How to Play Classic Italian Tarocchi

  • Overview: Tarocchi is a competitive, strategic trick-taking card game designed for three players. Developed during the Renaissance, it serves as the direct ancestor to modern card games like Spades, Hearts, and Bridge.
  • The Objective: Capture tricks (rounds of cards) throughout the game that contain high-value scoring cards.
  • The Core Mechanics: The 22 cards of the Major Arcana do not have traditional suit affiliations. Instead, they act as permanent trump cards that outrank all standard suited cards.

Suit Hierarchies and Card Rankings

The Court cards always rank highest, but the numerical "pip" cards alter their behavior based on the shape of their suit symbol:

  • Court Cards (Highest in All Suits): King (Re), Queen (Regina), Knight (Cavalieri), Page/Jack (Fanti).
  • Long Suits (Swords and Batons): Follow standard mathematical order.
    • Rank: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (10 is highest).
  • Round Suits (Cups and Coins): Follow an inverted ranking system.
    • Rank: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (The 1-pip card outranks the 10-pip card).

Scoring Values

Victory is determined by the total point value of the cards you capture in your tricks, not by the sheer quantity of tricks won. The total point matrix equals 120 points across the entire deck.

  • The Five "Honors" (5 Points Each): The Angel/Judgment (Trump 20), The World (Trump 21), The Fool (Unnumbered / The Excuse), and all four Kings.
  • Remaining Values: Queens = 4 points | Knights = 3 points | Pages = 2 points | All Low Trumps & Pip Cards = 1 point.
  • Scoring Note: In traditional tournament play, cards are calculated in groups of three, where custom point values are subtracted to prevent inflation. For simplicity, this guide utilizes the standardized point matrix.

Game Flow Operations

  1. Deal and Stock: Use a traditional 78-card deck. The dealer shuffles and deals 25 cards to each of the three players. The remaining 3 cards are placed face down in the center of the table as the Stock (or Monte).
  2. Bidding Phase: Starting with the dealer, each player reviews their hand and declares either "Play" or "Pass." The first player to declare "Play" becomes the Soloist. The remaining two players immediately form a temporary defensive alliance, pooling their captured tricks to stop the Soloist.
  3. The Stock Exchange: The Soloist picks up the 3 face-down cards from the Stock, integrates them into their hand, and discards any 3 cards from their hand face down into their personal scoring pile. The Discard Restriction: The Soloist is strictly forbidden from discarding a King or a high-ranking Trump card.
  4. Gameplay Rules:
    • Lead & Rotation: The player to the immediate left of the dealer leads the first card. Play continues clockwise.
    • You Must Follow Suit: If the opening player leads with a card from the Suit of Cups, all subsequent players must play a card from the suit of Cups if they possess one.
    • Cutting with Trump: If a player’s hand is completely empty of the led suit, they must play a Trump card (Major Arcana). Trump cards automatically beat standard suited cards. If multiple trumps are played, the highest-numbered trump wins.
    • Discarding Safely: If a player has neither the led suit nor any remaining Trump cards, they may discard any card. This card is dead and cannot win the trick.
    • Claiming the Trick: The trick is claimed by the highest card of the suit originally led, or by the highest Trump card deployed.
  5. Special Rule of the Fool (The Excuse): The Fool (Card 0) acts as a unique wildcard with defensive properties. It can be played during any turn, regardless of the suit led. The Fool can never win a trick. Instead of surrendering the Fool to the winner of the round, the player places it directly into their own scoring pile and gives a worthless 1-point pip card from their collection to the trick winner as a replacement balance.
  6. Tallying the Final Score: Once all 25 tricks are cleared, players count their points. The Soloist adds their 3 original discards into their final pile. To secure a victory, the Soloist must capture 61 points or more. If the Soloist scores 60 points or fewer, the defensive alliance wins.