The game of French Tarot is a
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 ...
strategy
tarot card game
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 i ...
played by three to five players using a traditional 78-card
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 ...
deck. The game is played in France and also in French-speaking Canada. It should not be confused with French tarot, which refers to all aspects of cartomancy and games using tarot cards in France.
Background

France was one of the first two countries outside of Italy to start playing tarot, the other being Switzerland. While various types of tarot games were played in France since the 16th century, the dominant form now popular is the 19th-century rule set from
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...
. Historically, tarot games in France were played with the
Italian-suited Tarot of Marseilles
The Tarot of Marseilles is a standard pattern of Italian-suited tarot pack with 78 cards that was very popular in France in the 17th and 18th centuries for playing tarot card games and is still produced today. It was probably created in Milan bef ...
which had Renaissance allegorical images on the ''atouts'' while lacking reversible
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 and
trumps
A trump is a playing card which is elevated above its usual rank in trick-taking games. Typically an entire suit is nominated as a ''trump suit''; these cards then outrank all cards of plain (non-trump) suits. In other contexts, the terms ''trump c ...
and corner indices. For ease of play, the late 19th century
French-suited
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. I ...
"''
Tarot Nouveau
The Bourgeois Tarot deck is a mid-19th century pattern of tarot cards of German origin that is used for playing card games in western Europe and Canada. It is not designed for divinatory purposes.[fin de siècle
"''Fin de siècle''" () is a French term meaning , a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom '' turn of the century'' and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without co ...]
''
genre scenes
Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...
of French life and leisure.
In English, the game is referred to as French Tarot or sometimes as French tarot, however, the latter usually refers to tarot cards of French origin or to cartomantic tarot and not to the game. The name French Tarot is used in English to differentiate the card game from other uses of the tarot deck that are more familiar in the Americas and English-speaking countries, particularly the decks used for
cartomancy
Cartomancy is fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards. Forms of cartomancy appeared soon after playing cards were introduced into Europe in the 14th century.Paul Huson, Huson, Paul (2004). ''Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Anci ...
and other
divinatory
Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...
purposes, and also to distinguish it from other card games played with a tarot deck. The unique feature that distinguishes French Tarot from other forms of tarot games is the
overtrumping rule. In France it is just known as ''jeu de Tarot''.
History
Cards appeared in Europe towards the end of the 14th century and may have been introduced first through
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
or
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
. Tarot cards are first mentioned in the mid-15th century in Italy. Initially called ''trionfi'', meaning "triumph", whence the name "trump" in English, the Italians later called them ''tarocchi'' as the idea of trumps spread to other card games. Both the Italian word ''tarocchi'' and the French word ''tarot'' occur from the early 16th century onwards, although it is unclear whether one was derived from the other.
Tarot was introduced into France in the early 16th century as a result of the First and Second
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between 1494 and 1559, mostly in the Italian Peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and Mediterranean Sea. The primary belligerents were the House of Valois, Valois kings o ...
(1494–1522) and is widely recorded in French literature of that century, the earliest reference being that by
Rabelais in
Gargantua
''La vie tres horrifique du grand Gargantua, père de Pantagruel jadis composée par M. Alcofribas abstracteur de quinte essence. Livre plein de Pantagruelisme'' according to 's 1542 edition, or simply Gargantua, is the second novel by François ...
in 1534. By 1622 it had become more popular in France than chess and the earliest account appeared around 1637 in
Nevers
Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...
. This describes a three-player, 78-card game played with an
Italian-suited pack
Playing cards (in Italian: ''carte da gioco'') have been in Italy since the late 14th century. Until the mid 19th century, Italy was composed of many smaller independent states which led to the development of various regional patterns of playing ...
with the Fool acting as an Excuse and the
suits ranking in their 'original' order i.e. with
numeral card
The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to bridge, hearts, poker or rummy), ...
s in the suits of
Cups
CUPS (formerly an acronym for Common UNIX Printing System) is a modular printing system for Unix-like computer operating systems which allows a computer to act as a print server. A computer running CUPS is a host that can accept print jobs ...
and
Coins
A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...
ranking from Ace (high) to Ten (low). This ranking is retained in all Tarot games today except in France and Sicily. In France, Tarot remained in vogue until 1650, but then its popularity steadily waned to the point where, in 18th century France, it was barely played outside the
Provence
Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
region.
