arot Basics

The tarot family of games

revolve around point-
trick taking: Each player
plays one card during a
trick, with the high card
taking it. At the end of the hand, players
tally points for the cards they’ve taken.
This simple principle is the core to a varied
and nuanced series of games, involving
shifting alliances and challenges.
Since the tarot deck is used by many
cultures, there are many terms: These rules
will primarily use English terminology,
with foreign words given parenthetically.
Some of these terms have been added for
clarity or standardized across games for
sake of brevity and consistency, when they
follow the same rules (for instance, the
Excuse is called the Gstieß in the tarock
subgroup, but functions identically).
The Deck
Tarot decks consist of 78 cards, broken
into 5 suits:
• The first four suits of wands, cups,
swords and coins, are equivalent to the
standard playing card suits, with the
exception that there are four face cards.
They are ranked (highest to lowest): King
(Roy), Queen (Reyne), Knight (Cavalier),
Page (Valet), 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
• The larger, fifth suit is the trump suit
(or the Greater Mysteries/Major Arcana
when used in cartomancy), and numbered
1-21 (lowest to highest), with no face
cards. The Fool (le Mat) is treated as a
Trump, though often has special rules and
is typically played as the Excuse.
• The Honors (Bouts or Oulders) are the
Fool (le Mat), the Magician/1 of trumps (le
Basteleur), and the World/21 of trumps (le
Monde). They affect the Target (see below)
and may have special rules.
Dealing
The Dealer is typically chosen at random,
and the player to the Dealer’s right deals the
next trick. Tarot cards are typically dealt
in “Packets,” which both speeds up dealing
larger decks, and decreases randomization.
Note: Typically, cards are not heavily
shuffled. This imbalance can actually
be desirable, as it leads to one player to
having a favorable hand, and thereby being
in a bidding position. (Games with larger
Packets or without teams should have more
shuffling, as too little randomization is still
extremely unbalancing.)

Bidding and Beginning Play

Most tarot games next feature a bidding
element, which is done after the deal and
before play begins.

There are several cases in which a hand

may be cancelled, including if no one is
willing to bid. If this is the case, no
points are scored and the game continues
with the next Dealer (as if a hand had
been played).

The player to the right of the Dealer leads

the first trick.
Playing Tricks
The goal in the tarot family of games is
to score points by taking tricks.
• One player leads the trick by playing
a card from their hand first, which sets
the suit. After the first trick, the winner
of the previous trick leads. If the first
play is the Excuse, the suit is instead led
by the second player. You may lead with
Trumps.
• Play proceeds counter-clockwise: Each
other player must follow suit (play a card
from their hand, in the same suit) if they
can.
• If a player can’t follow suit, they must
play a card from the trump suit.
• If a player plays a trump, and trumps
have been played this trick, there is the
additional limitation that the player
must play a higher trump than those
already played, if able.
• If you can neither follow suit nor play
trump, you can play any remaining card.
• In any circumstance, you may play the
Excuse instead of playing a normal card
(this is an exception). You and your team
will (outside rare circumstances) lose the
trick, but keep the Excuse: Whoever played
the Excuse adds it to their trick pile, and
gives the winning player an Empty card in
its stead (see Winning the Trick and Scoring,
below). If you have no Empty cards, your
first empty card will go to whoever won the
trick you used the Excuse in.
Note: The Excuse is typically played to
prevent the loss of a valuable card that you
would otherwise be forced to play due to
needing to follow suit, etc.

Taking a Trick
Whoever wins the trick adds the cards
played in the trick to their trick pile (set
to the side, face-down).
• If no trumps were played, the highest
card in the led suit takes the trick.
• If trumps were played, the highest
trump takes the trick.
The Last Trick
There are a few special cases on the last trick:
• If the Excuse is played on the last trick,
the Excuse is taken by the trick’s winner
(it does not return to the player who
played it).
• If one team has won every trick except
the last, and leads with the Excuse, it
will win the trick.
Scoring
Once all tricks have been taken, each player
tallies up their cards:
• Honors (the 1 and 21 of trumps, and the
Fool): 4.5 points each
• Kings: 4.5 points each
• Queens: 3.5 points each
• Knights: 2.5 points each
• Pages: 1.5 points each
• Empty cards (all other cards not listed
above): .5 points each

The points in a player’s trick pile will

typically determine whether they have won
or lost, and will result in them gaining or
losing game points.

