players. ''Dreier'' contracts include: * Dreier – with talon * Solo Dreier – without talon * Suit Dreier and Suit Solo * Sechserdreier – Forehand Contracts


Solo games

''Solo'' is a qualifier that indicates that the player is offering to play without inspecting the talon. As an isolated word, it is usually short for ''Solo Rufer''. So ''Solo'' does not carry the same meaning as in other card games, including another popular Austrian Tarock variant
Zwanzigerrufen Zwanzigerrufen or Zwanz'gerrufen is the leading trick-taking card game of the Tarock family in many regions of eastern Austria. Its rules are simpler than the game of Königrufen which is more widely played in the whole of Austria. As is common in ...
– a contract where a soloist offers to play against all the rest. As we have seen, such a contract is called ''Dreier'' (or ''Dreierspiel'') in Königrufen. At the end of the game the talon counts among the tricks of the opponents, except if, in a Solo Rufer, the called King is in the talon – then that half of the talon belongs to the declarer. Solo contracts count double the corresponding game with the talon; also all bonuses (usually excepting the Valat) count double in a Solo contract. Solo games are: * Solo Rufer (''Solorufer'') * Solo Dreier (''Solodreier'') * Solo Suit Dreier (''Solofarbendreier'')


Suit games

Suit games (''Farbenspiele'') are a special form of positive contract with several special rules: * The trick-taking power of the tarocks over the suit cards is nullified (they must however be played if the player is not able to follow suit). * Tarocks may not be played as long as the player still has suit cards. * In Suit Dreier there are special rules about what may be laid off. Usually tarocks must be laid off, but sometimes tarocks and suit cards may be played at will. The Solo Suit Dreier is also called Suit Solo (''Farbensolo'') for short. Occasionally a Suit Rufer (''Farbenrufer'') is played (possibly only as a Forehand contract), in which a partner is called as with the normal Rufer contract.


Negative contracts

Negative contracts or negative games (''Negativspiele'') are games in which the normal aim of winning the majority of points is no longer valid. Instead there is an alternative goal where the player has do the minimum – either to score the fewest points, or to take a specified, low number of tricks. Several special rules apply:Mayr and Sedlaczek (2016), pp. 125–141
There are the following negative contracts: * Trischaken – Forehand contracts. * Bettler – the player takes no tricks. * Piccolo – the player takes exactly one trick. * Zwiccolo – two tricks. * Triccolo – three tricks. * Bettler, Piccolo, Zwiccolo and Triccolo Ouvert (open): here all the players lay their hands open on the table. In tournaments it is allowed for the player's opponents to discuss the strategy; in many private games this is not permitted.Mayr and Sedlaczek (2016), p. 136 There are also ''semi-ouvert'' (half-open) variations where only the player or only the opponents place their hands on the table. In any case, it is not permitted to discuss the strategy in half-open negative games. In contrast to the positive games, negative games are subject to ''
Stichzwang A trick-taking game is a card- or tile-based game in which play of a ''hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of that trick. The object of suc ...
'' i.e. the players must win the trick if possible and the declarer of a negative game may play (instead of forehand). All negative games except Trischaken and (half-)open games can be played "with" (''Bei-'' or ''Mit-)'', i.e. several (possibly all) players may play a negative game in parallel. This is not permitted in tournaments.


