Tarocchini (plural for tarocchino) are point trick-taking tarot card games popular in Bologna, capital city of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and has been confined mostly to this area. They are the diminutive form of tarocchi (plural for tarocco), referring to the reduction of the Bolognese pack from 78 to 62 cards, which probably occurred in the early 16th century.
The games of Tarocchini are very complex, yet the rules have changed little over the years.
Deck description
Tarocchini can be played with a 78-card Tarot deck (where the 2–5 pip cards in each suit have been removed), though normally, a special Tarot deck, the Tarocco Bolognese is used. The trump cards have a unique ordering where the second to fifth trumps are known collectively as the Moretti (Moors) and are of equal rank (the last one played is the highest, in regards to taking a trick). In the Tarocco Bolognese, these cards are depicted with four Moors, two of which are identical.
The Fool is not a trump, it can't beat any cards and is played as an excuse from following suit. The Magician is the lowest trump. However, both the Fool and the Magician may be used as contatori (counters or wild cards) to assist in making sequences. The contatori are very valuable, because they can be used as wild cards in multiple locations. The four highest trumps, which are unnumbered, are Angel, World, Sun, and Moon and they are collectively known as grande (big). Angel, World, Magician, and the Fool are collectively known as tarocchi.
The grande, Moretti, and contatori are not numbered in the Tarocco Bolognese.
In the modern game, the cards won by each side are counted in pairs, with 1 being subtracted from the total for each pair. There are also six points for winning the final trick, giving a total of 93 points.
Common rules
In tarocchini, card points are not as important as bonus or meld points gained from combinations. Combinations can either be associative or sequential. Associative combinations or cricche (formerly as pariglie) consist of three or four of a kind sets.
{ |class=wikitable
!Associative combination!!Three of a kind points!!Four of a kind points'|-
|Tarocchi||18||36
|-
|Kings||17||34
|-
|Queens||14||28
|-
|Cavaliers||13||26
|-
|Jacks||12||24
|}
There are four types of sequential combinations although two of them are more like associative combinations. Each sequence needs at least three cards for 10 points and every extra card is worth 5 points. What separates the sequences from the cricche is the use of the contatori. The contatori may not be used to substitute Angel or a King. For trumps, the sequence ends if the contatori are used consecutively with one exception: if the two cards replaced are trump 16 and a grande.
Multiplicative bonuses occur when three or more cricche or three or more sequences are made at one time. This doubles the points.
Variations
Ottocento
Ottocento, is the most popular version. It is played by 4 players in two partnerships sitting opposite each other. The middle part of the game 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 is that the partners are allowed to make certain limited signals to each other during play.
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 picks up the last two cards adding it to those in 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 discards are counted as points to the dealer's side, unless they make no tricks at all during the card play in which case the discarded cards must be surrendered to the opponents.
After the first 5 cards have been dealt, if all players agree the game may andare a monte. If this happens, all the cards are thrown in, and the deal passes to the next player. Eldest hand speaks first, declaring a monte if wishing 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.
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 have in their captured tricks. The scoring of meld points after card play is unique to Tarocchini and Minchiate.