Grosstarock


Grosstarock, originally German Taroc or just Taroc, is an old three-handed card game of the Tarock family played with a full 78-card Tarot pack. It was probably introduced into the southern German states around 1720 but spread rapidly into Austria and northwards as far as the Netherlands and Scandinavia. It only survives today in Denmark where it is called Tarok, but is also referred to in English as Danish Tarok or Danish Tarock.
Classical Grosstarock is not related to the modern 54-card game known as Viennese Grosstarock which developed out of Zwanzigerrufen.

History

This form of Taroc was introduced into Germany from France around 1720, its initial terminology and mode of play being typically French. The original game - classical or German Taroc - was a simple, three-hander with no bidding but several card combinations, as can be seen from descriptions in the 1750s. However, it differed from its French predecessor in having significantly fewer declarations; in addition, the Fool had to be played before the last three tricks, not just before the final trick, and there was a new emphasis on the Pagat Ultimo bonus.
The next development of the game is first described in the 1783 edition of Das neue Königliche l'Hombre which, for the first time, records a feature whereby a player taking no tricks is able to score all the points. Dummett sees this as the distinguishing mark of the game he calls Grosstarock and believes that this name was not introduced until the mid-19th century. More recent research has revealed that, in fact, the name Grosstarock was being used far earlier than that. For example, it is recorded in 1785 that "Großtarock" was one of several card games played in Göttingen, and, in 1803, a Professor Wildt wrote that "the so-called Gross-Taroc, in which 6 to 7 ultimo’s are possible, and several are tried at the same time, really requires more mental effort than the usual chess game." Meanwhile German authors use the term more widely; for example, Mayr and Sedlaczek refer to the 1754 rules as the "oldest surviving form" of Großtarock, while Alscher describes the Danish version as "Danish Großtarock".
According to Dummett, the name 'Grosstarock' was coined at a time when the 78-card game was being threatened by competition from newer games played with a shortened, 54-card pack. However, there is no evidence of 54-card games being played in northern Germany and Denmark where Grosstarock was popular in the late 18th and early 19th century, so it may be that the name arose in southern Germany or Austria and migrated north with the game.
In Germany and Austria, Grosstarock continued to be played throughout the 19th century. Dummett believed that it did not survive the First World War, but Hülsemann states in 1930 that Grosstarock was still popular in southern Germany and Austria. Neither country produces 78-card Tarock packs any longer.
The game was known in Denmark as early as 1770 where it was played at the royal court. The first rules were published in 1786, and by 1840 they already included features that are peculiar to the Danish variant, such as separate pots for the King and Pagat ultimo. The Danes also retained the anticlockwise mode of play and adopted a very wide range of declarations, although some authors counselled against having too many.
The game is still played in Denmark today in a form that Martin argues is close to the original German Grosstarock. The Danes used to manufacture their own Tarok cards, but nowadays use imported French Bourgeois Tarot packs. In 2010, the Danish Tarock Association was formed and, today, there are local clubs in Aarhus, Aalborg, Allerød, Blovstrød, Brabrand, Fredericia, Hjørring, Holbæk, Kalundborg, Nørrebro, Randers and Westre.

Equipment

Grosstarock is played with a French suited pack of 78 cards. Originally these were of the German animal tarot type; today, Danish players use the French Bourgeois Tarot pack. The pack comprises:
In addition, present-day Danish players also use two pots and coloured jetons for scoring.

Aim

The aim in every case is to score points by capturing counting cards in tricks and to earn bonuses through declarations and certain accomplishments during the play.

Early German Taroc

The earliest rules in German for a Tarock game were published in 1754 in Regeln bey dem Taroc-Spiele. They were reprinted in the 1755 edition of the games compendium, Palamedes Redivivus, and elaborated in Die Kunst, die Welt. The following is summary of these rules:

Preliminaries

The game is played between three players. Four may play with one player in turn, known as the 'King', sitting out for the deal. Play is anticlockwise. The dealer distributes 5 rounds of 5 cards each, keeping the last 8 cards himself. He then discards 3 cards which count to him at the end. They must not include any Kings or Tarocs unless he only has exactly 3 Tarocs including the Pagat, in which case they may be discarded. In addition, a combination of the Pagat, Sckis or Excuse and another Taroc is a legal discard. There are penalties for misdealing.

Declarations

Opening with the dealer, players now make any of the following declarations which earn payments from each opponent in 'game points' as shown:
Declarations must be made before play starts, otherwise they do not count.

