The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (125 page)

bid ‘against’ with that on the right (X = Excuse):

† 21 17 16 14 12 11 5 4 X † 21 19 18 16 14 10 9 8 l X

K C J T 4 2

Q 2

J 3

K 6

7

K Q 3

none

K

The interest of the play rests as much on the outcome of petit, the

lowest trump, as on the main contract, since it both counts as a bout

and carries weight in the last trick. If you hold it, decide from the

outset whether or not to save it for the last trick. As soloist, try to

ensure its safety by leading trumps whenever possible so as to draw

them al and leave the lowest safe.

French Tarot for three

The same, but with these variations. Deal twenty-four cards to each

player in batches of four, and six to the dog. The lowest declarable

player in batches of four, and six to the dog. The lowest declarable

bunch is Thirteen (score 10), the highest Twenty-one (score 40). A

lit le slam is 22 or 23 tricks. If an odd card remains after counting

in pairs, ignore it.

Tapp Tarock

3 players, 54 cards (Austrian tarocks)

Tapp, or Tappen, makes a good introduction to the general

principles of Tarot play as it developed in central Europe, and can

lead to more advanced 54-card, French-suited games such as Point

Tarock and Konigsrufen. The fol owing is based on Babsch, Original

Tarock (Vienna, 1975), but details vary from place to place. The

French origin of Austro-German Tarock games is revealed in their

terminology. Skus comes from excuse; Mond, though meaning

moon, is a corruption of monde (‘world’); pagat, the smal est

trump, is related to bagatel e; and trul is a corruption of tous les

trois.

Cards The Austrian Tarock pack contains 22 trumps (‘tarocks’) and

32 plain cards.

The highest tarock, cal ed Skus, depicts a Fool or Joker

The second highest, cal ed Mond, is numbered XXI

Others fol ow in descending order: XX, XIX, XVI I…

The lowest, cal ed Pagat, is numbered I.

Skus, Mond and Pagat form a trio cal ed the trul . In plain suits,

cards rank downwards as fol ows:

In and

King Queen Cavalier Jack T 9 8 7

In and King Queen Cavalier Jack A 2 3 4

Deal Whoever cuts the highest card deals first (trumps beat plain

suits). The deal and turn to play then pass regularly to the right.

suits). The deal and turn to play then pass regularly to the right.

Deal a talon of six cards face down to the table in threes, the second

batch lying crosswise atop the first, then sixteen cards to each

player in eights. Anyone dealt no tarocks at al may cal for a new

deal.

Object There is an auction to decide who plays alone against the

other two. The soloist’s primary aim is to win cards total ing at

least 36 of the 70 points available. For this purpose, cards won in

tricks count as fol ows:

Skus, Mond, Pagat 5 each

King

5 each

Queen

4 each

Cavalier

3 each

Jack

2 each

All others

1 each

This gives a theoretical total of 106. However, won cards are

counted in threes, and each batch of three counts 2 less than its face

value. As there are 18 batches (54 -f- 3), the final total is 70 (106 –

36). Thus the target of 36 points represents just one point more

than half the total.

Make a mental note if you hold two or three cards of the trul , or

al four Kings, as these earn a bonus at end of play.

Types of bid There are basical y only two bids: Exchange and Solo.

In an exchange game, the soloist turns up the six cards of the

talon, adds either the top three or the bot om three to his

hand, and discards three cards face down in their place. These

three discards wil count for him at end of play as if he had

won them in tricks, while the other three, which are turned

face down again, wil similarly count for the opponents.

In a Solo, he leaves the six cards of the talon unturned, and al

In a Solo, he leaves the six cards of the talon unturned, and al

six wil count for the opponents at end of play as if they had

won them in tricks.

Bidding procedure Although there are only two basic bids,

‘Exchange’ can be bid at three dif erent levels, namely Dreier

(‘threes’) for a score of 3, Unterer (‘lowers’) for 4, and Oberer

(‘uppers’) for 5 points. (These terms original y denoted which of

the two batches of three cards, lower or upper, the Soloist had to

take. Nowadays the choice is free.)

Each in turn, starting with eldest, may pass or bid. A player who

has once passed may not come in again. So long as no one has yet

bid Solo, the procedure is as fol ows.

The first bid (if not Solo) must be Dreier. This can be overcal ed

only by Unterer (or Solo), and Unterer only by Oberer (or Solo).

However, if a player who comes earlier in the bidding order has

made a bid and been overcal ed, and has not yet passed, he may

raise his bid to that of the previous player by saying ‘Hold’, thereby

exerting positional priority.

Anyone may bid Solo in their proper turn, and this normal y ends

the auction, as it cannot be overcal ed. (Theoretical y, an earlier

player can ‘hold’ the solo bid of a later one; but it is most unlikely

that two players would hold cards strong enough to contest it.)

Announcements Unless the highest bidder is playing Solo, he now

turns up the six cards of the talon, takes either the top three or the

bot om three, and makes three discards face down in their place.

These may not include a King, or a card of the trul . They may

include other tarocks only if he has no other legal discard(s), and in

this case he must show his opponents which tarocks he has

discarded. Before a card is led, any of the fol owing announcements

may be made:

The soloist may announce ‘Pagat’, thereby undertaking to win

the last trick with the lowest trump (I). If he is forced to play

it to an earlier trick, he loses this bid. He may not play it

it to an earlier trick, he loses this bid. He may not play it

earlier voluntarily, if he can legal y avoid it, even though he

may wish to do so in order to save his basic contract.

The soloist may announce ‘Valat’, thereby undertaking to win

every trick. (Very rare!)

Either opponent may announce ‘double the game’, ‘double the

Pagat’, ‘double the Valat’ (as the case may be), if he believes

the soloist wil not fulfil his contract or achieve whatever feat

he announced. In return, the soloist may announce ‘redouble’

to anything that was doubled. These announcements

respectively double and quadruple whatever scoring feature

the soloist wins or loses.

Play Eldest leads to the first trick, and the winner of each trick leads

to the next. Players must fol ow suit if possible, otherwise must

play a tarock if possible, otherwise may play any card. The trick is

taken by the highest card of the suit led, or by the highest tarock if

any are played, and the winner of each trick leads to the next.

Tricks need not be separated, and al cards won by the two partners

are thrown face down to a single pile.

Score Each side counts the card-points it has won as described

above. If the soloist has reached his 36-point target he scores the

appropriate game value, or is paid it by each opponent. If not, each

opponent scores the appropriate game value or receives it from the

soloist. The basic game values are: Threes = 3, Lowers = 4,

Uppers = 5, Solo = 8. These amountsare

doubledorquadrupledifthegame was respectively doubled or

redoubled.

If the soloist wins every trick, he scores the above amount

fourfold, or eightfold if he previously announced ‘Valat’. But if he

announced Valat and failed to win every trick, he loses the above

amount eightfold, regardless of how many card-points he took. This

amount is doubled or quadrupled if the announcement was

respectively doubled or redoubled.

If the soloist wins the last trick with Pagat, he scores 4 points, or

If the soloist wins the last trick with Pagat, he scores 4 points, or

8 in a solo bid. Conversely, if he leads Pagat to the last trick and

loses it – or, having announced it, plays it to any earlier trick – he is

deemed to have been at empting to make the bonus, and the

appropriate 4 points (8 in a solo) are scored by each opponent.

These amounts are doubled, won or lost, if he previously

announced his intention of winning the last trick with Pagat, and

further doubled or quadrupled if the announcement was