Tarneeb Variants: 41, 31 & 61 and House Rules
Same deck, same thirteen tricks. The arguments start with the auction.
Play Tarneeb free
Tarneeb variants mostly change one of four things: the target score (31, 41 or 61), how the auction runs, who decides the trump, or what a sweep of all 13 tricks pays. The table below sets each one against what our game does, so you know which rules you are getting before you sit down.
Rule by rule
| Rule | Our tables | What you may meet elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Target | 41 | 31 (pagat's standard), 51 or 61 agreed at the start |
| Auction | Goes round until three players pass; each bid must be higher | One bid each, and the dealer only has to equal the high bid (parts of Lebanon) |
| Everyone passes | Same dealer redeals | Dealer is forced to bid 7 |
| Trump | Named by the auction winner; any suit | Bids name a suit or no trump (Egypt); hearts always trump (Syrian 41) |
| Direction | Counter-clockwise | Some play the whole game clockwise |
| A ten-card suit | Played like any other hand | Holder must pass, bid kaboot, or throw the hand in |
Unless marked otherwise, the rules in the right-hand column come from the Tarneeb page on pagat.com. Where pagat names a region, so do we. Where it doesn't, we don't guess.
One bid each: the Lebanese auction
In some parts of Lebanon, each player gets only one chance to bid. The bidding goes once round the table, and the dealer, speaking last, can take the contract by equalling the highest bid instead of beating it. That gives the dealer's seat an edge, since the dealer hears every other bid first, and nobody who has spoken gets a second chance. Our auction keeps going round, every bid must be higher than the last, and a player who passes is out for that hand.
Egyptian Tarneeb
Played mostly in Egypt, this version bids much as bridge does. Each bid is a number and a suit, ranked from no trump down through spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. The lowest bid is 7 clubs, the highest 13 no trump. Passing doesn't shut you out of the auction, and a contract can be doubled, which doubles what the bidders win or lose. The target is usually 41. We don't play it: our bids are a number only, and the winner names trump after the auction.
"Tarneeb 41": the Syrian game
Pagat describes a separate game called 41 (also 400), much played in Syria. Every player bids for themselves, the four bids must total at least eleven, hearts are always trump, and each player keeps their own score, with bids of 7 or more counting double. A partnership wins when one partner reaches 41 while the other is above zero. It is a good game, and a different one. The full comparison is on Tarneeb 41 vs 61.
Kaboot payouts
Our sweep payouts follow pagat's: a kaboot on a smaller bid is a 3-point bonus on top of the 13 tricks, and a bid of 13 pays double.
| Result of the hand | Bidding side | Defenders |
|---|---|---|
| Bid made | + tricks actually won | 0 |
| Bid failed | − the bid | + their tricks |
| All 13 on a bid of 13 | +26 | 0 |
| All 13 on a smaller bid | +16 | 0 |
| Bid 13, failed | −16 | + their tricks, doubled |
Wikipedia's Tarneeb article adds one more rule from "some regions": the declarer must lead the trump suit to the first trick. At our tables the declarer may lead any card.
Small glossary
- Tarneeb
- Arabic for "trump": the named suit that beats all others, and the game's name.
- Kaboot
- Winning every one of the thirteen tricks.
- The bid
- Your side's public promise of tricks, 7 to 13. Breaking it costs the full amount.
- Set
- Holding the bidding side under their bid, which is when the defenders score.
- Void
- Holding none of a suit, and with it the right to play anything, trump included.
Keep reading
- Play Tarneeb Online: free in the browser, with the rules on the page.
- How to Play Tarneeb: one hand walked through, from the deal to the count.
- Tarneeb Strategy: bidding, trump play and defence.
- قواعد الطرنيب بالعربية: the full rules in Arabic.
- Tarneeb Scoring: a sample score sheet and a calculator.
- Tarnib, Tarneeb or طرنيب: one game, three spellings.
- Tarneeb 41 vs 61: a target score, or a different game?
- Tarneeb vs Spades: same family, very different bid.