French Tarot scoring without a calculator or arguments
Pick who took, the contract and the taker's points: Teamzy works out the deal, the bonuses and everyone's total. The score sheet fills itself in, deal after deal.
French Tarot in 30 seconds
The taker needs 56, 51, 41 or 36 points depending on whether they have 0, 1, 2 or 3 oudlers in their tricks. The deal is worth 25 points plus the difference, multiplied by the contract (prise ×1, garde ×2, garde sans ×4, garde contre ×6), then you add the handful, the petit au bout and the slam. With 4 players, each defender pays that total to the taker, who therefore scores three times the total.
What each card is worth
The 78 cards are worth 91 points in all. This is exactly the scale Teamzy applies when you enter a deal.
Cards and points needed
| What counts | Points |
|---|---|
| Oudler (21, petit, excuse) | 4.5 |
| King | 4.5 |
| Queen | 3.5 |
| Knight | 2.5 |
| Jack | 1.5 |
| Any other card | 0.5 |
| No oudler, you need | 56 |
| With 1 oudler, you need | 51 |
| With 2 oudlers, you need | 41 |
| With 3 oudlers, you need | 36 |
The contracts
Every contract is worth 25 points, plus the difference between the points made and the points needed. The whole is multiplied by the contract.
| Contract | Multiplier | The dog |
|---|---|---|
| Prise | ×1 | For the taker, shown to all |
| Garde | ×2 | For the taker, shown to all |
| Garde sans | ×4 | Counted for the taker, unseen |
| Garde contre | ×6 | Counted for the defence |
The bonuses
They are added to the contract. The petit au bout follows the contract's multiplier; handfuls and slams never do.
| Bonus | Points | Who scores it |
|---|---|---|
| Single handful (10 trumps with 4 players, 13 with 3, 8 with 5) | 20 | The side that wins the deal |
| Double handful (13 trumps with 4 players, 15 with 3, 10 with 5) | 30 | The side that wins the deal |
| Triple handful (15 trumps with 4 players, 18 with 3, 13 with 5) | 40 | The side that wins the deal |
| Petit au bout | 10 × the contract's multiplier | The side that wins the last trick with the petit, even if the contract fails |
| Slam made without declaring | +200 | The taker's side |
| Slam declared and made | +400 | The taker's side |
| Slam declared and failed | −200 | Taken from the taker's side |
| Slam made by the defence | +200 | Each defender, on top |
One deal, from start to finish
A 4-player match. Léa takes a garde and shows a handful of 10 trumps. In her tricks: the 21, the excuse and 47 points. But a defender wins the last trick with the petit.
- 1With 2 oudlers, Léa needs 41 points. She has 47: she makes it by 6.
- 2Her garde is worth (25 + 6) × 2 = 62 points.
- 3Her single handful adds 20 points, for the winning side: 82.
- 4The defence's petit au bout takes off 10 × 2 = 20 points: 62.
Each defender pays 62 points, Léa pockets 186. The four scores add up to zero, as they should.
In Teamzy, you type 47 and tap the handful and the petit au bout: the calculation shows up by itself, exactly like this.
The questions that always come up at the table
It depends on the oudlers the taker has in their tricks: 56 points with none, 51 with one, 41 with two and 36 with all three. The game holds 91 points in all.
Oudlers (21, petit, excuse) and kings are worth 4.5 points, queens 3.5, knights 2.5, jacks 1.5 and every other card 0.5.
Cards are counted to the half point. A total ending in .5 is rounded in favour of the side that wins the deal: with 2 oudlers, 40.5 becomes 40 and the contract fails by 1; 41.5 becomes 42 and the contract is made by 1. In Teamzy, you type the taker's rounded points directly: the defence has the rest out of 91.
The taker calls a king: whoever holds it becomes their partner. Each of the three defenders pays the total of the deal, the partner receives it once and the taker twice. If the king is in the dog or in the taker's own hand, the taker plays alone against 4 and scores 4 times the total. In Teamzy, pick “Alone against 4” instead of a partner.
The deal is worked out the same way, but the taker scores twice the total and each of the two defenders pays it once. Handfuls need more trumps: 13, 15 or 18.
The side that wins the deal, whoever showed it: if a defender shows 10 trumps and the taker still wins, the defence pays the 20 points. A handful is worth 20, 30 or 40 points and is never multiplied by the contract.
Yes. It is worth 10 points times the contract, for the side that wins the last trick with the petit, whether the contract is made or failed. If the taker brings it home but fails, the bonus reduces their loss.
The excuse never wins a trick: whoever plays it keeps it and gives a low card in exchange. Played on the last trick, it goes to the other side, except during a slam.
A player whose only trump is the petit, without the excuse, must announce it: the deal is cancelled and the cards are dealt again. Nothing to enter in Teamzy, the next deal takes its place.
Because what the taker's side wins, the defence loses, and vice versa. In every deal, the scores add up to 0: a good way to check a score sheet kept by hand.
The rules set no target score: you play an agreed number of deals, or until it's time to go home, and the player with the most points wins. Some tables add a misère or play to a fixed total: that's not in the official rules, and Teamzy follows the official rules, over as many deals as you like.
Official rules of the French Tarot Federation (in French)Your next French Tarot match, without pen and paper
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