Tarocchini Totally Explained

Everything about Tarocchini totally explained

Tarocchini, also known as Partita, is a Tarot card game from the seventeenth century. It was popular in the Bologna region of Italy and has been confined mostly to this area. Tarocchini is very complex, yet the rules have changed little over the years. Partita is played with 4 players, two sets of partners, the partners sit across from each other. The middle part of Partita is very similar to the basic Tarot game. It adds a round of point-counting before and after the game based on sets and runs of the cards. An unusual feature of Partita is that the partners are allowed to make certain limited signals to each other during play.

Deck Description

Partita can be played with a standard Tarot deck (where the 2–5 number cards in each suit have been removed). The trump cards are in a non-standard order (probably because of this, the Bologna tarot decks were amongst the last to add numbers to the trump cards). The biggest difference in ordering is amongst what is known as the "Papi" (cards 2-5; Popess ). In this version, all 4 Papi are equal (the last one played is the highest, in regards to taking a trick).

Rank	Name	Points
20*	Judgement (Angelo)	5
19*	World (Mondo)	5
18*	Sun (Sole)
17*	Moon (Luna)
16	Star (Stella)
15	Tower (Saetta)
14	Devil (Diavolo)
13	Death (Morte)
12	Hanged Man (Traditore)
11	Hermit (Vecchio)
10	Wheel (Ruota)
9	Stength (Forza)
8	Justice (Giustizia)
7	Temperance (Tempra)
6	Chariot (Carro)
5	Love (Amore)

1-4 * * Popess, Empress, Emperor, Pope (the four Papi) -
0 * Magician (Bagattino) 5
- Fool (Matto) 5

These cards are not numbered in present day Bologna tarot decks
These cards are equal to each other, the last one played in a trick is the highest

Starting the Game

As usual for Tarot card games, dealing and card play are counter-clockwise. The dealer gives 15 cards to each player, in 3 rounds of five cards apiece. The dealer takes the last two cards into his/her hand. The dealer has to discard two cards, which can not be "5 point" cards (such as Kings, or the trumps worth 5 points). The cards that the dealer discards are counted as points to his/her side, unless he/she and his/her partner capture no tricks at all during the card play in which case the cards must be surrendered to the opponents.
After the first 5 cards have been dealt, if all players agree the game may amdare a monte. If this happens, all the cards are thrown in, and the deal passes to the next player. The first player speaks first, declaring a monte if he wishes to restart the game. This continues with each player until it reaches the dealer. If all have declared a monte, then the game will be restarted.

Parts

The game consists of three parts. Just after the hand has been dealt, all players may score their hands according to the meld points contained within. Next, normal card play occurs. Finally, the partners score any meld points that they've in their captured tricks. The scoring of meld points after card play is unique to the Bolognesi tarot games. Point Cards Rank Standard Deck Name Points 21 World (Mondo) 5 20 Judgement (Angelo) 5 1 Magician (Bagattino) 5 - Fool (Matto) 5 King (K) - 5 Queen (Q) - 4 Knight (Kn) - 3 Jack (J) - 2

The First Declaration

After the cards have been dealt, each player may declare certain combinations of cards that they hold in their hand. They don't have to declare anything, and may optionally declare a smaller set or run than they actually have. Anything that's declared must be placed face-up on the table. The decision of what to declare is an interesting strategic choice. The card combinations are detailed in the Meld Points section below.

Game play

Once the first declaration of points is finished, normal card play insues. Note that some information has been disclosed by the declarations, so players will have more clues than usual as to the contents of the other players' hands. The last trick of the game has a bonus of 6 points. Once all tricks have been captured, count normal points in groups of 4 cards. The dealer (and his/her partner) will end up with two extra cards from the discard. If there are no points in these cards, they should be scored as 0 points. This will result in a total of 77 points for this part of the game.
During the actual card play, the partners are permitted to make certain signals to each other. Only one signal can be given at a time.

When a player has the lead, the partner may instruct his/her to lead his/her highest trump by saying sminchiate.

The player may strike the center of the table when playing a card. This indicates he/she has the highest remaining card in the suit of the card that was just played (including trumps).

If the player strikes the edge of the table, it indicates he/she has the second highest card in the suit of the card that was just played (including trumps).

If leading, the player may draw back the card slightly toward himself/herself before laying it down. This signals that the partner should play his/her highest card in an attempt to capture the trick.

Final Scoring

After the normal card play points have been counted, the captured tricks are examined for meld points.

Meld Points

The meld points are counted twice during a hand. The first time is from individual hands before card play has started. The second time is from the collected tricks of both partners. Meld Points (Sets and Runs) Combination Point Value Sets (cricche) Three/four tarocchi 18/36 Three/four Kings 17/34 Three/four Queens 14/28 Three/four Knights 13/26 Three/four Jacks 12/24 Runs (10 points for 3, + 5 for each extra) King + 2 of 3 same suit (Q, Kn, J and/or Ace) + 2 of 3 top trumps (20, 19, 18) +2 of 3 or more Papi +2 of 3 or more Aces example above from The Game of Tarot Massive edits here - unsure of how to even deal with all this information...

Further Information

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