Hungarian Tarokk: Illustrated and High Tarokk

Illusztrált tarokk · Magas tarokk

Both games on this page are Hungarian Tarokk with more bonuses and a few small rule changes. Illustrated Tarokk adds six. High Tarokk keeps those six and adds ten more. Larger forms such as Royal Tarokk exist, and this page does not cover them.

Illustrated Tarokk

Károly Lingel and Lajos Polyák devised Illustrated Tarokk in the 1920s. It is also called Palatine Tarokk (Palatinusz tarokk).

The six bonuses pay only when announced

Made silently, they pay nothing. If an announced one fails, each player of the other side adds its value. The other side may say Kontra to any of them. They are scored like the other bonuses (see Scoring the hand). The table lists them by the trick they aim at, and the values are Victory Points.

Trick Bonus What it takes Victory Points
5 Centrum Your side wins tricks one to five, and the XX wins the fifth. 10
6 Small Bird
kismadár		 Your side wins tricks one to six, and the XXI wins the sixth. 10
7 Large Bird
nagymadár		 Your side wins tricks one to seven, and the Skus wins the seventh. 10
8 Pagat in the eighth trick
pagátuhu		 The Pagat wins the eighth trick. 20
8 King in the eighth trick
királyuhu		 The King of a suit you name wins the eighth trick. 20
9 King Ultimo
királyultimó		 The King of a suit you name wins the last trick. 15

Some groups score Pagat in the eighth trick at 15 Victory Points. In every row the named card must take the trick itself. If a higher card of your own side takes it instead, the bonus is lost.

Keeping the card for its trick

After your side announces one of these bonuses, the holder of the named card saves it and plays it to that trick. The Color Rule and the Tarok Rule still come first (see The Three Ground Rules). If they force you to give up one of two promised cards early, give up the one promised for the earlier trick. Say your side has announced Large Bird and Pagat in the eighth trick, and a Tarok is led to the third trick while your only Taroks are the Skus and the Pagat. You then play the Skus. For Centrum, Small Bird and Large Bird, the duty ends as soon as your side loses a trick.

Which announcements go together

  • After one player announces Pagat Ultimo or King Ultimo, the other player of that side may announce the eighth-trick bonus for the same card. That bonus then takes the place of the Ultimo. The player who announced the Ultimo may not do this.
  • A side that has announced the eighth-trick bonus for a card may not add the Ultimo for that card.
  • An Ultimo for one card and an eighth-trick bonus for a different card both stand.
  • Centrum, Small Bird and Large Bird go with each other and with any Ultimo or eighth-trick bonus.
  • A player who announces Pagat Ultimo, King Ultimo or an eighth-trick bonus, or says Kontra to one of them, must also declare eight or nine Taroks if they hold that many.

Two bonuses for the II

Some groups add two bonuses for the II (sas), taken from High Tarokk.

  • II Ultimo (sasultimó): the II wins the last trick. It pays 5 Victory Points made silently and 10 announced. If the II goes to the last trick unannounced and does not win it, each player of the other side adds 5 Victory Points.
  • II in the eighth trick (sasuhu): the II wins the eighth trick. It pays 20 Victory Points and only when announced. Some groups use 15.

Invitation bids

Invitation bids work as in Hungarian Tarokk (see Invitation bids), with one change. A player whose only honour is the Pagat may not invite. A bid one step higher than needed shows the XIX with the Skus or the XXI. A bid two steps higher shows the XVIII with the Skus or the XXI.

High Tarokk

Dr Endre Kovács devised High Tarokk in the 1960s. He set out its rules in the Tarokk-kódex, published in Budapest in 1989. It is Illustrated Tarokk with ten more bonuses. Four of them also pay when made silently, and six pay only when announced. The values below are Victory Points.

Four bonuses that also pay silently

Bonus What it takes Victory Points
Silent Announced
Pair in the first trick The XXI wins the first trick, and the Pagat or the II is in it. 30 60
Pagat in the first trick The Pagat wins the first trick. 10 50
II in the first trick The II wins the first trick. 10 50
II Ultimo
sasultimó		 The II wins the last trick. 5 10

In Hungarian the three first-trick bonuses are called pheasants (fácán).

  • If an opponent captures your Pagat or your II in the first trick, each player of the other side adds 10 Victory Points.
  • A silent Pair in the first trick counts only when an opponent of the player who wins with the XXI put the Pagat or the II into the trick. The winning side then scores 30 for the bonus and 10 for the captured card.
  • Only the side that does not lead to the first trick may announce Pair in the first trick. Once announced, it counts no matter who plays the Pagat or the II.
  • Kovács also set conventions for the suits a side should discard and the suits it should lead to the first trick, so that these bonuses can be made.

Six bonuses that pay only when announced

Bonus What it takes Announced
Color Family You name a suit, and three cards of it win the last three tricks. 100
Three Kings Any three Kings win the last three tricks. 100
Final Pair The II and the Pagat win the last two tricks. 40
Pagat, II or King in the sixth trick The Pagat, the II or a King you name wins the sixth trick, and your side need not win the five before it. 40
Pagat, II or King in the seventh trick The Pagat, the II or a King you name wins the seventh trick, and your side need not win the six before it. 30
II in the eighth trick
sasuhu		 The II wins the eighth trick. 20

Other differences

  • Long double game (hosszú duplajáték) is announced like a Double game, but it promises at least seven Taroks. An ordinary Double game shows six Taroks at most.
  • Three more hands may be thrown in: the II as your only Tarok, the XXI and the II as your only Taroks, or the XXI, the II and the Pagat as your only Taroks. The other hands that may be thrown in are listed under Throwing in a poor hand.