Tarnib, Tarneeb, طرنيب: One Game, Three Spellings
However you write it, the auction winner still names the trump.
Tarnib and tarneeb are two English spellings of one Arabic word, طرنيب, which means trump, and of the partnership card game named after it. Four players in two teams bid from 7 to 13 tricks, and the winner of the auction names the trump suit, the tarnib, for that hand. Search for either spelling and you are looking for the same game.
Why the spelling wobbles
Arabic doesn't go into Latin letters one fixed way. The long vowel in the middle of طرنيب comes out as ee for some writers and i for others, which gives tarneeb and tarnib. Strict transliteration writes it ṭarnīb. We use tarneeb on this site and mean all of them.
What the word means
Tarnib is the Arabic word for the trump suit. In the Arabian Peninsula the game is also called hakam (حكم). Naming the game after the trump is a habit the family shares: Iranians play a cousin called Hokm, and in Pakistan the parallel game is Rung, "the colour". The trump decides the hand, so the trump gives the game its name.
The rules in one minute
Four players, two fixed partnerships, a full 52-card pack dealt out: thirteen each. The auction decides who names the trump. Bids run from 7 to 13, the number of tricks your team promises, and each bid must beat the one standing. The auction winner names the tarnib and leads the first trick, and play runs counter-clockwise, to the right. Follow the led suit if you can; when you can't, trump or throw away anything you like, because trumping is never forced. Make your bid and your team scores the tricks it actually won. Fall short and the bid comes off your score while the defenders keep their tricks. The full rules, kaboot included, are on our How to Play Tarneeb page.
Playing to 41, or 31, or 61
Our tables play to 41 points. Wikipedia's article on the game says some regions play to 31 or 61 instead, and pagat's rules treat 31 as the standard. In Syria, "41" can also mean a separate game where each player bids alone. Our 41 vs 61 page sorts out which is which.
بالعربية أيضاً
If you would rather read the rules in Arabic, we keep a full Arabic rules page, قواعد لعبة الطرنيب, and an Arabic strategy guide, both written right-to-left.
Tarnib: common questions
Is tarnib the same as tarneeb?
Yes. It is the same Arabic word, طرنيب, romanised two ways. The game does not change with the spelling.
What does tarnib mean?
The trump suit. The auction winner names the tarnib for the hand, and the game takes its name from that moment.
Where is tarneeb played?
Across the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine) and wherever those communities have settled. Egypt has its own version with suit-ranked bids, and related games under other names stretch from Iran to South Asia.
Is tarneeb like Spades?
They share trick-taking bones, but in tarneeb the auction winner can name any suit as trump, and the team bids once instead of each player bidding. Our Tarneeb vs Spades page walks through the differences.
Can I read the rules in Arabic?
Yes. See our Arabic rules and strategy pages, linked below.
Can I play tarnib online free?
Right here in the browser, against bots or in a private room with friends. No download, no sign-up.
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 41 vs 61: what the numbers after the name mean.
- Tarneeb vs Spades: cousins compared.
- Tarneeb Scoring: a sample score sheet and a calculator.
- قواعد الطرنيب بالعربية: the rules in Arabic.
- استراتيجية الطرنيب: strategy in Arabic.
- العب الطرنيب اونلاين: play Tarneeb in Arabic.
- Tarneeb online spielen: play Tarneeb in German.