GameTwist

How to Play

Click the button „New Game“ to open a game and set the desired skill level of your opponent. Of course the player is also free to join a game already opened.
Your own cards are spread out in front of you. Clicking a card moves it onto the table.

Rules

Königrufen is a game for 4 players. The order of play or calling goes either clockwise or counter-clockwise. One player is the "first in hand". This function is passed on as the game progresses. There are 54 cards:

- 22 Tarock (Tarock I - XXI, Sküs)
- 32 Suit cards (8 cards each of Clubs, Spades, Hearts,and Diamonds)
- Suit cards Hearts/Diamonds: 4,3,2,1,Jack,Queen,Knight,King
- Suit cards Clubs/Spades: 7,8,9,10,Jack,Queen,Knight,King

At the start of the game each player receives 12 cards. The remaining 6 are grouped in 2 packages of 3 cards each and placed in the "deck". If a player has no or only one Tarock in their hand, the cards are put together and re-shuffled. Starting with the player sitting beside the "first in hand", all players try to bid for the highest game (see Lizitation). Whoever bids the highest game (the "game bidder"), may/must then play it.

After the cards have been dealt, the player after the first in hand begins to bid. S/he either chooses a potential game according to the Lizitation table, or says "Next". The next player then takes their turn and can top the bid. Whoever says next is eliminated from the lizitation and can no longer bid. If three of the players say Continue, the fourth wins the lizitation and must play the game s/he bid. Should all three players fail to make a bid, then the first in hand (who is the last one to go) can bid any game desired. However, s/he also has the option of selecting special games which the other players are not allowed to bid (see Lizitation table).

If the highest game bid was a caller-game the player "calls" one of the 4 Kings. The player who holds a King becomes their partner for that game. The bidder turns over the 6 deck cards, selects one of the 3-card packages and adds them to his or her own cards. S/he then discards any 3 cards, which are then counted towards their tricks. The other three count towards the other team's tricks.

Starting with the game bidder, all players can make additional calls to the game bid. If three consecutive players fail to make a bid, then the actual game starts. The first in hand plays the first card (or the game bidder in negative games), the others match the card or take the trick. Whoever takes the trick plays the next card. After 12 tricks the game is over and the wins and losses are counted up. For both teams (split either 2-2 or 1-3) all successful or failed calls are calculated and the winnings immediately split up among the players. If there is only one winner or loser, s/he either gets the score of the other three or pays his or her own score to the others. In 2-2, the losers pay the basic score.

Lizitation
Most Königrufen games are positive games. The object is to get as many points as possible and get additional premiums.

- Caller games
The game bidder calls a King they do not have and whoever holds it becomes their partner. Basic score 2.
- Games of three
The bidder abstains from calling a partner and instead plays alone against the other three. These games have a score of 6.

Variants of positive games by special treatment of the deck:

- Solo-...
The bidder does not draw from the deck, which counts towards the tricks of the opponent. Solo games are worth twice as much (premiums are doubled as well)
- Six threes
The bidder takes the entire deck instead of just one of the 3-card packages. S/he can discard any six cards, which then count towards his or her tricks. This game is easier to win than a normal three, and thus has a basic score of 12 in case the player loses. Only the first in hand can call this game, if no other player has made a bid.

Variants of positive games: "black" and "suit"

Usually, positive games are played "black" e.g. the Tarock cards beat the suits. But in the "suit" version the Tarock count as a 5th suit and do not beat the suit cards.

The following combinations are allowed:
- Caller
- Solo caller
- Six threes
- Three of a suit
- Three
- Solo three of a suit
- Solo three

To raise the value of a normal caller game against the other bids, it can be combined with one of the other calls (more details on calls in the appropriate chapters):

- Pagat
- Uhu
- Pelican

Negative games
Negative games can be called by someone with very low cards. The solo player tries to either take no trick at all (Bettler), only one trick (Piccolo) or as few points as possible (Trischaken). Bettler and Piccolo are also available in the variant "ouvert", in which all cards have to be shown after the first trick. The opponents may not discuss strategy. In negative games the bidder plays the first card.

Lizitation table

This Lizitation table contains all possible bids in ascending order. Bids are ranked according to the score of the game. The following rules are used to rank games of the same score:

- Threes rank higher than caller games
- Solo games rank lower than other games of the same score
- Black games rank higher than suit games of the same type.

The first in hand may only call these games if no other player has made a bid.

