Hungarian Tarokk: Basic Rules

There are just four bids but with strict rules on how those bids are made, so releasing information about your hand. It is a four player game with temporary partnerships played with a very short pack of just 42 cards.

There is one unusual piece of equipment you shall have to find - a very silly hat. The hat is called by Dummett, a dunces hat but by other sources, the mayor’s hat and whoever should lose the XXI of trumps in a trick is called The Mayor and must wear the hat until someone else makes the same mistake. Of course, this ‘mistake’ can happen to the best of players, playing a faultless game, so the award is really just a friendly jest and adds a little unique character to the game.

I have read comments in internet forums and blogs, from people saying that they were discouraged from learning this one because of the complexity of the rules. I’m not convinced that it really is all that complicated but some games only really become clear from playing them. I have done my best to make everything as clear as possible, unpicking what some have found difficult and very much hope that you will at least give this one a go.


Cards

This is usually played with a French suited Austrian pack, with all but one of the pips removed in each suit and using irrational ranking.

There are 22 trumps numbered I-XXI with the highest trump, the Fool, un-numbered.

Swords & Batons / Spades & Clubs
K, Q, C, V, 10

Cups & Coins / Hearts & Diamonds
K, Q, C, V, 1










The cards are counted individually, so there are 94 points in the pack


Deal

Six cards are dealt to a stock pile then each player receives one batch of 5 cards and one batch of 4.


Bidding

There are only four bids available but rules for making them can be a little convoluted should you wish to use the round to arrange a partnership. The bids are:

3 Cards for 1 game point
2 Cards for 2 game points
1 Card  for 3 game points
Without for 4 game points

These refer to the number of cards from the stock that the Declarer may improve his/her hand with.

Bidding begins with Eldest and moves to the right, finishing when someone bids Without or three players pass. Players must have at least one Honour to be allowed to bid. If all pass, then the hand is thrown in, re-dealt and played for double game points. Players may not bid higher than one bid above any already bid - except when inviting a partner. So, Eldest must either pass or bid 3 Cards, if 3 Cards is bid, then the next player may either pass or bid 2 Cards, and so forth. If a player has bid but is then outbid by another player, he/she can claim the higher bid for him/her self by calling ‘hold’ on their next turn.


Invitation Bids

It may be that you have a hand that is not good enough for you to want to be Declarer yourself but good enough for you to feel confident as a Declarer’s partner. You can indicate this by making an invitation to call you as partner by the way that you bid. There are strict rules governing how this is done and when you can do this:

To be allowed to make an invitation bid you must hold an Honour. There are two possible invitations you can make and you must also have the card that an invitation requires, these invitations are also called ‘jump bids’ because they require you to bid higher than the rules would otherwise demand.

Partner with XIX
If you hold the XIX of trumps you can invite by bidding one higher than required. So, if ‘3 Cards’ has been bid, then you must bid ‘1 Card’ to make the invitation. If someone out bids you or calls ‘hold’, then they accept your invitation and must call XIX for a partner after the discard.

Partner with XVIII
If you hold the XVIII of trumps you can invite by bidding two higher than required. Be cautious though, if ‘3 Cards’ has been bid, you must bid ‘Without’ so that the only way your invitation can be accepted is with a call of ‘hold’.

Invitation bids are a nice addition to the game but do carry a risk. If your invitation isn’t accepted, then you can end up having to play as Declarer after all.


Discard

If Declarer bid to take from the stock, then he/she draws the number bid from the top of the stock pile and discards the same number from his/her hand. Honours and Kings may never be discarded, if any trumps are to be discarded then they must be shown to the other players. This scart counts towards Declarer’s tricks. Unless “Without” was bid, each of the other players may draw one card from the stock and discard to the same rule to a defender’s scart - the remaining cards from the stock also go to this scart. If “Without” was bid, then the defenders take 2 cards each according to the same rules.

Once the discard is complete and the hands finalized, a player may decide that their hand is so bad that it isn’t viable to play. If the hand meets one of these conditions, then they are allowed to annul the hand - in which case the cards are re-dealt and points for the new deal are doubled.

1. No trumps
2. The Pagat and no other trumps
3. XXI and no other trumps
4. All four kings


Calling a Partner

Unless accepting an invitation, Declarer should normally call for the XX of trumps and whoever has that card in their hand will be partner. Partner may not announce him/her self - their identity must be revealed by their play. If the XX is in a scart or if it is held by Declarer, then the lowest trump below XX that Declarer does not have must be called for. If any of the other players discarded a trump, then Declarer may call for any trump, excluding Honours.

If the called trump has been discarded, the player who discarded it must call “contra” to the game.