Forehand contracts

Forehand games (''Vorhandspiele'') are contracts that only forehand may announce, if all other players have said "pass!" (''"Weiter!"''). An exception is ''Sechserdreier'' mentioned below where it has become generally accepted that forehand must announce it immediately and that it may then be overbid by a higher-value contract.Mayr and Sedlaczek (2016), pp. 136–141 * Common Rufer (''Gewöhnlicher Rufer''): forehand calls a partner and takes 3 cards from the talon. * Trischaken (or ''Fahren, Abfahrt''): each player plays against the rest and tries to take as few points in the tricks as possible. Players must follow suit (''Farbzwang'') or trump (''Tarockzwang'') and must take the trick if they are able (''Stichzwang''). The scoring in Trischaken has almost as great a variation as all the other variants put together. The rules are: ** The player with the most points loses and must pay all the rest e.g. 10 cents. ** If forehand loses, he pays double ** If the loser has scored 36 or more points (35 points and 2 Blatts), he is ''
Bürgermeister Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...
'' or ''Großbauer'' and pays double ** If two or more players lose with the same number of points, they pay the 10 cents ** If a player has no tricks (''Jungfrau'' or ''Engerl''), he gets 30 cents from the ; the rest get nothing ** If two players have no tricks, they get 30 cents from the . ** The ''Bürgermeister'' pays a ''Jungfrau'' 60 cents or 30 cents to each ''Jungfrau'' if there are two. * Sechserdreier (Sechser): like a normal Dreier, except that forehand reveals and picks up all 6 cards from the talon and discards 6 cards. The loss of this game is usually counted higher than the win (usually double).


Scoring

An important feature of Königrufen is the way in which the cards are scored. The total value of the cards is 70 points, but they are divided into 1/3 points. The individual values of the cards are:Mayr and Sedlaczek (2016), pp. 28–32 * 4 1/3 points: the Trull cards and the Kings * 3 1/3 points: the Queens * 2 1/3 points: the Cavaliers * 1 1/3 points: the Jacks * 1/3 point: all other cards (= the remaining tarocks and the pip cards) A card worth 1/3 point is called a ''Blatt'' which is why the terms ''Blatt'' and ''Drittelpunkt'' (1/3 of a point) are used synonymously. The aim in positive contracts is to score the majority of the 70 points available; strictly speaking to score 35 2/3 points. 35 1/3 points are traditionally rounded down to 35 points and if the scores are 35:35 the declarer has lost – there is no provision for a drawn game. Occasionally local rules allow 35 1/3 points to be a winning score; especially in the
Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
. Since it is cumbersome to add up the values including the third points individually, the value of each card for counting is rounded up or down instead. The rounded-up values correspond to those of other Tarock games, such as
Zwanzigerrufen Zwanzigerrufen or Zwanz'gerrufen is the leading trick-taking card game of the Tarock family in many regions of eastern Austria. Its rules are simpler than the game of Königrufen which is more widely played in the whole of Austria. As is common in ...
and Hungarian Tarock. The rounded ones were the original ones; a point was added to them for each trick in the old ''Dreiertarock'' card game.


Rounded-up card values

* 5 points: the Trull cards and the Kings * 4 points: the Queens * 3 points: the Cavaliers * 2 points: the Jacks * 1 point: all other cards (= the remaining tarocks and the pip cards) To simplify the calculation of scores the cards are grouped in threes, their rounded-up values above are totalled and 2 points deducted. So a King, Jack and pip card are thus worth (5 + 2 + 1) – 2 = 6 points. If a single card is left over, 2/3 points are deducted from its rounded-up value; if two cards are left, 1 1/3 points are deducted. If one wishes to keep score during the game one has to subtract as one goes along: for example, the Pagat, a King, a Cavalier and a Jack are worth (5 + 5 + 3) − 2 + 2 − 2/3 = 12 1/3.


Rounded-down card values

* 4 points: the Trull cards and the Kings * 3 points: the Queens * 2 points: the Cavaliers * 1 point: the Jacks * 0 points: all other cards (= the remaining tarocks and the pip cards) Now take the value of three cards and add 1. As in the example above, a King, Jack and pip card are worth (4 + 1 + 0) + 1 = 6 points. If you want to count during the game, you add the 4 cards in the tricks together and add 1 1/3. So for example the Pagat, a King, a Cavalier and a Jack are worth (4 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 1) + 1 1/3 = 12 1/3.


Breaches of the rules

If a player breaches one of the rules (a ''Renonce''), he not only loses the game in play and any winnings, he must pay all other players (including his partner) as if they had won the game and the announced bonuses. Examples of rule violations: *The player has played a card or cards wrongly (e.g. forgot to play a card, played an incorrect number of cards or played a cards or cards that are not allowed). * The player has not followed suit when able to. * The player who does not have the led suit has not played a tarock. * In negative games, ''Stichzwang'' was not adhered to.


