How to play Tarneb
Partnership, bidding and thirteen tricks.
Meet your hand
Four players sit in opposite partnerships. Each receives 13 of 52 cards, without jokers. Ace is high, followed by K, Q, J and 10 down to 2. Play runs counterclockwise.
Bid and lead
The seat after the dealer bids first. Bid from 7 to 13, higher than the current bid, or pass out of this auction. The highest bidder leads. Four opening passes cause a redeal by the same dealer.
Follow the led suit
Follow the led suit when you have it. Otherwise play any card; trump is optional. The highest trump wins, otherwise the highest card of the led suit wins. The winner leads the next trick.
Reach 41 together
Scores settle after all 13 tricks. The first team to 41 wins; negative totals are possible. Every human chooses Ready before the next deal, and everyone must agree to a rematch.
Choose the rules
Choose Kibbi or Moving trump when creating a table or starting practice. Moving trump is the default and is used for quick play. Both options use the same bidding and scoring.
Moving trump: The highest bidder chooses hearts, diamonds, spades or clubs each deal. Trump stays fixed throughout that hand and is chosen again after the next auction.
Kibbi: Hearts are trump every hand. The highest bidder leads straight away, without choosing a trump suit.
King of hearts and the trump ace
In new matches, an opponent must play K♥ before you play the active trump ace later in the same trick. This records a pending bonus for your team. Kibbi uses A♥; Moving trump uses the ace of the selected suit. The trick still counts as one trick.
After all 13 tricks, add a flat five points only if your team’s base points for this hand are positive, after any multiplier. A partner’s king, an ace played first, or cards in different tricks do not qualify. Existing older matches keep their rules without this bonus.
How scoring works
| Outcome | Bidding team | Defenders |
|---|---|---|
| Successful bid below 13 | Tricks taken | 0 |
| All tricks without bidding 13 | +16 | 0 |
| Failed bid below 13 | Minus the bid | Tricks taken |
| Successful bid of 13 | +26 | 0 |
| Failed bid of 13 | −16 | Twice the tricks taken |
These are the selected table rules. No no-trump, doubles or redeals for weak hands.