In a hand, 18 cards are dealt to each player, in packets of 3. The player opposite the dealer shuffles and the player to the left of the dealer cuts. The first dealer is chosen at random - thereafter the turn to deal passes to the right after each hand (the whole game is played counter-clockwise). With 0 bouts the taker needs at least 56 card points to win.With 1 bout the taker needs at least 51 card points to win.With 2 bouts the taker needs at least 41 card points to win.With 3 bouts the taker needs at least 36 card points to win.The number of points the taker needs to win depends on the number of bouts the taker has in his tricks: It's easiest to count them in pairs, grouping each court card or bout with a 0.5 point card - so for example a queen and a pip card together are worth 4 points. The taker's objective is to accumulate enough card points to win the hand by taking tricks.įor every card in every trick taken, you get the following card points: In each hand one player, the taker (le preneur) plays alone against the other three in partnership. In North America, French Tarot cards can be obtained from TaroBear's Lair. Not only are the bouts worth points, but having them in your tricks also reduces the total number of points you need to win. Three cards, the 1 of trump (called the petit), the 21 of trump and the excuse are particularly important in the game and are known as bouts ('ends') or sometimes in books as oudlers.

In addition to the four standard suits there is a extra suit of twenty-one atouts (trumps) numbered from 21 (high) to 1 (low).įinally, there is a special card called the excuse, or the fool, marked with a star in the corner.

The four suits are the standard ones of diamonds, hearts, spades and clubs, and each suit contains fourteen cards ranking from high to low: However it is also common for five to play, and it is also possible for three the necessary modifications will be described at the end. It is most commonly played by four players, and this version is described first. Tarot is a trick-taking game in which the partnerships vary from hand to hand. The following description is partly based on contributions from Craig Kaplan, Michel Braunwarth and Eric Betito.

French Tarot is also played in the French speaking parts of Canada. There are clubs, tournaments (including duplicate events) and an official body, the Fédération Française de Tarot. Games are played with Tarot cards in various countries of Europe, but nowhere is it as popular as in France.

Knight & Play by Kitty French