Tarneeb Syrian 41 Rules

Tarneeb is a four-player partnership card game played with a standard deck of 52 cards (excluding jokers). The game is played in a counterclockwise direction, with players forming two teams of two, sitting across from each other at the playing table. The dealing rotates to the right after each game.

Cards and Distribution

Players select the first dealer randomly, and after each game, the dealing passes to the player on their right. The entire deck is shuffled, and each player is dealt 13 cards. Players arrange their cards by suit, ranking them in ascending order, making it easier to determine the type of Tarneeb (trump).

The Tarneeb type is a specific suit: clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades, determined by the player based on their cards. The Tarneeb card is the most powerful card in the game, with the following ranking from weakest to strongest:

1.      Within the Tarneeb suit: 2 – 3- 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – J – Q – K – A.

2.      In other suits: 2 – 3- 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – J – Q – K – A.

Bidding

- Bidding starts with the player to the right of the dealer, with players announcing the number of "Lamas" (tricks) they believe their team can win. The minimum bid is 7, and the maximum is 13, known as "Kaboot."

- The turn passes counterclockwise, and each player can bid higher than the previous bid.

- If a player does not wish to bid in a particular round, they can pass "Pass" and are excluded from the bidding process for that round.

- The player with the highest bid chooses the type of Tarneeb and leads the game.

How to Play

1.      The player who won the bid announces the Tarneeb type and plays any card. Other players must play cards of the same suit.

2.      If a player doesn't have a card of the same suit, they can play any other card. If the chosen card is from the Tarneeb suit, it becomes the strongest.

3.      The player with the highest card wins the trick, and if a Tarneeb card is played, the player who played it wins.

4.      If more than one Tarneeb card is played, the player with the highest Tarneeb card wins, and they lead the next card.

5.      The round ends when players run out of cards.

Scoring

- The team that won the bid must try to win the number of Lamas they selected or more.

- If the team succeeds, the number of Lamas is added to their total score, and the opposing team receives no points.

- If the team fails to win the expected number, twice the number of Lamas is deducted from their score, and the points are added to the opposing team.

- If a team collects 13 Lamas without bidding for them, 16 points are added to their total score.

- If a team bids for and wins 13 Lamas, 26 points are added to their total score.

- If a team bids for 13 Lamas but fails to win them, 16 points are deducted from their total score.

- The game ends when one team's total score reaches 31, 41, or 61, and that team is declared the winner.

Tarneeb Syrian 41

Differs from Tarneeb rules mentioned above in the following points:

· During card distribution, the last card dealt is revealed, and the Tarneeb type is determined by the other suit of the same color (e.g., if the revealed card is a club, the Tarneeb is spades, and if it's a diamond, the Tarneeb is hearts).

· There is no winner of the bidding process. The goal is for each player to announce the number of Lamas they can win individually.

· Each player has only one opportunity to bid the desired number of Lamas, which can be between 2 and 13.

· If the total number of Lamas requested by players is less than 11, the cards are redistributed.

· The number of Lamas is calculated for each player separately at the end of each round.

· If a player achieves or exceeds the bid number, only that number is added to their total score. If they fail, the bid number is deducted from their score, and the points are added to the opposing team.

· The team whose member reaches 41 points wins, provided the other team's total score is more than 0.