Note: There are numerous methods to add

up points. The way we recommend is to add
up the whole numbers of cards other than
Empty cards, then add half the total number
of cards. Example: A player has 22 total
cards, including a King and two Queens.
This would be 4 + 3*2 + 22/2 = 21.
Targets
The player with the most points from
tricks may not be the winner, because in
many tarot games, your Target score (the
score you need to match or exceed to win
the hand) varies based on the number of
Honors you have taken. Standard Targets
are as follows:
0 Honors: 56 points 2 Honors: 41 points
1 Honor: 51 points 3 Honors: 36 points
Note: Honors are very likely to be taken by
the player who originally had them, so your
Target number tends to be predictable.

Ending the Game

Each round consists of a number of hands
equal to the numbers of players (so each
player deals once a round). The number
of rounds is typically agreed upon at the
beginning of the game.
 ommon Rules
These are rules that appear
across multiple variants.

Contra
Players may call “contra” or “re-contra,”
doubling a previous bid each time, without
increasing difficulty.
Irrational Suits
The pip cards (1-10) of “round suits”
(coins and cups) are reversed, with 1 as
the highest pip and 10 as the lowest (face
cards follow normal order).

Note: While this is a convention for a

number of games, it doesn’t actually make a
functional difference, if you want to ignore
this and use consistent numbering.

Italian Ranking
Similar to Irrational Suits above, the
Italian convention is that the 20 of trumps
is the highest trump and the third Honor.
As with Irrational Suits, this makes no
functional difference.
Tarock Scoring
A variant scoring method, that the Tarock
subgroup of games uses instead of standard
scoring. Once all tricks have been taken,
each player tallies up their cards:

Honors: 5 Knights: 3
Kings: 5 Pages: 2
Queens: 4 Empty: 1
Then, subtract 2 points per 3 cards. Some
games will result in incomplete sets. In
this case, subtract 1 point from a set of 1
or 2. Additionally, games scored with the
Tarock system will have a Target specified
on a per-game basis.
The Stock
Some games include a Stock of cards which
aren’t in any player’s hand, which will act
differently depending on the game and
bid. (Fr. “Chien,” lit. “dog,” also sometimes
referred to as the Kitty or Talon).

When one player adds the Stock to their

hand, they will discard an equal number
of cards (so everyone’s hand will be empty
after the last trick): These can’t be Kings
or trumps (including the Excuse).
 ore Games
The games presented
here are good beginning
games, along with
French Tarot, itself,
which is the basis
for the entire Tarot family of games.
More games and rules variants may be
downloaded at

threepointcomics.com/downloads/marseille/
 aronetti
(one of two variants,
also referred to as Tarot
for Two)
2-player
Basic

This variant is a strong introduction to

the principles of French Tarot, without
any of the alliances or bidding used in
more advanced games.
Dealing
The Dealer places 3 cards face-down,
alongside each other, in front of the other
player, then themselves, then repeats
this, resulting in 6 cards in front of each
player.

They repeat this, placing the second set

of 12 on top of the first, then repeat it a
third time with the cards face-up.

This will result in each player having 18

cards in front of themselves in 6 piles of 3,
with the top of each pile revealed.

The remainder of the cards are dealt in

alternating Packets of 3 into 2 player
hands of 21 cards. Baronetti does not use
a Stock.
Bidding, Announcing Bonuses
Baronetti does not feature bidding or
announced bonuses.
Play
Baronetti uses all standard rules, with
the following addition:
The top card from any of a player’s 6 piles
are all considered part of the player’s hand,
so may be played (and like normal they
must be played, if they are the only legal
move). After a trick is taken, both players
reveal any face-down cards in the piles in
front of them.
Scoring the Game
Players calculate their hand score as
normal, against their Target score.

The winner gets 25 game points, plus 1

for each point they exceeded their Target
score by. If either player takes the 1 of
trumps in the last trick, they gain 10
points from the Petit Au Bout bonus.
Instead of scoring, Baronetti can simply
be played by tracking wins.
 rench Tarot
(also referred to as Tarot,
Tarocchi, or Jeu de Tarot)
4-player standard
(3 to 6-player variants listed below)
Intermediate

French Tarot (naturally) features all of

the family’s aspects, including bidding,
alliances, and notoriously complex
scoring.
Dealing
The player opposite the Dealer shuffles the
deck, the player to the Dealer’s left cuts,
then the Dealer in Packets of 3, evenly
distributed between all players.

During dealing, 6 cards, other than the

first or last 3 in the deck, are put aside
in the Stock.

If a player is dealt the 1 of trumps and

no other trumps nor the Excuse, they may
declare this to cancel the hand.
Bidding
After looking at their hands, players may
bid. Each bid has special rules, with
increasing difficulty and an increasing
multiplier on hand’s impact on the total
game score. Each player can pass or
increase the bid.

