Tapp tarot

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Tapp-Tarock (Wiener Tappen) is a card game for three people from the Tarock family. Between the two world wars it was the preferred card game in Viennese coffee houses (literary cafés, Café Central). Even today, Tapp tarot is still occasionally played. The exact time of origin can no longer be determined, but it should have developed in today's Austria in the early 19th century . The oldest variant has been handed down from 1821.

etymology

Tapp is a term for the face down cards in the middle of the table - in other games also called talon or stick . Other card game names derived from it are Tappu or Tappä for the Swiss tarot variant Troggu , as well as the Stubaital card game Dobbm .

Name variations for the game were Tarock-Tapp (s) , just Tappen or Tapper . Since the announcement “I'm tapping” was the lowest in the game, which soon went out of fashion, the game was also named after the next higher three or three . The name Zeco is also mentioned at the end of the 19th century . This suggests a connection with Cego , which means "the blind one"; this is what the face-down cards are called in this very game.

history

The Tapp tarot is probably the oldest tarot variant in which four reforms of the tarot game were carried out together:

  • the removal of some of the 78 cards from the full set; 54 cards remained here, as is the case with the more widespread versions of King Call and Nineteen Call
  • the conversion of the fool or Sküs from a special card to the "normal" highest tarot
  • the changeover from the Italian paper to the French paper that is standard today
  • the introduction of the game bonus to win the last trick with the Tarock I ( Pagat Ultimo )

According to the tarot expert Michael Dummett, the conversion of the Skü took place in Austria; However, it can also be found (not yet strictly followed) in the older Swiss variant Troggu . According to card game historian John McLeod, the introduction of the Pagat Ultimo was not an original idea of ​​the tarot games, but was derived from similar bonuses in the Hundred Game . It was a variant of Trappola that was widespread in Austria at the time .

cards

A distinction is made between two groups of 54 cards: 22 tarot and 32 color cards.

Tarot

The 22 tarots are numbered with Roman numerals (except for the Sküs). They take on the role of permanent trump cards .

Three tarots play special roles and are therefore given names:

  • I - Pagat , also: sparrow
  • XXI - moon
  • Sküs or Gstieß (without a number, resembles the joker in other card games and was possibly its model, but plays a completely different role here)

Together these three make up the trull . They have a much higher card value than the other tarots.

Color cards

The 32 color cards consist of eight cards each in the four French colors of hearts , diamonds , spades and clubs .

Four cards of each suit form the pieces in descending order of stitches - king , queen , cavall and jack .

The other half of the color cards are four small cards each, the Skartindeln (also: Skatindeln) or bald heads . With decreasing stitch power this is for the black colors 10, 9, 8 and 7, for the red ace, 2, 3 and 4. The difference in the ranking between the red and the black Skartindeln reminds us that in earlier tarot variants with all Cards from Ace to 10 has been played. Even then, the hierarchy in the red colors was different from that in the black. When reducing the hand, the six lowest suit cards were then removed: for hearts and diamonds it was 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5, for spades and clubs it was ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 .

Game flow

Preliminary round

In the preliminary round, the seating order is determined by drawing lots. The first donor is also determined by lot. It is then played in turn. The player to the right of the dealer becomes the new dealer in the new round.

Give

The dealer first places six cards face down on the table ( talon ) and then deals 16 cards to each player (usually counterclockwise in packs of four cards each).

Auctions

The player seated to the right of the dealer opens the auction for the style of play. The bid levels are as follows: three , lower (two- sheet), upper (one-sheet), solo . He makes a bid and, when it is his turn again, is the only one to keep the last bid made. All other players have to overbid or pass ( tap ) the bid . If two players pass one after the other, the auction is over. Whoever won the auction plays alone against the other two players.

Game announcements

The game announcements give the player additional points, so-called bonuses . It is not only the results of the tricks that count, but also the risk that the player takes and his ability to play.

Number of talon cards

These announcements are negotiated by auction. With each step towards solo it becomes more difficult for the individual player to play against the other two as a party to win.