The game experienced a revival in the course of the late 18th and 19th centuries. The original Italian-suited cards typified by the
Tarot de Marseille
The Tarot of Marseilles is a standard pattern of Italian-suited tarot pack with 78 cards that was very popular in France in the 17th and 18th centuries for playing tarot card games and is still produced today. It was probably created in Milan befo ...
came to be viewed as Italian and were replaced by French designs, notably the
Tarot Nouveau
The Bourgeois Tarot deck is a mid-19th century pattern of tarot cards of German origin that is used for playing card games in western Europe and Canada. It is not designed for divinatory purposes.[Droggn
Droggn, sometimes called French Tarock () is an extinct card game of the Tarock family for three players that was played in the Stubai valley in Tyrol, Austria until the 1980s. ''Droggn'' is originally local dialect for "to play Tarock" (in stan ...]
– a Tarot game with similarities to old French Tarot – into Austrian Tyrol. It is also recorded that French soldiers were issued with Tarot packs during the
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
(1870),
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
(1914–18) and
Algerian War
The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...
(1954–62), leading in each case to the spread of ''le jeu de Tarot'' throughout France according to Dummett and Berloquin. In 1973, the French Tarot Federation (''Fédération Française de Tarot'') was formed and, by the late 20th century, Tarot had become the second-most popular card game in France, only trailing
Belote
Belote () is a 32-card, trick-taking, ace–ten game played primarily in France and certain European countries, namely Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia (country), Georgia (mainly Guria), Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, North Mac ...
. Part of the reason why French Tarot persisted is the fact that the rules have been very consistent wherever the game is played. However, it is important to note that details of play outside of officially sanctioned tournaments may vary from circle to circle so that the known rules and terminologies are more typical than definitive.
In the late 18th century in France, Tarot cards first became associated with fortune telling, a practice that eventually spread to much of the Western world. However, the cards preferred for divination are the older Italian-suited packs or bespoke modern designs, which have occultic symbology, rather than the packs with scenes of everyday life like the French Tarot Nouveau, German
Cego
Cego is a Tarot card game for three or four players played mainly in and around the Black Forest region of Germany. It was probably derived from the three-player Badenese game of Dreierles when soldiers deployed from the Iberian Peninsula durin ...
and Austro-Hungarian ''
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 ...
'' packs.
Deck

The game is played using a 78-card
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 ...
deck. This deck is composed of:
* 21 numbered
trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
cards (''atouts''), and 1 unnumbered trump card: the "Excuse" or "
Fool" (''L'excuse'' or ''Fou'')
** 3 of these trumps, known as ''oudlers'', have particular importance: the 1 of trumps, the 21 of trumps and the "Excuse" (or Fool). These determine the
contract
A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
the taker commits to in that particular game.
* 4
suit
A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt su ...
s of 14 cards each:
** numbered "
pip cards
Pips are small but easily countable items, such as the dots on dominoes and dice, or the symbols on a playing card that denote its suit and value.
Playing cards
In playing cards, pips are small symbols on the front side of the cards that de ...
" (aka 'fillers') from 1 to 10 have no true value, except when taking its "fold" or add .5 point at counting (the "Ace" has always the lowest value and so it is marked with number 1 instead of the "A" common in 52-card decks),
** four "
face cards"; the ''Valet'' (Jack), ''
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 ...
'' (
Knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
; not seen in
52-card decks), ''Dame'' (Queen) and ''Roi'' (King) are respectively worth 2, 3, 4 and 5 points at end of match counting.
Rank of cards
Three cards known as ''oudlers'' (
honours
Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as valo ...
) are of particular importance in the game: the 1 of trumps (''le petit'' or "Little one"), the 21 of trumps (''le monde'' or "The World", a holdover from the name of this card in the Tarot of Marseilles), and the ''Excuse'' (the Fool). These cards, when captured by the high
bidder
Bidding is an offer (often competitive) to set a price tag by an individual or business for a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service ''or'' a demand that something be done. Bidding is used to determine the cost or Value (ec ...
, lower the point threshold needed to fulfil the contract. In colloquial French, ''oudlers'' are often referred to as ''bouts'' (ends).
