French Tarot

French Tarot is played here by four players, each hand one against three. The pack has 78 cards: four suits of 14 (King, Queen, Knight, Jack, 10 down to 1), 21 trumps numbered 21 (high) to 1, and the Excuse, marked with a star. The 21, the 1 of trumps (the petit) and the Excuse are the bouts. Play goes anticlockwise. Each player gets 18 cards, and six go face down to the chien. A player whose only trump is the petit (the Excuse counting as a trump) has a petit sec, and the hand is cancelled.

Starting from the dealer's right, each player has one chance to bid or pass, and each bid must be higher than the last. Petite and Garde: the taker shows the chien, takes it, and discards six cards, which may not be trumps, Kings or the Excuse. Garde sans le chien: the chien is not seen, but counts for the taker. Garde contre le chien: the chien counts for the defence. If everyone passes, the hand is thrown in.

The player to the dealer's right leads. You must follow suit. If you can't, you must play a trump, and any trump must beat the trumps already in the trick if it can. The Excuse may be played to any trick instead and never wins it. Its side keeps it, giving a low card in exchange, except in the last trick, where it goes to the trick's winners.

• Card points: bouts and Kings 4.5, Queens 3.5, Knights 2.5, Jacks 1.5, every other card 0.5, for 91 in all. The taker needs 56 points with no bout, 51 with one, 41 with two and 36 with three.
• Score: 25 plus the margin above or below the target, times 1 for a Petite, 2 for a Garde, 4 for a Garde sans and 6 for a Garde contre. The taker wins or loses that much from each of the three others.
• Petit au bout: the petit played in the last trick is worth 10 (times the multiplier) to whoever wins that trick.
• Poignée: show 10, 13 or 15 trumps before the first trick for a bonus of 20, 30 or 40. It goes to the side that wins the hand, so only show it when you're confident.
• Chelem: taking every trick is worth 200, or 400 if announced in advance (an announced chelem that fails costs 200). A taker who announces a chelem leads to the first trick.
• A game is eight deals. Half points in the margin are rounded in the taker's favour (our choice: pagat.com gives a rounding rule only for the three- and five-player games).

• When it's your turn to bid, tap a bid or Pass.
• As taker, tap Take the chien, then tap six of the highlighted cards to discard and tap Discard these six.
• Before the first trick you may show a poignée, and as taker announce a chelem.
• On your turn, tap a highlighted card. The highlights follow the must-trump and must-overtrump rules.

• Daily: everyone gets the same deals each day.
• New Game: a fresh game with new deals.

• Bouts change everything: with all three you need only 36 points, so count them before bidding.
• As taker, discard to make a void, so you can trump that suit, and bank your Queens and Knights in the discard.
• Protect the petit. If the defence can catch it, it costs you 4.5 points and a bout.
• As a defender, pile points onto a trick a partner is sure to win, and play the Excuse to save points on a trick you must lose.

Tarot cards were first mentioned in Italy in the mid-15th century, where they were first called trionfi (triumphs), the origin of the English word trump. According to Wikipedia, tarot reached France in the early 16th century with the Italian Wars. Rabelais mentions it in Gargantua in 1534, and by 1622 it was more popular in France than chess. It faded after 1650, revived in the late 18th and 19th centuries, and the Italian-suited Tarot de Marseille gave way to the French-suited Tarot Nouveau that is used today.

According to Dummett and Berloquin, French soldiers issued with Tarot packs in the Franco-Prussian War, the First World War and the Algerian War spread the game throughout France. The Fédération Française de Tarot was founded in 1973. Pagat.com calls Tarot one of the most popular card games in France, played at home, in clubs and in tournaments. It has nothing to do with fortune-telling. The rules here follow pagat.com's description of the four-player game, written in our own words.

French Tarot is a free browser version of the classic French card game, played against three computer players, with a daily game and online leaderboards. There's nothing to download and no sign-up.

A free, original browser game on PlayPendium. No download, no install.