Game scoring

Local rules vary very markedly from one another. The common guidelines are that announced bonuses count twice as much as silent or unannounced games, and Solo games count twice as much as their basic games. The Solo Dreier is always the highest game.


Scoring in the Austrian Final

As an example, the rules of the Hausruckviertl Tarock Cup are given here, which are also used for the Austrian Final. A Sechserdreier must be announced by the forehand, i.e. before the other players bid. In Trischaken, the player who wins the last trick receives the talon. Payments are based on game points multiplied by an amount of money (usually 10 cents per point).


Less common variants


Contracts

* ''Bei-Spiele'': two or more negative contracts are played simultaneously, e. g. a Piccolo and a ''Piccolo Bei'' for another player * ''Farbensechser'': forehand Suit Dreier with all six talon cards * Half-Open Negative Contracts: only the auction winners or only the defenders turn their cards up. * Higher Negative Contracts: ** ''Triccolo'' – three tricks ** ''Quadruccolo'' – four tricks (very rare) in the
Salzkammergut The Salzkammergut (, ; ) is a resort area in Austria, stretching from the city of Salzburg eastwards along the Alpine Foreland and the Northern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mountains. The main river of the region is the Traun (r ...
(Austria) also called Wildsau ("Wild Boar") * Variations of ''Trischaken'': ** Kontra with various meanings ** ''Trischaken'' "from above" (''von oben''), i. e. the player leading to the trick must play his highest card ** ''Trischaken'' with different trick-taking power, roughly meaning the tarocks are inverted ** ''Trischaken'' without ''Stichzwang'' (compulsion to win the trick) ** Announcement of ''Jungfrau'' * ''Supra'': Rufer, in which the declarer has to score an Absolute, i.e. 45/2. * Besserdreier: Dreier with Bird as an auction contract * ''Oberer, Unterer'': Like a Dreier, but the player must choose 'blind' whether to pick up the upper (''Obere'') or lower (''Untere'') half of the talon. The chosen half is not shown to the opponents, the remaining half is revealed at the end of the game and its points count towards the defenders total. This variant is well known in three-player Tarock (''Tarock zu dritt'' or
Tapp Tarock Tapp Tarock (), also called Viennese Tappen (), Tappen or Tapper, is a three-player tarot card game which traditionally uses the 54-card Industrie und Glück deck. Before the ''Anschluss'' (1938), it was the preferred card game of Viennese coffee h ...
).


Bonuses

* Hand Bonuses
* Rostopschin: an old bonus – to take two successive tricks with XVII and XVI. * Also V and VI are played as Birds.


Three- and two-player variants

Königrufen can be adapted for two or three players by the introduction of dummies (''Strohmandeln''). The rules for three players are the same as those for four, with the following changes. * The missing fourth player is replaced by a dummy that is dealt twelve cards face down like everyone else. The dummy sits to the left of the dealer and therefore moves around for each hand (''flying'' dummy). The dummy can neither be the dealer nor the forehand, and cannot bid for a game. After the auction, the dummy's hand is revealed and remains face up for the rest of the game. * The player who controls the dummy is known as the ''guardian''. ** In a Rufer contract where the called king is held by the dummy, the guardian is the declarer. ** In a Trischaken contract, the guardian for a given trick is the player on lead. ** In all other cases, the guardian is the opponent whose turn comes first in the first trick of the hand. * Only the guardian may play from the dummy's hand. Jointly with their own bonus announcements, the guardian may additionally announce bonuses on the dummy's behalf. No additional ''Kontra'' is allowed for the dummy in negative contracts. * In a Trischaken contract, the two players with the most points pay the two players with the least (since the dummy will often be the loser). * The dummy scores like any other player. At the end of play, its profits or losses are divided evenly amongst the other players. Any remainders will go to the top scoring player if the dummy's score positive, or to the lowest scoring player if the dummy's scorer is negative. For the two-player variant, an additional dummy is introduced. In Rufer and Trischaken contracts, each player controls a dummy. In a Rufer contract, should one of the human players call the other, a new hand is dealt. The game proceeds as follows: # Auction. # Calling a king, where applicable. # Exchange with the talon. # The dummy (or dummies) are revealed. # Announcements.


