How to play Tarneeb
Bid seven tricks or more, name the trump, then go and get them.
Also known as Tarnib, طرنيب, Trump
Tarneeb is a four-player, 2-vs-2 trick-taking game built around bidding and a trump suit — tarneeb literally means trump. All 52 cards are dealt, 13 to each player, and partners sit across the table.
Bids run from 1 to 7, but the number is not the number of tricks: a bid of 1 commits you to 7 of the 13 tricks, and each step adds one more. Bid 7 and you have committed to all thirteen — the Kabbout.
Be the first team to reach the target score — 31, 41 or 61 — by winning your contracts and punishing the opposition when they miss theirs.
How to play Tarneeb
- 1Deal
The first dealer is chosen at random and the deal passes to the right after every hand. All 52 cards are dealt, 13 to each player, in fixed partnerships across the table.
- 2Bid
Bidding starts with the player to the dealer’s right and runs counterclockwise. Every bid must be higher than the last, and a player who passes is out of the bidding for that hand. A bid of 1 means 7 tricks, 2 means 8, and so on up to 7, which means all 13 — the Kabbout.
- 3Name the trump
The highest bidder names the tarneeb suit for the hand and leads the first trick. That suit beats every other suit.
- 4Play the thirteen tricks
Follow suit if you can; if you cannot, play any card. The highest trump wins the trick, or the highest card of the suit led if no trump was played.
- 5Score the hand
ScoresDeck takes the bid, the trump and the tricks taken, then applies the exact change to both teams and checks the target.
Scoring
Make the bid, take the tricks
Make your contract and your team scores the number of tricks it actually took — not the number it bid, so overtricks are worth having. Take all 13 without having bid Kabbout and the hand is worth 16.
Miss the contract and your team loses the full number of tricks it bid — miss a bid of 4 (10 tricks) and you lose 10 — while the defending team scores the tricks they took, or 16 if they took all thirteen. Falling one short of a big bid is expensive twice over.
The Kabbout
A bid of 7 commits you to all thirteen tricks. Bring it home and the hand is worth 26 — the biggest single swing in the game. Drop even one trick and you lose 16.
The defenders still score the tricks they took against a missed Kabbout — and 16 if they take all thirteen.
Reaching the target
Set the target at 31, 41 or 61 when you create the match. The first team to reach it wins.
ScoresDeck shows both team totals live, tracks who made each bid, and settles the match the moment the target is hit.
Variants ScoresDeck supports
The standard four-player, 2-vs-2 bidding game to 31, 41 or 61.
Frequently asked questions
Four players in two fixed partnerships, sitting across from each other.
A bid is tricks above six. Bid 1 and you must take 7 of the 13 tricks; bid 7 and you must take all 13. Bidding must climb as it goes around the table.
A bid of 7 — a commitment to take all thirteen tricks. It scores 26 if you make it and −16 if you miss, and the defenders score the tricks they took — 16 if they take all thirteen.
The bidding team loses the number of tricks it bid, and the defending team scores the tricks they took — 16 if they took all thirteen. ScoresDeck applies both changes automatically.
You pick 31, 41 or 61 when creating the match. The first team to reach the target wins.
Stop keeping score on paper
ScoresDeck handles every point of Tarneeb for you — running totals, the live leader, and the winner the moment the match ends.
Get ScoresDeck