A trick-taking game is a card or tile-based game in which play of a hand centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called tricks, which are each evaluated to determine a winner or taker of that trick. The object of such games then may be closely tied to the number of tricks taken, as in plain-trick games such as contract bridge, whist, and spades, or to the value of the cards contained in taken tricks, as in point-trick games such as pinochle, the tarot family, briscola, and most evasion games like hearts. Trick-and-draw games are trick-taking games in which the players can fill up their hands after each trick. In most variants, players are free to play any card into a trick in the first phase of the game, but must follow suit as soon as the stock is depleted. Trick-avoidance games like reversis or polignac are those in which the aim is to avoid taking some or all tricks.
The tarot is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, tarot playing cards spread to most of Europe evolving into a family of games that includes German Grosstarok and modern games such as French Tarot and Austrian Königrufen. In the late 18th century, French occultists made elaborate, but unsubstantiated, claims about their history and meaning, leading to the emergence of custom decks for use in divination via tarot card reading and cartomancy. Thus there are two distinct types of tarot pack: those used for card games and those used for divination. However, some older patterns, such as the Tarot de Marseille, originally intended for playing card games, are occasionally used for cartomancy.
Königrufen or Königsrufen is a four-player, trick-taking card game of the tarot family, played in Austria and Southern Tyrol, with variants for two, three and six players. As with other regional tarot card games, it is usually called Tarock by its players. It is the only variant of Tarock that is played over most of Austria and, in 2001, was the most popular card game in Austria after Schnapsen and Rommé. By 2015, it had become "the favourite card game of Austrians". It has been described as the most interesting tarot game for four players, the "Game of Kings", a game that requires intelligence and, with 22 trumps in play, as good "training for the brain".
Cego is a card game for three or four players played with eponymous German Tarot playing cards. The game was probably derived from the three-player Badenese game of Dreierles after soldiers returned from the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars and, based on Spanish games 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. For glossaries that relate primarily to one game or family of similar games, see Game-specific glossaries.
Tarot games are card games played with tarot decks, that is, decks with numbered permanent trumps parallel to the suit cards. The games and decks which English-speakers call by the French name Tarot are called Tarocchi in the original Italian, Tarock in German and various similar words in other languages. The basic rules first appeared in the manuscript of Martiano da Tortona, written before 1425. The games are known in many variations, mostly cultural and regional.
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.
In card games, a talon is a stack of undealt cards that is placed on the table to be used during the game. Depending on the game or region, they may also be referred to as the blind, kitty, skat, stock, tapp or widow (US).
Bavarian 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.
Wendish Schafkopf, Wendisch or Wendsch is a card game for four players that uses a Schafkopf pack of German-suited cards or a Skat pack of French playing cards.
Strohmandeln, also called Strohmandel, Strohmanntarock, Strohmanntarok, Zweiertarock, Strawman Tarock or Straw Man Tarock, is an old, two-hand card game from the Austrian branch of the Tarock family. It takes its name from the three-packet talon of four cards, the Strohmänner ("strawmen"), each player has at the start of the game. While the original game has been described as jejune, it was eventually superseded by an attractive successor which is both challenging and very exciting.
Illustrated Tarock or Illustrated Dreiertarock is an Austrian card game that has been described as the "queen" of all three-handed Tarock games played with the 54-card pack. It was thought by Mayr and Sedlaczek to be extinct but, in 2009 when the two Tarock authors were guests on an ORF radio programme, players from Vienna called in who confirmed they still played the game. It is sometimes called Point Tarock which, however, is a different, probably extinct, game, albeit a close cousin. Although it has "a reputation for being a little more convoluted than the others", Furr maintains that this is not so, but recommends that players become familiar with Tapp Tarock before attempting this game.
Point Tarock was a three-player tarot card game, played mainly in Austria, which used the 54-card Industrie und Glück deck. It is probably extinct. Furr describes it as being "identical to Tapp but for the addition of a special announcement, allowing a Declarer to capitalize on a very good hand... spicing up the game considerably." Point Tarock is sometimes confused with its close cousin, Illustrated Tarock.
Dreiertarock is a 3-handed card game of the Austrian Tarock family. Although less popular than it once was, it is still played in Austria, especially in Carinthia, and in neighboring Slovenia. In 2013, it was one of five variants of Tarock game competed for in the International Piatnik Tarock Tournament in Vienna. For a long time, three-handed variants of Tarock were played alongside the four-handed games and were very popular everywhere in Austria. They have since fallen behind in popularity which "is a pity because they are interesting variants which demand a high level of skill". They remain popular in Slovenia.
An Ace-Ten game is a type of card game, highly popular in Europe, in which the Aces and Tens are of particularly high value.
Kosakeln ("Cossack") is a relatively recent, two-hand card game of the Austrian branch of the Tarock family. It is a two-handed version of the three-player game of Illustrated Tarock, itself an elaborate and challenging variant of Tapp Tarock.
John McLeod is a British mathematician, author, historian and card game researcher who is particularly well known for his work on tarot games as well as his reference website pagat.com which contains the rules for over 500 card games worldwide. He is described as a "prominent member" of the International Playing Card Society and is Secretary of the British Skat Association.
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.
