How to play Tresette

Tresette in four points

1. Four players in two teams, ten cards each. Your partner sits across from you.
2. Follow the suit led if you can. The highest card of that suit wins the trick. There are no trumps.
3. The 3 is the highest card, then the 2, then the Asso. The Asso is worth 1 point; 3s, 2s and figures are worth a third each, and the last trick adds 1.
4. The leader can signal to their partner, and bonus combinations are declared at the start. First team to 21 wins.

Playing with real cards? There’s a cheat sheet that prints on one page for the table.

Players and deal

Four players in two partnerships; your partner sits across. All forty cards are dealt, ten each, with no trumps. Play passes to the right (counter-clockwise), and the player to the dealer's right leads first.

Fair deals in Tocca a te!

Cards are shuffled like a real deck, with your device’s secure randomness. Nothing is arranged, and the computer can’t see your cards: the teacher and the opponents know only what has been played. Online, the game’s server shuffles the same way.

Order and points

The 3 is the highest card and the 2 second; the Asso, third in rank, is the only full point. Each suit holds 2⅔ points, the whole deck 10⅔. The last trick adds 1, and fractions are dropped, so a hand is worth 11. First team to 21 wins the match (some tables play to 31 or 41).

Play

1. The leader plays any card. Everyone else must follow suit if they can.
2. If you can't follow, play any card (a discard). It can't win the trick.
3. The highest card of the led suit wins. The winner leads the next trick.

Signals (only the player leading a suit may signal)

• Busso (knock): “win this with your best card and lead the suit back to me.”
• Striscio (slide): “I have more cards of this suit.”
• Volo (fly): “this is my last card of this suit.”

Accusi (declarations)

• Napoletana: Asso, 2 and 3 of the same suit, 3 points.
• Tre Assi, Due or Tre: 3 points. Quattro: 4 points.

They are declared at the start, so everyone knows those cards. In Tocca a te! they are declared automatically.

The cards

How to say them: the part in capitals is stressed.

Asso AHS-soh (plural Assi, AHS-see)

The Ace. Third in rank, after the 3 and the 2, and the only card worth a whole point.

Fante FAHN-teh (plural Fanti, FAHN-tee)

The Jack. Worth ⅓ of a point. It ranks below the Re and the Cavallo.

Cavallo kah-VAHL-loh (plural Cavalli, kah-VAHL-lee)

The Knight (a rider on a horse), in place of a Queen. Worth ⅓ of a point, between the Fante and the Re.

Re REH

The King. Worth ⅓ of a point. It ranks below the 3, the 2 and the Asso.

Figure fee-GOO-reh

The picture cards: Fante, Cavallo and Re. Each is worth ⅓ of a point.

Sette SEHT-teh

Seven. Worth nothing; it ranks just below the figures.

Denari deh-NAH-ree

Coins, one of the four suits. Drawn as gold coins.

Coppe KOHP-peh

Cups, one of the four suits. Drawn as goblets.

Spade SPAH-deh

Swords, one of the four suits. Drawn as swords. (Not spades: in French cards those are Picche.)

Bastoni bah-STOH-nee

Clubs (wooden batons), one of the four suits. Drawn as wooden clubs.

di dee

Of. Fante di Coppe is the Jack of Cups; 7 di Denari is the 7 of Coins.

Words you’ll hear

busso BOOS-soh

“I knock”: a signal to your partner. Only the player leading a suit may signal. A busso asks your partner to win the trick with their best card of that suit and lead it back to you. At a real table you knock on the table.

striscio STREE-shoh

“I slide”: a signal that you have more of this suit. At a real table you slide the card across the table as you lead it.

volo VOH-loh

“I fly”: a signal that this is your last card of the suit. At a real table you let the card drop onto the table from a little height.

accuso ahk-KOO-zoh (plural accusi, ahk-KOO-zee)

A declaration of scoring cards. At the start of the hand you declare a Napoletana (3 points), three Assi, three 2s or three 3s (3 points), or all four (4 points). Everyone then knows those cards.

Napoletana nah-poh-leh-TAH-nah

The Asso, 2 and 3 of one suit. Declared at the start of the hand for 3 points. Also called the Napola.

Follow suit

Play a card of the suit that was led. In Tresette you must whenever you can. Only a card of the suit led can win the trick.

Void

Having no cards left in a suit. A player who is void in a suit can’t follow it, so they discard. Once they do, everyone knows they hold none.

Discard

A card of another suit, played when you can’t follow. It can never win the trick, but if your partner is winning, a discard with points adds them to your team’s trick.

Master card

The highest card of a suit still in play. Nobody can beat it, so it will win a trick in its suit. Once the 3 and the 2 of a suit are gone, the Asso is master.

