Gamehelpfrenchtarot

THIS PAGE WAS WRITTEN BY A FRENCH PLAYER...

DO NOT HESITATE TO CORRECT THAT CLUMSY ENGLISH ;)

Cards

• 21 Trumps numbered from 1 to 21

• The Fool

• 14 cards in each color suit, increasing order : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V C D R

Jack (V) < Knight (C) < Queen (D) < King (R)

There are three Bouts: The 1 of Trump (The Petit), The 21 of Trump, and The Fool.

DEALING THE CARDS: the cards must not be shuffled but cut by the player on the right of the card dealer. The cards must be given three by three to each player. While dealing, the card dealer must also set aside 6 (three-player version) or 3 cards (five-player version), which are collectively called the Dog (or here, the Kitty).

Card points

• Bout: 4 points and a half

• King: 4 points and a half

• Queen: 3 points and a half

• Knight: 2 points and a half

• Jack: 1 point and a half

• Any other card: half a point.

Taker's goal

This is the amount of points the TAKER needs to win, in order to win the hand.

The points are assigned per card. If you win a trick, you get the points of the cards in the won trick.

The TAKER is the person who made the most aggressive bet at the beginning of the hand (Pass, Guard, Guard without, Guard with)

Bouts are special cards, that you do not want the TAKER to end the hand with.

• 0 Bout : 56 points

• 1 Bout : 51 points

• 2 Bouts: 41 points

• 3 Bouts: 36 points.

Play

• One must follow suit

• One must play a Trump if one cannot follow suit

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

• One must play a lower Trump if unable to play an higher

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

• The Fool can be played anytime, except on the last trick, otherwise it switches sides (exception: Chelem)

English Speaker to the rescue:

The purpose of the game is to play against the TAKER.

The TAKER is the person who made the most aggressive bet at the start of the round.

You do not want to let the TAKER get any of the three bouts. The more bouts the TAKER has, the less points they need to win the hand.

If the TAKER achieves the correct amount of card points (total amount of points gained via tricks), then the taker wins the hand and everyone else loses points.

If the TAKER does not achieve the needed amount of card points, then everyone else scores points based on the takers losses. (Added up at the end of each deal).

Other Notes:

The fool only goes to the winner, if they won the hand with trump.

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THREE PLAYERS

The Dog/Kitty is made of 6 cards.

FIVE PLAYERS

The Dog/Kitty is made of 3 cards. After announcing a bid but before revealing the Dog/Kitty (if applicable), the taker can call on another player to help by calling out a King (eg. "King of Spades"). The player who has the called King must help the taker and does so secretly until the relevant King is played. The called player will share the spoils / the loss of the taker (1/3 for the player, 2/3 for the taker). If the called King is in the Dog/Kitty, the taker plays alone.

Bids

• Small: coefficient x 1

• Guard: coefficient x 2

• Guard without the Dog/Kitty: coefficient x 4

• Guard against the Dog/Kitty: coefficient x 6

For Small and Guard, the Dog/Kitty is revealed and the taker integrates it in his/her hand then discards an equal number of cards. Any card may be put in the Dog/Kitty but the taker must announce it if they put Kings in (some variants forbid it / it is frowned upon).

Petit au bout

If the Petit 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

• 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.

Misères (variant)

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

• Misère of Honours: no Figure nor Bout, 10 points

The announced Misères are paid immediately to the declarer, whoever wins the hand next.

Goulash (variant)

If everybody pass, 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 he 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 tricks, it wins it.

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