Caller
In caller games the bidder may call a partner, who has one of the 4 Kings. This player becomes their partner.
However, at this point no one knows who this is, except the partner called (not even the caller). In the course of the round or game (or when the King is played) it becomes apparent who the partners were. A King cannot be called by a player who has the King –("Self-calling) – instead, this player must bid threes or a negative game in the Lizitation (bidding) round.
If the caller has 3 Kings in his or her hand, s/he can also call "the fourth", without announcing its suit (to further confuse the two opponents).

Taking the deck
In "normal" positive games the bidder can turn over the cards in the deck and choose one of the two halves. The bidder adds these to her or his hand and then discards three other cards face-down, which then count towards the bidders tricks. The other 3 deck cards count towards the opponents' tricks.

Only for callers:
If the King called is among the cards in the deck, the bidder also has the option of giving up ("dragging") and loses the game score (plus all premiums called) to the other three players.
In Solo games, on the other hand, the bidder may not take the cards from the deck and the cards later count towards the tricks of the opposing team. If, at the end of the game, it turns out that the King called was in the deck, the bidder receives that half of the deck containing the King as compensation, which then counts as a trick.
In Six threes, the bidder is allowed to take all 6 deck cards and discard 6 cards face down, which will then count towards the bidder's tricks.

Limitations:
Generally, Trull cards or Kings may not be discarded. In negative games, the deck is not used at all.

Calls in positive games

Before the start of the game, there is a calling round in which every player( starting with the game bidder) may call additional premiums or Contras. The calling round is over once all players say "good".
By calling a premium, a player announces that his or her team will win this premium. The value of the premium is thereby doubled. If that team fails to win the premium, they also lose twice the value. Not everyone can call a premium (see Table) and a premium may only be called by one team and counted for one team.
Moreover, by making a call, a player always reveals whether s/he is in the same team as the game bidder or the other team. If this is not clear, a player must also say whether they are "for" or "against" the game.
Each team can counter the call of the other, and the opposing team can even counter the game itself.

The value of this call (or the game) is thus doubled. Some Contras can be raised with Recontra and Subcontra.

Premiums in detail:

Pagat (or "Pagat ultimo")

This premium is only for "black" games and is won when the Pagat (Tarock I) is played in the last trick. If the Pagat wins, the team of the player that played it gets the premium, otherwise the other team wins it (even if the partner of the Pagat-player is the one who takes the trick).

Uhu (or "Uhu pre-ultimo")

Identical to Pagat, except that the Uhu (Tarock II) has to be played in the second to last trick.

Pelican

Like Pagat or Uhu, but with Tarock III in the third to last trick.

King ultimo

This premium is possible in all caller games and is won when the called King is played in the last trick. The team which takes the trick takes the premium (even if it is not the King that takes the trick).

Mondfang (Moon catching)

Available in all black games, and can only be won by the team which does not have the Moon (Tarock XXI) among its cards. Moon catching means that Tarock XXI is taken in a trick during the course of the game (even if it is the partner who takes it).

Königfang (King catching)

All caller games feature this and it can only be won by the opposing team. Königfang means that the opposing team takes the called King. This premium also awarded to the opposing team if the King was in the deck and was given to the opposing team.

Trull

A feature of all black games,this goes to the team which has all 3 Trull cards (Tarock I, Tarock XXI, Sküs) among its tricks.

4 Kings
A feature of all positive games, this goes to the team that has all 4 Kings among its tricks.

Honneurs
A feature of all positive games, this goes to the team which has at least 5 of the highest cards (Kings,Trull cards) among its tricks.

Absolute

A feature of all positive games, this goes to the team with at least 45 1/3 points among its tricks.

Valat

Valat means that one team takes all of the tricks (irrespective of points). This is a special premium, as it renders all other premiums and the game score itself void (but if the game would be worth more without a Valat, then a silent Valat is not counted). If, in a called Valat, a trick is lost, then the game can be finished, as the score is set anyway and cannot be changed by a premiu .

Course of play in negative games

Negative games do not allow calls, except a Contra to the game itself (and that only in the case of Bettler and Piccolo).

The first in hand (or the game bidder in negative games) plays a card, and the others follow. Whoever takes the trick plays the next card. Usually, this can be any card (see below for exceptions), but the cards that follow must adhere to these rules:

The three rules:
A player may not play a card of another suit, as long as s/he has one of the same ("following suit").
A player who holds Tarock must play Tarock, unless this goes against Rule 1 ("playing Tarock").
In negative games, the player must try to beat the cards on the table, unless this goes against Rules 1 or 2 ("Taking tricks").
What type of card actually takes a trick depends on the game bid. It is usually the highest card in the suit first played (if Tarock is played, then it must be the highest Tarock) In all games except suit games (black games, negative games, Trischaken) Tarock beats every other suit. Thus the highest Tarock always takes a trick.

