DRAFT — written by Claude from the book chapters and SSOT values; awaiting Greg’s review. Numbers below are illustrative of the METHOD; per-game value tables land after the scoring summit.
Tarok grew up as a money game. Long before anyone kept a running total on paper, every hand settled in coins across the table: the winners collected their due from the losers, and the evening ended exactly where the purse said it did. Traditional scoring keeps that shape — zero-sum, losers pay winners — and every game in this book can be played with it.
One rule, two directions
The book’s Simplified Scoring gives each contract one number: win it, add the value to your total. Traditional scoring uses the same values but records them as flows: what one side gains, the other side loses, coin for coin. Every hand’s scores sum to zero.
The soloist flow (one against three)
When one player takes on three defenders, the flow multiplies. Win a Solo worth 12 and you don’t just write +12 — you collect it from each opponent’s direction: the soloist writes +12, and each of the three defenders writes −4. Lose it, and the signs flip: −12 for you, +4 for each of them.
| Result | Soloist | Each defender (×3) |
|---|---|---|
| Solo won (value 12) | +12 | −4 |
| Solo lost (value 12) | −12 | +4 |
The partnership flow (two against two)
In partnered contracts each winner collects from one loser: both winners write the full contract value as plus, both losers as minus. A 2-point Rufer won means +2, +2, −2, −2 around the table — still summing to zero.
Bonuses ride the same rails
Announced and silent bonuses (Pagat Ultimo, Trull, the Kings, Valat) settle exactly like the contracts they decorate: same values as the Simplified table, paid as flows. A failed announcement pays out in reverse — the classic tables were merciless about that.
The money game
Some tables still settle certain disasters directly, outside the running totals. The most famous: in Calling the Twenty’s money game, a captured Moon pays 20 to each opponent on the spot. If your table plays for coins, agree the stakes before the first deal — tradition is a house rule too.
Tier for tier
Games with tiered results (Dappen’s sliding table) settle each tier the same way: the tier’s value flows from every loser to every winner. The bigger the upset, the bigger the flow.
Why the book teaches Simplified
Same contracts, same values, same winners — the only difference is bookkeeping. One number per hand keeps a family evening moving; the zero-sum ledger keeps a money table honest. Play whichever your table likes; switch whenever you want. The values never change.
Per-game value tables with the full ± flows (every contract, every bonus) are coming to each game’s score-sheets page.