Every card game has its own language, yet many words repeat across games with similar meanings. This glossary explains common terms using the same definitions as the ERAM CARDS rules, and links each term to the games where it appears. It is grouped so you can look things up while reading a rules page.
Tricks and trump
Trick
One round in which every player plays one card and one player wins it. In Tarneeb a trick has four cards and a hand has 13 tricks. In Baloot a hand has 8 tricks. In Trix four of the five contracts are played with tricks, and the fifth is a card-laying contract with no tricks.
Trump
A suit whose cards beat the cards of the other suits. In Tarneeb it is named by the auction winner and called the Tarneeb. In Baloot it is called Hokm, while Sun is a contract with no trump. Trix has no trump in any contract.
Led suit and following suit
The led suit is the suit of the first card in a trick. Following suit means that a player who holds a card of that suit must play one. It is compulsory in Tarneeb, Trix and Baloot.
Void and cut (ruff)
A void means holding no card of the led suit. A cut, or ruff, is playing a trump on a trick of another suit. In Tarneeb cutting is not compulsory: a player in a void may cut or discard a card of any other suit.
Kaboot
Taking all the tricks: 13 in Tarneeb and 8 in Baloot.
Bidding and contracts
Bid
The number of tricks the bidder's team promises to take in the hand. In Tarneeb it runs from 7 to 13, and every new bid must be higher than the previous one.
Contract
In Tarneeb, the winning bid together with the chosen trump. In Trix, the type of play for a deal: K♥, Queens, Diamonds, Ltoosh or Trix. In Baloot, Sun or Hokm.
Pass
In Tarneeb, leaving the auction of the current hand for good. In Baloot it is called Bas in the first round and Wala in the second. In Trix's card-laying contract, you may pass only when you have no legal card.
Dealing and turns
Dealer and deal
The dealer is the player who deals, and in Tarneeb the role moves to their right after each hand. A deal is one distribution of cards; in Trix, one contract is played per deal.
Hand
One full cycle of deal, auction, play and scoring, as in Tarneeb. Note that Hand is also the name of a whole game, where the word also means going out from a full hand in one turn without adding to other players' melds.
Kingdom
In Trix, a cycle of five deals owned by one player, who chooses the order of contracts. A match has four Kingdoms.
Partnership
Partnership
Two teams of two players, partners sitting opposite each other, sharing one score. This is the case in Tarneeb, Baloot and Banakil, and in the partnership variants of Hand. In Trix, Basra and Tonj each player plays for themselves.
Melds: runs and sets
Meld
A legal run or set laid on the table. In Hand and Banakil a meld needs at least three cards.
Run
Three or more cards of the same suit in consecutive ranks, such as 5♥ 6♥ 7♥. In Banakil the Ace counts as 1 (A-2-3) or as 14 (Q-K-A), and there is no wrap-around (K-A-2).
Set
Three or four cards of the same rank in different suits, such as 9♠ 9♥ 9♦. In Hand any rank will do. In Banakil sets are allowed only for Aces and 3s.
Opening
A player's or team's first legal lay-down. In Hand the melds must total at least 51 points, and you may not add to melds before opening. In the Saudi Hand variants the requirement rises after each accepted opening.
Wild card
A card that stands in for a missing card. In Banakil the 2 (the banakla) stands in for a missing card inside a run, and the Joker is a high-value wild card worth 4 points. In Hand a Joker counts as the card it represents.
Capturing and building
Floor and capture
In Basra the floor is the face-up cards on the table, and a capture is taking cards from it with a hand card, by the same rank or by sum. A Basra is clearing the floor completely by a capture, worth 10 points.
Foundation and tableau
In Solitaire a foundation is a single-suit pile built from Ace to King, and the tableau is seven piles built downward in alternating colours. In Tonj the shared columns are called houses, and there are 8 foundations.
Stock and waste
The stock holds the face-down cards you draw from. The waste holds drawn cards that were not played, and under the rules it is turned back into the stock without a shuffle.
Quick questions
Do terms mean the same in every game?
Not always. The general meaning is close, but details differ between games, so check the rules of the game itself from the games page.
Where should I start?
If you are new, read the guide to choosing your first card game first.