  • Three : The player receives the first or last three cards from the talon face up and can discard three cards from his hand face down for his tricks, but no kings or trull pieces, other tarot cards may only be discarded - face up - if other cards are no longer available. The player's opponents receive the remaining cards in the talon. These cards count like tricks. The threesome is worth 3 points .
  • Two hands , lower : the player receives the first, middle or last pair of cards. The rest of the talon goes to the opponents. The double sheet is worth 4 points .
  • Single sheet , upper : With single sheet , the player receives one card from the talon. The rest goes to the opponents. The single sheet is worth 5 points .
  • Solo : The whole talon belongs to the opponents. The solo is worth 8 points

Score and card announcements

The player can also announce whether he will (or will) take all the tricks or whether he will play the Pagat card . Announcing something bears a higher risk because the opposing party has information about the course of the game in advance, but gives more points. It is therefore a matter of the players weighing up whether they can take such a risk with the hand they are holding in their hands.

  • Absolute : If the player says Absolute, the player must make at least 40 points in order to win. Otherwise all points go to the opponents.
  • Grand point : (colloquially or verbally also called "Grammenboi"): The player must score 50 points.
  • Valat : The player has to take all the tricks. The valat announced beforehand is worth 24 points, but made 12 points in the game.
  • Pagat : The player will take the last trick with the Pagat. The Pagat hip is worth 8 points, still 4 points. In solo it is worth 24 points and 8 points.

Cons

After placing the player, it can be countered. The points are doubled with every contra. The increases are contraindications , Redouble , Subkontra .

  • Cons: The opposing party believes they have the better cards and will win the dealer's game. The points in this game now count twice .
  • Rekontra: The player who announced believes that he still has the better cards and will win and requests a rekontra. The points in this game now count four times .
  • Sub-Cons: The opposing party sticks to it and believes they will win the dealer's game. The points in this game now count eight times .

Chopping rounds

There is a compulsory color and tarot (compulsory trump).

Game rating

The total value of the cards is 70 points. 35 is deducted from the total number of points in the tricks, plus the bonuses for the announcements, this sum is multiplied by the appropriate multiplier for a higher game than three hands , or for contra , recontra or subcontra .

  • Cons: doubling the premiums
  • Rekontra: Quadrupling the premiums
  • Sub-contra: eightfold increase in premiums

counting

The values ​​of the cards

The 70 points of the card value are divided down to thirds . In detail, the value of the cards is:

  • 4 1/3 points: the trull pieces and the kings
  • 3 1/3 points: the ladies
  • 2 1/3 points: the Cavalle
  • 1 1/3 points: the jacks
  • 1/3 point: all other cards (= the remaining tarocks and the skartindles)

The cards that are worth 1/3 point are called "hand", which is why the terms hand and third point are treated as synonyms . The aim of the game in positive games is to score at least 35 and two hands , or 35/2 for short.

Since it is cumbersome to add up the values ​​together with the third points individually, the value of each card is either rounded up or down for counting.

  • 5 points: the trull pieces and the kings
  • 4 points: the ladies
  • 3 points: the Cavalle
  • 2 points: the jacks
  • 1 point: all other cards

You take the value of three cards and subtract 2. A king, a jack and a skartindel are worth (5 + 2 + 1) - 2 = 6 points. If there is one card left at the end, 2/3 is deducted from its value; if two cards remain, 1 1/3 point is deducted from their value. If you want to count during the game, you have to subtract: For example, the Pagat, a King and a Cavall (5 + 5 + 3) - 2 + 2 - 2/3 = 12 1/3 are worth.

The reason for the deduction of the 2/3 points is to upgrade the picture cards (colored figures and trull pieces) compared to the sheets, because the latter would otherwise play too much role due to their large number.

variant

One variant is robbery . If the first two players have passed the auction, the dealer can secretly choose up to six cards from the talon for the other players and add them to his hand the next time they are dealt. He must then be the first to announce at least “three leaf”.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Gerald K. Folkvord: The great Humboldt encyclopedia of card games . 2005, ISBN 3-89994-058-X
  2. ↑ a b Wolfgang Mayr, Robert Sedlaczek : Das Große Tarockbuch . Zsolnay Verlag, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-85223-462-X , pp. 105-110
  3. ↑ S. Ulmann: Illustrirtes Wiener Tarockbuch . 1887, pp. 19-39
  4. ↑ Michael Dummett : The Game of Tarot . London 1980