Players4
Play as2 vs 2 partners
Deck52 cards
How you winFirst team to 41
How a hand of Tarneeb goes
A hand of Tarneeb starts with the bid. Four players in two partnerships get 13 cards each, and in turn they bid how many tricks their side will take, from 7 up to 13, or pass. Say the player on the dealer's right opens 7, the dealer's partner says 8, and the other three pass: the dealer's partner has the contract at 8 and names the trump suit, the tarneeb. Take 9 tricks and that side scores 9. Take 7 and it loses 8, while the other side scores its 6.
- Partners sit opposite. The deck is a normal 52 cards, aces high, and play goes counter-clockwise, to the right.
- Bidding starts at the dealer's right. Each bid must be higher than the last, and a player who passes is out for that hand. Three passes end it; four passes and the hand is redealt.
- The winning bidder names the tarneeb out loud and leads the first card.
- Follow the led suit if you can. If you can't, play anything; trumping is never forced. The highest trump wins the trick, otherwise the highest card of the led suit, and the winner leads next.
- Count the tricks, mark the score, and deal again. First team to 41 wins.
The score sheet
+ tricksBid made: the bidding team scores every trick it won, and the defenders score nothing
− bidBid failed: the bidders lose what they bid, and the defenders keep the tricks they took
+16Kaboot: all thirteen tricks on a bid under 13
+26A bid of 13, made
−16A bid of 13, failed, with the defenders' tricks counted double
Our rules, and the ones you may know
Our tables play counter-clockwise, to 41, with an auction that keeps going round until three players have passed. Tarneeb is not played the same way everywhere. In some parts of Lebanon each player bids only once, and the dealer can take the contract just by equalling the top bid. Egyptian Tarneeb bids a suit or no trump with the number. And in Syria, "41" can mean a different game altogether, with each player bidding alone and hearts always trump. The variants page sets them side by side.
Rules & strategy guides
Good questions
- What does "tarneeb" actually mean?
- Trump. The game is named after its central act: the winning bidder names a suit, and that suit rules the hand.
- What's the minimum bid?
- Seven. You're promising your side more than half the tricks, and every later bid must go higher. If all four players pass, the hand is redealt.
- Is Tarneeb 41 a different game?
- Usually it just means the target score: our tables play to 41. In Syria, though, "41" is also a separate game where each player bids alone and hearts are always trump. Our 41 vs 61 page explains both.
- Can I play Tarneeb online with friends?
- Yes. Create a private room, share the code, and bots fill any seats your friends don't take.
- Is Tarneeb in English here?
- Yes. The game and its guides are in English, and there is also a guide to the rules in Arabic.