Trick

One card from each player; the best one wins them all. In Italian, una presa (PREH-zah). Whoever wins a trick leads the next one.

Lead

Play the first card of a trick. The player who leads is “di mano” (dee MAH-noh).

Said at the table

Tocca a te! TOHK-kah ah TEH

“It’s your turn!” And “tocca a me”, it’s my turn.

mazzo MAHT-tsoh

The deck. The dealer is the mazziere (maht-TSYEH-reh).

Alza AHL-tsah

“cut”. Before dealing, the dealer offers the deck to another player to cut.

smazzata zmaht-TSAH-tah

A hand: one deal, played out. A match, la partita (pahr-TEE-tah), is several hands.

Busso, striscio, volo BOOS-soh, STREE-shoh, VOH-loh

The signals, said aloud or made with the card. Some tables say the word, some only knock, slide or drop the card, and some play without signals. Agree before you start.

Five habits the Maestro is teaching

1. Count each suit: once the 3 and 2 are gone, the Asso is master.
2. Capture Assi with your 3s and 2s; protect your own Asso until it is safe.
3. When your partner is winning safely, throw points into the trick.
4. Read the signals, and answer a busso by returning the suit.
5. Watch the voids: a player who couldn't follow will discard on that suit.

At a real table

Partners sit across from each other. The dealer shuffles, another player cuts, and the dealer deals all forty cards, ten each, in small batches (five at a time is usual), starting with the player on their right. That player leads first, and the deal passes to the right after each hand. Italian games are played to the right, counter-clockwise: the deal, the play and the next dealer all go that way.

Only the player leading a suit may signal: “busso” (or a knock on the table), “striscio” (sliding the card) or “volo” (letting it drop). Accusi are said out loud while playing your first card, for example “Napoletana di Coppe” or “tre Assi”. Anything else about your cards is not allowed, and some tables play without signals at all: agree before you start.

No Italian cards? Use a regular deck

Take the 8s, 9s and 10s (and any jokers) out of a regular 52-card deck, leaving forty cards. The Jack is the Fante, the Queen the Cavallo and the King the Re. Diamonds stand for Denari, Hearts for Coppe, Spades for Spade and Clubs for Bastoni. The order is 3, 2, Asso, King, Queen, Jack, 7, 6, 5, 4.

In much of northern Italy these games are played with French-suited cards anyway.

Teaching it to someone

In five minutes. Don’t explain everything first. Show this, then deal:

1. Seat the partners across from each other, and show that play goes to the right.
2. Show following suit, and that only the suit led can win.
3. Show the order (3, 2, Asso, then Re, Cavallo, Fante, 7…) and that only the Asso is a whole point.
4. Leave the signals and the accusi for the second hand.

The first hand. Play the first hand with all the cards face up, or let the new player sit behind their partner and decide together. Count the thirds together at the end.

What beginners get wrong.

• Not following suit when they could (it’s against the rules: let them take it back).
• Leading an Asso while the 3 and the 2 are still out.
• Winning a trick their partner had already won.
• Not noticing the signals.

Letting them win. For the first few hands, play gently and let them take back a play they regret. Point out their good plays as well as their mistakes. Once they win a hand fairly, stop going easy: it’s more fun for them to know a win was real.

Between games, they can practise Tresette in Tocca a te! with the teacher at Maestro, which explains every move.

For teachers and classes

Tresette fits an Italian class well: the words are everyday Italian (numbers, “take”, “win”, “your turn”), and the game is something students can play with their families. A deck of Italian cards costs a few euros; a regular deck works too (see above).

A lesson of about 45 minutes.

1. The deck and its words (5 minutes): show the four suits and the figures and say them together, using the respellings in the word list.
2. The game in four points (10 minutes): the summary at the top of this page.
3. Play in fours (20 minutes): the first hand face up, then a real one. Students say what they do in Italian: “Tocca a te”, “Ho preso il sette”.
4. Counting and talking it over (10 minutes): who won, and why, in Italian.

Phrases to use at the table.

Tocca a te! TOHK-kah ah TEH

It’s your turn!

Tocca a me. TOHK-kah ah MEH

It’s my turn.

Chi dà le carte? kee DAH leh KAHR-teh

Who deals?

Mescola! MEH-skoh-lah

Shuffle!

Alza! AHL-tsah

Cut!

Ho preso il sette. oh PREH-zoh eel SEHT-teh

I took the seven.

Ho vinto! Hai vinto! oh VEEN-toh, AH-ee VEEN-toh

I won! You won!

Quanti punti? KWAHN-tee POON-tee

How many points?

Students can practise at home in Tocca a te!, against the computer or with each other online, and the cheat sheet below prints on one page for each table.

The cheat sheet

The cards, how to play and the scoring on one page, to print and keep with the cards: a cheat sheet that prints on one page.