Here you will find a simple trick-taking card game I devised for my English as a Foreign Language classes employing the TAROT. The game is intended to be a conversational game but is appropriate for parties or for reviewing divinatory meanings of the cards of the TAROT DECK. If you play the game, please feel free to email me at phillips@nccu.edu.tw and I'll most assuredly get back to you as quickly as possible.
Tarot Truth or Dare
The Tarot Card Game of Human RelationshipsBrian David Phillips
Make sure that the number of cards in the deck are divisible by the number of players (removing the lower sets from the Minor Arcana first - starting with the 1s, then 2s, then 3s, then 4s, etc).
Whoever has the Fool goes first. Lead with any card. Highest card in the led suit wins - except Major Arcana cards are trump and always win (players may choose to "throw off" high cards in other suits to avoid winning Tricks if they choose to - alternatively, players may employ a house rule by which players must either follow Minor Arcana suit or play a Major Arcana trump (if they cannot do so, then and only then may they "throw off")). An optional rule for those wishing to learn the divinatory meanings of the Tarot cards is for each person to correctly name the meaning of the card currently in play before playing their own cards with wrong answers penalized one to five game points, as settled upon by the players before play begins.
Whoever wins the Trick gets to make a statement regarding relationships, romance, male-female relations, or regarding any other subject about any other player who must respond either "True" or "False." The player may answer truthfully or not, however she wishes.
Once all the tricks have been played, the player who wins the most Major Arcana cards wins the Hand. The Hand Winner adds the point value of all the Major Arcana cards she has taken (the cards are worth points equal to their Key Value - their position in the order of the deck, so Key VI, The Lovers, is worth six points). The total is added to the winner's Game Score. Those who lose the Hand, add up their Major Arcana cards values and subtract the total from their Game Scores. Game Scores may fall into negative scores.
The Hand Winner then asks one other player a question regarding relationships, romance, or male-female relations. The question must be open-ended and require a couple sentences of explanation. The questioned player must answer truthfully or ask for a "Dare". The Hand Winner then describes an action - usually one involving the use of conversational English - that the player may perform instead of answering the question (obviously, games played outside the classroom have more leeway in terms of the Questions and Dares). If the player does not answer the question or perform the Dare then she must subtract 50 points from her Game Score.
The first person to have a Game Score of 500 or more wins the game. The Game Winner may then ask all (or one, if agreed upon beforehand) of the losing players one question which must be answered either True or False and must be answered truthfully and completely or the losers may perform Penalty Dares. Players may prefer to announce or agree upon the Winner's Question and the Penalty Dare at the beginning of the game as an ante for the game. Alternatively, the person with the lowest score may be the only person required to answer the Winner's Question and/or perform the Penalty Dare.
NOTE: Since this is a Conversation Class activity, let's make the questions and dares tasteful. Obviously, those playing the game in a non-educational are free to use their own discretion in regard to questions of taste and the like.
Email me at phillips@nccu.edu.tw and I'll try to get back to you soon.
