Traditional Scoring - Elsteiner Games

The rules of the six games use Simplified Scoring: no zero-sum settling, ever. Five games only add Victory Points, and in Slovenian Tarok the Declarer’s side also subtracts them when it loses. This page gives the Traditional Scoring of each game, with its native values and its zero-sum settlement, in which the losers pay the winners and the totals of an evening always add up to zero. Choose one system for the evening and keep to it; the rules of play are the same under both.

Traditional values differ from group to group. This page shows one common version of each game’s values; your group may know others, and more versions are online.

How to read this page. For four of the six games, the values in the rules are the traditional values, and only the settlement changes (in Strawman nothing changes at all). In Slovenian Tarok the rules already score the Slovenian way, and the native values are five times the values in the rules (one exception: the Moon in the three-player game, at 21, below). Dappen’s native values are in cents, and the tiers in the rules are close to them but are not an exact conversion. Both sets of native values are shown in full below.

The zero-sum settlement. the winning side does not only add; it collects from the losing side. Each loser subtracts what each winner adds, pair by pair. A player who plays alone collects from every opponent separately, or pays every opponent separately. Bonuses are settled the same way, for the side that earned them. Under the traditional settlement a solo wins or loses three times as much as under Simplified Scoring, because the lone Declarer settles with every opponent.

Traditional Scoring The full method for each game, with worked examples, is online.

Calling the Twenty (Zwanzigerrufen)

The values are as in the rules, and the bonuses are as the table in the rules.

Contract	Traditional value
the Call	1
No-Trump	4
Solo	4
Dodge Round	5
Valat	12

Settlement: each member of the losing side pays the value to their counterpart on the winning side; a lone Declarer settles with all three. The finish at 30 Victory Points belongs to Simplified Scoring. A traditional session ends at an agreed time: call a final round so everyone has dealt equally, then the highest total wins.

Calling the King (Königrufen)

The values are as in the rules. The settlement is zero-sum as above; the Call’s side settles two-against-two, solo contracts one-against-three.

Slovenian Tarok: native values

Contract	Native VP
Three (trojka)	10 + distance
Two (dvojka)	20 + distance
One (enka)	30 + distance
Solo three	40 + distance
Solo two	50 + distance
Solo one	60 + distance
Beggar (berač)	70
Solo without	80
Open Beggar (odprti berač)	90
No-Trump Valat	125
Grand Valat	500
Uncancelled radli circle at session’s end	minus 100

Distance. round the Card Points between the result and 35 Card Points to the nearest five; the distance is plus if the contract was won and minus if it was lost. If you win with 45 Card Points, you score the contract plus 10 Victory Points; if you fall with 25 Card Points, you score the contract plus 10 Victory Points as one minus number.

Dodge Round. every player scores their own result. A player who wins no trick scores plus 70 Victory Points. A player with 35 Card Points or fewer scores minus their Card Points, rounded to the nearest five. A player with over 35 Card Points scores minus 70 Victory Points, and nobody else scores anything that hand.

The Moon. the player who loses the Moon scores minus 20 Victory Points in their own column (minus 21 Victory Points in the three-player game, see below).

Bonus	Victory Points
Bonus	Silent	Announced
Trull (trula)	+10	+20
Kings	+10	+20
King Ultimo	+10	+20
Pagat Ultimo	+25	+50
Valat	+250	+500

Three-player variant. the player who loses the Moon scores minus 21 Victory Points in their own column, not the usual minus 20 Victory Points. Session: the players play to 1000 Victory Points, and the evening ends with the Skus round. The settlement is zero-sum: radli (doubling tokens) and kontras apply as the group plays them.

Hungarian Tarokk (Paskievics tarokk)

The values are as in the rules, and the Kontra levels apply to them as in the rules.

Contract	Traditional value
Contracts	1-4
Double game	×2
Valat (volát)	×3

In Traditional Scoring the Tarok declaration is paid separately: a player who declares eight Taroks (nyolc tarokk) collects 1 Victory Point from each of the other three players, a player who declares nine Taroks (kilenc tarokk) collects 2 Victory Points from each, and that player’s own Partner pays like the others.