The ranking of the
hearts,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
spades from the top is:
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, ...
,
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 ...
,
Knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
,
Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (
Ace
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...
).
''Excuse''
The only card with a special effect is the "Fool", ''L'Excuse''. The ''Excuse'' may be played on any trick; it "excuses" the player from following suit. However, it normally doesn't win the trick. The card also normally remains the property of the person who played it, not the winner of that trick; to compensate for this in the scoring count, the owner of the ''Excuse'' should instead give the winner of the trick a half-point card (a trump other than an ''oudler'', or a suited number card; see
Scoring SCORE may refer to:
*SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program
* SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network
*SCORE! Educational Centers
*SCORE International, an offroad racing organization
*Sarawak Corrido ...
) from the tricks the Excuse holder has already taken.
Two common exceptions to the above procedure occur when the ''Excuse'' is played to the last trick, and what happens depends on whether the side playing the Fool has taken all the previous tricks (see ''Chelem''/Slam below). If the side has taken all previous tricks, the card takes the last trick; if not, it changes hands to the other side, even if the trick is won by a
partner or fellow
defender of the person playing it.
Rules
For 3 or 4 players (5 with a simple variation). The 4-player variant is usually considered the most challenging and is the one played in competitions. The following rules are for 4 players.
Dealing
Players
draw
Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn most commonly refer to:
* Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them
* Draw (tie), in a competition, where competitors achieve equal outcomes
* Draw ...
for the first
deal
In cryptography, DEAL (Data Encryption Algorithm with Larger blocks) is a symmetric block cipher derived from the Data Encryption Standard (DES). Its design was presented by Lars Knudsen at the SAC conference in 1997, and submitted as a proposa ...
; the person with the lowest-value card deals first, with suits ordered spades > hearts > diamonds > clubs as a tiebreaker. All trumps rank higher than any suited card; anyone who draws the Fool must redraw. From this point, the deal will pass to the right (anticlockwise) for each subsequent deal.
The player at the left of the
dealer
Dealer may refer to:
Film and TV
* ''Dealers'' (film), a 1989 British film
* ''Dealers'' (TV series), a reality television series where five art and antique dealers bid on items
* ''The Dealer'' (film), filmed in 2008 and released in 2010
* ...
cuts the deck. The dealer then deals out the entire deck, anticlockwise, starting with first hand. Each player is dealt their cards in
packets of three consecutive cards at a time (they will each receive 6 such packets for a total of 18 cards). In addition, a ''chien'' (lit. "dog", alt. "kitty", "
talon" or "nest") of 6 cards is dealt one card at a time into the centre of the table, while dealing to the other players. A card may be dealt to the dog at any time, but the dealer may not:
* deal the dog two consecutive cards,
* deal the dog a card from the middle of a player's packet, or
* deal the first or last card of the deck to the dog.
A common valid dealing order is player A → player B → dog → player C → dealer, but this is just one permutation and the dealer is free to choose the sequence while following the above rules.
A ''maldonne'' (
misdeal) occurs when the dealer makes mistakes in the dealing; if this happens, the hand is redealt, either by the same dealer or the next in rotation. Players inspect, sort and evaluate their hands, and then move on to the bidding round.
Annulment
Before the bidding phase, if one player has a "Petit sec" (only one trump in hand, and it is the Petit, and does not have the Fool), then the player has to announce it and the hand is redealt. If it is discovered later in the game that a player had a "Petit sec", then it is also annulled and redealt by the following dealer.
Bidding
The players look at the cards they have been dealt, and an
auction
An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...
begins, beginning with first hand and rotating anticlockwise. By bidding, a player states their confidence that they will be able to meet a set
contract
A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
(see
below
Below may refer to:
*Earth
*Ground (disambiguation)
*Soil
*Floor
* Bottom (disambiguation)
*Less than
*Temperatures below freezing
*Hell or underworld
People with the surname
* Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general
* Fred Belo ...
) and sets the terms by which they will try to do so. If a player does not wish to bid, they may "pass" but may not bid after having passed previously. One may only bid higher than the previous bidders. The ''preneur'' ("taker", sometimes called
declarer
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, ...
as in
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
) is the one who wins this auction and who must subsequently try to achieve the contract while the other players are the
defenders
Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to:
* Defense (military)
* Defense (sports)
** Defender (association football)
Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre Film
* ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary
* ''The D ...
and attempt to prevent the taker from doing so.
