Tarock

A German version of tarot.

Number of Players

The game is played with 4 players.

Set Up

• Any 78-card tarot deck will suffice
• Something to keep score

From the pip cards in the red suits (diamonds and hearts), remove the 10 through 5 cards. From the pip cards in the black suits (clubs and spades), remove the 6 through 1, or Ace.

Game Play

Game play is exactly the same as Le Tarot Français except with a smaller deck.

End of the Hand/Game

Hands and games end exactly the same as Le Tarot Français except pointing and scoring is different. The winner of the hand is the one who scores the most points.

Scoring

Each player gathers their trick pile and groups them into triplets containing one “counting” card (bouts or one courts) and 2 low cards. Each triplet is worth the value of the counting card. If there are no more counting cards, but more triplets, each triplet of low cards is worth 1 point. It is entirely possible that there are remaining cards that are not in triplets for a player. Two low cards in this case are worth 1 point and 1 low card would be worth 0 points.

• The bouts are worth 5 points.
• The kings are worth 5 points.
• The queens are worth 4 points.
• The knights are worth 3 points.
• The jacks are worth 2 points.
• The low cards are worth 1 point.