Other variants

* ''Zusammenhaun'' ("Throw together"): if a player has neither a tarock nor a King, he can/must throw his cards in and they are re-dealt. This rule also has variations, for example if someone has a trull card but no other tarocks the hands may also be thrown in. * Piccolo with Sküs is banned, or must be specially announced. * Besserrufer with a table King can be turned into a Dreier. * A six-player variant exists where two kings are called.


Königrufen in other countries

Königrufen was not limited to the territory of present-day Austria, but spread to large parts of the
Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
. Several variants have survived to this day. They share with Austrian Königrufen the same pack of cards, distribution of hands and "calling" of a King, but differ primarily in the range of contracts and in the rules for how the talon is treated. Only the most important differences are described here. All these variants have in common that no higher "Birds" have been introduced – only the Pagat ultimo is played. A King is also called in the otherwise very different game of
French tarot The game of French Tarot is a trick-taking strategy tarot card game played by three to five players using a traditional 78-card tarot deck. The game is played in France and also in French-speaking Canada. It should not be confused with French ...
for five players, but this does not count as ''Königrufen'', even in the broader sense.


Slovenia

Slovenian Tarock is played in three- and a four-player variants. The former is basically similar to
Tapp Tarock Tapp Tarock (), also called Viennese Tappen (), Tappen or Tapper, is a three-player tarot card game which traditionally uses the 54-card Industrie und Glück deck. Before the ''Anschluss'' (1938), it was the preferred card game of Viennese coffee h ...
, the latter to Königrufen. However, while in Austria today these are clearly two different games (and overlaps among players are rare), in Slovenia both variants are seen as part of the same game. While McLeod classifies it as "less baroque and much more competitive" than Königrufen, Robert Sedlaczek judges it as much more conservative, since card games were unpopular under Communism and therefore could not develop strongly. In contrast to Austrian Königrufen, one or two cards may be picked up from the talon during the auction. There is no Solo Rufer with a hidden talon – after Rufer with a card from the talon, the next higher contract is the game alone against the others with three talon cards. The term Solo stands here for games played as a soloist against the others, thus corresponds to the Dreier in Königrufen. The Bettler has a very high game value (70 points), between that of Solo One (60) and Solo Without (80); Open Bettler has an even higher game value of 90 points. Slovenian Tarock keeps the excess points as in Tappen, something rarely seen in modern Königrufen.


Romania and Ukraine

Romanian Tarock is played in the
Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...
, once the easternmost part of
Cisleithania Cisleithania, officially The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council (), was the northern and western part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in the Compromise of 1867—as distinguished from ''Transleithania'' (i.e., ...
, today divided between
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. The rules in the two countries differ only slightly. The players after the forehand are only allowed to bid for ''Dreier'' contracts, i.e. those in which one player plays against the other three. In contrast to Austria and Slovenia, the option of picking up all three cards from the talon has been scrapped; the player may only take two, one or none at all. It kept the rule from Tapp Tarock of revealing the talon in stages. If none of the players announces such a game, however, forehand "must" call a King. If he wants to play alone, he can call a King in from his hand. Players may declare a high number of Tarocks in their hand (eight, nine, or at least ten). Romanian Tarock also has a three-player version, which is only played with 42 cards.