The level of bid is based on the strength of a player's hand, usually estimated by counting the points within it. See
evaluating one's hand below for a method to determine the points within one's hand.
The bids are, in increasing importance:
*''Prise'' ("take") or ''petite'' ("small"): if this is the winning bid the taker adds the "dog" to their hand, then confidentially sets aside a same number of cards of their choice, to bring their hand back to normal size before play begins. The discarded cards form the beginning of the taker's score pile (the tricks pile). The name of this stack evolves from "le chien" to "l'écart" ("the aside").
*''Pousse'' ("push"): same actions and scoring as a ''prise'', but outranks the ''prise'' and generally indicates a stronger hand value. This bid is not in the official rules, and is a holdover from an older bidding system (see below).
*''Garde'' ("guard"): the same actions as ''prise'', but the taker wins or loses double the usual stake.
*''Garde sans'' ("guard without" the dog): the dog goes directly into the taker's score pile, and no-one gets to see it until the end of the hand. The score is counted normally against the target number, but it is worth double the ''garde'' score (4x the base hand score) to whomever wins the hand.
*''Garde contre'' ("guard against" the dog): the dog goes directly into the opposing score pile, without being shown until the end of the hand. The score is counted normally against the target number, but it is worth triple the ''garde'' score (6x the base hand score) to whomever wins the hand.
If no one bids, the hand is void and the deal passes to the right.
On a ''prise'', ''pousse'' or ''garde'', the taker may not set aside a king or a trump, except that if the player cannot discard anything else, they may discard a non-''oudler'' trump. In this case, the taker has to display which trumps they set aside. An ''oudler'' may never be set aside.
In earlier rules, still played outside of competitions, in place of the ''prise'' and simple ''garde'', there were two bids, in increasing importance: the ''petite'' (small) and the ''pousse'' (push). The ''prise'' is still sometimes known as ''petite''. There are also some players who play without the ''prise'' contract, with ''garde'' as the minimum allowable bid.
Main phase
First hand leads the first trick, and play proceeds anticlockwise, with every player playing a card to the trick. Tricks are evaluated in a similar fashion as other trick-taking games with a trump suit; the highest trump, if played, takes the trick, and if trump is not played, the highest-value card of the led suit takes the trick. Every subsequent trick is led by the player who took the last trick. The leader of a trick can play any card they like.
Once the leader of a trick has played a card, everyone else must
follow suit
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 the first card played in a trick is the Fool, the suit which must be followed is determined by the next card. A player who cannot follow suit must play a trump card if able, and additionally, the player is compelled to
overtrump if able (The "Petit" or 1 is valued lowest, and the "Monde" or 21 is valued highest). If a player must trump but cannot overtrump, they can play any trump. A player who cannot follow suit or trump may play any card to the trick, however it cannot win the trick.
If a trump is led to the trick, the others must play a trump, and each trump must exceed the rank of all trump previously played in the trick if possible. If this is not possible, a lower-ranked trump, or any card if the player has no trumps, can be played.
The Fool (''L'Excuse'') may be played to any trick, instead of following suit or trumping. The Fool never wins the trick, unless it is played to the last trick and the side playing it has taken every previous trick. However, it never changes sides, unless played to the last trick and the side playing it has ''not'' won every trick. After playing the Fool to a trick, the player who played it simply takes the Fool back, places it into their scoring pile and gives the side who took the trick an "ordinary" card (worth a half-point; see scoring below) from their scoring pile.
The official FFT tournament rules do not cover the public or private nature of the contents of scoring piles during play. Generally in trick-taking games, the contents of players' scoring piles are not public information during play of the hand, except in cases where a revoke is suspected (a player not following suit, trumping or overtrumping when it was possible for them to do so). A player is neither required to divulge the contents of the score pile nor permitted to look through it except as necessary to find a half-point card to replace the Fool.
Scoring
When the last trick has been played, the round ends. The taker counts the number of ''oudlers'' and the point value of all cards in the taker's scoring pile. Alternatively, if the taker has taken the majority of tricks, the defenders can pool their scoring piles and count their ''oudlers'' and points; the taker has all remaining points.
