![]() Hearts are still a preference suit in some versions of Tarock | |
Origin | Germany |
---|---|
Type | Point-trick |
Family | Tapp group |
Players | 3 |
Age range | 10+ |
Cards | 36 |
Deck | German, Bavarian pattern |
Rank (high→low) | A, 10, K, O, U, 9, 8, 7, 6 |
Play | Clockwise |
Playing time | 45 min. [1] |
Related games | |
Bauerntarock • Dobbm • German Tarok • Tapp | |
Contracts: pick-up, hand and point bidding |
Bavarian Tarock (German : Bayerisches Tarock) or, often, just Tarock, is a card game that was once popular in Bavaria and also played in parts of Austria as well as Berlin. The name is a clue to its origin in the historical German game of [Gross-]Tarock, a game using traditional Tarot cards. At some point in the mid- to late-18th century, attempts were made to emulate Taroc using a standard 36-card German-suited pack, resulting in the formerly popular, south German game of German Tarok. During the last century, the variant played with a pot (Haferl) and often known as Bavarian Tarock or Haferltarock, evolved into "quite a fine game" that, however, has less in common with its Tarock progenitor. German Tarok also generated the very similar game of Tapp, played in Württemberg, and both are related to Bauerntarock, Dobbm and the American games of frog and six-bid solo. Bavarian Tarock should not be confused with Königrufen, also known as Austrian Tarock or just Tarock. [2]
Bavarian Tarock is descended from an earlier game called German Tarok (Deutschtarok) whose rules are first described in 1839, but which rose to prominence during the 19th century in Bavaria and Swabia, notably in Munich where it was the favourite game of the middle classes. In Württemberg, it became known as Tapp when played with the French-suited cards that were introduced in the mid-19th century, its German-suited equivalent becoming known there as Württemberg Tarock. Meanwhile, the game had spread to Bavaria where it became known simply as Taro(c)k, occasionally as Sansprendre or, if played with a pot, as Haferltarock or Haferltarok. The earliest mention of the name "Bavarian Tarock" occurs in 1917 when it is recorded as being played on the western front at the Somme by German soldiers but this could well be German Tarok under a different name. [3] Meanwhile Haferltarock is mentioned as early as 1880 being played in Munich with a "kitty of 30 or 50 pfennigs" [4] and in 1888 of the "pleasant game of Haferltarock being played for a mark", but this is almost certainly German Tarok played with a pot called a Haferl. [5]
After the First World War, German Tarok was superseded by a family of variants bearing its likeness, all characterised by fixed payments instead of payments based on overshoot points, but retaining Hearts as a preference suit. Variations included game values based on suit hierarchy, and payments for Schneider . After the Second World War, a new variant quickly dominated to become the modern game of Bavarian Tarock or Haferltarock. This version dropped any special status accorded to the suit of Hearts and introduced a more elaborate auction process using point bidding in steps of 5 and a correspondingly more complex payment system recalling that of German Tarok. The result is "quite a fine game", better than Tapp albeit further removed from Grosstarock. [6]
Nevertheless, some simpler variants appear to have survived, according to Sirch (2008), which retain the old three-tier bidding and fixed payment schemes. [7]
According to ASS Altenburger who produce 36-card Schafkopf Tarock packs, as at 2005 there were regions of Bavaria where the traditional game of Tarock was still played. Although the firm noticed that fewer and fewer Tarock packs were being bought they decided not to take the product off the market entirely. [8] In 2017, Bavarian card game author, Erich Rohrmayer, said that Tarock was now extinct in Bavaria, [9] but there is evidence that it was still being played in the late 2010s in Franconia, for example, in Plech, and there are even tournaments in places like Kappel. [10]
German playing cards are used, traditionally those of the Bavarian pattern, with the values Ace (known in Bavaria as the Sau or "Sow" [lower-alpha 1] ) to 6. The card deck has a total of 36 cards (4 suits each of 9 cards). [2] In the trade, special card games are sold which are labelled Schafkopf/Tarock (see illustration).
Suits of the German deck | |||
Bells (Schellen) | Hearts (Herz) | Leaves (Gras) | Acorns (Eichel) |
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In Bavarian Tarock, a card's trick-taking value generally increases with its face value. The Ace (Aß) or Sow (Sau), symbol A, is the highest card and it is followed by the: Ten (Zehner) (10) > King (K) > Ober (O) > Unter (U) > Nine (Neuner) (9) > Eight (Achter) (8) > Seven (Siebener) (7) > Six (Sechser) (6)
The cards have the same point values as in Bavarian Schafkopf. The 10, with ten card points, is just below the Ace (11 points), but well above the King (4), Ober (3) and Unter (2). The value of the Spatzen ("sparrows" – 9 to 6) lies only in their trick-taking ability during a game, but they have no points value when calculating scores at the end of the round.
