The game of Tarot is composed of 78 cards.
Four suits (spades/swords, hearts/cups, diamonds/coins, clubs/staves). Each suit is composed of 14 cards; in descending order these are: King, Queen, Knight and Jack (the honors), and 10 through 1 (Ace).
Twenty-one trumps each marked with a corresponding number; these are the Atouts, or Tarots, and they have precedence over the suits. The number of each card indicates its value; the most powerful is the 21, the least is the 1 (also known as le Petit, or the Dwarf).
The Fool, or the Excuse, marked with a zero. This may be played whenever a suit or Tarot is required.
The 21, the Petit and the Excuse constitute the three Oudlers, around which the strategy of Tarot revolves.
Points for cards are counted in twos; the entire stock is worth 91 points:
| any Oudler + 1 minor card any King + 1 minor card | 5 points | 15 points max 20 points max | any Queen + 1 minor card | 4 points | 16 points max | any Knight + 1 minor card | 3 points | 12 points max | any Jack + 1 minor card | 2 points | 8 points max | any 2 minor cards | 1 point | 20 points max |
Le Tarot requires four players (but see also variants for 3 and 5 players below). The game involves both individual play and team play. During the set-up of each deal, one of the players becomes the Taker (le Preneur) and the others become the Defense (la Defense). However, this configuration only lasts for the duration of one deal.
Winning the game is based on the number of points the Taker amasses through taking tricks compared against a contract determined by the number of Oudlers he possesses at the end of the deal:
| Number of Oudlers | Bid Contract | Loose-bid Contract | Loose-bid/5 players Contract | No Oudlers | 56 points | 53 | 50 | 1 Oudler | 51 points | 48 | 45 | 2 Oudlers | 41 points | 38 | 35 | 3 Oudlers | 36 points | 33 | 30 |
|---|
Thus, the more Oudlers the Taker captures, the lower the contract score he must beat to win.
Note that (with one exception) the 21 and the Excuse cannot change ownership during the game. Even if the trick containing the Excuse is won by the opposition, the card remains with the original owner, who exchanges a minor card for it. However, if the Excuse is played in the last trick outside of a Slam, then it is lost to the winner of the trick.
Before the first deal, each player chooses a card at random. The player with the smallest card becomes the dealer. In case of a tie, the suits descend in this order: spades/swords, hearts/cups, diamonds/coins, clubs/staves. Therefore, the Ace of Clubs is the smallest card. The Tarots are considered greater than any suit, with the exception of the Excuse, which is returned and another card is drawn in its place.
The player opposite the dealer shuffles the deck; the player to the left of the dealer cuts the deck once.
The dealer deals cards either singly or in threes counterclockwise. In the course of dealing, the dealer contributes six cards to the talon, which is also called the Dog (le Chien). Neither the very first nor very last card may be placed in the Dog.
The players may not inspect their cards until the deal is complete. The deal rotates for the rest of the game in the direction of play (counterclockwise).
Once the cards are dealt, each player consults his hand in preparation for bidding. The player to the right of the dealer begins. A bid can be any one of "Pass," "Take", "Keep", "Keep without the Dog", or "Keep against the Dog." If all four players pass in turn, the deal is played loose-bid. If one of the other bids is made, subsequent bidders may supercede it with a higher bid. Each player may bid only once.
The bids in order are:
| Bid | Meaning | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Take | A conservative bid, usually made with the hope of uncovering a fairly good Dog. | 1 |
| Keep | The bidder estimates his chances at making the contract are fairly good. | 2 |
| Keep without the Dog | With a very good hand, the bidder thinks he can make contract without the Dog in his hand, although the cards in the Dog still belong to him. | 4 |
| Keep against the Dog | The bidder has an exceptional hand, and wagers he can succeed with the Dog in the possession of the Defense. | 6 |
The result of a bid changes the multiplier of the tallied score (see below).
For a Take or a Keep, after bidding but before play starts, the Taker reveals the Dog to all players, then combines the cards of the Dog with his hand and removes an equal number of cards to make the Discard. None of these cards is shown to the other players, and the discards remain face down in the Taker's possession until the end of the deal. The Taker may not discard a King or Tarot, unless he has no other choice, but then he may discard a Tarot but never an Oudler. In the latter case he must show the trumps discarded.
For a Keep without or Keep against, the cards of the Dog remain hidden for the remainder of the deal until scoring.
After the Dog and the Discard have been resolved, the following announcements may be made.
le Chelem
In order to Slam, one must take all the tricks.
| Condition | Bonus/Penalty |
|---|---|
| Slam announced and met | 400 |
| Slam not announced and met | 200 |
| Slam announced and not met | -200 |
When a Slam is announced, the first card is played by the Taker, not the person to the right of the dealer. If the Slammer holds the Excuse, he must play it on the last trick in order to win it. In this case, the "Petit au bout" may be claimed on the next-to-last trick.