Play

Players must follow suit, or trump if unable; otherwise they may discard any card. If a player loses the Pagat during the game, he pays a penalty of 5 points to each adversary. If it is lost in the last trick, he pays 10 points. However, if he wins the last trick with the Pagat, he is paid a bonus of 10 points from each opponent.
The Excuse cannot be beaten nor can it win a trick. But its owner may play it at any time instead of another card. He retrieves the Excuse from the trick, lays it away in his own trick pile and gives the trick winner a low card of his choice, from his tricks, in exchange. The Excuse must be played by the 3rd last trick. If it is held until that point and its owner is on lead, he must surrender the lead to the player on his right and play the Excuse in his turn. In addition, the Excuse may not be held when its owner has run out of Tarocs, but must be played to the next trick in which he is void in the led suit. If a player takes no tricks but has the Excuse at the end, he is paid 4 points from each adversary.

Scoring

The game is scored in 'game points'. These must not be confused with 'card points' which represent the value of individual cards and are used to determine who won the deal and by how much. Scoring works as follows:
Dummett describes Grosstarock rules in Ten Tarot Games, based on a number of sources. Once again it is a three-hand game, but this time dealing and play are clockwise. Dealer distributes all the cards in packets of five, leaving himself with the last eight cards. He then discards three cards which must not include a King or Tarok 21. He must not discard any other Taroks unless he has the Pagat and no more than 2 others.

Declarations

Beginning with the dealer, players may make any of the following announcements which score points as shown:

Play

The player to the left of the dealer leads to the first trick; thereafter the winner of the trick leads to the next one. Players must follow suit, or trump if unable, but there is no compulsion to win a trick. Tricks are won by the highest Tarok or, if no Tarok is played, the highest card of the suit led. The Sküs may not take a trick, but is may be played at any time to any trick. Normally it is retrieved by its owner and a low card given to the trick winner in exchange from the trick pile; however, if played to the last three tricks it is captured by the trick winner.

Scoring

There are also options for players to announce a Vole beforehand; if successful, this scores 52 if announced before the 1st trick, 38 if before the 13th and 31 if before the 20th trick. Failure incurs the same penalty in reverse. A Nolo may also be announced; if successful, scoring 36 if announced before the 1st trick and 31 if before the 13th. If it fails, the normal payments for bonuses, penalties and card points are made; in addition, a 10-point penalty is incurred if it was announced before the 1st trick and 5 points if before the 13th trick. All bonuses are paid by both opponents to the player who earns them and all penalties are paid to both opponents by the player who incurs them.

Danish Tarok

The following rules are based on those published in 2011 by the Danish Tarok Association who point out that rule variations are permitted and that each local club may have its own version of the rules.

Preliminaries

In addition to the card pack, Danish Tarok also makes use of two pots – a King pot and a Pagat pot – and jetons for scoring, ideally with denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 100 points. At the start of the game, each player antes 20 points into each pot and lots are drawn to decide the first dealer.
If either pot is empty, everyone antes 20 points to it, otherwise the dealer tops it up with a 5 point stake. The dealer then deals all the cards out, to the right in packets of five. He then takes the 3 remaining cards into his hand and must lays away 3 cards to the skat. The skat must not contain any matadors or Kings, and must not include any cards used in declarations unless this cannot be avoided, in which case the dealer must show them. Taroks may only be discarded if it leaves the dealer void in that suit, may never be discarded. If a Tarok is discarded, the dealer must disclose the fact.

Declarations

Following the discard, all players must declare any scoring combinations in their hands, the dealer going first. Players are paid the score shown by each opponent. Failing to make a declaration when you could, incurs a penalty. The following declarations are possible:

Play

Play is to the right and forehand leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit or trump if unable. A player need not head the trick but may underforce. The trick winner leads to the next trick.
The Scies may be used as a wild card in declarations or during play. It may be used in more than one declaration. It does not count as a Tarok when discarding to the skat or if a player has no other Taroks and is thus entitled to a redeal. During the game the Scies may be played at any time, its owner stating the suit it represents. If neither opponent can follow suit, the next player in turn may re-designate the suit for that trick. When the Scies is played it never wins the trick, but is recovered and the trick winner is given a low card from Scies player's trick pile in exchange. A player may demand that the Scies is played to the antepenultimate trick, but there is a penalty for getting this wrong. It may not be played to the penultimate trick and, if played to the last, it is captured by the trick winner.
A Nolo is the achievement of failing to take any tricks and earns a special bonus. It invalidates any ultimos by another player; but losing an ultimo still incurs a penalty. There is no payment for winning the last trick and the Noloist is penalised for losing a King or the Pagat.

Scoring

All bonus points are paid by both opponents to the player who earns them, and all penalty points are paid to both opponents by the player who incurs them.

Footnotes