Ranks and card-point values of cards | |||||||||
Rank | A | 10 | K | O | U | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Value | 11 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – |
In the original game, Hearts formed the permanent trump suit unless a Solo was bid. In the later variant, Hearts are the permanent trump suit if the talon is used to replenish cards; otherwise in Hand contracts, the trumps are chosen by the declarer. In the complex version of the game, the trump suit is chosen by the declarer; all nine cards of the chosen suit are trumps and the sequence within the trump suit is unchanged. There are no permanent trump cards in this version, as for example, in Skat, Doppelkopf or Schafkopf.
Bavarian Tarock is a game for 3 players, each of whom is dealt 11 playing cards. Three cards lie face down in the middle of the table and are called the stock or gstaat. This is the same as the talon in many Tarock games. If 4 players are available, the dealer sits out, so that there are 3 players and one dealer who rotates.
The player who wins the bidding (Reizen) is the 'declarer'. The declarer plays against the other two, the opposition or defenders, and must score at least 61 points to win the deal. In earlier variants, it is a draw and there is no payment if both sides score 60; in the latest variant the declarer loses if the result is 60-60. The game is normally played for small stakes, the amount won depending on the nature of the bid.
The rules of Bavarian Tarock varied considerably over time. Today there are two main variants. The most commonly published version is called Bavarian Tarock or Haferltarock and is distinguished by its point-bidding system and in which Hearts have no special status. However, a simpler version, usually just called Tarock and reminiscent of the inter-war and immediate post-war period has also survived. The simpler variant will be described first.
The following is a summary of the rules for the simple, contract-bidding game. The winner of the auction plays alone against two defenders and must achieve the stated contract by scoring at least 61 points. Settlement may be based on overshoot payments as in German Tarok or using fixed payments as in early 20th-century Tarock. [11]
Each player draws a card from the pack. The player with the highest card (or first Ace) deals first. The dealer shuffles, offers the cut to his right, and places 3 cards as the talon, called the Gschdaad or gstaat, on the table. The dealer then deals 11 cards each in packets (4 – 3 – 4). There are three possible contracts and, in every case, the declarer must score at least 61 points to win. Scoring 91 or more is a Schneider and taking all tricks is a Durch . In a Frage the declarer exchanges 3 cards with the Gschdaad; in either Solo contract, it remains untouched. The Gschdaad or discards belong to the declarer at the end. The contracts are summarised below in ascending order:
Forehand opens the bidding with "pass" or "I'll play" ("ich spiele"). If unchallenged, he may announce any contract. A subsequent player wishing to overcall the first bidder says "I'll play better" ("Ich spiele besser"); thus committing to a Solo or Herzsolo. To overcall the second bidder, rearhand (the dealer) must announce "I'll play best" ("Ich spiele am besten"), but may then only play a Herzsolo. An earlier bidder may "hold" a higher subsequent bid. There is only one round of bidding with immediate hold.
Forehand leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit or trump if unable to follow, but there is no compulsion to head the trick. If they can neither follow nor trump, they may play any card. The trick is won by the highest card of the led suit or highest trump if any are played. The two defenders keep their tricks in a single pile.
The declarer must score 61 to win. If both sides score 60, the game is drawn and no payments are made. There are two alternative payment systems: [11]
The simple version of Tarock may be played with a Bettel contract; an optional feature that emerged during the interwar period. It is a misère-type contract in which the declarer aims to lose every trick; this is found in many other games including Skat (under the name Null) and Bavarian Schafkopf. As before, there are 3 players who use a 36-card Bavarian pattern pack. Deal and play are clockwise. There are typically five bids which, in ascending order, are:
In a Bettel, the declarer may not take any tricks and card points are not counted. It is only worth playing if a player has mainly blanks [lower-alpha 2] (Spatzen or "sparrows") and/or is void [lower-alpha 3] (frei) in one suit - in order to be able to discard individual high cards at one's leisure. Also the ranking of the card values changes: the 10 becomes 'low', i.e. it ranks between the Unter and the 9 in each suit. Otherwise, the ranking of the cards remains the same. There is no trump suit and players must follow suit without exception (known as Farbzwang). A Bettel is the highest ranking contract and winning it earns four times the basic game stake.