Settlement: when the group plays for money, the members of the losing side pay every value to the members of the winning side; the session runs in rounds of four deals.

Strawman (Strohmandeln)

The values are as in the rules.

Contract or bonus	Traditional value
Declarer Challenge	+2/+3
Bonus	+1/+2

Strawman has no settlement: nobody pays and nobody subtracts. The Tyrolean way, which the rules follow, scores only plus Victory Points, and the first player to reach 11 Victory Points wins the match. (Some groups pay less for the contract: 1 Victory Point for winning a hand both players passed, 2 Victory Points for a hand the Declarer wins.) The Tyrolean way has three bonuses only, Pagat Ultimo, Four Kings and Trull, each worth 1 Victory Point silent and 2 Victory Points announced. Some groups play more bonuses, and the Expansions list them with their values.

Dappen: native values

The Black Forest plays Dappen for coins. These are the Furtwangen values, in cents; the Simplified tiers in the rules are our own adaptation of them, close to them but not an exact conversion. Solo is the one asymmetric contract in the game: it pays double when the Dapper wins and single when the Dapper loses.

Loser’s CP	Dapp	Dapp + Challenge	Solo won	Solo lost
33–39	5	10	10	5
28–32	10	20	20	10
23–27	15	30	30	15
18–22	20	40	40	20
13–17	25	50	50	25
8–12	30	60	60	30
3–7	35	70	70	35
0–2	40	80	80	40

A march, in which one side wins every trick, pays 40 cents, or 80 cents for a won Solo or with a Challenge.

Ultimos. a failed Ultimo pays each opponent the same value.

Ultimo	Value
III	10
II	20
Pagat	30

Instant win (the three Trull cards and the four Kings): it is paid like a march: 40 cents, or 80 cents with a Challenge. Session: first to 300, or first to 150 for the shorter evening. Both targets are our own; in the Black Forest the players settle in small coins after each hand. Settlement: the Dapper collects from every opponent or pays every opponent; Furtwangen groups may agree to play the “half game”, which halves the payments.

Traditional Scoring: Worked Examples

Each of the six games gets one worked example here: one hand, settled the traditional way step by step, and then the same hand scored with Simplified Scoring, so you can see that the two systems agree on which side came out ahead. The values and the settlement are the ones in Traditional Scoring (see Traditional Scoring Tables, Traditional Scoring Tables); the rules of play are the same under both systems.

The zero-sum settlement in short: the winning side does not only add; it collects from the losing side. Each loser subtracts what each winner adds, pair by pair. A player who plays alone collects from every opponent separately, or pays every opponent separately. Bonuses are settled the same way, for the side that earned them. Strawman is the exception, with no settlement at all. In Slovenian Tarok the players settle by how far their totals are from the group’s average, and the example reads that as one settlement at the end of the evening.

Choose one system for the evening and keep to it.

Calling the Twenty (Zwanzigerrufen)

Under Traditional Scoring the values of Calling the Twenty stay as they are; only the settlement changes. Each player of the losing side pays their counterpart on the winning side, and a lone Declarer settles with all three opponents.

The hand

Anna is the Forehand. Ben, Clara and Dora all pass, and Anna plays the Call.
Anna does not hold the XX, so she calls it. Ben holds the XX: he is her secret Partner.
Ben holds the Skus, the XXI and the Pagat, so he must declare the Trull, and he does. Nobody announces Pagat Ultimo.
In the last trick Ben’s Pagat wins: a silent Pagat Ultimo for Anna and Ben.
Anna and Ben capture 49 Card Points; Clara and Dora capture 39 Card Points. The calling side needs more than 44 of the 88 Card Points, so the Call is won.

The traditional settlement, step by step

The Call is won, and it is worth 1 Victory Point. Each Defender pays 1 Victory Point to their counterpart on the winning side: Anna and Ben each add 1 Victory Point, and Clara and Dora each subtract 1 Victory Point.
Ben’s declared Trull is worth 1 Victory Point to his side, and it is settled the same way, side against side: Anna and Ben each add 1 Victory Point, and Clara and Dora each subtract 1 Victory Point.
The silent Pagat Ultimo is worth 1 Victory Point, settled the same way: Anna and Ben each add 1 Victory Point, and Clara and Dora each subtract 1 Victory Point.

