How to Play Tarneeb: Rules, Bidding and Scoring Explained
Tarneeb is the card game you hear in every café from Beirut to Amman: four friends, two teams, a loud auction and one suit that beats all the others. It looks complicated the first time you watch it, but the rules fit on one page. This guide explains how to play Tarneeb step by step, from the deal and the bidding to scoring, with diagrams, worked examples and the tips experienced players use to win.
You can practise every rule here in our free Tarneeb game online, where a computer partner sits opposite you and two computer rivals sit on either side.
What is Tarneeb?
Tarneeb (طرنيب) is a partnership trick-taking game from the Levant, played across Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine and by Arab communities around the world. The word tarneeb means the trump suit. In the Arabian Peninsula a close relative is called hakam. If you know Spades or Bridge you will feel at home: each team promises how many of the 13 tricks it will win, and then tries to keep that promise.
The game is popular because it mixes luck and skill in a friendly way. The deal decides your cards, but the bidding, the choice of trump and the way you and your partner cooperate decide most games.
What you need
- Four players in two fixed teams. Partners sit opposite each other.
- One standard 52-card deck, no jokers.
- Card order from high to low: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Any card of the trump suit beats every card of the other three suits.
Step 1: The deal
Choose the first dealer at random. The dealer shuffles and deals all 52 cards one at a time, counter-clockwise, so each player holds 13 cards. After each hand the deal passes to the next player on the right.
Step 2: The bidding
Bidding is the heart of Tarneeb. Starting with the player on the dealer's right and moving counter-clockwise, each player either bids a number of tricks or passes.
- The lowest bid is 7 and the highest is 13.
- Every bid must be higher than the current highest bid.
- A player who passes is out of the auction for this hand.
- The auction ends when three players have passed. The last bidder wins the contract for their team.
- If all four players pass, the cards are thrown in and dealt again.
The number you bid is a promise made for your whole team: a bid of 8 means you and your partner together will win at least 8 of the 13 tricks.
Step 3: Choosing the tarneeb
The winner of the auction names the trump suit, the tarneeb, and leads the first trick. Choose your longest and strongest suit. Five or six cards of one suit with an honour or two at the top usually make the best trump.
Step 4: Playing the tricks
A trick is one card from each player, played counter-clockwise. The rules are short:
- Follow suit if you can. If a spade is led, you must play a spade when you have one.
- If you have no card of the suit led, you may cut with a trump or throw away any other card.
- The highest trump wins the trick. If no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led wins.
- The winner of a trick collects it and leads the next one.
Step 5: Scoring
When all 13 tricks are played, count the tricks each team won. Scoring rules differ a little from town to town; this table shows the rules used in our game, which follow the common Levantine style.
| Result of the hand | Bidding team | Other team |
|---|---|---|
| Bid of 7 to 12 made | + the tricks it won | 0 |
| All 13 tricks on a bid under 13 | +16 | 0 |
| Bid of 13 made | +26 | 0 |
| Bid of 7 to 12 failed | − the bid | + the tricks it won |
| Bid of 13 failed | −16 | + double the tricks it won |
Three examples make it clear:
- You bid 8 and your team takes 9 tricks: your team scores +9 and the other team scores nothing.
- Nour bids 9 but her team takes only 8: her team loses 9 points and your team scores +5 for its five tricks.
- You bid 10 and sweep all 13 tricks: your team scores +16.
Scores can go below zero. The first team to reach the target, 31 for a standard game or 41 for a long one, wins the match.
Popular Tarneeb variations
- Syrian Tarneeb 41. Each player bids individually (from 2 up) and the trump suit is not chosen by the auction winner. Players score on their own bids and a team wins when one of its players reaches 41.
- Different targets. Some groups play to 31, many to 41 and a few to 61.
- Trump lead. In some regions the declarer must lead a trump to the first trick.
- Sweeping 13 tricks. Some tables give the whole game to a team that takes all 13 tricks, others give a bonus, as our version does.
Before you sit down with a new group, ask which rules they use. Wikipedia's Tarneeb article lists more regional differences.
8 Tarneeb tips to win more hands
- Count your sure tricks before you bid. Aces, kings with at least one other card of the suit, and long trumps win tricks. Add about two tricks for your partner and bid that total, not your hopes.
- Do not bid just to stop the opponents. A failed bid costs the whole number and gives the other team its tricks. Letting them play an 8 is often cheaper than failing a 9.
- Listen to your partner's bid. If your partner bids, they hold strength. Raise only if you can add real tricks to theirs.
- Draw trumps early when you are declarer. Lead trumps until the opponents have none left, so they cannot cut your aces and kings.
- Count the trumps. There are 13 cards of the trump suit. Count how many have fallen and you will know when your smallest trump becomes a winner.
- Make a void. Throw away the cards of your shortest side suit early. Once you have none left, you can cut every time that suit is led.
- Do not cut your partner's winning trick. If your partner is already winning the trick, throw a small card and save your trumps.
- On defence, lead through strength. Lead suits where the declarer is likely to be weak, and return the suit your partner led first.
Common beginner mistakes
- Bidding on aces alone with no long suit for trump.
- Forgetting that a passed player cannot come back into the auction.
- Playing a trump while still holding the suit that was led, which is against the rules.
- Leading an ace into a suit the opponents can cut, and losing it to a small trump.
Tarneeb words in English and Arabic
| English | Arabic | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Trick | أكلة | One card from each player; the best card takes all four |
| Trump | طرنيب | The suit that beats all others in this hand |
| Bid | طلب | The number of tricks your team promises |
| Pass | باس | Leaving the auction |
| Cut | قطع | Playing a trump when you cannot follow suit |
Frequently asked questions
How many players do you need for Tarneeb?
Exactly four, in two teams of two. Partners sit opposite each other. If you do not have four people, you can play online with computer partners and opponents.
What is the lowest bid in Tarneeb?
In classic Tarneeb the lowest bid is 7 tricks, more than half of the 13, and the highest is 13. Syrian Tarneeb 41 is different: each player bids alone and the minimum is 2.
Do you play Tarneeb clockwise or counter-clockwise?
Counter-clockwise. Dealing, bidding and play all move to the right, which is the traditional direction for card games in the Levant.
Can I play a trump when I still have the suit that was led?
No. You must follow suit whenever you can. You may only cut with a trump, or throw away another card, when you have no card of the suit that was led.
What is Tarneeb called in the Gulf?
In the Arabian Peninsula a very similar game is often called hakam, from the word for the trump suit chosen by the winning bidder.
Where can I play Tarneeb online for free?
You can play Tarneeb free on PlayNovarc in your browser, with no download or sign-up, against smart computer players in a game to 31 or 41.
Play Tarneeb now
The fastest way to learn is to play a few hands. Open our free Tarneeb online game, start with a game to 31 and watch how the computer players bid. When you are ready for another trick-taking challenge, try Hearts, where you want to avoid tricks, or browse all our free card games.