Since the Second World War, a point-bidding variant of Bavarian Tarock has emerged and is the one recorded in the majority of game books. This is referred to by Dummett as Haferltarock, although that term has been used since the 1880s for variants of classic Tarock played with a pot, but without point bidding. [6] The following rules are based on Danyliuk. [12]
Preparation and dealing is as above except that players contribute an agreed amount such as 50 cents to the Haferl ("pot"). The dealer then deals four cards to each player, then three cards, then three to the stock and finally a further four cards to each player. Players pick up their hands and bidding proceeds clockwise, commencing with forehand. Each player may "pass" (Ich passe) or announce the minimum legal contract. The first positive bid is announced by "play" or "I'll play" (Ich spiele) which is an offer to play the lowest contract, known as an Aufnahmespiel or "Pick-Up". This may be outbid by a subsequent player announcing "I'll play too" (Ich spiele auch), which is an offer to play a Handspiel or "Hand" contract. The earlier bidder may bow out by saying "pass" or hold by saying "I'll play on" or "I'm playing first" (Ich spiele vorn). Bidding passes back and forth between the first two players to announce a bid until one of them passes. Only then may the third player enter the bidding by announcing a higher bid than the highest to that point
The meaning of the two contracts is as follows:
The added complexity of this modern variant is the ability to bid still higher. Essentially, once a Hand contract is bid; bidding may continue in steps of five. For example, a player may say "And five" or "Five more" (Fünf mehr), which means that 66 points is the target needed to win. His opponent may outbid this with "And ten" or "Ten more" (Zehn mehr), setting 71 points as the target. This continues until one of the players passes.
If no-one bids or chooses a contract, the cards are thrown in and redealt by the next player.
Play is clockwise as before. Forehand leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit (Farbzwang), failing that they must play a trump (Trumpfzwang). [lower-alpha 4] Only if the player no longer has any trumps may he discard any card. The trick is won by the highest trump if any are played or by the highest card of the led suit if no trumps are played.
Once the last trick has been played, players tot up the card points in their tricks. The declarer needs 61 points to win; otherwise the defenders have won, even if the score is 60-60. Payment is as follows:
The round ends when the pot is emptied.
In some places there is a tradition, that a player who is not forced to bid by the opposition, may raise the bid himself. But in self-bidding, the contract must be played as a Hand, i.e. the stock may not be used. If the number of points announced by the declarer is not achieved, he loses the round.
With the so-called Berliner, only the dealer is allowed to play a game using the stock. The other players may only declare a Hand contract. At the same time it is sometimes agreed that the dealer may only play with hearts as the trump suit in a contract where the stock is viewed.
The famous Bavarian author, Ludwig Thoma, played something called 'Sharp Tarock' (Scharfer Tarock) which may have involved a shortened pack. [13] In 2018, Stefan Vogl published a Tarock app with such a pack. This largely follows the intermediate rules above, but uses just 24 cards (from Ace to Nine) and players are dealt a hand of seven cards each. Players bid in clockwise rotation, beginning with forehand, and the first to bid "play" becomes the declarer unless a subsequent player nominates Hearts as the trump suit, in which case the latter has precedence. If two players want to bid in Hearts, the first wins. If only one player bids and plays in Hearts, that player has the option of playing a Frage whereby the Stock may be viewed and up to 3 cards exchanged. In a Frage, the game value is halved if the declarer wins, but is paid as a Solo if the game is lost. Players start with 10 euros each and 61 points are needed to win; if the declarer scores 60, the game is lost. A Solo or Herzsolo is valued at 10 cents. In addition there is an extra 10 cents for winning schneider and 10 cents for schwarz (winning all tricks and 120 points). These rates are paid to the declarer by each defender if the contract is won, or by the declarer to each defender if it is lost. In a Frage these values are halved if the declarer wins; if he or she loses, the full Solo value is paid out. For example, a declarer winning a Herzsolo with 91 points earns 10 (for the win) + 10 (for the Schneider) = 20 cents from each defender; had it been a Frage the declarer would have earned 5 + 5 = 10 cents from each defender. If the declarer had lost by the same margin, in both cases, the defenders would receive 20 cents each. The cards in the Stock always belong to the declarer which means the declarer cannot lose Schwarz unless there are three 9s in the Stock. [14]
If an opponent of the declarer is convinced that the latter will lose, they may double by announcing "Kontra!" before the first card is played, whereby the opposing party becomes the player and must now achieve the objective of the declarer (61 points with no bidding, correspondingly higher if there has been a bidding round). The Kontra announcement effectively means "double" and thus doubles the value of the game. The declarer may respond to "Kontra!" with the announcement "Re", thereby confirming his original game goal and doubling the game value again. Doubling the value of the game by calling Kontra and Re and possibly by calling higher bids such as Supp, Resupp and Hirsch are rather unusual in Bavarian Tarock. However, such bidding may be permitted.
