Tarot Game

Tarot cards originally emerged as playing cards in the 15th century in Italy. That means the traditional card game significantly predates their mystical associations. This game, which is still played in parts of Europe, is a trick-taking game similar to bridge or spades but with its own unique rules and structure.

The Basics of the Game

• Deck Composition: The game is played with all 78 Tarot cards. The Major Arcana serve as permanent trump cards, while the Minor Arcana are divided into suits that function similarly to suits in a regular deck of playing cards.
• Objective: The goal of the game is to win tricks, with certain cards holding more value than others. Players aim to score points by capturing specific high-value cards during the game.
• Trumping and Winning Tricks: In this game, the Major Arcana cards can trump any card from the Minor Arcana. For example, "The Fool" can trump "The King of Swords," and "The Magician" can trump any numbered card, as well as "The Fool". The specific rules of which cards trump which can vary, but generally, the hierarchy within the Major Arcana and the order of the suits in the Minor Arcana determine the outcome of each trick.

Card Hierarchy

Different cards have different trumping power. Major Arcana always trump any Minor Arcana, but they can also trump each other. Here are the orders of power in the standard game.

Major Arcana:

• The World > Judgement > The Sun > The Star > The Moon > The Tower > The Devil > Temperance > Death > The Hanged Man > Justice > The Wheel of Fortune > Strength > The Hermit > The Chariot > The Lovers > The Hierophant > The Emperor > The Empress > The High Priestess > The Magician > The Fool

Minor Arcana Suits:

• Wands > Cups

• Cups > Swords

• Swords > Pentacles

• Pentacles > Wands

Hierarchy within Each Suit:

• King
• Queen
• Knight
• Page
• Ace
• Numbered Cards (2-10, higher numbers trumping lower numbers)

Card Values

Major Arcana

• The Fool: 9 points
• The Magician: 9 points

• The High Priestess: 1 point
• The Empress: 1 point
• The Emperor: 1 point

• The Hierophant: 1 point

• The Lovers: 1 point

• The Chariot: 1 point

• Strength: 1 point

• The Hermit: 1 point

• The Wheel of Fortune: 1 point

• Justice: 1 point

• The Hanged Man: 1 point

• Death: 1 point

• Temperance: 1 point

• The Devil: 1 point

• The Tower: 1 point

• The Star: 1 point

• The Moon: 1 point

• The Sun: 1 point

• Judgement: 1 point

• The World: 9 points

Minor Arcana

• Kings: 9 points
• Queens: 7 points
• Knights: 5 points
• Pages: 3 points
• Aces: 2 points
• 2-10: 1 point

Gameplay

Basics

• At the beginning, everyone shuffles their decks. The decks are then placed face-down and each player will draw 5-7 cards, depending on the game.
• Each turn players draw one card from their deck.
• If a player has 10 or more cards in their hand, they cannot draw another card.
• If a player can neither follow suit, nor has a trump, depending on the rules, they have to place any card (usually the highest value).

Each round

Gameplay

1. Tricks:
   • The game is played in a series of tricks. Each player plays one card per trick.
   • Following Suit: If the leading card is from a specific suit (Wands, Cups, Swords, or Pentacles), players must follow suit if they can.
   • Trumping: If a player cannot follow suit, they must play a trump card (Major Arcana) if they have one. If no trump card is played, the highest card of the lead suit wins the trick.
   • Winning the Trick: The highest card of the lead suit or the highest trump card played wins the trick. The player who wins the trick collects all the cards played in that round.
   • Note: The rule of following suit still applies, even if a trump card has already been played.
   • Note: You can not follow suit or trump by placing a card of the same value as the highest card.
2. Special Cards:
   • The Fool:
     • Acts like a joker or wild card.
     • Can be played at any time, regardless of the lead suit.
     • Does not win the trick but is kept by the player for scoring (9 points).
   • The World:
     • The highest trump card; it trumps all other cards.
     • Worth 9 points.
   • The Magician:
     • Can only be played if the player cannot follow the current lead suit, like a normal trump card.
     • Does not win the trick, but when The Magician is played, the player immediately declares a new lead suit, overriding the current suit and any previously played trump cards for that trick.
     • Allows the player to potentially save more valuable cards by forcing opponents to follow the new suit, but it also means giving up the possibility of winning the trick with a higher trump.
     • After playing The Magician, the player who played it moves to the first position at the turn, so they will now play first. This is to prevent them from doing the "Magician Trick" continuously.
3. Scoring:
   • Points are calculated based on the cards captured in tricks:
     • Aces: 2 points
     • Numbered Cards (2-10): 1 point each
     • Page (Jack): 3 points
     • Knight: 5 points
     • Queen: 7 points
     • King: 9 points
     • Other Major Arcana: 1 point each
     • The Fool, The Magician, The World: 9 points each

End of Game

• The game ends when the hourglass runs out.
• Players then tally their points based on the cards they have won.
• The player with the highest score wins the game.

Game Modes

Magician's Gambit (Gambit du Bateleur)

The mode as described above is called Magician's Gambit. It includes the card "The Magician" allowing a player to change the suit of a turn into a different one, voiding previously played trumps and thus, if played at the end of a turn, practically guaranteeing a win. After having played The Magician, the order of players will change. The player who played The Magician will from now on be now be the first in order.

Magician's Strategy (Stratégie du Bateleur)

In Magician's Strategy, The Magician's power is reduced. While it can still be used to change the turn's suit, previously played trumps will not be voided. Playing The Magician will also not change the order of players. This makes the card more of a method to manage loss, rather than a guaranteed win.

Suit Supremacy (Suprématie des Couleurs)

In this variant of the game, The Magician has no special ability, it is a normal trump card, although it retains its value. While in the other variants, a suit card can only be trumped by a higher card of the same suit, or a trump card, in Suit Supremacy, suits can also trump other suits. The order is Wands > Cups > Swords > Pentacles > Wands. That means, a King of Cups will trump a Queen of Cups, but even a Two of Wands will trump a King of Cups. At the same time, a Two of Pentacles will trump a Two of Wands.