Poland

In Poland south of the
Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...
– former Austrian Galicia – Tarock is played, the most popular game being
Neunzehnerrufen Neunzehnerrufen (German: "Call the Nineteen") is an Austrian card game of the Tarock (tarot) family for four players. Under the name Taroky or Czech Taroky it is the national Tarock variant of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but - with certain va ...
, which as ''Taroky'' is also the national Tarock variant of
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
and
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
. However, regionally, especially in
Kozy Kozy (Wymysorys language, Wymysorys: ''Zajwyśdiüf'') is a large village with a population of 12,457 (2013) within Bielsko County, located in the historical and geographical south-west region of Lesser Poland, between Kęty and Bielsko-Bia ...
, Poland's largest village, a type of Königrufen has survived, although the large differences in rules make a direct connection between the two games seem unlikely despite their geographical proximity. A distinction between Königrufen and Neunzehnerrufen is not usually made in Polish – they just play ''Taroki''. If clarification is needed they speak of ''Taroki z królami'' ("Tarock with Kings") or ''Taroki z dziewiętnaską'' ("Tarock with Nineteen").Taroki z królami'' on pagat.com
/ref>Sedlaczek. "Königrufen" in ''Wiener Journal'', colour supplement of the
Wiener Zeitung ''Wiener Zeitung'' () is an Austrian newspaper. First published as the ''Wiennerisches Diarium'' in 1703, it is one of the oldest newspapers in the world. Until April 2023, it was the official gazette of the government of the Republic of Austria ...
, 12 August 2011, p. 27
Polish Königrufen involves four possible bids: ''Jeden'' (one talon card), ''Dwa'' (two), ''Trzy'' (three) or ''Cztery'' (four). The highest bidder becomes the declarer. Declarer then calls a King and then announcements of ''King Ultimo'' and ''Kontra'' are made. Following talon exchange, further announcements may be made for ''Trul'', and for holding various card combinations, e.g. 0–2 and 10–12 tarocks in the hand or Four Kings. To win the 35 1/3 points are enough.


United States

Since Tarock never reached the
British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
and
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
in Europe, America has also been largely unaffected by the game. It was only later immigrants who brought the game to the USA. In
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, for example, Czech immigrants introduced
Neunzehnerrufen Neunzehnerrufen (German: "Call the Nineteen") is an Austrian card game of the Tarock (tarot) family for four players. Under the name Taroky or Czech Taroky it is the national Tarock variant of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but - with certain va ...
, which is quite closely related to Königrufen, as well as a version of
Zwanzigerrufen Zwanzigerrufen or Zwanz'gerrufen is the leading trick-taking card game of the Tarock family in many regions of eastern Austria. Its rules are simpler than the game of Königrufen which is more widely played in the whole of Austria. As is common in ...
with a 54-card pack. Apparently some players there had the idea to call a King instead of a high tarock. In the small town of
Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...
in Williamson County, this Königrufen variant is also played in tournaments. As far as the other rules are concerned, however, this game remained closer to Neunzehnerrufen. Thus, in ''Dreier'' it retained the uncovering of the talon as per Tapp Tarock: the player first opens one half of the talon and decides whether to accept it; if he opens the other half instead, the game counts twice for him in case of loss. In the Rufer contracts, however, the talon is not opened, but the player picks up the top four cards face down, while the two remaining cards are dealt counterclockwise to two players. The Hand bonuses, which have largely disappeared in Königrufen, have also been retained here – players can announce card combinations that they hold in their hand, such as at least 10 tarocks or four kings. In 1922, the illustrator, August Petrtyl, who had immigrated from
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, attempted to establish a variant of Königrufen in the USA whose cards and names were based on American themes (pictured right). The Sküs was called
Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government of the United States, federal government or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th centu ...
, the Pagat,
Papoose Papoose (from the Narragansett ''papoos'', meaning "child") is an American English word whose present meaning is "a Native American child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in ...
, and the Kings, Chiefs. A five-player version of this game was also described, in which each player was dealt ten cards and four formed the talon. However, there is no evidence that it was played.Dummett and McLeod (2004), Supplement, p. S39


See also

*
Tarot card games Tarot games are card games played with tarot packs designed for card play and which have a permanent trump suit alongside the usual four card suits. The games and packs which English-speakers call by the French name tarot are called tarocchi ...


References


Literature


Early sources

* _ (1827). "Tarok-Tappen mit Königrufen" i
''Theoretisch-praktische Anweisung zur gründlichen Erlernung des beliebten Tarok-Tappen-Spiels, sowohl durch genaue Bestimmung aller Regeln und Feinheiten, als auch durch die Beobachtung und Auseinandersetzung mehrerer angeführter, sehr schwieriger Beyspiele''
Vienna: Carl Haas. pp. 155–207. Earliest known rules. * _ (1829). "Tappen mit König oder Tarokrufen" i
''Neuestes Allgemeines Spielbuch''
C. Haas, Vienna. pp. 89–94.


