Tarneeb is a card game for four players in two teams, built around a promise: one team declares that it will take a certain number of tricks, then tries to keep that promise while the other team tries to stop it. This guide explains the game from scratch, in the order things happen at the table.
What you need
- Exactly 4 players in two fixed teams for the whole match; partners sit opposite each other.
- A standard 52-card deck, no Jokers, with four suits of 13 cards each.
- Rank order inside every suit, highest to lowest: A, K, Q, J, 10, then down to 2. The Ace is highest.
- Play goes counter-clockwise, and every player sees only their own cards.
The steps of one hand
1. The deal
Each player gets 13 cards, so the whole deck is dealt. Dealing starts with the player on the dealer's right, and the dealer receives last. After each hand the deal passes to the player on the dealer's right.
2. The auction
The player on the dealer's right speaks first, and play continues counter-clockwise. A bid is the number of tricks your team promises to take in this hand.
- The lowest bid is 7 and the highest is 13.
- Every new bid must be higher than the previous one; an equal or lower bid is not accepted.
- "Pass" takes you out of this hand's auction for good, and you cannot come back.
- The auction continues until only one bidder who has not passed remains, and it ends immediately after a bid of 13.
- If all four players pass at their first chance, the hand is cancelled and the same dealer reshuffles and deals again.
3. Naming trump
The auction winner names the trump suit: ♣, ♦, ♥ or ♠. A trump card beats any card of another suit. There is no No-Trump in this version.
4. Playing the tricks
The auction winner leads the first trick with any card. In each trick every player plays one card, under these rules:
- Following suit is compulsory: if you hold a card of the led suit, you must play it.
- If you have none of the led suit, you may play a trump or a card of any other suit. Cutting with a trump is not compulsory.
- The trick is won by the highest trump if any trump was played, otherwise by the highest card of the led suit.
- The winner of a trick leads the next one.
A hand has 13 tricks, and then it is scored.
Scoring
Scoring happens after the 13th trick and depends on whether the bidding team succeeded or failed:
| Case | Bidding team | Opposing team |
|---|---|---|
| Made it (took the bid or more) | the actual number of tricks it took | 0 |
| Failed (took fewer than the bid) | minus the bid | the opponents' actual tricks |
| Kaboot: all 13 tricks with a bid below 13 | 16 | 0 |
| Bid 13 and took all 13 | 26 | 0 |
| Bid 13 and failed | minus 16 | double the opponents' tricks |
Example: a team bids 8 and takes 10 tricks, so it scores 10 and the opponents 0. If it takes only 6, it loses 8 points and the opponents score 7. If a team bids 13 and takes 11 tricks, it loses 16 and the opponents score 2 x 2 = 4 points.
How the match ends
The match target is set by the room: 31, 41 or 61 points. After each hand is scored, the first team to reach or pass the target wins. By the way scoring works, both teams cannot reach the target for the first time in the same hand.
Common beginner mistakes
- Forgetting to follow suit: if you hold a card of the led suit, playing anything else is rejected and nothing changes until you make a legal move.
- Thinking you must cut: you do not have to play a trump even when you are void in the suit.
- Raising the bid carelessly: failing is costly. You lose the bid and the opponents score their tricks, and a failed bid of 13 costs 16 points.
- Repeating the last bid: an equal bid is not accepted; it must be higher.
- Forgetting that the bid belongs to the whole team: your tricks and your partner's tricks count together.
- Ignoring the room's target: check whether it is 31, 41 or 61 so you know how many points you need.
Quick questions
What if everyone passes?
If all four pass at their first chance, the hand is cancelled with no points, and the same dealer reshuffles and deals again.
Is there a No-Trump game?
No. In this version the auction winner always names one of the four suits.
Can I see my partner's cards?
No. Every player sees only their own cards; neither the partner nor spectators can see another player's hand.
What happens if my turn timer runs out?
The turn duration is a room setting, not part of the rules. When time runs out the system always plays a legal move: it passes in the auction and plays the weakest legal card during play.
Next step
ERAM CARDS is an online multiplayer card and board game app, starting on Android in Arabic and English. Full rules: full Tarneeb rules page.