French Tarot
France's premier trick-taking card game — 78-card tarot deck with a permanent trump suit and the powerful Excuse.
👥1 per team🌤indoor
What is French Tarot?
French tarot is the most popular tarot-based card game, played competitively across France under the Fédération Française de Tarot (formed 1973). It uses a 78-card tarot deck containing 21 trumps ("atouts") plus the wild Excuse. The taker bids to reach a point target against the other players, with bonus points for capturing the trump 1, the highest trump (21) and the Excuse.
Quick facts
Category
Mind Sports
Type
Individual
Players
1 per team
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇫🇷 France
Estimated origin
18th-century France (from Italian tarocchini); modern rules codified 1973 (FFT)
Olympic
No
Popularity
major
Sources & provenance
Last verified 2026-08-24.verified