Step, in Victory Points	Anna	Ben	Clara	Dora
The Call won	+1	+1	−1	−1
Trull	+1	+1	−1	−1
Pagat Ultimo, silent	+1	+1	−1	−1
Total	+3	+3	−3	−3

The four scores add up to 0 Victory Points: what Anna and Ben add, Clara and Dora subtract. Traditional Scoring calls each loser’s opposite number on the winning side their counterpart, and every pairing gives the same totals.

The same hand with Simplified Scoring

The Call is won: Anna and Ben each add 1 Victory Point.
Trull, declared: each player on Ben’s side adds 1 Victory Point.
Pagat Ultimo, silent: each player on the side that won the last trick with the Pagat adds 1 Victory Point.

Step, in Victory Points	Anna	Ben
The Call won	+1	+1
Trull	+1	+1
Pagat Ultimo, silent	+1	+1
Total	+3	+3

Both ways, Anna and Ben come out 3 Victory Points ahead of each Defender under Simplified Scoring and 6 Victory Points ahead under Traditional Scoring: the winners are the same, and the gap doubles because the losers also subtract. The Simplified values are in the Scoring section in the Calling the Twenty rules (Scoring the Hand).

Calling the King (Königrufen)

Under Traditional Scoring the values of Calling the King stay as they are. The Call’s side settles two against two, and a contract played alone settles one against three: the lone Declarer collects from every Defender or pays every Defender.

The hand

Anna is the Forehand. Her first bid is the Blind Solo, which ends the bidding at once.
Anna takes all six talon cards into her hand unseen and discards six cards.
Before the first trick Ben announces Pagat Ultimo.
In the last trick Ben’s Pagat is beaten, so his announced Pagat Ultimo has failed.
Anna captures 38 Card Points, the three Defenders 32 Card Points. She needs at least 36 of the 70 Card Points, so the Blind Solo is won.

The traditional settlement, step by step

The Blind Solo is won, and it is worth 5 Victory Points. Anna plays alone, so she collects 5 Victory Points from each of the three Defenders: 5 Victory Points × 3 = 15 Victory Points for Anna, and Ben, Clara and Dora each subtract 5 Victory Points.
Ben’s announced Pagat Ultimo has failed, so the other side, which is Anna alone, earns the doubled value: 2 Victory Points, twice the silent 1 Victory Point. She collects it from each Defender separately: 2 Victory Points × 3 = 6 Victory Points for Anna, and Ben, Clara and Dora each subtract 2 Victory Points.

Step, in Victory Points	Anna	Ben	Clara	Dora
Blind Solo won	+15	−5	−5	−5
Failed Pagat Ultimo	+6	−2	−2	−2
Total	+21	−7	−7	−7

The four scores add up to 0 Victory Points. Anna’s +21 Victory Points is three times her Simplified result of +7 Victory Points, because a lone Declarer settles with every opponent.

The same hand with Simplified Scoring

The Blind Solo is won: Anna adds 5 Victory Points.
Ben’s announced Pagat Ultimo has failed: each player of the other side, here Anna alone, adds 2 Victory Points.

Step, in Victory Points	Anna	Ben	Clara	Dora
Blind Solo won	+5	0	0	0
Failed Pagat Ultimo	+2	0	0	0
Total	+7	0	0	0

Both ways, Anna is the only player who gains on this hand. Under Simplified Scoring the Defenders simply add nothing; under Traditional Scoring each of them pays her. Had Anna lost the Blind Solo, each Defender would have added 10 Victory Points under Simplified Scoring, and under Traditional Scoring Anna would have paid 10 Victory Points to each of them.

The example reads “the doubled value” of a failed announced bonus as its announced value, 2 Victory Points. Calling the Twenty uses the same words and prints the number: there a failed announced Pagat Ultimo gives each player of the opposing side 2 Victory Points, its announced value. The Calling the King rules word their further Ultimos the same way: “the other side adds the announced value”. The Simplified values are in the Scoring section in the Calling the King rules (Scoring the Hand).