If the Defense slams the Taker, each defending player receives a bonus of 200 points.
la Poignee
If any player possesses a special hand (Poignee), he may announce it
and show the Tarots involved, in ascending order, just before he plays
his first card. This earns a bonus:
| Type | 3 players | 4 players | 5 players | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | 13 Tarots | 10 Tarots | 8 Tarots | 20 |
| Double | 15 Tarots | 13 Tarots | 10 Tarots | 30 |
| Triple | 18 Tarots | 15 Tarots | 13 Tarots | 40 |
This bonus takes effect regardless of the contract, but it is applied to the winner of the deal.
If the declarer of a special hand bonus includes the Excuse, this means he has no other Tarots in hand.
When announcements are complete, the Taker says "Play." The first card is played by the person sitting to the dealer's right, unless a Slam was declared. Play continues counterclockwise. Every time a trick is won, the winning player opens the next trick.
If the leading card is a Tarot, each player is required to play a Tarot of higher value, if he has one. If not, he must play a lesser Tarot. If he has no Tarots, he may play any other card. The highest Tarot takes the trick.
If the leading card is a suit, all others are required to play the same suit, any value. The highest suit takes the trick.
A player must trump (play a Tarot) if he doesn't have a card of the matching suit. If another player has already trumped, and the current player must also trump, he must play a Tarot of greater value, if possible. If he has neither a matching suit card nor trump, he may play any other card. The highest trump takes the trick.
If the first card is the Excuse, the second card played determines the suit.
The Excuse can never win a trick (unless it is in the last trick of a Slam), but it remains in possession of the owner after the trick. A minor card is exchanged for the Excuse. In case of an unsuccessful Slam, the card remains in possession of the Defense.
Tricks taken by the Defense are amassed face down. Honor cards in tricks taken by the Taker remain face up, paired with face-down minor cards. Oudlers are similarly paired, but placed in a column to the Taker's far right, so that the current contract may be determined.
If the Petit is played in the last trick, it is called "le Petit au bout." The side who wins this trick gets a bonus of 10 points, which is multiplied by the bid factor.
At the end of the deal, the Taker adds up his score from the tricks taken and any discards he owns. To win the deal, he must meet or beat the contract total.
The formula for calculating the final score can be rendered as:
((25 + card points + petit au bout) * mult) + poignee + slam and: Taker's score == # of defenders * final scorekeeping in mind that the bonuses may be positive or negative depending on the winning conditions.
A match usually consists of a number of deals equal to the number of players.
In the case where all players pass, the initial bidder becomes the default Taker, and the bid level is lowered as in the table above. The Dog is not revealed. Before absorbing the Dog, the Taker partners with another player by calling for a King as in the 5-player rules. No slams are rewarded, but la Poignee and le Petit au bout are counted. Calculations are made using a base of 25 (no bid or defender multiplier), and the partnered players each receive/lose 2/3 of the points (for the Taker) and 1/3 of the points (for his partner). Defenders do not receive or lose points. If the named King is in the Dog, the Taker gets the full reward or penalty.
Cards may be dealt by 4s, every player gets 24 cards, and the Dog has 6 cards.
Cards should be paired when possible, but tallies may result in half-points. Scores are rounded in favor of the Taker when he wins, in favor of the Defenders when he loses. The final score is multiplied by 2 for the Taker.
The first option for 5 players is for the dealer to sit out of each round.
For the second option, cards may be dealt by 3s, every player gets 15 cards, and the Dog has 3 cards. Half points are handled as per the 3-person game. No-bid values are lowered even further.
Before examining the Dog, the Taker names a King, and the player who holds the King becomes his partner. (If he owns all Kings, then he names a Queen, etc.) The called player does not reveal he is the partner until the called card is actually played. Each player maintains his own trick pile up to this point. If the named card is in the Dog (which is not revealed in a loose-bid game), then the deal is played 4 against 1. The final score is multiplied by 4 (bid games only) and then partitioned 3/4 for the Taker, 1/4 for his partner, as reward or penalty. Similarly, the Taker gets a quadruple reward or penalty for playing 4 against 1.
Click here for various strategies.
The following counting method is recommended for determining the level of bid to announce:
| Class | Card or Condition | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Oudlers | 21 | 10 |
| Excuse | 8 | |
| le Petit, with 0 to 3 other Tarots | 0 | |
| le Petit, with 4 other Tarots | 5 | |
| le Petit, with 5 other Tarots | 7 | |
| le Petit, with 6 or more other Tarots | 9 | |
| Atouts | each Tarot, including the Excuse, as long as you have 5 or more | 2 |
| each Tarot from 16 to 21 | 2 | |
| each Tarot from 16 to 21 part of a series | 1 | |
| Honors | each Marriage (K + Q of same color) | 10 |
| each K without Q | 6 | |
| each Q without K | 3 | |
| each Knight | 2 | |
| each Jack | 1 | |
| Distribution | a suit with 5 cards | 5 |
| a suit with 6 cards | 7 | |
| a suit with 7 cards | 9 | |
| Toward a Keep without or against | a missing suit | 6 |
| a singleton | 3 |
Note: do not count the points toward a Keep without or against if the total is insufficient for those bids.
Results:
| under 40 points | Pass |
|---|---|
| 40 - 55 points | Take |
| 56 - 70 points | Keep |
| 71 - 80 points | Keep without |
| 81+ points | Keep against |