French Tarot
78 cards, one taker alone against the table.
In French tarot, one player takes on all the others and must reach a number of points that depends on the “bouts” they capture. With its 21 trumps, the Excuse and the dog, it is a game of bidding and counting for 3, 4 or 5 players.
- Players
- 3–5
- Game length
- about 30 min
Rules
The cards
The deck has 78 cards: 56 suit cards (1 to 10, Jack, Knight, Queen, King in each suit), 21 numbered trumps and the Excuse.
Three cards are the “bouts” (or oudlers): the 1 of trumps called the Petit, the 21 of trumps and the Excuse.
Dealing and bidding
With 4 players, each receives 18 cards and 6 cards form the dog. In turn, each player passes or bids a contract higher than the last: Petite, Garde, Garde sans, Garde contre.
In Petite and Garde, the taker picks up the dog and then discards 6 cards. In Garde sans, the dog stays hidden but counts for the taker. In Garde contre, it counts for the defenders.
Playing the cards
You must follow the suit led. If you have none, you must play a trump; when trumps are played, you must play higher if you can. With neither the suit nor a trump, you discard.
The Excuse can be played at any time instead of another card. It does not win the trick but stays with the team that played it, except on the last trick.
Points to make
The deck holds 91 points. The taker needs 56 with no bout, 51 with one, 41 with two and 36 with all three.
Bouts and Kings are worth 4.5 points, Queens 3.5, Knights 2.5, Jacks 1.5 and all other cards 0.5.
Scoring
The contract is worth 25 points, plus the difference between points made and points needed. That total is multiplied by 1 for Petite, 2 for Garde, 4 for Garde sans and 6 for Garde contre.
Winning the last trick with the Petit earns a 10-point bonus, also multiplied. Each defender wins or loses that score, and the taker wins or loses the sum.