Slovenian Tarok: native values

Slovenian Tarok already scores the Slovenian way under Simplified Scoring: only the Declarer’s side scores, plus when the contract is won and minus when it is lost, and the player who loses the Moon scores a minus in their own column. The native values are five times the values in the Slovenian Tarok rules. The zero-sum part comes when the group plays for money: each player pays or receives by how far their total is from the group’s average.

The hand

Four players. Anna wins the bidding with Two: she is the Declarer. She calls the King of Clubs. Clara holds it: she is Anna’s secret Partner.
Anna takes one group of two talon cards and discards two cards.
Nobody announces anything.
Anna’s Skus captures Ben’s Moon. Ben has lost the Moon.
In the last trick Clara plays the King of Clubs, and Anna’s side takes the trick: a silent King Ultimo.
The Pagat ends up in the Defenders’ tricks, so no side captures the Trull, and no side captures all four Kings.
Anna and Clara capture 47 Card Points, Ben and Dora 23 Card Points. Two needs at least 36 of the 70 Card Points, so it is won.

The traditional settlement, step by step

Two is won, and its native value is 20 Victory Points. Only the Declarer’s side scores, and both partners score the same number: Anna and Clara each score +20 Victory Points.
The distance: 47 Card Points − 35 Card Points = 12 Card Points, and rounded to the nearest five that is 10 Card Points, which in native values is 10 Victory Points. The contract was won, so the distance is plus: Anna and Clara each score +10 Victory Points.
The silent King Ultimo was earned by the Declarer’s side, so it is plus in the Declarer’s column, and the Partner scores the same: Anna and Clara each score +10 Victory Points.
Ben lost the Moon: he scores −20 Victory Points in his own column.

Step, in Victory Points	Anna	Ben	Clara
Two won	+20	0	+20
Distance	+10	0	+10
King Ultimo, silent	+10	0	+10
Moon lost	0	−20	0
The hand’s ledger	+40	−20	+40

The ledger of a hand does not add up to zero: here it adds up to +60 Victory Points. The zero-sum step comes from the average. The Slovenian Tarok rules give this settlement for the players’ totals and do not say when it is made; the example’s reading is to settle once, as if the evening ended after this hand. The four totals add up to 60 Victory Points, so the average is 60 Victory Points ÷ 4 players = 15 Victory Points, and each player pays or receives the distance between their total and 15 Victory Points.

Player	Total, in Victory Points	Pays or receives, in Victory Points
Anna	+40	+25
Ben	−20	−35
Clara	+40	+25
Dora	0	−15

These four add up to 0 Victory Points. On this reading a real evening settles once, from the evening’s totals, at whatever money per Victory Point the group agrees.

The same hand with Simplified Scoring

Two is won: Anna and Clara each score +4 Victory Points.
The distance: 47 Card Points − 35 Card Points = 12 Card Points, and rounded to the nearest five that is 10 Card Points, which is 2 Victory Points at one Victory Point for every five Card Points: Anna and Clara each score +2 Victory Points.
The silent King Ultimo: Anna and Clara each score +2 Victory Points.
Ben lost the Moon: he scores −4 Victory Points in his own column.

Step, in Victory Points	Anna	Ben	Clara
Two won	+4	0	+4
Distance	+2	0	+2
King Ultimo, silent	+2	0	+2
Moon lost	0	−4	0
The hand’s ledger	+8	−4	+8

Every number in the native ledger is five times the Simplified one: +8 Victory Points becomes +40 Victory Points, and Ben’s −4 Victory Points becomes −20 Victory Points. The order of the players is the same both ways: Anna and Clara gain, Dora stands still, Ben loses. The Simplified values are in the Scoring section in the Slovenian Tarok rules (Scoring the Hand).

Hungarian Tarokk (Paskievics tarokk)

Under Traditional Scoring the values of Hungarian Tarokk stay as they are, and the Kontra levels apply to them in the same way. The losing side pays the winning side the hand’s net total, contract and bonuses together. A declaration of eight Taroks or nine Taroks is paid separately, by each of the other three players.

