Tarocchino di Bologna — the historical 62-card partnership game
Bologna's own shrunken tarot, played continuously since the 1500s: a fast four-player,
two-partnership trick game on a 62-card pack (the 2–5 of every suit removed). You sit
South; North is your partner. It is the most faithful surviving witness to Dummett's
A-order of the trumps. You win by capturing card points, not tricks.
How to play· rules & trump order — click to fold for more table space
Teams. You + North vs. West + East. Play goes clockwise; the trick winner leads next.
Follow, then trump. Follow the led suit if you can. Void in it, you must play a trump if you hold one; only then may you discard.
The Fool is the Excuse. The Matto can be played any time, never wins the trick, and stays with your side for its 5 points.
Win by points. Honours (Matto · Bagattino · Angel · World) & Kings = 5, Queens 4, Knights 3, Knaves 2; all else 0. Why 76? That's every point in the pack: 4 honours + 4 Kings (5 each = 40) + 4 Queens (16) + 4 Knights (12) + 4 Knaves (8). Take more than 38 to win.
Suits Coins & Cups rank Ace→10; Swords & Batons are inverted (Ace high). ·Courts on top King › Queen › Knight › Page.
On the numbers Badges show this deck's own printed number when it has one (e.g. the Marseille Moon is 18) — the trick-taking order shown above is always the Bolognese A-order rank, which can differ from a deck's printed number (that's historical, not a bug). Decks with no printed numbers, like Tarocchino di Bologna's own pack, show that A-order rank instead, marked r (e.g. r17) so it's never mistaken for a printed number.