How to Play Arba'a Turub
Arba'a Turub is a card game from Somalia for four players, playing in two partnerships of two players each. It is sometimes written Arba'a Turup, however the Somali language has a different character set than other languages, and does not have a representation for several English characters (including the letter P). The game uses a large deck consisting of 144 cards. This deck is created by combining four standard 52 card decks together and removing all cards of denominations 5, 4, 3, and 2. The ranking of the cards as found in this deck are as follows (from highest to lowest): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6.
Large hands of cards in Arbaa Turub
In the game Arba'a Turub each player receives a massive hand consisting of 36 total cards, with players sometimes devising creative methods of holding them all.
If the partnerships are not predetermined beforehand, this can be decided by a deal of cards. Each player is dealt one face-up card from the shuffled deck, and the players drawing the two highest ranked cards would play as partners against the players drawing the two lowest ranked cards. The player dealt the highest card of all would be set as the first dealer and would also have the first choice of seats. Each player would sit directly across the table from their partner.

The dealer thoroughly shuffles the deck and the player at his immediate left cuts the card. This is unusual in that for most games in which play is in a clockwise rotation, the player to the dealer's right would cut the cards. After the cut, the dealer then begins dealing the cards in a clockwise rotation around the table starting with the player at his left. He deals out packets of three to each player continuing around and around the table until each player has a total of 36 cards. However, after the player at his left gets his first three card packet, the deal is temporarily suspended. The player receiving this first packet of three cards picks up his cards for examination. After this player reviews his cards, he then announced the trump suit to be used for the hand, based on these first three cards dealt to him. After this player has so announced this trump suit, the dealer then resumes the deal, containing with the player at this player's left.

It is traditional for the dealer to show, face-down, the number of cards dealt in the last batch dealt to himself to ensure the proper number of cards was dealt. If this packet contains any fewer or more than three cards, all the cards are thrown in, shuffled and a new hand dealt by the same dealer. After each player has the requisite 36 cards, the players then examine their hands. Due to the large number of cards in a player's hand, he will usually arrange them in his hand by suit, and by tradition, alternate red and black suits in his hand.

Once the players have arranged their cards in their hand as preferred, the play of the hand begins, with the player at the dealer's immediate left leading the first card to the first trick and each other player, in a clockwise rotation adding one card to that same trick.

The leader to a trick can play any card still remaining in his hand to start the trick. Each other player, in turn, then must play a card of the suit led to the trick if they have such a card. If they do not have a card of the suit originally led to the trick they may play any other card remaining in the hand, including a card of the trump suit. After each player has played one card to the trick it is then determined who is the winner of that trick.

The player of the highest trump card to the trick wins the trick. If the trick contains no cards in the trump suit selected for the hand, the player of the highest card in the same suit as initially led to that trick wins the trick. If there are two or more cards of the same suit and rank which would be considered the highest played to the trick, the first such card of those played is considered the highest. Cards won in tricks are set aside out of play, and the winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.

Example of one team winning a game After all 36 tricks have been played and won, each partnership combines all the tricks they have won to determine how many total tricks that partnership have won during the hand. The partnership to have won the most total tricks is declared the winner of that hand. If both partnerships capture the same total number of tricks (18), the hand is a tie, with no winner.

While a partnership will win a hand if capturing the most tricks during a hand, the real goal of Arba'a Turub is to win a game. In order to win a game, a partnership must fulfill several qualifications: Thus, a game can continue for some time until one team wins two consecutive games, with the second game of two being won with a higher number of tricks than the immediately previous one.

If the team on which the dealer was a member wins the hand, a member of the opposing team deals the next hand. However, if the team consisting of the dealer loses the hand, the partner of the last dealer deals again. If the deal was a draw (each team having won exactly 18 tricks during the hand), the same dealer deals the next hand.

A limited system of signaling is allowed amongst partners in playing Arba'a Turub. The following are the usual accepted signals that can be used during the game (some groups adopt additional such signals): Note that the only player allowed to use such signals is the leader to each trick.

Variations and Optional Rules

Turup: Turup (or Turub) is a game played similarly to Aarb'a Turub. This variant of the game is briefly described in the 1912 publication British Somaliland authored by Ralph Evelyn Drake-Brockman.

Similarly to Arba'a Turub, the game is played by four players in two partnerships of two players each. However, in this game the deck consists of 36 total cards, which can be formed using one standard 52 card deck and removing all cards of denomination 5 and lower. The ranking of the cards in the deck are the same as in Arba'a Turub; Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6.

Determination of the trump suit in Turup
The player to the immediate right of the dealer determines the trump suit based on only the first three cards he receives.
After partnerships have been determined (using any standard method) and the first dealer has been determined, the dealer begins dealing the cards. As with Arba'a Turub, he deals the cards in packets of three face-down cards. However, in Turup, he deals the cards in a counter-clockwise direction around the table. After the first player, at his right, has his first packet of three cards, he temporarily stalls the deal. The player receiving these first three cards then examines his hand and announces a trump suit based on these first three cards. After this player announces one of the four suits as trump for the hand, the dealer continues dealing the cards, until each player has a total of nine cards.

The player to the immediate right of the dealer leads the first card to the first trick, and each other player plays one card to that same trick. The leader to a trick can play any card of choice to start the trick. Each other player, in turn, must then play a card of the suit originally led to the trick if they have a card of that suit. If they have no such card, they may play any card still remaining in their hand, including a card from the trump suit. After each of the four players has played one card to the trick it is determined who has won the trick.

The player of the highest card in the trump suit wins the trick. If the trick contains from the trump suit, the trick is won by the player of the highest card of the suit originally led to that trick. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.

The goal of each team is to win five of the nine tricks. As soon as one partnership has managed to win five such tricks the hand ends with that partnership winning the hand and earning one Game point. However, if one partnership manages to win the first five tricks, the player winning that fifth trick for his partnership may (but is not obligated to) so ask his partner how many additional tricks his partner believes he can win if the hand were to continue. If the player asking believes that amongst him and his partner, based on his partner's answer, he can win the remaining four tricks, he may elect to continue the hand, and thus he leads the next card to start the next trick. If that team does manage to win all nine tricks (called a kort), that team wins the hand and earns three Game points for the maneuver. However, if they fail to win all four of the last remaining four tricks, the opponents win the hand, earning the three Game Points instead.

The game is usually played to a certain score, with the team first reaching that score over the course of several hands declared the winner.

                     
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