Tarneeb Rules
The complete guide to playing Tarneeb, the classic Arabic trick-taking card game.
Overview
Tarneeb is a four-player trick-taking card game played in partnerships. It is one of the most popular card games in the Levant (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine) and across the Arab world. Players form two teams of two, sitting across from each other. Play proceeds counter-clockwise.
The Deck
Tarneeb uses a standard 52-card deck β all four suits (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs) with ranks 2 through Ace. Unlike Baloot, no cards are removed.
Dealing
The dealer distributes all 52 cards evenly, giving each player 13 cards. There is no face-up card or stock pile β all cards are dealt at once.
Bidding
After dealing, players bid on how many tricks their team will win. Bidding starts with the player to the right of the dealer and proceeds counter-clockwise:
- The minimum bid is 7 tricks. The maximum bid is 13 tricks (Kaboot).
- Each subsequent bid must be higher than the current highest bid.
- A player may pass at any time. Once you pass, you are out of the bidding for this round.
- The last remaining bidder wins the auction and chooses the trump suit.
If all four players pass without anyone bidding, the cards are re-dealt with the next dealer.
Card Rankings
All suits follow the same ranking order (highest to lowest):
A > K > Q > J > 10 > 9 > 8 > 7 > 6 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 2
Trick Play
The player to the right of the dealer leads the first trick. Play proceeds counter-clockwise. Each player plays one card per trick:
- You must follow the suit that was led if you have a card of that suit.
- If you cannot follow suit, you may play any card, including trump.
- The highest trump card wins the trick. If no trump was played, the highest card of the led suit wins.
- The winner of each trick leads the next trick.
Scoring
After all 13 tricks are played, scores are calculated based on whether the bidding team met their bid:
| Scenario | Bidder Score | Opponent Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bidder wins β₯ bid | Tricks won | Tricks won |
| Bidder wins < bid | βBid amount | Tricks won |
| Kaboot: win all 13 | 26 | 0 |
| Kaboot: lose any trick | -16 | 2Γ tricks won |
Kaboot (ΩΨ¨ΩΨͺ)
A bid of 13 is called Kaboot. If the bidding team wins all 13 tricks, they score 26 points. If they lose even a single trick, they lose 16 points and the opposing team scores double their tricks won. Kaboot is a high-risk, high-reward play.
Winning the Game
Teams play multiple rounds. Scores accumulate across rounds. The first team to reach 31 points wins the game (or 61 in the long game variant).