If Declarer accepted an invitation in the bidding round, then the card for that bid must be called.


Bonuses

Either side, as a team, can score points - or lose them - from bonuses. For extra points, they can all be announced before play begins.

After any announcements have been made, any of the defenders may call “contra” to either the game or to one of the announcements, doubling its score. Any player may then call “re-contra” to double it a second time, “re-contra” can be called three times, then “sub-contra” may be called to end the doubling at x32! Contras can raise the score significantly - if you are playing for money, think before you allow them in play. You may wish to limit the contras to just one or two. At least one should be allowed as they impart information - only a defender may make the first contra, not Declarer’s partner.


Play

Declarer leads to the first trick. Play moves to the right and players in turn must play a card of the led suit. If they cannot follow suit, then they must play a trump. If they cannot play a trump, then they may play any card - though it cannot win. If a player has announced for a Pagat Ultimo, they may not play the Pagat to any trick before the last one unless the rules force it. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick unless a trump has been played, then the highest trump wins.


Scores

To win the hand, a team must take at least 48 card points.


Hungarian Tarokk I: Paskievics

Honours: A bonus for winning all the honour cards in your tricks. 2 points announced, 1 point unannounced.

Kings: A bonus for winning all four Kings in your tricks. 2 points announced, 1 point unannounced.

High Game: A bonus for taking 71 card points or more. Payment for the hand is quadrupled if announced and doubled if unannounced.

Slam: A bonus for winning all the tricks. Payment for the hand is multiplied by 6 if announced, and tripled if unannounced. A team that declares a Slam, cannot declare Honours or Kings. A team that wins a Slam does not score for Honours or Kings.

Pagat Ultimo: A bonus for winning the last trick with the Pagat. 10 points if announced, 5 points if unannounced.

Mond: A bonus for capturing the opponent’s  Mond.  Scores 40 points announced, 20 points unannounced.


Hungarian Tarokk II: Palatine

This game is essentially the same as Paskievics Tarokk but with six additional bonuses available. It doesn’t seem a great departure but they add quite a lot to play, they represent a lot of extra points but require a lot of skill to win. It marks the start of the evolution of Hungarian Tarokk which has developed into Royal by ever increasing the emphasis on the bonuses that may be played for.

The extra bonuses are:

First Five: The team must take the first five tricks - the last one must be won by the XX.
10 points announced, 5 points un-announced.

First Six: The team must take the first six tricks - the last one must be won by the XXI.
12 points announced, 6 points un-announced.

First Seven: The team must take the first seven tricks - the last one must be won by the Fool.
14 points announced, 7 points un-announced.

First Eight: The team must take the first eight tricks - the last one must be won by the Pagat.
20 points announced, 10 points un-announced.

King Ultimo “suit”: The last trick must be taken by the King of the declared suit. This bonus must be announced to score. 15 points.

King Penultimo “suit”: The penultimate (8th) trick must be won by the King of the declared suit. This bonus must be announced to score.
20 points.


Hungarian Tarokk III: Magus


Owl Ultimo: A bonus for winning the last trick with the II of trumps.
5 points unannounced, 10 points announced.

Owl Penultimo: A bonus for winning the next to last trick with the II of trumps. This bonus must be announced to score. 20 points.

Two Little Birds: A bonus for winning the last two tricks with the I and the II of trumps. The trumps may be played to either trick but if won, any Pagat Ultimo, Owl Ultimo, or Owl Penultimo cannot score as well. The bonus must be announced to score. 40 points.

Large Bird With...: the Pagat, the Owl, or a King. A bonus for winning the seventh trick with the declared card (which King is not specified). This bonus must be announced to score. 30 points.

Little Bird with...: the Pagat, the Owl, or a King. A bonus for winning the sixth trick with the declared card (which King is not specified). This bonus must be announced to score. 40 points.

Pagat Pheasant: A bonus for winning the first trick with the Pagat.
10 points unannounced, 50 points announced.

Owl Pheasant: A bonus for winning the first trick with the Owl.
10 points unannounced, 50 points announced.

Brace of Pheasants: A bonus for winning the first trick with the XXI, capturing both the Pagat and the Owl. It may be won unannounced for 30 points if the Pagat and Owl are played by the opponents of the player with the XXI. It may be won announced for 60 points, regardless of who plays the Pagat and Owl. However, it may only be announced by an opponent of the player who will lead to the trick.

A Family of...: suit. A bonus for winning the last three tricks with cards of the specified suit. Must be announced to score. 100 points.

Three Kings: A bonus for winning each of the last three tricks with one of the Kings. Must be announced to score. 100 Points.