Value of the cards
Cards for scoring purposes are divided into two groups: "counters" (face cards and ''oudlers'') and "ordinary" cards or ''cartes basses'' (any suited pip card, and any trump except the 1 and 21). Cards are paired, with each counter matched to an ordinary card, and remaining ordinary cards are also paired. The values of pairs are then counted and summed:
*1 King or ''oudler'' + 1 ordinary card: 5 points
*1 Queen + 1 ordinary card: 4 points
*1 Knight + 1 ordinary card: 3 points
*1 Jack + 1 ordinary card: 2 points
*2 ordinary cards: 1 point
Each card thus has an individual value; the pairing simply makes it easier to count points. If a card cannot be paired, because there are an odd number in the scoring pile (common with three or five players) or more counters than ordinary cards:
*Kings and ''oudlers'' are worth points each;
*Queens are worth ;
*Knights are worth ;
*Jacks are worth ;
*All other cards are worth point.
Winning
The number of points the taker needs depends on how many of the ''oudlers'' (Excuse, Petit, 21 of trumps) are among the tricks won by the taker.
*With 3 ''oudlers'' the taker needs at least 36 card points to win;
*With 2 ''oudlers'' the taker needs at least 41 card points to win;
*With 1 ''oudler'' the taker needs at least 51 card points to win;
*With none the taker needs at least 56 card points to win.
There are 91 points to be taken in a round, so if the taker has:
*3 ''oudlers'', the defenders need at least card points to win;
*2 ''oudlers'', the defenders need at least card points to win;
*1 ''oudler'', the defenders need at least card points to win;
*no ''oudler'', the defenders need at least card points to win.
Updating the scorecard
Scoring in Tarot is "zero-sum"; when one player gains points, one or more other players lose an equal number.
To calculate the basic "hand score" that is to be added or deducted, the scorer starts with a basic score of 25 points, then adds the absolute (non-negative) difference between the points earned by the taker and the threshold, and, if any, the ''Petit au bout'' bonus. This quantity is multiplied by the appropriate multiplier for the taker's bid level (see Bidding), and then two additional bonuses may be added if they apply; the ''poignée'' or "handful" bonus, and the ''chelem'' or slam bonus (see below for descriptions of bonuses). Thus, calculation of the hand score is expressed by the formula
:s = (25 + E + P) × M + H + S
where:
*E = Extra Points (points above the target score, or below if the target score is not hit)
*P = ''Petit au bout'' bonus (see below)
*M = Multiplier (1, 2, 4, or 6 depending on the taker's bid level)
*H = Handful bonus (see below)
*S = Slam bonus (see below)
If the taker beats the target score, this hand score is deducted from the score of each defender. If the taker misses the target score, this score is added to the score of each defender. The opposite of the sum of the defenders' gain or loss is then added to or deducted from the taker's score to balance the scores; with four players, the taker will gain or lose three times the hand score depending on whether the taker made or missed the contract. The sum of all scores for each hand, and thus the sum of the running totals after each hand, should be zero.
For example, a Garde Sans bid with a simple handful won by player A by a margin of 12 points gives the following hand score: = 168 points. This score is deducted from the scores of all defenders and the sum of this loss is added to the taker's score, hence the scorecard:
*A +504
*B −168
*C −168
*D −168
Some players prefer to round the scores to the nearest 10 points after each game, however care must be taken as the scores should still sum to zero. Rounding each of the above scores independently yields 500 − 170 − 170 − 170 = −10. If rounding is to be done, the defenders' scores should be rounded and the taker's score adjusted accordingly. Doing so in the above example would make the taker's score 510, thus it balances out.
This is not the only scoring method; the alternative is seen below.
Soft shuffling
After each round, the cards are gathered, cut by the previous dealer, and dealt by the person to the right of the previous dealer. The cards are not commonly shuffled other than the "soft shuffling" that occurs as a natural result of playing the cards. By not shuffling, groups of desirable cards are kept together such that one person generally has a favorable enough hand to open the bidding. With shuffling between deals it is unlikely that any one player will be willing to bid on the hand dealt; this leads to multiple redeals before a hand is actually played.
