How to Play Tarneeb: Rules, Bidding, Trump and Scoring

Teams, cards and the deal

You need exactly four players. Partners sit opposite each other, so seats 1 and 3 are one team and seats 2 and 4 are the other. The host can shuffle the seats in the lobby to change partners.

Tarneeb uses a standard 52-card deck with no jokers. Aces are high, then king, queen, jack, 10 and down to 2. Everyone gets 13 cards, so the whole deck is dealt.

• A trick is one round of play where each player puts down one card. Every hand has 13 tricks.
• Trump, or the tarneeb in Arabic, is the suit chosen for the hand. Any trump beats any card of another suit.
• Play and the deal go counter-clockwise, which is the traditional direction. The host can switch to clockwise.
• The deal moves to the next player after every hand.

Bidding for tricks

Bidding starts with the player after the dealer. On your turn you either bid a number of tricks your team will take, or pass. The lowest opening bid is 7 by default, and some tables prefer 8, which you can pick in the options. The highest possible bid is 13.

By default there is one round of bidding:

1. The player after the dealer bids 7 or more, or passes.
2. Each following player either bids higher than the current top bid or passes.
3. The dealer speaks last. The dealer may raise the bid, pass, or take the top bid at the same number. If the top bid is 8, the dealer can say 8 and the contract is theirs.
4. The highest bid becomes the contract, and the player who made it wins the bidding.

That last rule is the dealer's privilege. The dealer is the only player who doesn't have to go higher, so the players before the dealer sometimes bid a trick higher than they would like, just to push the dealer out.

If all four players pass, the default is a redeal by the next dealer. The host can change that so the dealer must bid the minimum when the other three have passed.

Tip: The host can also choose a continuous auction. Bidding then keeps going around the table until the other three have passed after a bid, and once you pass you are out of that auction. The dealer loses the right to match in this style.

Choosing the trump suit

Whoever wins the bidding names the trump suit and leads the first trick. The best choice is usually the suit where you hold the most cards, especially if it includes the ace or king. On our table the trump panel shows how many cards you hold in each suit, so you can see it at a glance.

Egyptian-style bidding is an option on our table. Every bid then names a suit as well as a number, such as 8 hearts, or no trump. To outbid, you bid more tricks or the same number in a higher suit. From low to high the order is clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, then no trump. In a no-trump contract nothing is trump, and the highest card of the suit led always wins.

Playing the tricks

• The leader plays any card.
• Everyone else must play a card of the suit that was led if they have one.
• If you have none of that suit, you can play a trump (called cutting) or throw any other card.
• The highest trump wins the trick. If nobody played a trump, the highest card of the suit led wins.
• The winner of each trick leads the next one.

All 13 tricks are played every hand, even once the result is certain. By default you are free to throw away a card instead of trumping when you cannot follow suit. Some groups play that you must trump if you hold one, and the "Must trump when void" option turns that rule on.

Scoring a hand

With standard scoring, a bidding team that takes at least its bid scores every trick it took, and the other team scores nothing. If the bidding team falls short, its bid is taken off its score and the other team scores the tricks it took.

• Your team bids 8 and takes 10 tricks: you score 10, and the other team scores 0.
• Your team bids 9 and takes 7 tricks: you lose 9, and the other team scores 6.
• Scores can go below zero.

Kaboot means one team takes all 13 tricks. On our table that team scores 16 for the hand by default instead of its usual points. The host can set kaboot to score 26, to double the bidding team's score, or to give no bonus at all.

Some tables score the bid only. With that option, the bidding team scores exactly its bid when it makes it and loses its bid when it fails, and the defenders never score.

Winning the game

The first team to reach the target wins. You can play to 31, 41 or 61 points, and 41 is the default. If both teams reach the target on the same hand, the bidding team wins.

A bid of 13 is a special case. By default, a team that bids 13 and takes all 13 tricks wins the game on the spot. The host can instead make it score 26 (with a failed 13 costing 16), or score it like any other bid.

When a game ends, the host can choose to play on. The scores carry over and the target goes up by the chosen amount, for example from 41 to 82.

House rules you can switch on

Tarneeb rules change from one town to the next, so the host picks them in the lobby before the game starts. Besides the scoring choices above, our table offers:

• A minimum bid of 7 or 8 tricks.
• One round of bidding with the dealer's privilege, or a continuous auction.
• Egyptian-style bids that name the suit.
• Must trump when you cannot follow suit.
• A redeal for weak hands, such as a hand with no card above 10.
• Counter-clockwise or clockwise play.

There is also Tarneeb 400, a separate mode. Hearts are always trump, nobody passes, and each player bids for the tricks they alone will take. Your minimum bid rises as your own score climbs, and a team wins when one partner reaches 41 or 61 while the other is above zero.

Strategy tips for beginners

• Before you bid, count the tricks you expect to win with your own cards: aces, kings you can protect, and length in a suit you could name as trump. Your partner has to find the rest.
• As dealer, remember you only need to match the top bid. You can let the others push the number up and still take the contract if your hand is strong.
• With five or more trumps, lead trumps early to pull them out of the other hands.
• Keep track of which high trumps have been played. Once they are gone, your remaining trumps are sure winners.
• When your partner is already winning a trick, play a low card and save your high ones.
• A short side suit is useful in a trump contract. Once it runs out, you can cut the next time that suit is led.
• On defence you only need to stop the bidders from making their number. Every trick you take counts against them.

Tip: New to the game? Start a practice table with three bots and open the How to play sheet whenever you need it.

Questions people ask