The hand

Anna wins the bidding with Two: she is the Declarer. She takes two talon cards, the other three players share the rest, and everyone discards back to nine cards.
Anna calls the XX. Dora holds it: she is Anna’s secret Partner.
In the round of announcements Ben says Kontra on the contract, and Clara declares eight Taroks. Nobody announces a bonus.
Anna’s side captures the Skus, the XXI and the Pagat in its tricks: a silent Trull. The XXI was Dora’s own, so there is no XXI-catch. Nobody captures all four Kings, and the Pagat is not played to the last trick.
Anna and Dora capture 60 Card Points, Ben and Clara 34 Card Points. The Declarer’s side needs 48 of the 94 Card Points, so Two is won.

The traditional settlement, step by step

Two is worth 2 Victory Points. Ben’s Kontra on the contract doubles it: 2 Victory Points × 2 = 4 Victory Points. With 60 Card Points the Declarer’s side has won but has not reached the 71 Card Points of a Double game, so nothing else multiplies the contract.
The silent Trull adds 1 Victory Point for Anna’s side, so the hand’s net total is 4 Victory Points + 1 Victory Point = 5 Victory Points. Each player of the losing side pays one player of the winning side 5 Victory Points: Anna and Dora each add 5 Victory Points, and Ben and Clara each subtract 5 Victory Points.
Clara’s eight Taroks are paid separately: she collects 1 Victory Point from each of the other three players, and Ben, who plays on her side, pays like the others: 1 Victory Point × 3 = 3 Victory Points for Clara, and Anna, Ben and Dora each subtract 1 Victory Point.

Step, in Victory Points	Anna	Ben	Clara	Dora
Net total, contract and Trull	+5	−5	−5	+5
eight Taroks	−1	−1	+3	−1
Total	+4	−6	−2	+4

The four scores add up to 0 Victory Points. Here the contract and the Trull both belong to Anna’s side, so the net total is a plain sum; which loser pays which winner does not change the totals.

The same hand with Simplified Scoring

Two is won: Anna and Dora each add its value, doubled by the Kontra: 2 Victory Points × 2 = 4 Victory Points.
The silent Trull: Anna and Dora each add 1 Victory Point.
Clara alone adds 1 Victory Point for her eight Taroks.

Step, in Victory Points	Anna	Clara	Dora
Two, with Kontra, won	+4	0	+4
Trull, silent	+1	0	+1
eight Taroks	0	+1	0
Total	+5	+1	+5

Both ways the order is the same: Anna and Dora first, then Clara, then Ben. Under Simplified Scoring Clara’s eight Taroks lift her above Ben; under Traditional Scoring they cut her loss from −5 Victory Points to −2 Victory Points, while Ben pays for the contract and for Clara’s Taroks. The Simplified values are in the Scoring section in the Hungarian Tarokk rules (Scoring the Hand).

Strawman (Strohmandeln)

Strawman is the one game where Traditional Scoring changes nothing. The Tyrolean way, which the Strawman rules follow, has no settlement: nobody pays and nobody subtracts, the players only add Victory Points, and the first player to reach 11 Victory Points wins the match.

The hand

Ben deals, so Anna is the Forehand. She says “I’ll play”: she is the Declarer, and the hand is the Declarer Challenge.
After the opening reveals, Ben announces Four Kings. Nobody else announces.
Ben captures all four Kings. Anna wins the last trick with the Pagat, a silent Pagat Ultimo. The Skus ends up in Ben’s tricks, so nobody captures the Trull.
Anna captures 33 Card Points, Ben 37 Card Points. The Declarer needs at least 36 of the 70 Card Points, so the Declarer Challenge is lost.

The traditional score, step by step

Anna falls short of 36 Card Points, so the Declarer Challenge is lost, and her opponent Ben adds 3 Victory Points.
Ben announced Four Kings and captured all four Kings: he adds 2 Victory Points.
Anna won the last trick with the Pagat without announcing it: she adds 1 Victory Point, even on her lost hand.

Step, in Victory Points	Anna	Ben
Declarer Challenge failed	0	+3
Four Kings, announced	0	+2
Pagat Ultimo, silent	+1	0
Total	+1	+5

Nobody subtracts, so the two scores do not add up to zero: they add up to +6 Victory Points.

The same hand with Simplified Scoring

The steps are the same ones, with the same values.