Bonuses
''Misère''
If a player's hand contains no trumps or no court cards (roi, dame, cavalier, valet), the player can declare Misère, which gives the declarer 30 points and subtracts 10 from the other players scores. This bonus is a common house rule and is not considered "official" by the Fédération Française de Tarot for tournament purposes.
''Poignée''
If a player has 10 or more trumps in their hand, they can declare a single (10+), double (13+), or triple (15+) "handful" (''poignée''), right before playing their first card. A single handful adds 20 to the scoring. Doubles and triples add 40 and 60, respectively. The bonus is always added to the hand score, so if a player thinks that his or her side may not win, they might not want to declare a handful, so as not to give the other side points. The declaring player must show at least the number of trump cards for the level of the bonus declared. The Fool counts as a trump for the purposes of declaring handfuls, but if shown it gives information to other players as it usually means that the declaring player has no additional trumps. This bonus is not multiplied according to the contract.
''Petit au bout''
When the last trick contains the Petit (1 of trump), 10 points is added to or deducted from the hand score before multiplying. Whether it is added or subtracted depends on which would most benefit the side taking the trick with the ''Petit au bout'' (One at the End). Usually, when one side (taker or defenders) makes ''Petit au bout'' but the other side was successful in either making or breaking contract, the bonus is subtracted; when one side is successful in the contract and also makes ''Petit au bout'', the bonus is added. If the side attempting the ''Petit au bout'' wins all the tricks, the player gets the ''petit au bout'' bonus if the Petit was played at the second to last trick (and won the trick) and the Fool was played at the last trick. This bonus is multiplied according to the contract; if the contract is Guard Without, the gain or loss for a single hand score is adjusted by 40 points one way or the other.
''Chelem''
To Slam (in French, ''chelem'') is to take every trick in the round. "Announced" Slam (made while bidding in the auction) gains 400 points if made. It grants the taker the right (and obligation) to start the first trick. Otherwise, a non-announced Slam made by either the taker or the defenders gains 200 points. Failure to fulfill a pre-declared Slam costs the announcer 200 points. This bonus is not multiplied according to the contract.
Petit Slam
"Petit Slam" is a bid to take every trick but three. It is, like the ''misère'', unofficial. An unannounced Petit Slam is worth 150 points, while an announced slam can gain the taker 300 points or lose them 150 if they make or miss.
Variants
Petit imprenable
In ''Petit imprenable'' ("untouchable Petit"), a player who has no trump except the Petit can still play, but the Petit is played like the Fool; if it does not take the trick, it is given back to its owner in exchange for a half-point card.
''Petit sec''
In ''Petit sec'' ("dry Petit"), a player who has the Petit but no other trump nor the Fool must announce this; the hand is voided and this round will be redealt by the next dealer.
Common house rules also allow a player to declare a ''maldonne'' if their hand has no trumps, or fewer than a given number of combined trumps and face cards.
Three-player variant
The dog consists of six cards, each hand of 24 cards, dealt in packets of three. 13 trumps are needed for a single handful, 15 for a double handful, 18 for a triple.
Five-player variant
The dog consists of three cards, each hand of 15 cards, dealt in packets of three. 8 trumps are needed for a single handful, 10 for a double, 13 for a triple. Before calling the dog and scoring the three cards, the taker calls the King of any suit. Whoever has that King becomes the taker's partner, and plays with the taker against the other players. If the taker has all four kings, a queen must be called. If the taker has all four kings and all four queens, a knight must be called. A taker with all kings, queens and knights must play alone.
In the
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 ...
n tarot game of
Königrufen
Königrufen or Königsrufen (German: "Calling the King"Dummett (1980), ''Twelve Tarot Games'', p. 147.) is a four-player, trick-taking card game of the Tarot card games, tarot family, played in Austria and Southern Tyrol, with a pack of 54 cards ...
, this king-calling mechanism is used so that four-player play two against two.
The King is called ''before'' anything is done with the dog; therefore, the taker may call a King that is in the dog. In this case, the taker plays alone; having effectively called him- or herself as partner if the dog's cards are to be integrated into the hand, and in any case no other player has that King in hand.