The high bidder becomes the Taker

(sometimes known as the Declarer), and
effectively a team of one, playing against
the Defenders (the other players as a team).
If everyone passes, the hand is canceled.

In all cases, the win is based on whether

or not the Taker reaches their Target,
while the other players form a team for
the hand, playing against the Taker.

Note: Bidding is not bidding accrued points,

but potential points. The Taker will tend to
either win or lose in extremes.
Bids, in increasing order:
• Small (Petite, also referred to as Take
(Prise))
The Taker reveals the Stock, then adds it
to their hand. The Taker then discards 6
cards to their trick pile. They may not
discard Kings, trumps, or the Excuse. (If
they must discard some of those, they may
only discard regular trumps.)
• Guard (Garde)
Identical to Small, except a higher bid and
higher multiplier on scores.
• Guard without (the Stock) (Garde sans
(le chien))
The Stock cards go immediately into the
Taker’s trick pile without being revealed.
• Guard against (the Stock) (Garde contre
(le chien))
The Stock cards go immediately into
the Defenders’ trick pile without being
revealed.
Announcing Bonuses
There are several cases in which players
may declare bonuses, after bidding is over
and before the first Hand is played.
• Abundance (Poignée, lit. Handful)
A player declares they have a certain
number of trumps, then clearly reveals
them. The player can reveal fewer trumps
than they have (for instance, declare a
Single Abundance, despite having a Double
Abundance). The Excuse can be counted
towards this, but only if the player has no
unrevealed trumps. The points associated
with the bonus will go towards whichever
team wins.

10 Trumps (Single): 20 points

13 Trumps (Double): 30 points
15 Trumps (Triple): 40 points

• Announced Slam (Chelem annoncé)

A team may announce their intent to take
all tricks. If they do so, they will gain
400 points. If they fail, their opponents
get 200 points.
Play
French Tarot uses all of the standard rules
for playing, and the Defenders may opt to
combine their trick pile in most cases (as
it has no functional difference).
Scoring
Scoring game points follows standard
rules for points and Target score, and is
based primarily on the Taker’s trick pile
(remember that the Stock may be added
to, or subtracted from, their hand points,
depending on their bet):

• The absolute score is 25, plus the

difference in points between the Taker’s
Target score and their actual score (how
much they surpassed or missed the Target
score by).
• This number is positive if the Taker
won, negative if the Taker lost.
• If either team took the 1 of trumps in
the last play, the Petit Au Bout bonus is
either added to the Taker (if they took it)
or removed from the Taker’s score (if the
Defenders took it).
•This total is then multiplied by the
original bid:

*1 if Small *4 if Guard Without

*2 if Guard *6 if Guard Against
 Example: The Taker took all three Honors (so
needed 36 points) and got 40 hand points,
so scores 25 for winning plus 4 points for
the difference. The Defenders got the Petit
Au Bout bonus, so 10 points are subtracted
from the total. This is multiplied by the
Taker’s bid of Guard (2). So, the result is
(25 + 4 - 10)*2=46. Each Defender loses 46
game points and the Taker gains 138 game
points (46*3).

Points for bonuses are added after this

multiplier. If a team took every trick
without announcing such an intent, they
have achieved a (regular) Slam (Chelem
non Annoncé).

• Single Abundance: +/-20 points

• Double Abundance: +/-30 points
• Triple Abundance: +/-40 points
• Slam: +/-200 Points
• Announced Slam (success) +/-400 points
• Announced Slam (failure) -/+200 points

This final score is then taken by each

winning player from the losing players
(in a standard game, the game points the
Taker loses or gains is effectively three
times each of the Defenders’).
 Note: While technically unnecessary, it’s good
practice to calculate the Defenders’ hand score
to double-check your math (the total will
always be 91 points). Furthermore, French
Tarot scores are a zero-sum game, meaning
the final scores will always total zero.

3-player French Tarot

Since there are only two Defenders, the
Taker’s job is easier and hands feature
lower stakes.

The 3-player variant is modified from

standard 4-player French Tarot as
follows:
•Each player is dealt 24 cards in Packets
of 4 (the Stock remains 6).
• Abundance is increased to 13, 15, 18,
respectively.
•Half-point scores are rounded to increase
the difference from the Taker’s Target
score: If the score is .5 below the Target,
it becomes 1 below; if the score is 2.5 above
the Target, it becomes 3 above.
5-player French Tarot
The 5-player variant of Tarot adds a new
bluffing element, as one player’s role is
unknown for much of the game.