Step, in Victory Points	Anna	Ben
Declarer Challenge failed	0	+3
Four Kings, announced	0	+2
Pagat Ultimo, silent	+1	0
Total	+1	+5

Both ways Ben gains 5 Victory Points and Anna 1 Victory Point: the two systems agree to the last Victory Point. Some groups pay less for the contract: 1 Victory Point for winning a hand both players passed, where the Strawman rules pay 2 Victory Points for the Dodge Round, and 2 Victory Points for a hand the Declarer wins, the same as the Strawman rules. That variant names no value for a Declarer Challenge that fails, so the example keeps the values the Strawman rules print: 2 Victory Points for a won Declarer Challenge and 3 Victory Points to the opponent for a lost one. The values are in the Scoring section in the Strawman rules (Scoring the Hand).

Dappen: native values

The Black Forest plays Dappen for coins, and the native values are in cents, the Furtwangen values. The Simplified tiers in the Dappen rules are close to them but are not an exact conversion. The Dapper collects from every opponent or pays every opponent.

The hand

Six players: Anna, Ben, Clara, Dora, Emil and Frida. In round one nobody calls “Solo!”.
In round two Anna says “Dapp!” of her own free will. Ben, who speaks after her, calls “Challenge!”: he is the Challenger. Anna answers “I’ll keep it”. The bidding is over: Anna is the Dapper, and the hand pays the Dapp + Challenge column.
Anna takes the twelve Dapp cards and lays twelve cards away. She does not hold all three Trull cards and all four Kings, so there is no instant win.
Before the first trick Anna lays the III and the II face up: a III Ultimo and a II Ultimo.
Four tricks from the end a Tarok is led, and Anna’s only Taroks are her two Ultimo cards. She must play one of them, plays the II, and the II Ultimo has failed. The III then wins the third-to-last trick, as promised.
Anna counts 53 Card Points, the team 26 Card Points. The team needs 40 of the 79 Card Points, so Anna has won.

The traditional settlement, step by step

The team has 26 Card Points, so Anna has won, and the payment is read from the loser’s Card Points: the row for 23 to 27 Card Points, Dapp + Challenge column, 30 cents. Anna collects it from each of her 5 opponents: 30 cents × 5 = 150 cents for Anna, and each opponent subtracts 30 cents.
The III Ultimo is made and pays 10 cents, never doubled by the Challenge. Anna collects it from each opponent: 10 cents × 5 = 50 cents for Anna, and each opponent subtracts 10 cents.
The II Ultimo has failed, and a failed Ultimo pays each opponent the same value, 20 cents: 20 cents × 5 = 100 cents out of Anna’s pocket, and each opponent adds 20 cents.

Step, in cents	Anna	Ben	Clara	Dora	Emil	Frida
Dapp + Challenge won	+150	−30	−30	−30	−30	−30
III Ultimo made	+50	−10	−10	−10	−10	−10
II Ultimo failed	−100	+20	+20	+20	+20	+20
Total	+100	−20	−20	−20	−20	−20

The six results add up to 0 cents: Anna collects 100 cents in all, 20 cents from each opponent.

The same hand with Simplified Scoring

The team has 26 Card Points: the row for 23 to 27 Card Points, Dapp + Challenge column. Anna adds 6 Victory Points.
The III Ultimo is made: Anna adds 2 Victory Points.
The II Ultimo has failed: each opponent adds 4 Victory Points.

Step, in Victory Points	Anna	Ben	Clara	Dora	Emil	Frida
Dapp + Challenge won	+6	0	0	0	0	0
III Ultimo made	+2	0	0	0	0	0
II Ultimo failed	0	+4	+4	+4	+4	+4
Total	+8	+4	+4	+4	+4	+4

Both ways Anna comes out ahead of every opponent: by 4 Victory Points under Simplified Scoring, and by 120 cents against each opponent under Traditional Scoring. The failed II Ultimo costs her in both systems, but the won Dapp + Challenge outweighs it. The Dappen rules print the made Ultimo’s value right beside the rule that the Dapper collects from each opponent, so the made III Ultimo is collected like the contract. For the failed one, the example uses the case the rules spell out: a declared card played before its promised trick. The Simplified values are in the Scoring section in the Dappen rules (Scoring the Hand).