Gamehelpfrenchtarot

Overview

Each round of Tarot involves two stages: bidding and playing. In the bidding stage, the person who bids highest becomes the Taker. All the other players are playing collectively against the Taker (except in the five-player version, where the Taker has a secret partner). In the playing stage, the players play tricks until all hands are empty. Cards are worth points and the Taker has to gain a certain number of points to win the round. If the Taker does not succeed, the Taker loses the points they collected and everyone else gains points.

Cards

Ranks (from strongest to weakest): R D C V 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Letter	French meaning	American equivalent
R	Roi	King
D	Dame	Queen
C	Cavalier	Knight
V	Valet	Jack

Card Types

A Tarot deck has 78 cards.

• 1 "Fool"
• 21 Trump cards
• 56 suited cards (​♣, ​♥, ​♠, ​♦)

Special Cards

The 1 of Trump (The Little One), the 21 of Trump, and The Fool (The Excuse) are called the Bout or "honor" cards. They are worth the most points and change the target score for victory in a round. The more of these cards the Taker has, the easier it is for them to win.

The Fool has no suit and no rank. It can be played at any point. So use it when you want to avoid giving the Taker a card that would benefit them. If The Fool is played first, the next card determines the lead suit of the trick.

Card points

Each card is worth points. If you win a trick, you get the points of the cards in the trick. You may hover over your cards to see the point value.

• Bout (Trump 1, Trump 21, Fool): 4 ½ points
• Roi/King: 4 ½ points
• Dame/Queen: 3 ½ points
• Cavalier/Knight: 2 ½ points
• Valet/Jack: 1 ½ points
• All other cards: ½ point

Taker's Goal

The points the Taker needs to get to win the round change depending on the number of Bout cards won.

• All 3 Bouts: 36 points
• 2 Bouts: 41 points
• 1 Bouts: 51 points
• No Bouts: 56 points

Since Bout cards make it easier for the Taker to win, the Taker wants to gain them. The other players want to keep them away from the Taker. The 21 of Trump will never be taken from its owner. The Fool is almost never taken from its owner (it can only be taken if played in the final trick). But the 1 of Trump can easily be taken.

The Deal and Bidding

All cards are dealt to each player except for 6 (in the three- or four-player version) or 3 cards (in the five-player version). These cards are placed face down in a pile called the "Kitty". The Kitty remains hidden until bidding is over. The winner of the bid determines whether the Kitty is revealed and what happens to it.

Counterclockwise from the Dealer, each player either bids or passes. The person who bids the highest becomes the Taker. There are four possible bids:

Name	Definition	Score Multiplier
Small	The Kitty is revealed to all players. The Taker integrates it into their hand and discards an equal number of cards. The discarded cards count for the Taker's score.	None
Guard	The Kitty is revealed to all players. The Taker integrates it into their hand and discards an equal number of cards. The discarded cards count for the Taker's score.	x2
Guard Without the Kitty	The Kitty remains hidden to all players, but the cards still count for the Taker's score	x4
Guard Against the Kitty	The Kitty remains hidden to all players. The cards are counted in each defender's' score for the round	x6

Most variants forbid the Taker from putting any K/R, Trumps, or Bout cards in the Kitty. Some variants allow this if the Taker announces it.

In the five-player version, after the Taker has been determined, but before the Kitty is revealed, the Taker calls out a suit. The person who has the King R of that suit is the Taker's secret partner, making the round 2 versus 3. The partner's identity is not revealed until the called King R is played, allowing the partner to help the Taker in secret. If the King R of that suit is in the Dog or in the Taker's own hand, the Taker has no partner and the round is 1 versus 4. In the rare case that the Taker has all four Kings R in hand, then when calling a suit, they show them. In this case, the player with the Queen D in that suit becomes the secret partner.

Play

• One must follow suit

• One must play a trump if one cannot follow suit

• If a previous player could not follow suit and played a trump, the other players still have to follow suit if they can. (In current game set-up)

• If one must play a trump, one must play a higher trump than any trump already played on the trick

• One must play a lower trump if unable to play a higher

• If one cannot follow suit nor play a trump, one can play any card

• The Fool can be played on any trick and the person who played the Fool keeps it, regardless of who won the trick. However if the Fool is played on the last trick, then the Fool switches sides (exception: Chelem/Slam).

Scoring

The scores of all the players always add up to 0 after each round.

In the five-player variant, the Taker's partner shares the spoils / loss of the Taker (2/3 for the Taker, 1/3 for the partner).

There are certain bonuses:

Petit au bout

If the Petit (1 of trump) is played on the last trick, the team who wins that trick scores the Petit au bout bonus:

• 10 points x coefficient of the bid.

Poignées

A player can declare a poignée ("handful") before playing their first card. BGA will prompt you, but you do not have to declare a poignée. It adds points for whoever wins the hand as follows:

• Simple Poignée, 13 trumps with three players, 10 trumps with four players, 8 trumps with five players, 20 points

• Double Poignée, 15 trumps with three players, 13 trumps with four players, 10 trumps with five players, 30 points

• Triple Poignée, 18 trumps with three players, 15 trumps with four players, 13 trumps with five players, 40 points

The Poignée bonus is won by the team who wins the hand (it is not multiplied by the bid coefficient).

Slam

That is winning all tricks. Can be announced over the normal bid.

• 400 points if announced and achieved (it not multiplied by the bid coefficient)

• 200 points if silent and achieved

• -200 points if announced but failed

If the team acheving the Slam has the Fool in hand, it can be played on the last trick and it will win it. In this case, the Petit is considered au bout at the penultimate trick.

Variants

Misères (variant)

Any player can declare Misère ("misery") before playing their first card, to announce that they have:

• Misère of Trumps: no Trump nor the Fool, 10 points

• Misère of Honours: no Figure (face cards) nor Bout, 10 points

Every other player gives the declarer 10 points from their score immediately.

Goulash (variant)

If everybody passes, it is free-for-all and the goal is to avoid taking points.

At the hand of the hand, each player pays each opponent the points they took.

The play is the same but there is no Petit au bout nor Slam and Poignées cannot be declared.

The Fool remains the property of one who plays it. If it is played on the last trick, it wins it.

The Dog/Kitty is not revealed and is no one's property.