The 5-player variant is modified from

standard 4-player French Tarot as
follows:
• Each player is dealt 15 cards (leaving
only 3 for the Stock)
• Before the Stock’s cards are revealed
(or would have been revealed), the Taker
chooses and announces a King (or, if they
have all of the Kings, a Queen). If a player
has the card in question, they become the
Taker’s partner on a team of 2 (and will
share in the risk and reward), which is
not revealed until the card in question has
been played. If the card is in the Stock, the
Taker has no partner and plays against
the other four players.
• The Taker pays or receives twice the
points, while their partner pays/receives at
the same rate as the other team. If there
is no partner, the Taker pays or receives
four times the points. This ensures that
the game is zero-sum.
6-player French Tarot
The 6-player variant functions similarly
to 3-player, except scored in doubles.

The 6-player variant is modified from

standard 4-player French Tarot as
follows:
• Players are in fixed partnerships, opposite
each other.
• Bids continue until there have been five
passes in a row, instead of until each
player has had one chance to bid (though
the hand is still cancelled if no one bids in
the first round).
• Partnerships may bid with the Contra
rules.
• The Stock is split evenly between
partners (i.e. each takes and discards 3).

carto
3-player
Basic

Scarto is notably
simpler than French
Tarot in that it doesn’t feature the complex
bidding, though does introduce unusual
suits without some of the more complex
gaming rules. Since there is no bidding,
the structure is free-for-all, rather than
Taker(s) vs. Defenders.
Dealing
The Dealer deals in Packets of 5 cards,
and takes the last 3 himself, then discards
3. (Similar to the Stock,) the Kings and
trumps may not be discarded, though the
Excuse may be discarded if the Dealer has
no other trumps.
Bidding, Announcing Bonuses
Scarto does not feature bidding or
announced bonuses.
Play
Scarto uses all of the standard rules for
playing, except that it uses Irrational
Suits and Italian Ranking.
Scoring
Scarto uses Tarock Scoring. In a departure
from the typical Target, each player gains
or loses game points for each hand point
they’ve respectively scored above or below 26.
 ppendix 1
Standard Poker/
Bridge Games with
a Tarot Deck
Given that the tarot deck and modern
playing card deck share a common ancestor,
it’s easy to adapt one for the other.

Removing the trumps, Fool, and Knights

will produce a standard 52-card deck. Suits
correspond as follows:
Wands: Clubs Swords: Spades
Cups: Hearts Coins: Diamonds
The Fool and a trump of your choice can
stand in for the Jokers.
5-Suited Decks
The tarot deck can also be used for playing
with a modified 5-suit version of the
standard Poker/Bridge deck.

Several of these have been produced in

the last century-plus, with the fifth suit
of such elements as Eagles, Royals, or
Stars.
One example of Poker rankings is as
follows. Flash refers to a hand with all
five suits.
• Five of a kind • Flash two pair
• Straight flush • Straight
• Flash four of a kind • Flash (no pair)
• Flash full house • Flash with a pair
• Flash straight • Three of a kind
• Four of a kind • Two pair
• Flush • Pair
• Full house • (High card)
• Flash three of a kind

ppendix 2
Divination
The Marseille Tarot
that this deck is based
on precedes modern
divination, so doesn’t
use the more thoroughly-illustrated and
codified meanings, such as the Rider-
Waite deck from the 20th century, therefore,
while you can find standardized meanings,
these are far less agreed-upon than the
fully illustrated decks. Pip cards are not
always used, but when they are, they tend
more towards open interpretation, due to
their less literal design.
Sources
Most material presented here is adapted
from commonly available documents,
though the arguably definitive source of
material on tarot games is
Dummet, Michael and John McLeod. A
History of Games Played with the Tarot
Pack. E. Mellen Press, 2004.

The rules for 6-player French Tarot are

based on those found in
Furr, Jerry Neill. Tarocchi: Introducing
Card Games for Tarot. 2009. Electronically
published.

Publishing Information
This booklet, the Marseille Sophistiqué
box/design, and all illustrations in the
Marseille Sophistiqué deck or associated
with it, (including the Happy Squirrel
card) are copyright © 2014 Three Point
Comics/TPC Games. All rights reserved.

Material from this booklet may only be

reproduced for personal, non-commercial
use (and may not be distributed for
charge or other consideration), and only if
preserving copyright.
Material from this booklet, box, and deck
may only be reproduced without consent
of the owner of these materials for review
purposes.

First printing: September 2014. Printed in

China. Funded through Kickstarter (thank
you!).

ISBN PLACE HOLDER

threepointcomics.com
[email protected]
Additional game rules can be downloaded
at

threepointcomics.com/downloads/marseille/