Books about Königrufen

* Vácha, Martin. ''Handbuch Tarock. Die Kunst des Königrufens.'' Kral Verlag, Berndorf, 2015, . * Vácha, Martin. ''Tarock – Lehrbuch des Königrufens. Ein Weg zum strategischen Denken''. Edition Volkshochschule, Vienna, 2007, . * Flendrovsky, Friedrich. ''Tarock. Ein Wegweiser durch das königliche Spiel''. Self-publication, 2nd improved and expanded edition, 1997, . * Hackl, Siegfried. ''Das Tarock-Spiel. Tarock für jedermann''. Sailers Taschenreihe No. 34, Vienna, 1950.


Königrufen in books on Tarock

* Bamberger, Johannes. ''Tarock: Die schönsten Varianten.'' 22nd edition. Vienna: Perlen-Reihe (2011). * Beck, Fritz. ''Tarock Komplett: Alle Spiele''. 12th edition. Perlen-Reihe Vol 640. Vienna: Perlen-Reihe (1983). *
Dummett, Michael Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett (; 27 June 1925 – 27 December 2011) was an English academic described as "among the most significant British philosophers of the last century and a leading campaigner for racial tolerance and equality." H ...
. ''The Game of Tarot. From Ferrara to Salt Lake City.'' Duckworth, London, 1980, , pp. 502–525. *
Dummett, Michael Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett (; 27 June 1925 – 27 December 2011) was an English academic described as "among the most significant British philosophers of the last century and a leading campaigner for racial tolerance and equality." H ...
. ''Twelve Tarot Games''. London: Duckworth (1980), pp. 147–172. . *
Dummett, Michael Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett (; 27 June 1925 – 27 December 2011) was an English academic described as "among the most significant British philosophers of the last century and a leading campaigner for racial tolerance and equality." H ...
and John McLeod. ''A History of Games Played with the Tarot Pack. The Game of Triumphs.'' 2 volumes. Mellen Press, Lewiston, NY, 2004, pp. 575–692. and
Supplement
(pdf; 3.81 MB), pp. S 32 – S 43. * Mayr, Wolfgang and
Robert Sedlaczek Robert Sedlaczek (born 1952) is an Austrian journalist, Germanist, expert for Austrian German, and non-fiction author.
. ''Das Große Tarockbuch.'' Verlag Perlen-Reihe, Vienna etc., 2001, (''Perlen-Reihe'' 642), pp. 26–32, 119–152 etc. * * Ulmann, S. (1900
''Illustrirtes Wiener Tarokbuch''
. 2nd revised and improved edn. Hartleben, Vienna, Pest, Leipzig.


Königrufen in books on card games

* Kastner, Hugo and Gerald Kador Folkvord
''Die große Humboldt-enzyklopädie der Kartenspiele''
Humboldt (2005). . *
Parlett, David David Parlett (born 18 May 1939 in London) is a games scholar, historian, and translator from South London, who has studied both card games and board games. He is the president of the British Skat Association. Life David Sidney Parlett was bo ...
. ''A History of Card Games''. Oxford: OUP (1991). . *
Parlett, David David Parlett (born 18 May 1939 in London) is a games scholar, historian, and translator from South London, who has studied both card games and board games. He is the president of the British Skat Association. Life David Sidney Parlett was bo ...
. ''Dictionary of Card Games''. Oxford: OUP (1996) *
Parlett, David David Parlett (born 18 May 1939 in London) is a games scholar, historian, and translator from South London, who has studied both card games and board games. He is the president of the British Skat Association. Life David Sidney Parlett was bo ...
. ''The Penguin Book of Card Games''. London: Penguin (2008) pp. 353, 367–368.


External links


introductory rulesCheltenham rules
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konigrufen Tarock card games Four-player card games Austrian card games Year of introduction missing