Schafkopf, also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German trick-taking card game of the ace–ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. It is still very popular in Bavaria, where it is their national card game played by around two million people, but it also played elsewhere in Germany and in Austria. It is an official cultural asset and important part of the Old Bavarian and Franconian way of life. Schafkopf is a mentally demanding pastime that is considered "the supreme discipline of Bavarian card games" and "the mother of all trump games."
Cego is a Tarot card game for three or four players played mainly in and around the Black Forest region of Germany. It was probably derived from the three-player Badenese game of Dreierles when soldiers deployed from the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars and, based on a Spanish game they had encountered, introduced Cego's distinctive feature: a concealed hand, or blind. Cego has experienced a revival in recent years, being seen as part of the culture of the Black Forest and surrounding region. It has been called the national game of Baden and described as a "family classic".
The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific, but apply to a wide range of card games played with non-proprietary packs. It should not include terms solely related to casino or banking games. For glossaries that relate primarily to one game or family of similar games, see Game-specific glossaries.
German solo or just solo is a German 8-card plain-trick game for 4 individual players using a 32-card, German- or French-suited skat pack. It is essentially a simplification of quadrille, itself a 4-player adaptation of ombre. As in quadrille, players bid for the privilege of declaring trumps and deciding whether to play alone or with a partner. Along with ombre, Tarock and Schafkopf, German solo influenced the development of skat. Parlett calls it a "neat little descendant of Quadrille" and "a pleasant introduction" to the ombre family of games.
Préférence, frequently spelt Preference, is a Central and Eastern European 10-card plain-trick game with bidding, played by three players with a 32-card Piquet deck, and probably originating in early 19th century Austria, becoming the second most popular game in Vienna by 1980. It also took off in Russia where it was played by the higher echelons of society, the regional variant known as Preferans being still very popular in that country, while other variants are played from Lithuania to Greece.
Tapp Tarock, also called Viennese Tappen, Tappen or Tapper, is a three-player tarot card game which traditionally uses the 54-card Industrie und Glück deck. Before the Anschluss (1938), it was the preferred card game of Viennese coffee houses, for example, the Literatencafés and Café Central. Even today Tapp Tarock is played sporadically. The exact date when it appeared is not possible to identify; some sources suggest it may have been developed in Austria in the early 19th century, but its mention in caricature operas in 1800 and 1806 suggest it was well known even by then and must have arisen in the late 18th century. The oldest description of the actual rules is dated to 1821. Tapp Tarock is considered a good entry level game before players attempt more complex Tarock forms like Cego, Illustrated Tarock or Königrufen.
Bauerntarock also called Brixentaler Bauerntarock or Brixental Tarock, is a point-trick card game played in the Brixental, Austria. It may have originated in the 19th century either as an adaptation of 54-card Tapp Tarock onto the cheaper and smaller 36-card German pack. Another possibility is that it was adapted from the 78-card Grosstarock or Taroc l'Hombre game as the ratio of trumps to non-trumps is almost the same. It uses the Skat Schedule found in popular regional games such as Jass and Schafkopf. It is closely related to Bavarian Tarock, German Tarok, Württemberg Tarock and especially Dobbm. Like Bavarian Tarock and Tapp, Brixental Bauerntarock and Dobbm do not belong to the true tarot games, but have adopted rules from Tapp Tarock. The most fundamental difference between these games and true tarot games is in the use of German or French decks instead of true Tarot playing cards.
Tapp is a trick-taking, card game for 3 or 4 players using 36 French-suited cards that is played in the south German region of Swabia, especially in the former Kingdom of Württemberg. It is the French-suited offshoot of German Tarok; its German-suited form being called Württemberg Tarock in that region. Tapp is one of a family of similar games that include Bavarian Tarock, the Austrian games of Bauerntarock and Dobbm, and the American games of frog and six-bid solo. Although probably first played in the early nineteenth century, the game of Tapp is still a local pastime in its native Württemberg, albeit in a greatly elaborated form.
Dobbm or Tappen is a card game played in the Stubai valley in Austria and is one of a family of games derived from the Tarot game of Grosstarock by adapting its rules to a regular, shortened pack of 36 cards. The ranking and point value of the cards in Dobbm is typical of the family and, like its other members, one player always plays as a soloist against all the others. It is highly popular in the Stubai valley among card players of all generations, but is unknown in the surrounding regions.
