 Hearts are always trumps | |
| Origin | Austria |
|---|---|
| Type | Point-trick |
| Family | German Tarok group |
| Players | 3-4 |
| Cards | 36 |
| Deck | German |
| Rank (high→low) | D X K O U 9 8 7 6 |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Chance | Moderate |
| Related games | |
| Bavarian Tarock • Dobbm • Tapp | |
| Contracts: Hineinschauen and Sumpern Special bonus:Spatz | |
Bauerntarock ("farmers'tarot") also calledBrixentaler Bauerntarock orBrixental Tarock,[1] is apoint-trick card game played in theBrixental, Austria.[2] It may have originated in the 19th century either as an adaptation of 54-cardTapp Tarock onto the cheaper and smaller 36-cardGerman pack.[3] Another possibility is that it was adapted from the 78-cardGrosstarock orTaroc l'Hombre game as the ratio of trumps to non-trumps is almost the same.[4][5] It uses theSkat Schedule found in popular regional games such asJass andSchafkopf. It is closely related toBavarian Tarock,German Tarok,Württemberg Tarock and especiallyDobbm.[6] Like Bavarian Tarock andTapp, Brixental Bauerntarock and Dobbm do not belong to the truetarot games, but have adopted rules fromTapp Tarock. The most fundamental difference between these games and true tarot games is in the use of German or French decks instead of trueTarot playing cards.
In 1980, Dummett records Bauerntarock being played in the Brixental valley in Austrian Tyrol under the name "Tarock" or "Bauerntarock",[7] but it is probably much older and more widespread. For example, Bauer and Dollinger note that, during the 1920s and 1930s, the well known Bavarian author,Oskar Maria Graf, "met with friends on his own or other's terraces to chat, drink and play Bauerntarock, often for half the night."[8]
The cards’ trick-taking power broadly corresponds to their card point value. Thus theDeuce orDaus (Sau, Ass) is the highest-ranking card. Then follow the: Ten >King >Ober >Unter > Nine > Eight > Seven > Six. This ranking is also valid within the trump suit as well as the plain suits. Hearts are permanent trumps.
| Ranking of the cards | |||
| Permanent trump suit | |||
 D 10 KOU 9 87 6 | |||
| Plain suits | |||
| Acorns | Leaves | Bells | |
 D 10K O U 9 8 7 6 |  D 10 K O U 9 8 7 6 |  D 10 K O U 9 8 7 6 | |
The card values are exactly the same as inSchafkopf or the related game ofBavarian Tarock. The ten, with 10 points, is just below theDaus (11 points) in value, but well above the King (4), Ober (3) and Unter (2). The so-calledSpatzen ("sparrows" i.e. the Nines, Eights, Sevens and Sixes) only play a role during the game based on their trick-taking ability, but do not score points at the end of the hand.
| Ranks and card-point values of cards | |||||||||
| Rank | A | 10 | K | O | U | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | 11 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | |||
There are 120 card points in the deck. The 6 of bells is marked as "WELI" but has no significance in this game. The lowest trump, the 6 of hearts, however, is called theSpatz (sparrow) and plays a special role in bonuses and penalties mirroring the role of thepagat.
Like mostace–ten games but unlike othertarot card games, rotation is clockwise. In a three-player game, the dealer passes out eleven cards to each player with three cards going to thetalon (stock). With four players, everyone gets eight cards with four going to thetalon.
Players bid to become the declarer and play against the others (the defenders). Bidding starts with the player to the dealer's left. Players may make one bid only and have the following options:
There is no 'holding' of a higher bid. If all pass, then the same dealer redeals. If no-one has bid so far, the player to the dealer's right may say "Schöneres" ("better ones"). The dealer may either say "Yes" and re-deal the cards or "No", in which case the player to his right may bid or pass. The dealer then has the same options.
If the declarer is playing ahineinschauen, he picks up the talon and discards 3 cards, sayingLieg' ich to show he is ready. At this point any defender who did not pass may double (spritzen[a] orgasen)[b] the game value. The declarer may redouble with "Resi!"
The discarded cards or the unusedtalon count towards the declarer's score at the end of the hand unless he failed to win any tricks, in which case, he isgmotschd and the talon is forfeited to the defenders.
The declarer's goal is to win a majority of card points. The declarer leads to the first trick. Playersmust follow suit. If void, theymust play a trump (i.e. heart). Only when void of the suit led and hearts can any card besloughed. There is nocompulsion to win the trick. The winner of each trick leads to the next one.
There is a penalty of 5 points for losing theSpatz to the opposite side; 10 points if it was on the last trick. There is a bonus of 10 points for winning the last trick with theSpatz. These points are also subject to doubling.
The declarer's game score is calculated by subtracting half the points of the hand (60 points for no doubling, 120 for once, 240 for twice, or 480 for thrice) from the hand score (points from captured cards,Spatz penalties or bonuses, and thetalon which may have been doubled, redoubled, etc.) After one player accumulates a game score of 100 or more, the number of new hands to play is limited to the current round (everyone should have had an equal chance as dealer). The winner is the player with the highest cumulative game score and the others have to pay the difference. The player with the lowest game score has to pay an extra 20 points to the winner.[2]
| Type I /II (Fool as an excuse) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Type III (Fool as highest trump) | ||
| Related games |
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| Suits | ||
| Packs(French suits) | ||
| Packs(Latin suits) | ||
| Related articles | ||
