Use


This chapter describes the use of the software LeTarot during a free deals tournament . For more details, please consult the Reference chapter.

1) Starting a game

To start a game, select NEW in the FILE menu. A dialog allows you to choose which type of games you wish to play: simple game, free deals tournament, duplicate tournament.

Select “Free deals tournament” and click OK.


A dialog allows you then to choose who will control each of the 4 players between the computer or the user. The human players have moreover the possibility to type their name.

2) Bidding

The dealer is randomly chosen and, by starting at the right side of the dealer, each player consults his play and makes his bid one after the other. For a human player, the hand is displayed and a dialog box appears proposing the various possible bids. The higher part of the dialog indicates the bids of the preceding players. It should be noted that if a preceding player has, for example, announced a Take, this bid is now dimmed and cannot be chosen. If the player requested the assistance of the computer for the bidding (in the Preferences) or if he selects Help, the computer proposes a bid that the player can accept or modify.

If all the players have passed, the Dog is displayed and the CONTINUE button will launch the next deal.


3) Dog

If a contract was announced and if it is not a Guard Without or Against, the Dog is shown up to all the players. You just have to click to continue.

In the case of a Guard Without or Against, the card play starts (see 5).


4) Discard

If the Taker is controled by the computer, the Discard is made automatically.


In the case of a human player, his hand including the 6 cards of the Dog is displayed.


By using the mouse (the hand cursor), the user must select the 6 cards of his Discard which will appear in the center of the screen. He can freely modify the Discard as clicking on one of the cards.


Each time there are 6 cards in the Discard, the CONFIRM button is active, and the Taker has the possibility to confirm his choice.

If the Discard Help is activated in the Preferences, the Discard chosen by the computer is immediately shown and the user may freely accept this Discard (undoubtedly excellent!) or modify it ...

The computer verifies of course the conformity of the Discard according to FFT rules: no Oudlers, no Kings and no Trumps except in the case of a hand with only Oudlers, Kings and Trumps! While moving the cursor above a prohibited card, the cursor is changed into a sign of prohibited direction. If the player insists and chooses one of these prohibited cards, a message will explain his error.

5) Card play

The higher part of the screen is used to display the cards played by the 4 players during a trick. The cards are laid out according to the 4 cardinal points. The area of the Taker is indicated with his name in white on black. The position of the current player is shown by a background colour darker than the 3 others and the winner of the trick has his card surrounded by a red line.

The current player hand is displayed in the lower part of the screen.


The player selects the card he wants to play by using the cursor. It is possible to modify this choice according to the adjustment of the "Card play" Preferences: Drag&Drop, Select&Confirm, One click.

In these 3 cases, while moving above an unplayable card, the cursor will be changed into a sign of prohibited direction. If nevertheless the player chooses this card, an alert will be displayed explaining the error.


If the "Drag&Drop" or "One click" option is active, the cursor is changed into a green light above any authorized card (see the 9 of Trump above).

• One click: the card is played immediately and the next player will play.


• Drag&Drop: by clicking on a card you can drag this card out. To play it, you just have to drop it when it is above the area of the player. If the card is dropped elsewhere, it will appear back inside the hand of the player who will be able to choose another one.


• Select&Confirm: the cursor is changed into a hand above any authorized card (see the 9 of Trump above). By clicking on the card, this one appears in the area reserved to the player. If the player wishes to modify his choice, he can simply select another card.

To confirm his choice, the player must move the cursor over the area where the selected card is appearing and click when the cursor is changed into a green light. It will be then to the next player to play. If the player is sure about the card he wants to play, he can select and confirm at the same time, by making a double-click on this card.


For the first trick, the player having 10 trumps or more is asked if he wants to declare a Handful. If the player answers yes, the Handful will be shown to the other players.

Please notice that the computer will choose among the trumps the shown Handful (if the choice is possible). But this choice is carried out perfectly: the trumps which were already inside the Dog are shown up and the Oudlers, if possible, are hidden with the priority to the Petit (Ace of Trump).


Once the trick is finished, you can start the next trick with a simple click.

At any time during the game, the user can either modify the adjustment of the preferences, or display the tournament’s score, or the game in progress and the statistics used by the computer for its "thinking".


6) Game's end

At the end of the 18th trick, the computer counts the points and displays the result of the game. The user can either start the next game of the tournament (NEXT DEAL button), either replay the game that was just played (REPLAY DEAL button), or by choosing CANCEL, he can have access to the menus and thus either save the game, or visualize the deal, or the game etc...

A DEAL menu is then accessible either to start the next deal or to choose a deal prepared using the editor or saved on the disk.