Tango is a fitting name for this trick-taking card game. It is a clever title, considering the game is strictly for two players. It takes two to tango, and this game requires exactly two. However, a good title needs more than just a pun. The name Tango is also appropriate because the gameplay is all about coordination. Designers David Harding and Matt Sims have created a game that feels like a dance. There is a certain intensity to it when you and your opponent are completely focused on the match.
Let’s look at how the game is set up. Each player is dealt two separate hands of cards. The first hand is the one you hold in your hand, which we can call the active hand. The second hand is placed on the table in front of you. It consists of five stacks of two cards each. In these stacks, the top card is face-up, while the bottom card remains face-down. We will refer to this as the table-hand.
Now we can start the gameplay. A basic move is not too complicated to understand. I play a card from my hand-hand. You then play a card from your hand-hand, following the suit if you can. Next, I play a card from my table-hand, again following suit if possible. Finally, you play a card from your table-hand. It feels like a sequence of steps in a dance routine.
The winner of a trick is determined by the highest value card in the suit that was led. If a trump card is played, the highest value trump card wins. However, you must be careful. Winning is not always the main goal in Tango. Some cards are worth negative points, and others are worth nothing at all. It is a game of give-and-take. You often look for chances to get rid of a high-value off-suit card, like a 9 or a 10, so your opponent has to deal with the consequences of winning that trick. Even when there are positive points involved, losing a trick can sometimes be the better strategy.
The trump suit in Tango is decided by the one card left over after dealing forty of the forty-one cards. This card sits on the table, but it usually doesn’t stay there for long. After every trick, the loser has the choice to swap the trump card with any card from their hand-hand. Managing the trump suit is very important because it changes constantly. This back-and-forth is really the heart of the game. It is similar to the adornos that make a dance memorable.
This constant shifting is even more important because of the Rose card. The Rose is the only card in the game worth two points, but it is always treated as the 0 of trumps. If you have the Rose, you are trying to deny your opponent a chance to take it. If you do not have it, you try to make the other player miss a step and fail to capture those points.
The constant fluctuations in this system might not be for everyone, but I think Tango is a wonderful game. It is heavy with a mix of known information and unknown variables. You can see the contents of both your hands and your opponent’s table-hand. You have a sense of what they can follow and what they cannot, but their hand-hand remains a mystery. A single well-timed swap of the trump card can change everything about how you thought the game would go.
Sometimes you feel like nothing can stop you as you glide across the floor. Other times, it can feel like you cannot catch a break. Usually, the outcome comes down to player error rather than luck. Across ten or so games of Tango, I never felt like I was dealt two left feet. The game feels fair and rewarding.
Like any dance, Tango requires you to time your movements. Like any dance, it can be awkward at first, as you fall out of step or trip over your feet. Like any dance, it is mostly about solid fundamentals, but it rewards attention with flashes of brilliant showmanship. Grab your castanets and get those clapping hands ready. Let’s Tango.