In scoring, the taker's partner gets one "hand score" added to or deducted if the taker makes or misses the contract. So, if taker beats the target score, each defender loses the hand score, the partner gains the hand score, and the taker gets twice the hand score. If the taker misses, the gains and losses are reversed.
Higher ''Garde Contre''
A popular variant is setting the multiplier for the Garde Contre to 8 instead of 6.
''Parole'' bid
In some social games, and in order to avoid abandoned deals and the redistribution of cards, it is possible to have a bid of ''Parole'': the player does not commit to a contract but reserves judgment until a second round of bidding. Depending on the variants, this allows you to freely choose a bid from ''Prise'' to ''Garde Contre'', or just a ''Prise''. This variant is not accepted in tournaments.
''Pousse'' contract
In some regions, there is a ''Pousse'' between the ''Petite'' and the ''Garde''. Instead of having multipliers, the contracts are then worth fixed amounts of 10, 20, 40, 80 or 160 points. In this case, the single ''Prise'' is called the ''Petite'' (the player says in this case "''Petite''"). In this variant the player does not say "I" in the other bids, simply saying "''garde''" or "''pousse''" for example. When a player has made a bid and another player outbids, the first player can in turn outbid or leave i.e. it is
bidding with immediate hold.
Strategy
Evaluating one's hand
As a guide to bidding, a player can reckon points for various features of the cards held, judging the bid according to the total number of points.
Each range of point totals suggests a different bid:
:less than 40 points: Passe (no bid)
:40 to 55 points: Prise
:56 to 70 points: Garde
:71 to 80 points: Garde Sans
:80+ points: Garde Contre
Getting the Petit
It is essential to try to get the Petit if one can. In a 5-player game, if the taker has the 21 of trump, it should always be played so the partner can secure the Petit if held. A taker with many trumps may embark on a ''chasse au petit'' (Petit hunt), trying to play trumps so that the Petit owner has no choice but to give it away.
Observation
Every player should know which suits have been played, and which are still to be played. It is useful to count how many trumps, and what kings, have been played.
Statistics
Distribution of suits
The following table shows the maximum number of suits and trumps for a Defender for 4 players.
Example: ''Suppose the taker has 8 hearts, thus the Defenders have 6 hearts. In 5.3% of the cases, one Defender has 5 or more hearts. Notice that the sum from any column is 100%. If the taker has 9 trumps, thus the Defense has 12 trumps. There is a 1.1% probability that one Defender has 9 or more trumps''.
Dog's cards
This applies to 4 players and 6-card dog.
Example: ''Albert is the taker and has no queen; he thus has a 30.5% chance of getting a queen in the dog, 4.4% of two queens. If Florence is the taker and has 8 diamonds, there are 14-8=6 diamonds left, so she has a 51.6% chance of not getting any diamond in the dog at all. If Bertrand is the taker and has 7 trumps, there are 21-7=14 trumps left, so he has a 43% chance of getting 2 or more trumps''.
Signals
The Fédération Française de Tarot has developed a system of conventional leads that lets partners communicate the value and number of the cards in hand. An outline of the system follows.
At the outset (indicated by 1 card)
*In a suit:
: A card from Ace to 5 signals that the player holds a major honour (King-Queen).
: A card higher than the 5 signals that the player does not hold such an honour.
*In trumps:
: An odd trump signals possession of at least 7 trumps, and requests that partner play trumps.
: An even trump played at the beginning of part announces possession of fewer than 7 trumps.
With the Supply (indicated by 2 cards)
*Suit played by the attacker:
: Order going down: behavior 5th in the suit invites to play trump (attention not to have the Petit in hand).
: The Excuse on starts attacker with the first or with the second turn promises the behavior
*Suit played by defender:
: Two cards of the same suit played in descending order signal that the player held a doubleton in this suit. The player's partner is implicitly expected to continue playing this suit so that the player can overtrump.
When a player indicates the strength of his or her hand by playing a king or an odd trump, it imposes a line of play to which the partners are duty bound to adhere.
: Excuse at the first round of trumps: Player demands an end to trumps.
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
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External links
''Fédération Française de Tarot'' official website of the French Tarot Federation.
general information on the game of tarotShogix.netAmerican Tarot Game Association*
Instructional video on French TarotOnline platform to play Tarot
{{Tarot and Tarock card games
Four-player card games
French card games