Droggn, sometimes called French Tarock is an extinct card game of the Tarock family for three players that was played in the Stubai valley in Tyrol, Austria until the 1980s. Droggn is originally local dialect for "to play Tarock", but it has become the proper name of this specific Tarock variant. An unusual feature of the game compared with other Tarock games is the use of a 66-card deck and that, until recently, there was no record in the literature of a 66-card game and no current manufacturers of such a deck. The structure of the game strongly indicates that it is descended from the later version of Tarok l'Hombre, a 78-card Tarock game popular in 19th-century Austria and Germany, but with the subsequent addition of two higher bids.
Frog, sometimes called solo sixty, is a trick-taking, card game for 3 players that is or was popular in southern USA and Mexico. It is a member of the German Tarok group of games that originate from an attempt to play the tarot card game of Grosstarock with non-tarot cards.
Grasobern, Grasoberl, Grasoberln, Graseberla, Grünobern, Lauboberl or Laubobern is a card game that was once commonly played in Old Bavaria, especially in the old counties of Bad Aibling and Rosenheim, and is still popular in eastern Bavaria, especially in Upper Palatinate. The game has relatively simple rules and thus a rather relaxing and leisurely character without the mental demands of Schafkopf or psychological stress of Watten, two other traditional Bavarian card games. The name is taken from the game's penalty card, the Ober of Leaves. The suit of Leaves is known in German variously as Laub, Gras ("grass") or Grün ("green").
Wallachen is an Old Bavarian card game, which used to be very popular in eastern Bavaria. Although, by 2012, it had become a rarer sight at pub tables, there have been more recent moves to revive it. Wallachen is a relatively simple three-hander that is easy to learn. As a result, like Grasobern, it has a relatively relaxed character without the mental demands of Schafkopf or the psychological stress of Watten. It is a member of the Préférence family of card games.
Bolachen is a traditional card game for 3 players that is played in parts of southern Upper Bavaria, especially in the Rupertiwinkel area of the Berchtesgaden Land, where there is a cultural influence from Salzburg, and the state of Salzburg itself. It is a Bavarian variant of the more complex, old Austrian game of Préférence. Like its Bavarian cousin, Wallachen, Bolachen is threatened by extinction.
Blattla is a Bavarian card game for four players, who usually form two teams of two for each deal. It is a simplified version of Schafkopf and Bierkopf and is thus a point-trick game. Unlike those two games, in Blattla the Obers and Unters are not permanent trumps. In order to learn the rules of Schafkopf, it can be an advantage to first become familiar with Blattla. The game is traditionally played with Bavarian pattern cards.
Officers' Schafkopf is a German point-trick card game for two players which is based on the rules of Schafkopf. The game is a good way to learn the trumps and suits for normal Schafkopf and to understand what cards one is allowed to play. It is similar in concept to Officers' Skat.
Taroc l'Hombre or Tarok-l'Hombre is an extinct card game of the European Tarot card game family for three players that was played with a full pack of 78 tarot cards, known as tarocs or taroks. It emerged in Italy around 1770 as Tarocc 'Ombre but later spread to Austria and Germany. It was a crucial development, with the important idea of bidding imported from l'Hombre, hence the name.
Husarln ("Hussar") is a mid-20th century, three-hand card game of the Austrian branch of the Tarot family. It is a 42-card variant of Illustrated Tarock and appears to be a close Austrian relative of the 42-card Hungarian tarock card games. The game is dominated by the distribution of Tarocks, giving it a "brisk and energetic feel" that is reflected in its name. It is also known as Block Tarock, although that name was given to a quite different and older game.
Herzblatt or Herzblättchen is a German card game of the ace–ten family for two to five players. It bears a certain resemblance to the extinct 19th-century game of Piquesept, however without the special rules associated with the trump Seven.
German Tarok, sometimes known as Sansprendre or simply Tarok, is an historical ace–ten card game for three players that emerged in the 18th century and is the progenitor of a family of games still played today in Europe and North America. It became very popular in Bavaria and Swabia during the 19th century before being largely superseded by Schafkopf, but has survived in the local forms of Bavarian Tarock and Tapp. During the mid-19th century, it became the most popular card game among Munich's middle classes and was also played in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by notable Bavarian author Ludwig Thoma, frequently appearing in his novels and journal articles. It was superseded after the First World War by other forms such as Bavarian Tarock.