Fairy-tale trick (in black games):
If Pagat, Moon and Sküs are played in the same trick (in whatever order and whether a suit card was played or not) then Pagat takes the trick (and the Moon is caught).

Additional rules for a black game and caller games
4a. If a player calls Pagat/Uhu/Pelican/King ultimo (either the player him or herself or the partner), and holds this card, s/he has to try to play the card in the appropriate trick. The card MAY NOT be played beforehand, and MUST be played at this trick (unless this is prevented by Rules 1 and 2). If the player was not able to play the card at the appropriate trick, it does not matter when the card is played. If Rules 1 and 2 force a player to play one of the cards called ahead of time, s/he has to play the cards which would ordinarily be played first (e.g. called: Pagat, Uhu. Third to last trick. Played: Tarock 10. Caller now only has the two called Tarock and must play Uhu).

Additional rules for suit games
4b. In suit games Tarock may not be played, unless a player has no more cards in that suit.

Additional rules for negative games:
4c. In negative games, Pagat may not be played as long as a player could play other Tarock cards (in keeping with Rules 1-3).

Game over before the last trick:
In Bettler (Beggar) the game is over as soon as the game bidder takes the first trick, or the second in Piccolo. If Valat is called, the game is over as soon as the other team takes the first trick.

Rules and variants not taken into account

In order to keep the rules as simple as possible, certain special rules and exceptions were left out. As many players just assume certain common rules without these being mentioned, we will list some of these here. These variants are NOT used:

- Zwiccolo, Triccolo, etc.
- Bettler-Bei, Piccolo-Bei, Piccolo-Drei Quapil
- Premiums for the cards in a hand (status premiums)
- Großgrammeln
- The first in hand can take over a bid with a game of the same value
- Taking a look at the first trick or the last trick taken
- Calling Moon catching
- Trischaken "from above", "outsuiting", etc.
- Playing deck cards to the Trischaken tricks
- Overturning the high-point rule using Contra (so that a game can be won with just 35 points)
- Displaying a discarded Tarock
- Tarock cannot be discarded
- Advance/Impending Contra/Precontra
- "Shooting late" (Calls and Contras which can be made in a later round than usual)
- Contra in negative games for each individual player
- Doubling after moon catching, Trischaken
- Discussing strategy with the opponent in ouvert ("chatting")
- The player to the left of the first in hand starts play in Three of suits
- Deck cards "activated" when a player takes his or her own trick
- Minimum number of suit games necessary for a suit game
Some of the things allowed by these rules are not really useful but are still allowed (e.g. simultaneously calling Pagat and King ultimo). Plays like these can be used to confuse the opponent.

Point values
To calculate points, the cards in the tricks are counted individually and have the following points:

- Tarock I ("Pagat") 4 1/3
- Tarock XXI ("Moon") 4 1/3
- Sküs 4 1/3
- King 4 1/3
- Queen 3 1/3
- Knight 2 1/3
- Jack 1 1/3
- others 1/3

Positive games
The basic form of the game is won with 35 2/3 points and has the score shown in the Lizitation table. If there are less points the bidder loses the basic game and has to pay the score to the other team (double the score in the case of six threes). If the bidder is playing solo (threes, caller without partner), the player gets the score from all three opponents (or has to pay it to all three). Each Contra/ Recontra/ Subcontra to the game doubles the score.
Additional premiums have the value listed in the table. Called premiums are worth twice this value (even if it is not won, in which case it must be paid to the opponent) Every Contra/Recontra/Subcontra to this call doubles the score.

Special rule for Valat:
If Valat is played, all other premiums/calls and even the basic game are no longer counted unless a silent Valat is worth less than the game without the Valat (in which case the silent Valat is ignored).

Solo doubling:
If Solo is played, the basic game is worth twice as much (Lizitation table). All premiums are also doubled (even the Valat).

Negative games
Piccolo and Bettler have a fixed score (see Table) and no premiums. Only Contras/ Recontras/ Subcontras to the basic game double its value. The bidder gets the same score from the other players (or pays it to them).

Trischaken has a score of 2, and no calls or contras are allowed.

The players with the most points among their tricks at the end pay the score to the other two: if there is a tie for the highest score, the player sitting closest to the first in hand (or the first in hand, as the case may be) is considered higher.

If the loser has 32 or more points among his or her tricks ("Mayor"), s/he pays twice as much. If the first in hand loses the Trischaken, s/he pays twice as much (or even four times as much if s/he also ends up being "Mayor").