From klop to valat: a ladder of courage

Klop: the game nobody wants

When everyone says "pass", you play klop: a misère where you dodge tricks as best you can. All four play, each for themselves, and each of the first six tricks gets a talon card thrown on top. Whoever gathers the most points pays; whoever takes nothing celebrates. The first hand of every session here is a compulsory klop, to warm the blood.

Trojka, dvojka, enka: with an ally

The basic games with a partner: you call a king, and whoever holds it (secretly) helps you. From the talon you take three, two or one card; the less you take, the more the game is worth. Until the king is revealed nobody knows who plays with whom: half the drama of Slovenian tarok hides right there.

Solo: alone against all

Solo tri, solo dva and solo ena are the same steps without an ally: the talon still helps, but no king is called. The three against you see all your declarations and none of your cards. This is where counting trumps starts to show.

Berač: the art of empty hands

In berač you promise not to take a single trick. No talon, no help. The open berač is the same stunt with your cards face up: they see everything and still must not catch you. Whoever pulls it off has earned the silence that follows, and the applause after it.

Valat: all or nothing

At the top of the ladder stands valat: the promise of every single trick. Declared it is worth 500 points, silent (if you manage it unannounced) 250. On the way there is the colour valat, all the tricks in a game where trumps do not count as trumps. These are the games the table talks about for weeks.

Kontra: double or be quiet

If you think the declarer will fail, you say kontra and the game's value doubles. Rekontra may follow. Individual announcements can be doubled too: the trula, the kings, pagat ultimo. And since after every klop and every big game each player receives a radelc that doubles a game once more, a modest evening can turn historic very fast.

The easiest way to learn the ladder is to walk it: Tarok 124 plays every game listed here, and the bots will never hold a bad bid against you. Nor show it, mind you.