Three Player
Deal
Deal 6 cards to the Talon, and 16 to each player in 8s.
Bids
| Bid | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Threes | 3 | Take either set of three cards, add them to your hand, discard three, and take over half the points. |
| Lowers | 4 | |
| Uppers | 5 | |
| Solo | 8 | Leave the Talon unseen, and take over half the points. |
Announcements
Pagat Ultimo or Slam may be announced to double their value won or lost; Pagat Ultimo or the Game may be Doubled and Redoubled as well.
Score
Besides the Game, the following bonuses are scored.
| Bonus | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pagat Ultimo | 4(8) | Take the last trick with the I. (Doubled in Solo) |
| Slam | 12 | Take every trick. (Replaces the Game score.) |
| Trull | 3 | Be dealt all 3. |
| Heads | 1 | Be dealt 2 of the 3. |
| Kings | 3 | Be dealt all 4 Kings |
If won, the value (as appropriately doubled) is given to the winner; if lost, the value is given to each opponent.
NB: The Pagat must win the Trick to score the bonus: if the Pagat is taken by one’s partner on the last trick, the bonus is deemed to have failed, and the opponents score.
Four Player
The four player version of Tapp has been supplanted, in Austria, by Königrufen; the rules as here described are adapted from the contemporary three and two player game.
All as above, except:
Deal 6 to the Talon, and 12 to each in 6s.
After the bidding and before exposing the Talon, the Declarer calls a King to be his partner. He may call his own, in which case he plays alone; he must do this if he has all four Kings.
Scores for the Game and Ultimo are given to the Partner as well as the declarer. Winning the last trick with the called King is a bonus of 4 points.
Trull and Kings may not be claimed if you passed at a level of Threes.
Two Player ‘Strawman’
Deal 15 to each in 3 rounds of 5.
Both in turn may bid ‘Mine’, or pass.
Deal 12 more to each into 3 piles of four cards each, and expose the top of each pile. Any time a King or Trump is exposed, it is taken into the hand.
Score: ‘Mine’ won earns 2, lost is worth 3. If both passed, the one who took more points earns 1. A Pagat Ultimo earns 1. If at any time all four Kings or all three Trull are held in hand, they may be announced before one is played for 1.
Card Ranks and Values
The cards rank as follows from high to low in each suit:
| ♣♠ | ♥♦ | Trumps | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King | R | R | 4 | ’Scuse | * | 4 | |
| Queen | D | D | 3 | Mond | XXI | 4 | |
| Knight | C | C | 2 | XX | |||
| Jack | V | V | 1 | XIX | |||
| 10 | 1 | ... | |||||
| 9 | 2 | III | |||||
| 8 | 3 | II | |||||
| 7 | 4 | Pagat | I | 4 | |||
To count the number of Card Points taken, add up the point values from the counting cards (the face cards, the ’Scuse, Mond, and Pagat), and count in addition 1 point for every three cards.