{ { Infobox card game
| title = Illustrated Tarock
| subtitle = The "queen" of 3-player Tarock games
| image_link =
| image_caption =
| alt_names = Illustrated Dreiertarock
| type = Trick-taking
| players = 3
| ages = 14+
| num_cards = 54
| deck = Industrie und Glück
| play = Counter-clockwise
| card_rank =Tarocks: Sküs, XXI-IK Q C V 10 9 8 7 K Q C V 1 2 3 4<ref>Dummett, The Game of Tarot, pp. 440r</ref> | origin = Austria | related = DreiertarockHusarlnPoint TarockTapp Tarock | playing_time = | random_chance = | skills = | footnotes = }} Illustrated Tarock () or Illustrated Dreiertarock is an Austrian card game that has been described as the "queen" of all three-handed Tarock games played with the 54-card pack. It was thought by Mayr and Sedlaczek to be extinct but, in 2009 when the two Tarock authors were guests on an ORF radio programme, players from Vienna called in who confirmed they still played the game. It is sometimes called Point Tarock which, however, is a different, probably extinct, game, albeit a close cousin. Although it has "a reputation for being a little more convoluted than the others", Furr maintains that this is not so, but recommends that players become familiar with Tapp Tarock before attempting this game.
History and etymology
Illustrated Tarock is one of a family of classical Austrian card games known as Tarock games; so much so, that the area of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, in which they have a strong tradition, has been described as 'Tarockania'. These games have been featured in literature such as Herzmanovsky-Orlando's Masquerade of the Genii and Johann Nestroy's Zu ebener Erde und im ersten Stock. There are numerous variations of Tarock, many still played today, including the challenging four-player games of Königrufen (the "game of kings"), Zwanzigerrufen and Neunzehnerrufen, the original three-handed game of Tapp Tarock and its derivatives, and the "attractive" two-hander of Strawman Tarock.
In 1923, Unger published rules for Tapper (i.e. Tapp Tarock) which incorporated several additional optional bonuses such as Uhu, Absolut and Grammopoi, all of which eventually became part of Illustrated Tarock. After the Second World War, Löw printed a similar set of rules in 1954 under the name of Point Tarock. An elaboration known as Illustrated Tarock was recorded by Beck from 1965 and reprinted into the 1980s. Other versions are recorded by Grupp (1974), Alscher (2004), Bamberger (2011), Mayr and Sedlaczek (2015) and Stöckl (2019).
Name
There is no consensus over the name of this game, which is variously called Illustrated Tarock (Illustriertes Tarock) or Point Tarock or both. However, both these names are also used for another, simpler, form of game that involves point-bidding, some calling that game Point Tarock and others, Illustrated Tarock. Since illustriertes implies "embellished", there is a logic in using Point Tarock for the variant that involves point-bidding and Illustrated Tarock for the more complex variant here that is embellished (Dummett suggests "embroidered") with additional announcements and bonuses making it "the queen of all Tarock games played with the 54-card pack, at least of three-handed ones." As Mayr and Sedlaczek explain, "the term 'illustrated' describes those card games that offer additional options of play."
Cards
Like other Tarock games in Austria and other lands of the former Habsburg Empire, Illustrated Tarock uses a 54-card deck of the type described in the article on Königrufen. This deck contains 22 tarocks as trumps (I – XXI + Sküs) and 32 suit cards in the four French suits of Hearts, Diamonds, Spades and Clubs. The game uses the same values as other Austrian tarock games like Königrufen.
5 Points – Kings, I, XXI, Sküs; 4 Points – Queens; 3 Points – Cavaliers; 2 Points – Valets; 1 Point – remaining tarocks and pip cards
Scoring of card points is carried out using the Tarock scoring scheme by grouping cards into threes. From the points in each triplet, 2 are deducted e.g. King + Cavalier + X = 9 points, minus 2 points gives 7 points. If fewer than 3 cards remain, 2/3 points are deducted from the total. 1/3 or 2/3 points are rounded up or down at the end to the nearest whole number.
Rules
An overview of rule sets showing the three main stages of development are given below. First, an example of the early, much simplified rules by Löw; next, the highly complex rules described by Beck; and, finally, the streamlined modern rules by Mayr and Sedlaczek.